The silence of the flying boat was only broken by sniffles and rogue sobs. Leah's attention was captivated by the view from the window; the golden hues cast upon the fluffy clouds over which they soared. Above cloud cover it was so serene, making it hard to believe that a trail of mass destruction and genocide followed them below.
Surprisingly Leah was the first to calm down. Her hiccups relented and instead her mind began to run wild with denial. "Eren can bring them back."
Leah's eyes travelled the soldiers around her, but none of them met her gaze. "If he has the power to euthanise a population, he must have to power to bring Hange back. He could revive them all- Hange, Sasha, Hannes," Leah turned to Levi beside her. "He could bring back Erwin."
The names Leah was reeling off yielded a reaction from nearly everyone, whether that be a final tear, the tensing of muscles or a choked sob. "Leah, that's enough." Levi breathed, his eyes locked on his clasped hands in his lap.
"But he-"
"Enough." Levi muttered, hurriedly taking one of her hands in his. Leah squinted her eyes as an ache squeezed her chest. She wasn't ready to accept that Hange was gone. Her throat constricted to the point of pain, and Leah felt in that moment as if she'd never breathe again.
The flying boat's engine hummed in the growing silence. Armin, who had been discussing their chances of making it to Fort Salta with Onyankopon, finally turned back to address the alliance. The mood was solemn, but Leah's fists clenched and unclenched habitually.
"Okay, let's lay out the plan." Armin lowered himself to one knee, pulling a stub of chalk from his pocket. Onto the wooden flooring of the flying boat he attempted to illustrate Eren's founding titan: a large semi-circle with curving ribs coming down, spikes along the spine and a tiny torso in comparison dangling from the cranial end.
"Based on what you saw, does the founding titan's body look something like this?" He questioned Pieck, who leaned forward to inspect his doodle.
"Yeah, though what I saw wasn't really that much."
"It's an ugly pile of bones crawling along on its belly. Like some gigantic bug." Levi commented dismissively. If demeaning Eren into abandoning the rumbling worked, Levi could've solved the issue days ago. Leah leaned back into the backrest of the seat, letting her skull balance on the leather covered cushioning. The waiting and travelling was like torture. She wanted to be out there, blades in hand, causing as much pain as possible. She needed to avenge Hange. Avenge everyone that died for the cause thus far.
"If it works like most titans, Eren is controlling it from the nape of its neck." Pieck suggested.
"Warhammer." Leah droned, not looking away from the ceiling of the ship. "Huh?" Pieck grunted from next to her.
Leah sighed, lifting her head and sliding off the seat to kneel next to armin. She pointed to the nape, "Most titans' weak spot is the nape. But when we fought the Warhammer, any damage to the nape was nullified due to the shifter being tucked away elsewhere."
Leah glanced up at Armin. "And so if the Warhammer's powers are in play, there's no way of saying where Eren is actually hiding."
"Exactly." Armin huffed frustratedly. "We don't know which part of the body he's in."
"But we don't need to land a precise hit," Pieck added. "We've got a weapon that can annihilate it. The same weapon that laid waste to the Port at Liberio in an instant. We can drop the Colossal titan on him."
"We could. It's a guaranteed way to destroy the founder. But before that, I still wanna try to talk things out." Armin tilted his head to look up at Pieck. "If we can't convince Eren to stop the Rumbling himself, I'll be our last resort."
"Coming up with the last resort first isn't a bad idea. Zeke holds the founder's power, Eren's controlling it through him. We don't need to blow his whole body away. Killing Zeke should end the rumbling." Leah could hear the blood lust in Levi's voice. He wanted nothing more than to kill Zeke with his bare hands.
Armin gasped. "You're right. It might work."
"No way to be sure. That was Hange's theory."
"Still doesn't help unless we figure out where Zeke is." Pieck said.
"Easy enough problem to solve if we dig into that bone heap and force the hairy bastard out." Levi paused, letting out a deep breath. "We'll find him. And I'll cut him down. With your help. Are we agreed?"
"Got it, Captain." Jean muttered. "I'm with you. We had to kill so many of our friends just to get this thing into the sky. If we back down, we'll have butchered our own people in vain. All of this is to stop the rumbling. I'll do whatever it takes."
