A/N: So ... I finally updated. I'm sorry I kept you waiting! Here's the thing; I have the ending to this story all figured out, but I kind of lost inspiration getting there recently. I've had so many wonderful, encouraging comments for this fic, and it's been going on for so long now, that it's got to the point that I'm honestly terrified of disappointing any of you who've stuck with me all this way! Things are likely to be wrapped up by chapter 50, and I have an idea for another Rivahisu fic which is now itching to be written, so I'm really hoping to bring this to a conclusion promptly but properly this year. I just really, really hope that you guys enjoy the remaining chapters.
I also need to put out a warning right here: this and following chapters do contain scenes relating to labour, and complications during, in case you find themes like this upsetting.
A Queen's Request: The Final Arc
DELIVERANCE
'The action of being rescued or set free.'
Chapter 45: Eye to Eye
The vision took hold of her like a bolt of lightning. The sitting room was gone, replaced by plains of desolate sand. It felt familiar, somehow. It dawned on her quickly what was occurring when she heard the familiar cadence of his voice booming through the windless skies.
Eren was speaking to them all through paths.
Eren.
But he'd always said … he needed to touch someone of royal blood to do this. A titan. So … that must mean he'd touched Zeke.
Zeke. Who was supposed to be detained by Levi.
The room lurched back into view. The sound of something smashing echoed from the direction of the kitchen.
… Levi.
"Historia! Calm down, please! You're going to make things worse!"
Historia was vaguely aware of George's grip on her upper arms as he pinned her back into the chair. Someone was wailing; the sound akin to an animal in deepest distress.
It took a moment too long to realise the sound was coming from her.
Levi.
He would never have allowed Zeke to get away from him; to touch Eren. He'd die trying to stop him, if that's what it took. She thought of the excruciating visions that had woken her.
Please, Levi …
Could he really be …?
She wailed again, and the sound hurt as it tore through her throat.
"Hey, can't you keep her quiet?" The sour-faced, female Jaegerist shot at George. "All those damn kids will be awake again. Why's she so upset? Eren just said that we'd all be safe here on this island. Or is the pain that bad?"
The pain. Huh.
There were two kinds of pain vying for her attention right now; the very present, physical constricting of her abdomen as she sat rooted to the chair in the Orphanage sitting room, and the deep, soul shattering sorrow that gripped every atom of her being.
Easy to tell which was worse.
The voices of the others in the room began to swim in and out of range as Historia found herself quickly descend into a half conscious state of agony. Her voice died, but the tears continued to roll down her flushed cheeks in silence.
"She's just upset … the rumbling. She would never … agreed to it."
"Floch … here soon. He can … what's going on."
"The Beast Titan … Shiganshina, then. That means one less obstacle for us … he's dead."
"Shh. Listen. I think it's about time …?"
"Yes. Go and fetch a doctor … please."
The words swirled around, their meaning hazy. But then Historia felt someone shift next to her, and her eyes re-focused to find George rising, as though to leave.
"No!" She panted the word at him, hand reaching for his arm. "Don't."
He couldn't leave her. Not alone with these people. Not right now. Traitor though he was, he was the only familiar thing she had left in the world.
She felt a clammy hand cover her own. "I'm not leaving. One of the others will go into town. We need a doctor now, His."
His soft nickname for her tugged at some weak part of her heart, and she felt a sob betray her. "Okay." She managed to stammer the word at him. The dread that had been hanging like a shadow suddenly threatened to envelop her completely. Her hands shook visibly now as she clung to the chair.
George's eyes lingered on her white knuckles. He nodded, but still got to his feet and moved away from her, his footsteps echoing eerily across the hardwood floor.
Levi found himself slipping in and out of consciousness as they rode together. Hange had managed to tie him against her by the waist. He didn't even have the energy to protest at being so close to her. Even when her unkempt hair flicked him in the face for the hundredth time.
The earth trembled beneath them, but their horse stayed true to course. The sickening sight of hundreds of colossal titans looming at the the south-eastern horizon seemed to leave the animal unfazed. Survey Corps horses, huh? They were almost as bat-shit crazy as their riders.
