𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑬𝑵𝑫 - Levi Ackerman [2]

twenty two

22|the harbour

"We have to kill them all at once. It's the only way to secure the ship." Lillian raised her head at the sound of mass murder. She tucked her locket away and glanced around, finding Annie to be the one talking. "We'll use the power of all our Titans as well as all of your weapons to do that. Okay?"

"Hey, wait a second." Connie spoke up after a long pause, everyone thinking about her words.

"Why?"

"An indiscriminate attack on the harbour will even cause the Azumabito to get caught in the crossfire." Mikasa explained.

"You might call them distant relatives, but to us they're enemies who attacked our homeland." Annie growled at her.

"No." Pieck cut her off. "It'll be a problem if we let the Azumabito die, Annie. Isn't that right?"

"Precisely." Onyankopon agreed with the Cart Titan. "I should be able to pilot the flying boat on my own. But without the Azumabito's mechanics, it is nothing more than a wingless ship. Its wings are now folded so that it is easier to haul on the sea. And of course, it will take more for it to fly than simply extending those wings. My understanding is that the plan was for it to be operable only after taking it into a hangar, performing a service inspection, and conducting flight training."

"How long will that take?" Reiner questioned.

"I don't know." He thought aloud. "It is up to the Azumabito."

"I see. So, we need to protect the flying boat and the Azumabito while also buying enough time for the ship to be serviced." Annie hummed in understanding. "But also, you don't want to kill any of the Jaegerists who will try to stop us from doing that. Is that what you're telling me?"

"No, I don't want to kill them." Jean stated grimly. "We've known some of them since the Training Corps."

"So? What're we going to do?" She asked him. "Think you could tell me? How exactly are we going to keep any harm from coming to the flying boat and the Azumabito, while not turning any of our attackers into casualties as we buy time for the ship to be serviced? Tell me, Armin. Tell me your big plan. Just like you did when you drove me into a corner."

"Lils?" The doctor glanced behind her at her husband, surprised to hear his voice after he spent so long sleeping. "Can I see your locket?"

"Of course." Lillian moved closer to her husband in the cart, taking off her necklace and showing him the drawing of their son. "We did good."

"We did." Levi agreed incoherently. "Thank you for giving me a son, a family."

"You talk as if you are dying." She sat near his head, placing it in her lap as she played with his hair. "You're not allowed to die."

"Lillian." He sighed, reaching up to cup her face. "I promised you I would stay alive but everything is becoming harder for anyone to stay alive."

"No, you're not allowed to die because it has been over a month since we last had sex and these pregnancy hormones are making me so horny." Lilly complained, mumbling so no one would hear them. "I am desperate."

"When I find strength I'll find somewhere secluded to remind you of my body." He growled into her ear as he pulled her down, capturing her lips in a heated kiss as the soldiers argued amongst themselves.

"Most of all, time is running out for humanity." Hanges loud and urgent voice broke them apart. Lillian kissed his forehead and stroked his hair so he would doze off again while Hange spoke. "I could see the Titans moving forward off the shore as they gave off a massive amount of steam. Judging by their speed they've already arrived on the continent of Marley. Marley's cities to the northeast, the ones closest to us, must have been annihilated by now. I didn't think they'd cross the ocean this fast. In this case, the other continents don't have long either. Who knows how many have been killed already."

"Tell me where Eren Jaeger is." Theo Magath demanded, throwing Yelena against the rocky mountain. "Every time you don't tell me, you're discovering a new direction your arm can move in. Don't be scared. I won't kill you."

"Magath!"

"That's a relief." Yelena chuckled. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to die until I see what happens here. Take me with you and I just might tell you where Eren went."

"We need to secure the flying boat first." Hange remind the man, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"This is no time for torture." Onyankopon added.

"Connie, Armin, Mikasa, Jean." Theo turned to the four cadets. "I want to apologize for my behaviour last night. We were mistaken. I was being flippant when I spoke about justice. That was an unseemly attempt on my part to justify my actions, even now. I was afraid of having to look at myself because it'd mean seeing everything contemptible about Marley. This isn't your responsibility. It's wrong to place the sins of the past on your shoulders just because of your race. Pieck, Annie, Reiner. There's no reason for you to be burdened with this world's hatred, either. But, we do have responsibility to make sure that future generations learn about this foolish, bloodstained history of ours. Eren Jaeger wants to erase everything and that is unforgivable. This hell will never end so long as we keep pretending to ignore our foolish actions. So please, just for now, close your eyes to my foolish acts."

"I refuse." Armin denied him. "We're getting our hands dirty too."

"I'm always pregnant when there's something going down." Lillian complained to herself.

"Some God is looking down on you." Levi teased her, startling her as she thought he was asleep.