"Me too." Reiner agreed. Leah met his gaze hesitantly. She wasn't sure she could one hundred percent trust him yet, but since his homeland was in danger, she suspected he was more than likely being forthright. Reiner offered a small, appeasing smile. Leah nodded gently, looking away once again.
"Reiner, I had to shoot Samuel and Daz at the port. I carved up people I've known since we were cadets. They died cursing my name; calling me a traitor while I told myself I was saving the world. Was it the same for your team? You, Bertholdt and Annie? Is this what it felt like?" Connie whimpered, casting wide and distraught eyes up at Reiner.
Reiner's brow drew together and his eyes drooped with guilt and sympathy. "Yeah. I know my sins are beyond redemption. I doubt I'll ever forgive myself, even if we save what's left of humanity."
Connie bowed his head, tears beading in the corners of his clenched eyes. "Still, we've gotta try. Even knowing it'll never be enough."
"I needed to hear that." Connie's voice shook, as he looked back up at Reiner who had approached and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Thank you. It won't make up for all we've done, but still. We gotta do what we can."
"Reiner," Jean spoke up. "I shouldn't have judged you. I'm sorry. I became a murderer to protect the lives of other people. Just like you. I can't pretend your sins are greater than my own."
"You know, Eren told me something similar. Just before the Liberio raid. Right now, I feel like I might have some idea what's going on in his mind. Do you think... he might be hoping we can beat him?"
Leah let out a gasp in unison with the people around her. Was Eren giving them a chance? "What do you mean by that?" Mikasa questioned.
"Not sure." Came her response. "It's a feeling I can't really explain." But Leah understood where he was coming from. Eren loved his friends more than anything, and while attempting to kill humanity was largely out of character, he made sure not a finger was laid on his friends. If they tried to combat him, surely he'd tip the odds in their favour to stop them getting hurt?
"There's one thing I still don't get, Eren has the power of the Founder. He can control all Eldians and all titans. He should be able to keep us from using our titan powers. But he hasn't..." Armin noted.
Leah furrowed her brow, rising from the floor and relaxing back into her seat between Levi and Pieck. "If Eren was sure in himself, surely he would've done everything in his power to stop us intervening?" She thought out loud. There was a murmur of agreement.
"Are you trying to say that Eren has been giving us free reign this whole time?" Pieck gasped.
"That's right. He's letting us do all this. It's like... he wants to find out how we're going to response to what he's done."
"Why would he?" Mikasa complained. "He's gotta know there's a chance we'll stop the rumbling."
"Because he's a drama queen." Leah grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms and folding one leg over the other.
"And a brat." Levi added.
"That's just it. If I were in his place, if all that blood was on my hands- I couldn't bear it. I think- I'd want somebody to take the founders power from me. If nobody could... then I'd want somebody... to end it." Reiner stuttered out.
Leah blinked and when she opened her eyes they were back in the blue-hued, sand covered land of the Paths, where'd she previously been transported to with Hange and Levi. "Oh- not this shit again." She whined, throwing her arms out to steady herself on the shifted ground beneath her.
At a quick glance, everyone on the flying ship apart from Onyankopon was there. "We're back here?" Jean griped.
"Oh yeah!" Connie said, gazing around.
"The hell- was he eavesdropping on us?" Said Levi, looking around indignantly.
"Eren!" Armin called, cupping his hands to his mouth to amplify the shout. "Listen to me, we've won okay? It's over! Paradis is safe now- the world has seen the terror of the rumbling. If anyone ever attacks the island again it won't be for centuries. We'll be able to negotiate a non-aggression treaty with the other countries. You never need to kill anyone again, Eren! We can go home and live our lives in peace."
He paused, hoping the boy would respond, but when there was nothing from Eren, Armin continued. "We understand that we screwed up! We were wrong to push you this far, but you don't have to keep going."
"Eren..." Jean growled breathily. "Eren! We'll figure out a way to handle things from here. Please, stop this blood bath and let us try to make the best in what's left of the world!"
"Yeah, that's right! Eren! I hated you for what happened to Sasha, but I know you were hurting as much as any of us! I could've seen it back then if I put myself in your shoes." Connie wailed.