The titans marched in the opposite direction, their gaits slow but even.
"Walls," he heard Hange murmur in some sort of horrified awe.
"Not any more."
He clung to her cloak, doing his best to force his one uncovered eye to stay open. But the lid was heavy, and his body screamed for sleep as a way to escape the unrelenting pain coursing through every inch of flesh and bone.
Levi fixed his gaze towards Shiganshina in the north-east as his vision began to blur. Smoke was curling up into the sky.
It must look like a fucking war-zone, now that the walls around it had crumbled to dust. Eren had done that, all in the name of regaining their island's freedom. Just before he slipped towards blackness, he thought how ironic that was.
It seemed he was gone for an eternity. Historia must have been dozing in between the cramping in her stomach, because her eyes were closed still when George returned to her side. She felt something warm pressed between her hands - a teacup - and she was encouraged to lift the vessel to her lips to sip. The warmth that flooded her after a few moments of drinking was soothing, and for a moment, it dulled the intensity of the ache in her chest.
George was kneeling before her again, his brows wrinkled with a look of concern. Morning light striped the floorboards beside him, edging in through the half closed drapes. When she cast her gaze around the room, it was apparent they were now alone.
"Historia, I thought it better to let you get a little rest. One of the guards left to fetch the Doctor. The others are having a meeting. I've made you a herbal tea to take the edge off, but it won't do much for long. I need you to try and stay calm …"
She stared at him, lifting the cup back and forth to her lips mechanically, digesting his words. But the broken pieces of conversation she'd heard before still nagged at the back of her mind, and it wasn't long before they forced their way out of her mouth.
"Before … someone said … the rumbling. I saw Eren's communication in paths. It's started, hasn't it?"
The faint vibrations she could feel through the soles of her feet as they met the floor were enough to answer the question, really, but she needed to hear it said aloud.
"I … believe so, yes." George was looking at her warily, as though she were a keg of gunpowder that may involuntarily go off in his face. "They'll head south. Towards Marley."
The cup trembled between her fingers.
"The Beast Titan. Zeke." She spat his name with contempt. "I heard someone say …" her words trailed off; she was unwilling to believe what exactly she had heard. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably again, and she hissed through clenched teeth. Her eyes remained fixed to George, however.
The farmer appeared to deliberate for an age, before finally answering. He wrung his hands. "Listen. It's obvious Zeke escaped the Captain somehow. That's the only way Eren would have been able to set things in motion, right? Zeke's Royal Blood?"
Historia drew a shuddering breath. "Levi would never … he'd sacrifice himself before he'd let Zeke …" She covered her mouth with a hand, screwing her eyes closed in an effort to stop herself breaking again.
"Hey, look. We don't know that's what happened." Despite the words, George didn't sound particularly convinced. Had he known? Had the bastard known the plan for Zeke to escape?
"George. I saw …" Historia tried to hold back another sob. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, and then continued. "Levi's hurt, I know he is. Perhaps even …" She swallowed more of the tea. It caught in her throat, making her choke and splutter. Then another bout of severe cramping twisted her stomach.
Shit.
They were coming more frequently.
George was staring at her with a look of poorly disguised apprehension. "Listen, Historia. You have to be strong now, for you and the child, okay? Captain Levi wouldn't want -"
"Don't." The word was snarled at him, almost feral. "Don't you dare tell me what Levi would and wouldn't want …" She paused to wince at the cramping pain. "When you've been part of the group who has betrayed us. I thought you were my friend."
Her hand clenched around the cup as angry tears blurred her vision. Pain still flared in her abdomen, this contraction lasting a little longer than the previous ones.
George seemed stunned. He opened and closed his mouth several times, before his eyes dipped to the floor. "I am your friend."
It was then that she felt it. The warm rush of liquid between her legs.
No. No, no, no.
Levi jerked awake.
His cheek smarted where it had been resting against Hange's back as they rode through the open countryside towards Shiganshina. The stink of her damp cloak should have left him gagging. As it was, his stomach was churning, but for an entirely different reason.
Historia …
Her words to George as he floundered before her like some sort of awkward child echoed in his mind, drowning out the sound of hoofbeats against the vibrating road. And the water … there had been so much of it soaking through her nightdress.
