This is My Last War (Attack on Titan // LeviHan) - Part 3

The Other Side of the Ocean, Part 2

"Armin, Mikasa, and Eren - you're in the group that is going to live with me," Zoë smiled at them.

"What, will we not see each other?" Connie whined unhappily.

"No," Levi said coldly. "We won't. And I said no questions, Springer."

"But how will we comm..."

"Designated spots in the city where we can leave encoded messages to each other," Levi explained curtly. "But only if absolutely necessary."

"But... what are we going to... do?" Armin asked, ducking his head in anticipation of Levi's displeasure, yet undeterred in his quest to analyze and understand everything.

"The thing I'm particularly good at," Levi said wryly, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.

"Killing Titans?" Sasha's eyes grew larger.

"They're not even here!" Jean protested.

You never knew what awaited you on unknown territory, they had all learned that the hard way during their Titan expeditions. Even if the enemy had changed, that wisdom hadn't. After years of careful planning and plotting with the Azumabitos help, they had finally made their move - and had found Liberio devoid of Titan shifters upon their arrival, their mission's primary objective thwarted by the war the Marleyans were fighting against a military alliance to the south.

But she had a Plan B.

"Our group," she nodded at her three protégés, "will rent a house in midtown. We will try to infiltrate the Titan Research Facility while we wait for the Warriors to return."

"Oh!" Armin clapped his hands in excitement.

"And my group," Levi threw them a dark look, "will become criminals."

"Awesome!" Connie shouted.

"Right," Zoë was relieved they seemed to be taking it better than expected. "Now listen up."

She reached for the lid of the metal box on the table, flipping it open to reveal its contents: Tiny, cute syringes. Her babies!

"This," she said, a wave of excitement gripping her. "This is going to be essential for our survival and success."

She took one of them out of the case, holding it up to the light bulb. The otherwise transparent liquid it contained glittered with just a tint of yellow. Ah, this thing of rare beauty had taken her so long to perfect! 

"Marley has a way to identify Eldians by analyzing their blood," she explained, nimbly flicking off the needle cap with her thumb and index finger. "I am told they take a sample from the tip of your fingers. It is paramount," she held out her left hand, palm facing upwards, "that you inject yourself with this before they extract any blood," she stabbed the tiny needle into her arm and pressed down on the short plunger. "In which case the sample taken will not show proof of your Eldian heritage. But be aware that the effect is short-lived. You must carry several syringes with you at all times."

"I hope you also tested it on people other than yourself?" Levi murmured, glaring angrily at the small puncture wound on her arm.

"Not really," she admitted. "And I'm not quite sure how well it will work on you and Mikasa. I was lacking the necessary equipment to do a proper analysis but I have reason to believe that your blood is not like..."

"Spare me the details," Levi began to grab syringes from the box to hand to the kids. "Please tell me you have more somewhere?" He frowned down at the soon empty case.

"Not really," she admitted once again, grinning sheepishly. They had not planned on staying here longer than a month at most! "But I plan to gain access to Marley's research facilities and I will..."