More silence stretched across the endless expanse of the Paths. Leah watched the horizon extend on beyond the eye's limits, into an abyss of star speckled indigo skies. What was this place? Were they really here, or was this a figment of their imagination, planted in their minds by Eren?
"Eren..." Mikasa's voice quivered. "I want to help you carry the burden of your sins."
In otherwords, Leah mused, she loves you. God, if only he could see that.
"We all do, because they're our sins as well. We're here- don't push us away! Please, Eren, quit running. Let's go home."
"You heard your friends, Eren. If they insist, I'll let you off with just one good kick in the ass. Speak up. You gonna let us do all the talking or what?" Levi spat angrily.
"Eren." The air shifted at the sound of Leah's voice, so gentle and patient compared to everyone else's desperate pleas. Internally, she was more desperate than any of them, and yet somehow her voice remained perfectly steady. She let her eyes drop to her feet, and a sigh leaked past her lips. "Please, just stop it all. I'm tired... and I've lost too much. Please, don't make it any harder. Don't make me lose you too."
"The rumbling will not stop." Eren's deep voice sounded all around them, from the air itself. From everywhere and nowhere all at once. "And the future of the island of Paradis will not be left to the whims of fate. I will keep moving forward."
"Over there." Everyone spun to follow Levi's extended arm which pointed to the source of the blue light cast down on them. Silhouetted against the blinding white light was the small figure of a boy. Before anyone could put two and two together, Mikasa had taken off at a sprint.
Armin, Jean and Connie ran after her. "Eren!" She screeched. Leah narrowed her eyes. So the boy was Eren? She'd never met him when he was so young, and from the distance his defining passionate green eyes weren't visible.
The further the soldiers ran, the more distorted the space around them grew. They ran and ran until they were no more than specks in the distance, and when they disappeared completely, Leah heard scrambling footsteps and exhausted panting growing behind them. She twisted her torso to glance behind her, only to see the four of them running up to them.
"What the fuck?" Leah ran a hand over her face as Levi, sick of the shit already, lowered himself to sit in the sand. "No, fuck this. I take it back. Eren! Stop this now, or you'll regret it- you think you've seen me angry?! Just you wait-"
"You are free to oppose me, and defend the world's freedom. Just as I am free to move forward. Our convictions can never be reconciled. And our wills will not bend. There is only one way for this to be resolved. Fight."
"But then- then why do this? If talking won't help, then why bring us here?" Armin asked frustratedly.
"I brought you here to say, that there is nothing to say. You will only stop my advance when you stop me from breathing. And you are free to try."
With a jolt Leah fell back onto the flying ship's seats, her arm colliding with Levi's chest and earning a wheeze from the raventette. "I'm sorry-"
Levi clutched her arm to his chest, "Are you okay?" He cut her off, gasping air into his lungs and doubling over slightly.
"Gah- what happened, you okay?" Onyankopon called from the cockpit.
"Well... it looks like I had it right." Reiner said darkly.
"Then there's really- no other way." Jean stammered out, covering his eyes with one hand.
"Guess it's safe to say we're done negotiating." Levi said calmly. "So Commander, what's next?"
-
"Target sighted! Prepare to jump-"
"What about you? Hurry up and get over here!" Jean cut off Onyankopon. Leah, with one hand gripping the open side of the plane, angled to look over at the pilot. The plane tremored as another unforgiving gust of storm hit them. The time was now, with the Founder titan directly below them and Fort Salta growing in the distance.
"I'm staying, I'm gonna drop you straight off at the target! Let me worry about getting this thing back down. Don't jump until you're damn sure you'll land on the founder!"
"Onyankopon!" With his attention on them, he almost missed the volley of debris aimed right at them. The founder was below them somewhere, unimaginably large and shrouded in a blanket of thick steam. Onyankopon spun the flying boat onto its side to dodge the attack, sending everyone tumbling off their feet.
Leah, with no wall to fall against, was thrown out the open side of the plane. "Oh shit!" She screamed, her wide eyes catching a glimpse of the drop below her. A hand hooked one of the ODM straps on her back, tugging her back into the ship and pressing her against the metallic walls.