"Shit!"
Hange almost fell forwards off the horse as he bellowed down her ear.
"Hell, Levi!" She turned her head, trying to look at him over her shoulder with her one good eye. It proved to be difficult. "What's wrong?"
Levi realised his fists were balling in her cloak. He couldn't loosen up, though. He might cause them both to fall off with the way his mind was spinning.
"Historia. I think … it's coming." His voice sounded hoarse in his own ears.
"Huh? What?"
"Damnit, Hange. The fucking baby."
He felt her tense against him. "But … its too soon? How do you -"
"Bonding." He spat the word at her, pain prickling in his chest and abdomen.
She went quiet, but he was aware of the horse slowing a little. After a moment, she spoke again. He could feel the way she forced her tone to remain even. "You … saw it, just now? When you were asleep?"
He tried to steady himself, both physically and emotionally, before answering.
"Yeah."
Hange went quiet again, as though thinking. Levi tried to focus on the rhythm of the horse's movement below them. The way the ground was shuddering beneath the animal's hooves. He stared at the trees as they passed. They were swaying.
How could this be happening? How had things turned into such a fucking shit show? And George … that bastard farm boy.
I thought you were my friend.
"And apparently George Wagner is a fucking traitor."
She was alone. Surrounded by traitors, and about to give birth to his child, far too early.
Hange made a startled noise up front. "What?"
"Heard her say it. He must've been with those damn Jaegerists all along. Fuck. I gave that little shit my knife. I told him to protect her."
Levi finally loosened his grip on Hange's cloak. He spread his right arm, flexing the stumps of his fingers. Except, they were a little more than stumps now. Not exactly whole fingers, but they were definitely getting there, although they ached like a bitch. He stared at the minute wisps of steam seeping through the bandages. Hardly noticeable, unless you were looking for it. But he knew what it meant.
The serum was working.
Good.
He knew what he needed to do. Hange wouldn't like it, but this time, it didn't matter. The fucking world was about to burn, but somehow, all Levi Ackerman could focus on was his Queen and his child.
"Levi …" She reined the horse in, their pace slowing further. He could practically feel the way her heart was hammering through her back, but he wasn't about to start this argument with her on horseback, miles away from where they needed to be right now.
"Hange. Just fucking go - get us to Shiganshina."
If she seemed surprised by the request, she didn't show it. She urged the horse forwards, regaining their earlier pace as Levi gripped her waist again.
His child was going to survive, right? He'd seen her …
Please. Let his child survive. Let Historia be brave and safe. Otherwise … Zeke. Floch. George. Eren. They would all pay for what they'd taken from him.
Historia stared at the liquid as it pooled on the floor between her feet. This was it. She was going into labour. But it was too soon …
Her child was going to die.
"Historia!"
She looked up to find George handing her a towel.
A damn towel.
She yanked it from his hands before whipping it at him.
"You!" She shrieked the word, uncaring in her moment of grief that the children might wake up to see her like this. None of it mattered. Because this was wrong. It was all so wrong. "This is your fault! You and them. You did this!"
George let her beat him with the towel several times, before pushing her back against the chair, gripping her wrist firmly. Historia made to fight him, but another contraction took hold of her, and it was all she could do to just breath through it.
"What? Historia, what are you even -"
"Levi," she forced out. "That vision. Zeke getting away. The rumbling. It's your fault this is happening to me! You planned all of that, and now my child might be lost, too." The words left her mouth in a flood of tears.
How could she live after this? Regardless of what Eren did or didn't do, who he saved and didn't save … if Levi and her child were both to be taken from her …
Well then. She'd find Zeke Jaeger, and she'd kill him with her bare hands. Somehow, she'd do it.
The towel slipped from her grip onto the floor. George bent to pick it up. He dabbed at her gingerly - as though that was going to help in any way. Her nightshirt was already soaked through, the armchair sodden beneath her. Even the floorboards shone wetly.
She'd agreed to this pregnancy to save Zeke. To give him and Eren more time. More time, to achieve this. The death of the father of her child, and the destruction of the world outside of Paradis?
