"I can't believe it! You're finally here!"

Hange jumped off the bench that she was sitting on and approached her friend right away. Nathalie couldn't believe it, and at the same time it all looked so damn familiar. The bright lights powered by a generator that fed them with electricity, and could turn the night into day. The room was large and white. All kinds of utensils were spread on the counters. And then the microscopes. There were almost five of them. They used electricity as well.

"The crew just left. They've been trying all day to see how the lights work. They even broke one down one trying to figure it out," She sighed. "To no avail whatsoever. It's been a mess," Hange said. "Hey, Nat, you said those Interior MPs hit you on purpose so that you'd lose your child, right?" She asked.

Nathalie sighed heavily. "Yeah,"

"Have you never wondered how they knew you were pregnant?" Hange asked and at that Nathalie's eyes widened. Hange was right. How did they know? "I'm willing to bet they ran advanced blood tests down here," She was right. With all those tools and all that machinery, it was possible.

Moblit came in from another room. He was carrying a bunch of fat, heavy books in his hands. "Brought these from the library. I didn't get to check all of it, but it's all in a language I've never seen before," Moblit said as he placed the books on the counter between Hange and Nathalie. He opened one with a leather black wrapping and he pointed at the letters. "You guys don't recognise that language, do you?" He asked, turning at the two women.

Hange leaned closer, trying to make out a word, but the alphabet was an entirely different one. "I've no idea-"

"It speaks about electric engineering," Nathalie said as she took the book from Moblit's hands and started reading it.

"What?!" Moblit cried out. "You mean we actually have books that can explain how the lights work?!"

"You mean you actually understand this language?!" Hange cried out again and she approached her friend. "Is that a Burgess Family thing again?!"

Nathalie shrugged. "I suppose. No one ever taught me how to read and write. I just knew. I bet it's the same with this language as well," Nathalie guessed.

Hange groaned. "Aw man, this is so unfair," She turned at Moblit. "Mobby! Grab a pack of as many blank papers as you can find," She turned at Nathalie. "You translate, I write,"

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It took all night, and the entire next day. Premier Zackly's orders were clear. Get this knowledge to the Universities. And so, the Universities were going to teach that knowledge to the very first generation of Eldian electrical engineers. Once they were done, Moblit and Hange set off right away to get the book for publishing. The crew of the engineers decided to sit back for now and wait for their own copies, and then try to figure out how electricity works.

It was incredible really. Nathalie translated fast, and Hange typed faster. It was afternoon when Nathalie was left alone in the lab, finally at peace to work on her research. That pile of books that Moblit had brought were still resting on the counter and Nathalie tried her best to keep herself from grabbing another one and start reading. They had agreed they translate the entire library after the mission in Shiganshina. Of course, there was the possibility that Erwin wouldn't let her come, since she was the only one who knew the language and she was the only one who could translate.

But there was no way Nathalie was going to allow herself to miss that. It was in two months from now, but for now, she just had to figure out how to turn titans back into humans. With all that new machinery all around her, she was sure she could do that. She recognised all those tools and all those devices. She recognised them as if she had seen them and used them before. She was sure her father had seen them before. She was sure he had used them.

She went straight for the microscope and she prepared a sample of Eren's TSF. She placed it beneath the lenses of the microscope and she started staring and magnifying. Her hands moved and used the microscope as if he had used it before several of times. She could do this. She could figure this out. She knew it.

And then she found it. Three proteins. It was only one that she could see through her primitive microscope and that could turn a titan back into a human. But there were two others and she was willing to bet, that they could make a human inherit the Founding and the Attack titan. One protein for each. If she could isolate those proteins, and collect only the one that can turn a titan back to a human, then she could make a serum and save Connie's mom.

Nathalie gasped as she pulled back from the microscope. Her eyes widened. Her attention fell on a device that rested nearby. She had no idea what it was called, but that very device was the one that was going to help her do it. She just knew it.