All she could see was the blonde of the back of Reiner's head as his arm and back secured her in place. "You alright?" He said through gritted teeth as he strained to keep them from falling again. Leah nodded, stunned by the fact she almost plummeted to her death.
"Furry shitbag." Levi snarled from the floor of the airship. "The Beast is in the field!"
"Good, then we don't have to look for it!You know the plan, the Beast titan is priority one. Destroying him could end this battle in one shot. It's time to stop the rumbling!" Armin rallied, lining himself by the exit of the plane in preparation for jumping.
Reiner loosened his muscles and glanced at Leah to make sure she would be able to hold herself in place. They had to be ready to jump at the word go. "Now!"
Free fall felt amazing. All pressures were lifted from Leah's body and her limbs trailed out behind her as the warm wind licked her exposed skin, swept her hair back from her face and caused her squinted eyes to tear up.
Her fingers moved into place on her gear, ready to initiate her gas and catch herself before she collided with the approaching spine of the Founder.
A second round of boulders fired from the beast titan tore through the air at them, and Leah anchored herself to a nearby vertebrae just in time to steer out of their course.
Weaving between vertebrae, dodging flying attacks and scanning her surroundings for any sign of Eren, Leah eventually came upon the Beast.
Reiner transformed just in time to tackle the Beast, a second flash of yellow lightning and Pieck was charging towards the Founder's nape with their supply of explosives.
The Armoured and Beast titan wrestled on one of the many giant vertebrae. The remaining footsoldiers - Armin, Mikasa, Jean, Connie, Leah and Levi - alighted on the Founder's gigantic scapula, ready for Armin to initiate phase one of their plane: communication.
"Eren- you said there was nothing to say but you were wrong. I've got a question and you will answer it. What do you really mean when you say you're free?"
-
The flying plane made for the Fort in the distance; a grand mound of sandy stone with a military base balanced precariously on top.
Relieved that Onyankopon was safely out of the battle, Leah threw caution to the wind and made back along the Founder's spine to where Reiner's titan crouched over a steaming Beast titan corpse.
She set herself down on his sizeable Armour-plated shoulder, taking a moment to survey the situation. "You good, Reiner?"
The titan let out a deep growl of affirmation, nodding his head slightly and shifting his grip on the Beast titan's bare skull. Leah was suspicious of how easy that was. If Zeke could be killed just like that, he wouldn't have been out in the open. And there was something different about the sculpted titan; there was no sign of a shifter in the nape. It must've been controlled from another isolated point, just like the warhammer.
Eren, Leah thought to herself. He must behind this, too.
"As I feared," Armin hummed. "Zeke's using the same method as the Warhammer to hide himself."
"You mean we have to find another tiny body in this huge mass of bones!?" Jean whined, casting his gaze about and throwing his arms in the air. "There ain't no way! We've gotta face up to reality! Armin!"
"I know!" Armin snapped back, gritting his teeth. Leah leapt down to Armin's side, putting a hand on his shoulder in reassurance. He sucked in desperate breaths through his teeth, his brow knitted together in resolve. She knew that look, she'd seen it countless times on Erwin.
It was the face of willing sacrifice. The acknowledgement of the dangers, acknowledgement of what he was going to be giving up, but also the acknowledgement that it was necessary. Sacrificing Eren to save billions.
"In one minute I'm blasting this area away, work with the Cart Titan to get clear." He ordered, pointing to Pieck's titan who clung to one of the many spikes that rose out of Eren's vertebrae.
This was it. They were putting an end to Eren once an for all. Leah knew the time would come, she'd prepared herself for it; for what felt like losing her brother all over again. Only this time, it wasn't at the hands of a titan, but at the hands of humans.
Although, Leah mused. Technically titans are just human souls taking a different form. The scourge of titans we've all spent our lives fearing have been the cause of human greed, apathy and hatred. We've had this day coming for a long time.
"Eren knows this attack could be coming. I can't imagine this'll kill him. But if I blow these bones apart, we might figure out where Eren or Zeke is."
Connie and Levi led the retreat, calling back words of wisdom to Armin. Jean followed suit moments later, on the back of Reiner's titan. Mikasa remained stood upon the vertebrae adjacent to Armin's and Leah could tell the two needed a second alone.
