Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 47: The Last Confession

The next day arrived far slower than the previous ones. Given the atrocity that was witnessed last time, it wasn't a surprise that they all had a harder time sleeping. No point in delaying the inevitable though. While one truth was revealed, there was still more to uncover regarding Annie's loyalties. For all Levi and Hanji knew, Annie just used her tragic past to lower their guards. No way they would let their sympathies cloud their judgment on the matter.

With that in mind, Levi passed the time by drumming his fingers on the table.

"You anxious?" Hanji wondered after a few minutes of listening to his percussion performance.

Instantly, the captain stopped. "What makes you say that?"

"You're not the type to be this antsy," she explained.

"And you're not the type to sound so lackluster."

Hanji attempted to crack a smile, but it was terribly forced, even for her. "Well, what can I say? It's been an interesting three days."

"Hmm." Idle conversation was far from Levi's specialty. For him, words needed to have a reason outside of making the time speed up.

The Section Commander let out a sigh as she stared at the door. "Couldn't sleep a wink last night."

This time, there was no response from him. Just silent musings.

Hanji decided to leave it at that. It was unlike her, but she felt so drained today. Part of her hoped something in Annie's memories would put spark her up, or something like that. Then again, considering the girl in question, it was probably going to be as depressing as she was.

After ten minutes, Annie finally entered the room while keeping Dillon steady. The Psion seemed to be limping a little less, though he still wasn't even halfway there with being healed.

"What the hell took you two so long?" Levi demanded.

"I had to use the bathroom," Dillon answered as he was sat in his chair.

"There was one question that I failed to ask yesterday," Hanji pointed out. "What exactly is the fluid used to turn people into Titans."

The final nail in the coffin. Once they had it, they could replace her with someone more loyal. Hell, Hanji, Petra, and Sasha would be good candidates for that. There was no way out this time, so Annie spoke the truth. "Spinal fluid from Titan Shifters. Hurts like hell, but it works. The injection goes in your arm. Any other ways would make the transformation malformed."

"I'll keep that in mind." Hanji jotted it down in her notes immediately.

Levi snorted as he stared at the girl. "We're finishing this today. I don't care if your memories contain more cannibalism or a Titan orgy. After this, we're going to make our decision about you."

"Fine by me." Annie glanced at her boyfriend. "You ready?"

"Not even close," he said, though with a flash of his eyes, they were back in the crystal palace. "Where to now?"

Without saying a word, she gestured to the only mirror in the entire building. Like before, instead of showing their own reflections, the images revealed were several memories without any context. Some places, Dillon recognized such as Trost, their time in Training, and Stohess, but many others were foreign to him. However, when Annie stepped in front of the mirror, the images faded away and in their place, the Female Titan was staring back, though she was human-sized. Annie raised her hand with the Titan mirroring her actions. They placed their hands on the same spot of glass, looking at each other with a mixture of disgust and contentment. Annie pushed the mirror open and stepped inside with the others following closely behind.