An odd calm settled over Historia as the contraction subsided, almost as though the hatred she now felt towards Zeke Jaeger had replaced any fear or despair that existed before. Her head was suddenly clear as one simple thought took over everything:
Kill the Beast Titan.
She glared down at George. He was staring at a spot on the floorboards, as though deep in thought.
When she could bear the quiet no longer, she addressed him through gritted teeth. "I refuse to do this here. Around the children. Around them." The level of detachment in her own voice made it almost unrecognisable. George's head snapped up, eyes wide.
"What? What do you mean?"
"I mean, this child's chances of survival are …" Even with her newfound grit, Historia couldn't say the words aloud again. The idea of losing a child here, of all places … the safe haven she and Levi had created to shelter and protect all those innocent little faces … It was tragic. She thought of Sam; his endearing way of referring to the baby as Princess. It was like she was suffocating again, the pain beginning to manifest in her chest, crushing her heart, but she fought it off. She wouldn't let it have her, not until she'd dealt with him. "I'd rather be somewhere else when it happens." The words were quietly firm.
Suddenly George was in her face again. "No. Stop talking like that. There's still a chance. Don't just give up Historia. You don't know it's hopeless yet. Just - damnit - you have to fight! Both of you! Your child has to live!"
Fight.
That word again.
It seemed to follow her around, somehow. It conjured a memory of standing before the bathroom sink, just after she'd learned of Sasha's death. Another vision.
She closed her eyes. Hazy images flashed across her eyelids like recollections of broken dreams. Levi, the right side of his face striped with a huge scar, standing before her. In his arms, a child. But that view had shattered, hadn't it? All too quickly she had been faced instead with him. Azure eyes and white-blonde hair. Zeke. And in his hand …
Levi's bloodstained cravat materialised in her mind's eye, the crimson clashing with the stark white like a warning beacon.
Now it all made sense. How had she not understood?
The Beast Titan had taken the two most precious things in the world from her. She had nothing left to lose. When this was over, she would make him pay.
Fight.
Pain rippled through her abdomen, and she gasped out. Her hand went for George's shirt. She clung on to him, screwing her face up as the contraction took her breath away. When it subsided, she didn't release him.
"Get me out of here. I don't care how you do it; if there's a shred of decency left in you, do this for me. I can hardly get far from you in this state. I just … don't want the children to see. Please. They've … been through enough."
George merely blinked at her, his face inches from hers as she fisted the material of his shirt tighter. She was being crazy. How could he remove her from the Orphanage? Their orders were to keep her here. The others would never agree to it. She'd be safe here. The doctor was already being summoned. Where would they even go, anyway?
George stared into Historia's eyes. Why was he even considering what she asked? He had his orders. Here, she might be unhappy, but she was safe. And the children … well, most of them had some familiarity with death. They'd get over it in time, if all hope really was lost for the child.
The fate of our world rests upon the survival of Historia's child. Whatever you do, you keep that child safe at all costs.
They couldn't afford for all hope to be lost though, could they?
George squared his jaw, gripping Historia by the upper arms with firm determination. "Historia. We're staying here. The doctor will come. You'll be okay. Your child will survive. There is no other option."
Perhaps she had expected him to bend to her will more easily, because her eyes widened in obvious disbelief as he pressed her back into the armchair. Well. She may be the Queen, but George had a duty to fulfil - keeping her safe - and he was going to do what was best for her regardless of her own wishes. Regardless of what she ordered, right now.
He carried the Captain's knife at his belt, but he was no Ackerman.
The naked skyline before them as they rode up towards the perimeter of what had once been Shiganshina's outer wall left Levi breathless. He felt Hange deflate in front of him, as though the sight physically drained her.
There should have been so much open blueness now that the fresh autumn sky wasn't obscured by the towering structure. But instead, the view was mirky with smoke. That much couldn't just be accounted for by the collapse of the walls.
They picked their way carefully through the rubble, Hange clutching Oliver's rifle close to her chest. They were both wary of being spotted and detained by Jaegerists or their supporters, but it seemed that the chaos was far more widespread through the city than they had expected, and little attention was paid to them.