"Electrophoresis separates proteins according to their molecular size…"

And there was indeed a difference between the molecular size of the three different proteins in the liquid. But Nathalie winced. The headache returned and she suddenly felt like coughing. She instinctively pulled out her handkerchief and she started coughing harshly against it. Once she was done, a stinging pain had started to spread beneath her chest. Nathalie pulled away the handkerchief and she tried stuffing it back in her pocket, but something caught her attention.

Blood. She had coughed out blood and tissue. Perfect. Terrific. She thought bitterly. That would explain the iron taste of blood on her tongue. She gathered her bloodstained handkerchief in a fist and she gritted her teeth. No… her nose stung and tears gathered in her eyes. No, no, no, no, no… That wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to be able to control when she would remember things and when she wouldn't. She was supposed to be able to control it.

But what if she couldn't control it. What then? Would it all just come back to her? If all that information just kept coming to her, she was going to die in less than six years. Oh God… She was dying. And she was dying fast. Her fingers were shaking, but she clenched them into fists to stop the shaky movement. No.

Nathalie wasn't going to let death get in the way of her research. She wasn't going to allow it to get between her and Levi. She was going to figure this out. She was going to stop both her disease, and people from turning into titans. She was going to stop it all. She could figure this out. She could figure it all out. She didn't have a choice. She had given a promise to Connie. She wanted that kid to start smiling again. She wanted to bring him his mom back. No matter how hard she tried, and no matter how much it hurt, Nathalie knew she could never replace the role of a mother to him.

She blinked her tears away and she pressed her hands on the counter. Nathalie stood back on her trembling feet. She almost crashed on the floor, but she propped herself tightly on the counter. She barely managed to make her way towards the other counter where that device was resting. Nathalie tried her best to ignore the pain in her chest. The dizziness. The weakness. The headache. Her hands were trembling and she needed a steady hand to do this.

"Dammit," She cursed beneath her breath. One hand reached for the other. She grabbed the wrist of her right hand, easing the shaky movement as much as she could. She wasn't going to let any of these get in her way. She was going to figure this out. She had to.

If she injected Connie's mom with the serum that she was about to make, she was going to turn back into a human, and she would never be able to turn into a titan ever again. If she could make huge amounts of that serum and she injected every single Eldian with it, no one would be able to turn into a titan ever again, and the existence of the titans would cease.

But… Levi… my kids… Hange… no… She shut her eyes, pushing the tears down her cheeks. She didn't want to leave him. She didn't want to leave any of them. Dammit. Historia's eyes as they shined with tears. An image that returned to Nathalie's mind and she immediately stopped what she was doing. What was she going to do? She couldn't die. She couldn't. Life is a bitch. But what if she could bring them all a better future? One without titans. One without enemies. One with peace. She gritted her teeth, and she turned her attention to what she was doing.

If her life was the cost for that, then so be it.

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Tomorrow night. She had said. And there he was, twenty-four hours later, riding on his horse, on his way to the Capital Mitras. Levi never thought the absence of her body clinging on his own was enough to keep him awake the other night. Not to mention the thought of her doing that one thing that he asked her not to. That one thing that was going to threaten her life.

Levi kept telling himself to trust her. He kept reminding herself that Nathalie was alright, and that she had Hange and Moblit with her at all times, and that they were going to take care of her. They were not going to let her risk her life and recover anymore of that lethal knowledge.

And the next day, he dealt with all the paperwork that he had left. He finished piles of papers in only just a few hours and he had nothing else to do for the day. He decided to resume training his brats and he remembered everybody groaning when they found out that Captain Levi was the one to train them this time. He made sure they were incredibly exhausted by afternoon.

And when dusk finally arrived, and night started to fall, Levi set off for the Capital right away. He needed to see her. He needed to see if she was okay. He had to bring her back home, and she had to rest. She had been working all those hours tirelessly. He knew her well enough. He was sure she wouldn't even take a single break.

