"We're going to need to split up." Levi grunted, "One group will go to the tail and save Armin. We're gonna need the Colossal titan's explosion. The other group are going to go towards his head and finish the job Leah and Pieck started by blowing up his neck. We'll launch two teams and launch a two prong assault. We... no longer have the luxury of worrying about Eren. Hell, we never had it to begin with."
"But... Captain..." Mikasa breathed in disbelief.
"Mikasa, I'm sorry. He's right. We've done all we can to save Eren. Now we need to focus on saving the rest of humanity." Leah pulled herself up as she spoke. Her jaw set stubbornly, showing that there was no changing her mind.
"But what, Mikasa?! If Falco hadn't miraculously flown in and saved us, we'd already be dead!" Connie's harsh words were like a slap in the face to Mikasa, who's eyes widened in realisation: everyone had already come to terms with Eren's death, and now it was her turn.
"That's right," Agreed Jean. "And we wouldn't have accomplished a single thing."
"You too?!" Her voice quivered.
"Tsk. Damn it. I had a long list of things to tell that dumbass off about. Shit" Said Levi gravely, bracing his body against the winds of flying.
"Look, I don't wanna give up on Eren either. But hell, thanks to my screw up Captain Levi can hardly fight at this point. And even if he were fine, were against the founding titan! How can we win if we hold back?!" Connie screeched, tears beading from his eyes.
"That's it decided then. Let's end this once and for all." Leah squeezed her eyes shut, bowing her head slightly, "I suppose that's why we all joined the Scouts in the first place, to make a difference. Well now's our chance. Our only choice... is to kill Eren."
Leah looked back up at everyone from under her eyebrows, a fiercely determined fire burning in her verdant eyes. There was something unsettling about the look on her face, that caused Mikasa's mouth to drop open in shock, for Jean to grit his teeth and for Annie to silently admire the woman's resolve.
It was the face of a fighter; a warrior. The face of someone that's already lost almost everything, with only one precious thing left to fight for, that she'd do anything for. Leah was ready to fly to hell and back if it meant her allies survived, and she was going to ensure that's what happened even if it was the last thing she did.
The only thing that had been holding her back throughout life had been the real fear of losing everyone. But now, everyone she cared about was right before her, in dire danger and in need of saving. All those years ago, when the titan's first breached Wall Maria and swarmed her home, Leah had failed to save the people that meant the most to her, and this self-hatred and blame had inadvertently led to this moment; her chance to finally redeem herself.
It was Leah's chance to make things right.
"Mikasa, you can just concentrate on rescuing Armin. Leave the rest to them, you don't have to think about it." Annie encouraged the girl, who's eyes overflowed with tears.
Falco's bird-titan swooped over Fort Salta, making a wide u-turn which sent them back in the direction of Eren's founder. As they climbed in altitude, Reiner shouted words of caution to the young blonde boy. "Falco, look out for projectiles! Incoming!!"
A round of arrows, let loose by the War-hammer reincarnations, shot towards them. Leah set her body as the bird beneath her dove and spun to avoid being wounded, before finally settling on a stomach churning dive.
They rocketed towards the founder, dropping at such a rate that Leah felt her insides swimming uncomfortably inside her. The g-force emptied the air from her lungs and made it almost impossible to hold on, and yet they all managed.
Yellow lightening shone beneath them once again, and Leah realised with a gasp that Reiner and Jean had leapt from Falco's back and began the attempt to save Pieck and detonate the explosives.
Falco levelled of, now soaring parallel to the spine. Leah gripped the ropes on the bird's back with one hand, using her other to work free her tarnished gas tank. Within seconds, the already loosened screw holding it in place gave way and the metal cannister was deserted somewhere behind them.
"I don't know how much gas I have left in this tank, but even then, I'm off balance now. I won't be very useful in combat. All I have is enough mobility to avoid attacks. I'll still do my best to get Armin back."