People wailed openly in the streets - or, at least, what now remained of them - as they clawed desperately at the debris from collapsed buildings. The smell of smoke and iron was thick in the air, and Levi was all too familiar with it. Another pang of irony hit him as he realised so many of the scenes before him were echoes of the destruction they'd found at Trost almost five years ago, when the Colossal and Armoured had launched their second attack.
Shiganshina really did look like a fucking war zone.
Hadn't this been what Eren had wanted to restore and protect, back then?
"Hange … what happened here? This can't just be …"
Levi stopped talking as the horse halted abruptly. Hange was staring ahead. She didn't make a sound, but Levi could feel the way she was holding her breath as he leaned against her. He followed her gaze.
A broken body lay in the middle of the road. They wore a military uniform, but it was not one that Levi immediately recognised. His good eye fell upon the star-stamped armband.
Fuck. Marley.
That was an Eldian soldier from Marley.
"Levi … look …"
Before he could say a word, Hange was gesturing with the barrel of the rifle to the remnants of the buildings surrounding them. There were more bodies strewn amongst the rooftops. White and Blue wings, teal unicorns, red roses, training corps crosses … and yellow stars. The badges decorated unmoving arms.
Shiganshina didn't just look like a war zone … it was one.
"Shit. Hange. Was this …?"
"An invasion."
Just like their assault on Liberio, it seemed.
Levi's good fist clenched at his side. Damn it all to hell. Fate seemed to be truly against them, but he wasn't beaten yet.
He just needed that fucking railroad to still be functioning.
"Alright. You find Jean and the others."
"Right."
If they're even still alive. Neither of them seemed willing to say the words aloud, but they were there, hanging heavy in the pause between Captain and Commander.
Hange twisted to look back at him again. "Wait. What about you?"
Levi made to straighten himself, wincing at his bruised body. "I think it's about time you untied me. Need to see what this shitty serum has done to me."
She just stared at him for a moment. "It hasn't been -"
"I feel fine," Levi lied. "Good enough to stand."
Hange frowned. "Alright. But not here."
An agonised roar ripped through the dusty street.
Levi's eye widened; Hange's mirrored it a split second later. They'd both recognise that sound anywhere.
A titan.
With no blades between them, and his status unknown, they were in no shape to fight.
"On the right! Move!"
Levi sensed its approach an instant before it came crashing through the last remaining wall of what had been someone's house, but it was enough warning for Hange to urge their horse forwards. They cantered down the street, before Hange pulled the animal to the right sharply.
"Shit." Levi grit his teeth as he glanced backwards. It was only a 4 meter. With even a single blade and somewhat steady legs, he'd make short work of it. But right now, he had neither.
"We'll circle around it - hopefully we can lose it!" Hange yelled at him from up front.
"Where the fuck did it come from!?" The moment the question left Levi's mouth, he knew. Of course. The wine. He twisted back to look at the gangly, clumsy thing again. Had this been a former colleague, too?
Zeke Jäeger. That bastard.
Kill the Beast Titan.
The urge to seek out that fucking monkey and finish what they'd started was almost unbearable. But no. His main priority right now was Historia. Had to be Historia.
He'd do it, though. Once he'd made sure she was safe. For a both of them, Historia and Erwin, he'd kill Zeke Jaeger.
Their horse began to cough and pant. Poor bastard; it was clearly exhausted. Levi knew the feeling. Hange cursed under her breath, steering it down an alleyway. They'd made it a little further into town, where more of the buildings still stood intact. She pulled the animal to a stop, letting it rest for a moment. Both Captain and Commander listened in tense silence to the thudding of the Titan's footsteps.
"Shit. It knows we're here," Levi whispered.
Hange said nothing, merely pulling the horse further back into the shadows of the buildings.
They were going to be cornered. Fuck. Was this really it? After everything, this is how they were going to go out? At the hands of a 4 meter titan, stuck down some dingy alleyway?
Levi growled in frustration.
Then he heard it.
That beautiful, familiar whoosh.
ODM Gear.