Levi let his horse in the stables of the Royal Palace, and he rushed in the catacombs right away. He had been navigated through the endless corridors and rooms beneath. He was certain she would be in the largest of them all. The big lab at the centre.

The lights burned bright even though it was night outside and even if it wasn't, it was still deep beneath ground-level and there was no way the light of day could reach it. It was odd to see how bright it all was, with no torches, no candles, no lamps, but he got used to it faster than he expected to.

And there she was. She had passed out by the counter. She was sitting on a bench, her hands both rested on the counter, and her cheek pressed on top of her forearm. Eyes closed. Her glasses, smashed between her face and her hand. Soft breaths escaped her nose. A syringe rested nearby with a purple liquid within. He recognised her messy handwriting on her notebook that her one hand rested on top.

But she was holding something in her hand. His fingers loosened her hold around whatever it was that she was holding and he realised it was her handkerchief. Levi gently pulled it out of her fist and then he saw the blood. His eyes widened. His fingers fisted around the soft, white, bloodstained fabric. Levi bit his tongue. He knew right away what had happened. She had tried it again, hadn't she? He knew he shouldn't have left her. It was too late in the night it made sense that Hange and Moblit would have retreated for the day, but there she was, his Nathalie, overworking, and killing herself.

He stuffed her handkerchief in his pocket and then his arms reached around her to pick her up. Nathalie snapped out of her sleep right away. She turned and looked at him with tired eyes. He pushed her glasses off and he let them hung from their rope around her neck.

"N- No! L- Levi, I have to get back to-"

"This is enough for today," Levi said sternly. Oh, he was never letting her come back down there. "I'm taking you home," He said as he watched her whilst she tossed that syringe in her bag and her notebook as well. "You need rest,"

"No! We need to go to Ragako… Connie's mom, I- I figured how to turn her back into a human," Nathalie said. Her voice hoarse from all that coughing. Her throat burned. She wanted to cough again. Her hands reached for her pockets searching for her handkerchief. She panicked when she couldn't find it. "M- My handkerchief! W- Where-"

"Here," Levi offered her his own, and she caught it right away. "I'll wash yours tomorrow when I-" He stopped talking when he heard her cough. She coughed hard. Her body folded. Her eyes almost watered. He couldn't take it. Every single cough felt like a merciless knife stabbing his heart. Levi sat beside her on the bench. His arms slipped around her and she buried her face in his neck when she was done. She looked exhausted. She clutched onto him although she didn't have much strength. She shut her eyes and she tried to ignore the headache.

"Please…" she was breathless. "…don't scold me, Levi. I'm- …I'm so tired," Nathalie mumbled against his shirt and her voice broke his heart.

Levi's arms tightened around her slightly. He pressed his cheek on top of her hair and he shut his eyes. He wasn't going to scold her. Not in the state that she was in right now. Her hands were cold. Her body, trembling. He had barely paid any attention on the fact that she had figured it out. She had figured how to turn titans back into humans. That was massive. But at what cost?

Levi swallowed that bitter feeling down his throat, and his hands slipped beneath her. He picked her limp body up in his arms and he started carrying her out of there. Nathalie did not resist. She didn't have the energy to resist. She was exhausted. She was in pain. Her head rolled back on his hand tiredly and she allowed him to carry her back to the surface. It was night outside. The cold night air brushed over her body and she shivered. She grasped the black fabric of his jacket and she buried her face in his white shirt, seeking for warmth.

She was cold. Her body was trembling but she her skin wasn't warm to the touch to say that she was having a fever. He settled her body in front of him on his horse, and he took off his black jacket, passing it around her shoulders. She snuggled into it. Instant relief washed over her from the already warm jacket around her.