"Gah, they're even using Bertholdt as a puppet..." Annie observed, "How could they?!"
"There it is!" Yelled Mikasa. Everyone's attention shifted to where Mikasa was motioning. "That one, the pig thing! Or whatever it is!"
"It's a cow titan!" Leah decided.
"Which one?!" Asked Annie.
"Right there, the weird one. See it?"
"Where?! Which one of the nine titans is it?"
"Might be a cart?" Said Mikasa.
"Or a Beast?" Said Leah.
"Or maybe a jaw?!"
"That's not helpful... give me a serious description, will you?!" Annie grizzled.
"I did!" Bit back Mikasa.
"There, the titan that just started running away!" Leah pointed towards one of the many ribs of the Founder titan.
"That one? Isn't that an Okapi?" Annie asked.
"What the hell's an Okapi!?"
"Go, Falco!" Annie shouted. "We'll corner that Okapi thing at the tailbone and get Armin back."
Leah readied herself to jump as soon as they reached the tailbone. She crouched with her legs beneath her, and her blades in hand. How much use they'd be in battle, let alone how much use she'd be, Leah wasn't sure.
A hand tightened around Leah's arm that was braced beneath her. "Be careful, okay?" Said Levi. Worry swam in his once cold, and metallic eyes. In the current light, Leah could swear they almost looked blue. Not an icy, heartless blue like they might've when they first started working together, but a pale, sky blue that reminded Leah of a warm summer's day.
Holstering her blades, Leah dragged herself over to Levi, cupped his face in one hand, and pressed their lips together. Mikasa gasped, shooting out a hand to cover young Gabi's eyes as the adults pressed their bodies together and their lips danced in a passionate goodbye kiss. A life-time of love spoken through one fleeting action.
"What the hell?! You just kissed Captain Levi!" Connie howled in dismay.
Leah pulled back, non-chalantly turning back to her soldiers and fixing them a stern glare. "Did they never teach you to mind your own business in Ragako, boy?!"
He gasped animatedly. "Yea- but you- you just- right in front of us! How long has this been going on?!"
"Focus on the task at hand, Springer!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
On Leah's words, Connie, Annie, Mikasa and herself dived from Falco and aimed straight towards where the 'Okapi' titan was.
Weaving, once again, between vertebrae, spikes and ribs the three scouts and one female titan made chase after the Okapi titan
"We all need to stick together, or we'll be too easy to kill!" Connie reminded, alighting on Annie's shoulder to recover from a brief tussle with some of the previous 9 titans.
Leah landed on a nearby spinal column, watching as the titan retreated further up Eren's back and towards the Colossal titan puppet. At a glance over her shoulder it became apparent that they were surrounded. With Bertholdt looming before them, and an fierce army closing in behind them.
The Colossal could end them in an instant, but they also stood no chance against the approaching titans. And if they lost sight of the Okapi titan again, it could be over for Armin. They had to make a decision and fast. Mikasa perched on Annie's other shoulder, and it was clear they were all weighing up their choices.
Leah looked onto the titan's with a grimace on her face. They had no choice, if they hung around any longer, they'd be ripped apart. Just then, a shadow cast down upon them, and Leah's head tilted back to see the stomach of the Colossal stretched over them. The Bertholdt puppet craned forward, stamping his gargantuan hands down and quashing the conflicting army in affectively one move.
"Did Bertholdt just save all our lives?!" Connie gasped.
"I don't understand, but still, I won't let this chance slip away!" Mikasa sprinted forward, activating her gear in the direction of the Okapi titan.
Like a rabbit running from a fox, the titan threw itself into the air to escape from the unparalleled force of Mikasa. A harsh bang cracked in the air, piercing the titan and knocking it off course.
Missing the spikes, the titan began falling, opening up and opportunity for Mikasa to swing in and cut the jaw loose. The Okapi's teeth fell apart and out flew Armin's limp and spittle covered body.