Both he and Hange threw their heads back in time to see a figure go hurtling across the gap in the buildings, high above them. They didn't look down; couldn't have noticed the two of them and the horse in the shadow of the alley. Their eyes were set forwards on something, blades poised and flashing in the daylight, their close-shaven hair nothing but a streak of silver.
Connie.
They heard the titan go down.
"Nice work, Springer," Levi muttered. At least he knew one of his former squad members was still alive. But he'd have to leave Hange to find the others. He had a train to catch.
"Hange. We gotta find some gear, then you have to untie me. We're running out of time."
The contractions grew steadily worse.
Still, the doctor didn't arrive. Still, George refused to move her.
Then came the blood.
"George, it's happening. I'm ... I'm loosing ..." Historia whispered the words defeatedly, forehead slick with sweat as she lay upon the couch - she'd moved there once the pain grew too intense to merely sit. She stared at the glistening crimson on her fingertips, dazed.
"Shit. No. Where are they!?"
George was rubbing his own forehead with his bunched up cap. He looked positively ill. Good. He deserved it.
"S'toria?"
They both looked over to the doorway. Sam stood there in his pyjamas, frowning at the scene before him. His gaze lingered on Historia's stained fingers, and the blood that was beginning to bloom across her nightdress.
"Is the princess coming?"
Historia opened her mouth to speak, but then another contraction ripped through her, and words became impossible. She tried to suppress a wail, but failed miserably.
Sams eyes grew wide.
"Hey. Go back upstairs, Sam. The doctor will be here soon." George stood before him in the doorway, shielding Historia from his view.
"But - wait - is she okay? What -"
"I said go, Sam!"
Historia had never heard George raise his voice with any of the children at the Orphanage. But he did then. The only sound in response was the thudding of little footsteps on the staircase.
She closed her eyes, inhaling slowly through her nose. "I told you not to let them see."
George was leaning against the doorway, head pressed to his forearm, cap still scrunched in his fist, the other pressed to his eyes. "Look at you. Where am I supposed to take you in that state, Historia? Even if I wanted to, it's too dangerous. You have to stay here. The doctor is coming."
The blood was everywhere now. It crept through the fabric of her dress and seeped into the towels covering the couch. Historia stared at it numbly. "The Doctor's not going to make it."
George turned, and immediately dropped his hat. His eyes grew as wide as Sam's at the sight of the fresh stains. "Historia." He was at her side in an instant, reaching for her hand. She watched as her blood smeared across his skin. "It's going to be alright. The doctor will be here soon, and he'll know what to do - I promise."
"It's alright," Historia murmured. She was beginning to feel dizzy. "You don't have to lie to me. Funny, at one time, all I wanted was to die." She raised a hand to wipe the damp hair from her forehead. Even that felt like a momentous task right now. Her limbs felt so heavy.
From somewhere beside her, George's voice shook. "Stop it."
She ignored him. "Then … I met her. My friend … Ymir. She taught me about being my own person. Living for myself. Well, I got the hang of the living part."
Another contraction twisted through her, and she lost her words. It was all she could do to gasp and close her eyes, tears spilling over and rolling down her cheeks. She didn't have the energy to raise her voice anymore; her throat felt hoarse. George stroked his thumb across her knuckles. She didn't pull away from him. Once the pain subsided, she slumped back into the chair, took a deep breath, and continued.
"But I suppose I never really knew who I was … I let other people dictate to me. Even as Queen … that's why I'm here now. I tried not to be selfish. Thought this was the right thing to do … to save Paradis." Her other hand slid over her protruding stomach. Her child's movements had grown worryingly slow since the bleeding had begun. "Except then … when Levi and I … it was like finding Ymir all over again. He gave me a reason to be selfish. But now … that reason is disappearing. Perhaps I was meant to die, all along."
George's fingers trembled in hers. "No, Historia. You can't die. Too many people care about you. You have a child to raise. Levi's child. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry … " His voice wavered. Historia shifted her head to look at him. Was it getting darker in the room? He sounded further away now too, somehow. "Eren came to me, before you and the Captain did. I thought I was doing the right thing. Eren told me … that I'd be able to save you. If I did this. If I followed him. He told me … it would give meaning to my brother's death. We'd be saving Paradis." He pressed his forehead to her knuckles. "And it would keep you safe." He lifted his head again. They stared at one another, George's confession hanging in the quiet of the room. "But … this isn't true, is it?"