Just staring down at her, his heart ached. He pressed his lips on her forehead, searching for temperature. No, she was cold. She was freezing. It frightened him. He just had to get her to bed. He just had to tuck her beneath their warm blankets and she was going to be okay. At least, that's what he told himself.

"You need rest," He whispered against her forehead. "We'll go to Ragako tomorrow morning,"

One hand slipped around her, tightly, making sure his jacket remained around her shoulders, and the other caught the reins. She didn't respond with words. Nathalie hummed and nodded and she let her head roll back on his shoulder. Her eyes remained closed. Her nose tickled his neck as she nuzzled there in the entirety of their long ride. He hurried though. He had to get her to bed. Fast.

Their brats were sleeping by the time they arrived to the Special Ops HQ. He carried her upstairs and then, he pushed the door of their room open with his back. He placed her gently down on her side of the bed. He took off her bag and her short boots. His hand found her face and she finally opened her eyes to look up at him.

"I'll get you your gown," Levi pulled his hand away and he returned with her white gown in his hands only a few seconds later. Nathalie sat by the edge of the bed. "You need to lie back down," Levi said. His hand found her shoulder, ready to push her back down. "I'll undress you. Don't worry-"

"It's alright, my love," Nathalie said sweetly and she looked up at him with tired eyes.

The veins bled behind the whiteness of her eyes and he could even see it in the dark. But she smiled at him, and she looked at him lovingly, in a way that no one would ever look at him but her. He was taking such good care of her. But he was worried. He was sad. He was angry. He wanted to scold her, and she knew it, and he'd be right if he did. But he was keeping it all in, because right now she needed him. She needed him to take care of her, because she was putting her life at risk. Because his wife was dying.

I'll stand by you in sickness and in health.

Nathalie gritted her teeth and looked away from him. A pointless effort to keep the tears back. "You don't deserve this-"

"Shut up," Levi cut her harshly, even though his voice too slightly cracked, and she was the only one who would ever hear it. He sat beside her and he picked her up, settling her against him. Now she was sitting on his lap. His arms were around her waist. Her knees, planted in each side of his waist on the soft mattress of their bed. He cupped her face. He pressed his forehead against her own. "I can't lose you…" He gritted his teeth. "…why can't you understand that?"

A tear slipped down her cheek. She hadn't done this on purpose. She wasn't trying to get herself killed. She couldn't control it. But what was she supposed to tell him? Should she let him know? Should she drive him to despair just a little more? No. She wasn't going to tell him. He didn't have to know. She just shook her head and she cupped his cheek.

"I'm so sorry-"

"Stop apologising and give me an honest answer!" Levi growled.

His fingers clenched into her hair almost painfully and Nathalie winced. His other arm tightened around her. Fingers dug painfully in the flesh of her waist, even above her white shirt. His anger was finally beginning to come out. He was finally letting it out, showing it to her, hoping that it would scare her enough to make her stop putting her life at risk like this. Alas, he didn't know. She'd let him blame her. It'd be far better than letting him blame himself.

Levi buried his face in her neck and he breathed shakily against her skin, filling his nostrils with her scent. His eyes shut trying his best to keep the tears back. "Do I have to lock you up in here? Do I have to tie you on a leash like a dog so that I can keep you safe?" He pulled back only to look at her. "What do I have to do? Tell me," He was desperate, and she would never blame him for those desperate words. Those desperate pleas. "Please, tell me, Nat. I can't stand back and watch you die. What can I do to stop you? Anything. I'll do anything,"

Nathalie cupped his face with both hands. His fingers finally loosened their hold from around her hair and she leaned closer. The tip of her nose met his own. Her beautiful, shiny blue eyes rested upon his own. His gaze, full of despair. Her own, full of sorrow. And she just told him what he wanted to hear, and what she wanted him to do. "Love me… Hold me… That's all I ask of you,"

He caught her lips in his own. His tongue slipped in her mouth and he tasted remnants of her blood on her tongue. And then he knew. He was losing her.

He was losing her.