He let out a phlegmy cough, clearing his lungs of whatever titan spit had entered it, and simultaneously the Okapi's tongue shot back out. It speared his thigh, dragging him back down towards its open mouth, but the Commander readied a thunderspear on his arm and with a furious roar exploded the beastly titan.
Leah, realising Armin was still attached to the unresponsive and once again plummeting titan, rocketed over and sliced the tongue impaling his leg in half. Footsteps rumbled, getting closer until Armin landed in Annie's cupped titan hands.
"Annie, behind you!" Connie warned, flying past the female titan and landing next to Mikasa on an elevated perch. Leah dropped into the palm of Annie's hand beside Armin. She helped him stand, supporting him when his legs threatened to buckle beneath him and his lungs convulsed to rid the titan spit.
"What's happening with these titan's?" When Connie's words met Leah's ears, her head spun to watch the scene before them. A handful of the army had switched sides, and were now fighting on the Alliance's side. A large titan, roughly resembling Eren's attack titan but with more body and facial hair, snapped an Armoured titan in two and Leah let out a baffled gasp.
"It's actually all thanks to Zeke."
Leah grimaced. "What'd he do?" Mikasa asked.
"He awakened our comrades in the world of the Paths, where life and death have no meaning. All Eldians are connected by way of the Paths. That's probably because the Founder Ymir is seeking connection. I think she wants something from us...."
When the world abruptly fell silent, panic jolted through Leah like electricity. The unknown was by far the scariest thing in that moment, and if Leah knew one thing for sure, it was that she had no idea what was going on. But then it dawned on her, as her mind put two and two together like fitting together pieces of a puzzle.
The all encompassing rumbling. It had stopped. The wall titans were no longer moving beneath them, which meant somebody had managed to find and kill Zeke. Leah's eyes scanned hungrily, yearning for confirmation of her thoughts.
Eren's Founder continued on, but that noise was only a fraction of the original cacophony. Leah wondered, in hindsight, how she had even been able to hear herself think, for now the world was so silent in comparison that it made her ears ache and ring softly.
Falco's titan looped above them, and Armin placed a hand on Leah's shoulder, looking from the ginger to Annie's titan, and then to Connie and Mikasa. "Go with Falco, collect the others. I'm going to blow this thing up now." His soldiers nodded, and while Annie climbed out her titan form, Leah rose to higher ground.
Once atop Falco's titan, they soared towards Eren's head, only to find it decapitated and some lengthy, flailing, blue, mystical centipede in its place. Leah pursed her lips.
So Jean, Pieck and Reiner managed to blow his head off, good for them. Her eyes landed on Reiner, who was wrestling the centipede. And that thing must be what gives the Founder their power....
"Jean, Pieck, we're getting outta here, Armin's going to blow these bones to pieces!" Connie warned.
"He can't yet, Reiner's down there!" Jean countered.
"I think he'll make it." Said Pieck. "The Armoured should be able to withstand the colossal's explosion. And regardless, to pass up this chance would be to trample Reiner's resolve!"
When Jean and Pieck were safely on the back of the bird-titan, Leah entangled her arms around both Mikasa and Gabi, holding them tightly against the netting beneath them in preperation for the atomic explosion.
Mikasa sobbed mutely, the only indication of her grief betrayed in her trembling shoulders and chest. And then all sound was replaced by a moments silence, before an earth-shattering boom rushed over them, carrying with it a gust of searing wind.
Armin had gone Colossal.
Falco was carried away in the blast, and Leah's muscles had never worked harder to remain attached to the bird's netting. The deafening silence was disorientating, causing Leah's head to spin and ears to pulsate. She had no idea what direction they were headed in, or whether they were upside-down or upright, until her body came into bone shattering contact with some solid ground.
Leah hadn't realised she'd blacked out until she regained consciousness once again. The whole ordeal had been so distorting, there was no clear line between reality and darkness, and even once her eyes opened and pain flowered throughout her body she still couldn't quite see clearly.