Armin glanced at his Captain, eyes swimming with doubt. "You can do it. Commander." Leah heartened, moving her hand to the side of his head. The responsibility on his shoulders was unbearable. The least she could do was support him. Lifting herself onto her toes, Leah pecked his head with a kiss.
"You're not alone. Remember I'm just a shout away." And with that she shot off with her gear, catching up with Reiner and Jean. Landing on the retreating titan form, Leah's gaze remained on Mikasa and Armin as they grew smaller the more distance was put between them and her.
The steam grew denser, rising around the two. Leah caught a glimpse of Mikasa moving away, joining the retreat, and then of a dark figure behind Armin. In one sharp movement, a tongue wrapped around Armin's figure, restraining him, before engulfing him into the mouth the tongue belonged to.
The unrest caused the steam to clear, revealing the perpetrator. A large, cow-like titan, lowered on all fours like Pieck's cart. With Armin stowed in its mouth, the titan began to bound away, jumping from spike to spike in retreat towards the tail-end of Eren's founder.
That's when Leah realised that the titan wasn't alone. A dozen more had appeared, standing between the Scouts and the cow-titan that had stolen Armin away. "Shit! We need to get Armin out of there, otherwise we're fucked!" Leah stressed.
"Watch out! Reiner!" Connie hollered. A smaller, jaw-like titan hurtled down at them from somewhere above. Leah grabbed Jean's sleeve, dragging him after her in an attempt to get out of Reiner's way. The Armoured was much bigger than the jaw, he could handle the fight if he didn't have to worry about crushing his comrades.
From her new vantage point on one of the protrusions, Leah spotted two more titans running at Reiner. Aiming quickly, she let loose a thunderspear and decimated the approaching Warhammer-looking titan.
With Mikasa's help, soon the three titans were motionless at Reiner's feet. "These titans," Leah shouted over the wind as she circled the air above Reiner's head. "They must be old versions of the nine titans! That one looked a little like Ymir's jaw-"
"But that means there could be hundreds of titans between us and Armin now!" Jean panicked, rightly so.
Leah leapt into the air, shooting herself over to where Mikasa, Levi and Pieck's titan were. "...isn't going to work, Captain. I've figured out what we're dealing with. These husks are all the people who bore the power of the nine before us. I don't know if their minds are still in there or not."
Leah landed on Pieck's head, pursing her lips. So she'd been right, they were up against titans with the power of the nine. "And I bet Eren has the power to resurrect them at will and as many times as need be... otherwise he wouldn't throw them at us all at once." Leah bemused.
"Yes, and this army of battle tested titans was built for one reason: to fight. We can't beat this, and so we can't afford to be so easy going with this." Pieck concurred.
"I've got a plan. But there's no way of saying it'll actually work." Leah explained slowly, her eyes darting between their adversaries for any sign of the titan that kidnapped Armin. "Pieck, can you run us to the head. I'll fill you in on the way. The rest of you, get Armin back!"
"Wait, what are you-" Connie gasped as Pieck darted off, Leah poised on the titan's head.
"Dammit to hell! What is going on in her head?!" Levi growled, watching as their assailants tried to combat Pieck and Leah's flee to the Founder's head.
The cart titan's agility wasn't quite that of the jaw, but with the help of Leah's dwindling thunderspear supply the two were able to hold off attacks and make headway.
"Argh- just get-- as close as you can." Leah grunted out between defenses. "Drop the explosives around the neck and then retreat. Ah-"
"What about you?"
"I'll detonate it with my thunderspear. But for that we need to be far enough away, got it?"
"Got it."
"I doubt this'll kill him, but it might buy us time. Here goes..."
Pieck launched the TNT strips towards the Founder's boney neck before back turning. Spinning to face the right direction, Leah lifted her thunderspear loaded arm, lined it up with the target and let the rocket loose.
Simultaneously, Pieck's titan form received a pitchfork through the chest, impaling her in midair, preventing their retreat and knocking Leah's shot completely off.
The thunderspear swiveled in the air before nose diving towards the mass of stained, white bone beneath them. "Fuck-" Leah yelped, getting thrown from Pieck by the force of the attack. Briefly as Leah started plummeting, she caught a glimpse of the Warhammer that held Pieck skewered in the air.