Historia watched, eyes sliding in and out of focus, as a single tear slid down George's cheek, and for the first time since she'd discovered his betrayal, she felt she understood him.
Eren had lied to him, too. He wasn't' saving her; he wasn't giving meaning to his brother's death … and she wasn't saving Paradis. She was going to be responsible for helping Eren to destroy half the world.
"George," she murmured, squeezing his hand weakly. "We both messed up. Just ... promise me. When all this is over. That you'll live … for yourself." It was almost as though she could hear Ymir saying the words to her again.
He stared at her. His mouth opened, but before he could speak, there was a sharp knock at the door to the sitting room. "Oh, thank the Walls! The doctor!" He let go of her hand, flew to the door. Yanked it open.
It was indeed the doctor, standing with his stethoscope and briefcase in the doorway. Looking ashen faced.
And either side of him, eyes fixed on Historia, were Floch Forster and Zeke Jaeger.
Historia couldn't breath. She felt her eyes roll.
Fight.
Kill the Beast Titan.
How? How could he be here?
Thank fuck for the ingenuity of Marley. That was a phrase Levi never thought he'd hear himself thinking, but there it was.
He found himself gazing vacantly through the window of the Paradis express train, which shuddered along the tracks his Squad had had a hand in building. It had only been up and running for a few months, and yet the banquet to celebrate its completion, where he first admitted the extent of his feelings for Historia and then took her to watch the sunrise over Trost, seemed an entire lifetime ago. The rhythmic click-clack of the wheels on the train track was enough to make his eye want to droop again, but he fought to keep himself alert. The gear he'd pulled from some dead Jaegerist made a clank against the seat as he shifted, and he pulled the hood of the coat Hange had procured for him forward, casting more of his bandaged features into shadow. Good thing his face was so fucked up - at least he was barely recognisable now.
His back ached against the stiff seat, but at least he'd managed to nab one. Despite the effects of the serum, his legs still shook if he tried standing for any length of time. Hange had told him he was being too ambitious going off alone like this, but what the hell was the alternative? She had bigger things to worry about than him right now.
The train was packed; his worst nightmare in the form of lack of personal space, the scent of body odour filling the confined carriage and the stale air punctuated with the sounds of weeping and sniffing. People were desperate to get out of the city that had felt the force of not only an assault from an enemy nation, but also hundreds of titans which had seemed to appear from thin air.
Levi knew better. Fucking Zeke Jaeger and his spiked wine. They were lucky that most had been dispatched by Jaegerist forces before they'd arrived at Shiganshina. But now they'd lost virtually all of the loyal military, brass and all; Paradis really was at the mercy of the Jaegerist rebels. Fuck knew where Eren was at this point, but that was something he'd have to leave in the hands of Hange and the others, for now at least.
He prayed silently that the tracks were still left intact all the way up to Orvud, but he knew that was a tall order. If Eren really had destroyed all of the walls - and from the numbers of colossals they'd seen heading for the sea, that seemed likely - then there was bound to be debris on the tracks. But if he was lucky, he'd be able to make it as far as possible, and then it was just a case of finding a horse from somewhere.
That shouldn't be too much of an issue. Levi was a resourceful man - life in the Underground had once taught him that in desperate times, anything was available for borrowing, if you were wily enough. He just prayed this damn serum was still having an effect. He was going to need steadier legs.
Historia and his child - that girl with the steely eyes and golden hair. They needed to wait for him just a little longer.
"Hang in there, brat. I'm coming."
The words were murmured through pursed lips, his shoulder resting against the rocking sides of the carriage.
A/N: I'm sorry to leave it on such a cliffhanger! As always, any thoughts you have are massively appreciated. Things are set to get pretty dramatic the next few chapters as we've reached the climax of this story. I should leave you all in suspense like a decent writer, but I feel that the manga is putting us through enough shit right now, so I'll be nice and say: don't worry. I'm not about to pull a Yams and go killing anyone ;) SR x