A mist of sandy dust limited her vision to a few feet away. She shakily braced her hands beneath her, pushing her torso up as her legs scrambled to support her. A wheezy cough siezed her lungs as the particles floating in the air irritated the sensitive tissue.
"Levi...? Mika?" Leah croaked out through gasps. The air was clearing, but nobody was in sight. Had they all fallen from Falco? Had Leah fallen from Falco??
"Anyone!?"
"Leah!" Her cries were finally met, when Jean's voice called out from behind her. She spun on the spot, just about making out the silhouetted figure of Falco's Jaw through the dusty air. She staggered forward, clutching her aching left arm.
"I'm down here!"
Gabi rushed down Falco's wing, by-passing Leah and sprinting towards something just past her. Leah glanced over her shoulder, noting the gathered crowd of strangers now that the dust was clearing, and how Gabi threw herself at a middle-aged couple. Her parents?
Mikasa slid down after her, skidding to a stop by Leah. "Are you okay?" The raven-haired girl grasped Leah's shoulders, causing the latter to wince. Mikasa lessened her grip.
"Just about. 'Must've fallen off at some point." Leah mumbled, rolling her shoulders and trying to hide her pain.
"Oi... carrot... top." Levi's words were a sapless grumble. The copper-haired female's eyes flicked past Mikasa to land on Levi's wilted body, only kept standing by Connie's arm around him. The woman rushed over to her Co-Captain.
"God, you look like shit." She laughed dryly, taking up his other arm and putting it around her shoulder. He looked at her from behind his dark curtains which hung over his tired, resigned eyes.
His lips twitched ever so slightly up. "I did it... I killed the hairy bastard... I avenged Isaac... and your mother."
A pain stabbed in Leah's chest, and hot tears stung her eyes. She reached a hand up, wiping the grimy sweat from Levi's forehead and loosening the strands of hair cemented to his skin. "I can never thank you enough..." She choked, pressing her lips to his cheek.
"I won't claim to have no regrets... but we definitely did the right thing, didn't we? I mean we put an end to the rumbling." Connie thought out-loud from the other side of Levi.
As rays of sunlight started breaking through the clouds above, Armin's Colossal finally climbed out of the destruction in the distance. "I see Armin!" Mikasa gushed in relief.
"Any sign of Reiner?" Connie asked, angling his head to try and see better.
"Shit." Leah hissed out. "Guys, look over there." With her free hand, she pointed to the gigantic centipede, writhing towards the base of the plateau they stood upon.
"It's still alive even after getting hit by that explosion!?" Connie squeaked.
"Sure is. What the hell is this thing?" Jean bemused.
"No clue. But..." Levi started breathily. "I do know that we can't leave it alive."
When a second, slightly smaller blast sent a heatwave flooding over them, Leah realised that Eren must've survived the explosion.
"Well that figures. It only makes sense that he would've survived as well..." Jean sighed.
"Yeah... but what do we do now?" Connie's voice shook uncertainly.
"The only thing we can do... we put an end to him, once and for all..." Leah whispered darkly.
~
Sand. That was the first thing Leah noticed when she regained consciousness. Horribly fine, and gets everywhere - sometimes even showing up under your nails, in your hair for days following.
And now she was sat in it, doomed to have sand down her trousers, in her shoes, between her toes, and embedded in the souls of her boots for eternity.
That would've been the case had it been regular sand. "God, I hate sand." Leah grumbled out-loud, as her eyes focused on the world around her.
She was in the Paths. This was her second time here, but it was still as breath-taking as the first. "I can make it something else, if you'd rather."
A familiar voice echoed in Leah's mind, and her head snapped around to find the source. Her eyes landed on Eren: his sullen face softened and a small smile tugged at his lips.