"Pieck!" Leah's voice grew further away in Pieck's ears as the Captain's body fell through the air.
The red-head stuck out her arms, flailing them helplessly to try and right herself just enough to deploy her ODM Gear. All she could see was the abyss of steam below them and through that the faintest red shadows of the Colossal titans swimming beneath it.
No matter which way Leah angled her body, she couldn't change the trajectory. She had one destination now, and it was to become entrails under a wall titan's foot. Not that she'd feel it, she'd die immediately on impact. Quite a merciful way to die, if you think about it.
Leah's eyes, which were streaming with tears from the force at which she was falling, squeezed shut. She relaxed her cramping limbs and resigned. Her fate was sealed; soon she'd be reunited with everyone she'd lost - Isaac, her Mother, Erwin, Hange, the Levi Squad...
Levi.
Her eyelids jerked open, instantly causing her tearducts to overflow once again in an attempt to dampen her dry eyes. She couldn't die, not yet. She didn't want to leave Levi. Or Mikasa, or Jean, or Armin. Or anyone that was still relying on her, for that matter.
She'd get to see everyone she'd lost eventually, one day when death finally cornered her and left her with no where to run, but that day was not today.
Leah's thoughts ran at a thousand miles a second. How could she get out of this one? Her gear was useless with nothing to anchor onto, all her gas would do at this point is propell her towards the ground faster. I could always hook onto one of the wall titans, crossed her mind. No, the steam would cook me in seconds. This process repeated over and over in her head, happening in milliseconds. Her mind was in overdrive, trying to find any way of surviving certain death.
And then suddenly she wasn't falling anymore. The straps adorning her body which helped her balance when using the ODM Gear all went taught, halting her plummet with such a force that Leah was almost certain she was going to be left with at least one broken bone, if not many.
The shadows of the titans plodding below her grew more faint, until Leah realised she was in fact rising. "Nice one, Falco, you got her!" Connie's voice met her ringing ears.
And then she was above the clouds of steam, and Leah's eyes landed on the expanse of desert beneath them and Eren's founder titan. She was dangling like a ragdoll, rather precariously, by her gas tank which was trapped between two monstrous talons.
Leah strained her abs, looking down - or technically up, since she was hanging upside down - at her hip where the tank was situated. The metal itself was pierced and useless from being held between two giant claws. A high pitched scream escaped Leah's winded lungs as she watched the gas cannister start slipping from its holster. "Put me down, put me down, put me down!" She wailed.
"Stop screaming and take my hand!"
Leah's head snapped around to land on Jean's extended hand. He hung from the colossal bird with one arm, but Leah didn't hesitate to accept his help. Their hands met and the claw which had been holding her in mid-air relaxed. Jean hoisted her up, and with the help of other hands, the two were eventually perched a-top the giant bird-titan.
Gathering fistfuls of feather, Leah took a moment to collect her thoughts and surroundings, bracing her body securely against the bird-titan. "What the hell!" She sobbed, the shock of almost dying setting in.
"Are you okay?" Mikasa's voice came.
A hand took up the back her her shirt, dragging her further up the titan before arms drew her in, sandwiching her between the bird-titan's back and a heaving human chest.
Somehow, through the stench of blood, titan steam and dirt, the smell of Levi shone through. "I've got you, you're alright. I've got you..." His voice came strained in her ear and she tilted her head to the side to see him.
His face with contorted with effort and pain, but Leah was so relieved to see him. She blinked back the accumulating tears. "What the hell is this? Wait- is this Falco?"
There was a shout of affirmation from her allies on Falco's back, but Leah decided not to push the topic further on grounds of there being more important issues at hand. Her body instinctively pressed against Levi's, relishing in the comfort of being in his arms. While this wasn't by any means over, at least now they had a flying titan.
(5053 words)
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A/N: heyyyyy if you're still following at this point, I am so so so sorry this chapter took almost a month...
Life's been hectic.
Anyway, here's a very long, very action packed chapter for you to enjoy.
If it helps, I've already written the epilogue ;)
ANYWAY, thank you loyal readers. I promise (very loosely) the next chapter won't take as long - author <3