Now they were in the centre of the Shiganshina market. The street was empty, which was just as well, since there was nobody at the stalls to man them. "This is what it looked like the day you met my brother, isn't it?" Eren's voice moved with him as he slowly walked around the empty market.
Leah thought back, taking in every detail of the street before gasping. "Yeah. Pretty much. How did you know?"
"I was there. I watched Zeke bump into you. I watched you drop your basket of groceries."
Leah's heart sunk. "Does that mean you also watched me tell Zeke that the Scouts were on a mission that weekend, thus handing him the perfect opportunity to breach the walls on a silver platter?"
"I did, yes."
Leah was stood by this point, calmly walking around the ghost-town market. She ran her hand gently against the dark wooden frame of one stall, testing it was real. A splinter sunk into her skin, causing air to hiss out between her teeth before she brough the finger to her lips to suck it out.
"It wasn't your fault, Leah. How were you to suspect the truth?"
The Captain paused, her hand resting on one of the wooden beams. Her gaze met Eren's and for the first time in a long while, he looked like the young boy she'd first met almost five years ago. In the late summer sun beating down on them, his aquamarine eyes sparkled with the slightest hint of tears.
Under Leah's watchful eyes, Eren's lips twitched as words formulated and dissipated in his mind. "I'm sorry." Eren choked, reminding Leah of the fact he really was no more than a scared young boy.
Her legs carried her the short distance over to him, and undeterred by his track record and new toxic facade, threw her arms around his neck and drew him into a tight hug.
His composure crumbled at her touch as he buried his face into the crook of her neck and wrapped his large arms around her midsection. "I'm sorry," He whimpered again, letting his tears dampen Leah's clothes. "I didn't mean to let you down."
"Shhh...." Leah soothed, struggling to stay up on her toes to reach over his shoulders despite his stooped posture. "You... you've not... Well, Eren it's not too late. Come back to us."
Leah lowered herself to stand flat on her feet, sliding her hands back to rest on his cheeks. The pad of her thumb wiped away his tears. "We've established relationships with colonies over the sea already, we- we can ensure a safe future through diplomacy!"
Eren turned his face away from her, squeezing his eyes shut. "I've seen every outcome to every decision I can make... and they all end the same. There's nothing that can be done... so I'm here to say goodbye."
Her hands froze in the air, hovering where his face had been before he turned away as his words hit home. "Eren... no." She breathed. "No, there must be something-"
"Please, don't make this harder than it has to be."
"No, I'm not just giving up on you like that, Eren!"
"You have to!" He snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously, chest heaving in gasps of air. "I've come too far... hurt too many. It isn't enough for you to forgive me. Others will be after me now too."
"Well, we can protect you. We have the rumbling, and we-"
"Stop." His hand clamped over her mouth and jaw, leaving Eren to meet her pleading eyes. Wide and glossy, the sunlight reflected off her mesmerising irises and highlighting every speckled shade of green.
When Eren's hand eventually dropped, they stood there in silence, neither meeting the other's gaze.
"You don't have to explain yourself. I know you're doing what you think is right... and you're willing to die for that." A cynical smile curled up Leah's lips, "You're a lot like Erwin in that sense."
Eren's eyes widened slightly, surprised that he was being compared to his late Commander. "But you're willing to sacrifice the world to preserve the freedom of your loved ones... that's where you and Erwin differ completely."
Leah returned a hand to his cheek. "You're an amazing kid, Eren. I'll miss you. Thank you for visiting me once more."
"You won't remember this until it's all over, I'm going to wipe your memory. But since I can't control Ackermans... I'm not able to visit Mikasa or Levi. Can you... Pass Captain Levi a message for me?"
Leah smiled softly. "Of course."
"Can you tell him..."
(3823 words)
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A/N: well, guys. I did it. I fulfilled my promise of taking less than a month to update~ only just tho :,) sorry! Major writers block / just general uninsperation to write rn, but mark my word this book will be completed.
Thank you for your continued patience and support, love you all <3
~ author