Levi had instructed Mikasa and the others to head to the meeting point in the woods, where they would stop the Military Police carriage in charge of relaying the Reeves'. He was supposed to join them and wait for Hange at the cabin, to interrogate the Police lieutenants about the Titan inside the walls and the Royal Family. However, he first had to pay a visit to an old friend.
He wore one of the capes they had used to supervise the switch between Eren and Historia with Jean and Armin. It was not his cape, however, as that one was probably lying on some rooftop over the merchant district, covered in Nifa's blood.
It was dark, but not fully nightfall yet. He swiftly moved through the alleys until he reached Wall Sheena. He had brought his ODM gear to avoid passing through the gate's checkpoints. Thankfully, as Sheena was the most interior Wall, there would be no Garrison Corps patrolling the top part at that time of the day.
He knew her address. Or at least, he knew the return address of the letters sent to him after she left the Underground, which was almost eight years back. Letters to which Levi never replied. It was optimistic of him to think that she would still be living in the same place after such a long time, and this idea made him wonder whether this was the right moment and place for their reunion. This little visit was dangerous, not only to him, but also to the entire operation. Still, he was tired of not having any answers, about the Titans, the Walls, and even Kenny.
It was not like meeting her would ensure that his questions would be answered, but it was a starting point. Besides, if the Military Police had ordered her to design such novel gear, maybe a distinguished member of the Survey Corps like him could justify the visit as a request for the Chief of Engineering to do the same for his division.
He arrived at the Ehrmich District and hid his ODM gear under a sewer in an alley. He was disgusted to put it in such a filthy place, but there was little he could do about it.
Once he was at the property, he gently knocked on the door. He waited, but it seemed like no one would answer. He felt slightly relieved, as that would mean that even if this had been a bad idea, he could still turn back and continue with the operation. However, the door finally opened, to reveal an old man dressed in a suit.
"I'm here to see Sophie Lhant," said Levi. He realized that a sketchy man with a worn-out cape, knocking on a respected lady's door at night probably didn't inspire a lot of trust in the butler.
"Sir, it is quite late. I doubt the lady will be disposed."
"I'm just an old friend. The name is Farlan Church." He hissed a bit too much at the word friend. The man closed the door, and Levi was left to wait again. He was starting to feel anxious, but he reminded himself that no matter how ugly things got, he never ran away. Not in the Underground, and not then.
The door opened again. The butler led him to the staircase and pointed at the closed room where Sophie presumably was. He walked towards it and took a deep breath before knocking. There was no response, so he took the liberty of opening and entering the room.
As he lurked in, he saw through the corner of his eye how someone was waiting for him next to the entrance, with a knife in hand. He swiftly moved aside, avoiding the impact from the weapon. The attacker left a gasp of surprise, moving away before turning towards him.
It was Sophie.
Her dark brown eyes were still as intense as always, only now there were accentuated by some light makeup, in addition to lipstick. She had grown taller, and her body was fuller than during her days in the Underground. She was wearing a ruffled, white off-shoulder shirt, with a black corset as a bodice and a long, deep blue skirt that shined in the candlelight. Meanwhile, he was still in his duty clothes, with the straps of the ODM gear wrapping his legs and torso.
"Still fighting anyone that comes near you, Sophie?"
"Levi!" she shouted. She moved slightly forward with eagerness, only to realize that he wasn't in the same welcoming mood as she was. "I'm sorry, I knew it couldn't be Farlan...and I definitely wasn't expecting you," she said with a malicious tone.
Levi didn't reply. Instead, he wandered around the room, lit up by some candle lamps on the tables and shelves.
"This is quite an upgrade from your basement, that's for sure."
Sophie scoffed at the comment.
"Would you like some tea?"
"I'm not here for chit chat," he replied bluntly.
"I asked would you like some tea, not why are you here."
Levi rolled his eyes and shook his hand to signal her to serve him a drink. She went towards one of the shelves next to the fireplace and took out two cups before starting to prepare the brew. In the meantime, he observed the large papers lying on her workspace and flipped through them. They were confidential, yet she did not stop him from peeking. How could she still act so friendly, as if it were just a regular reunion?
Levi sat on one of the chairs next to the dining table, as Sophie served the tea. Despite her association with Kenny, he did, however, envy her beautiful ceramic cups. Becoming one of the top engineers in the kingdom had its advantages after all.
Despite the tea being served, they stared at each other in silence. It wasn't like he didn't have anything to say, instead, he was analyzing her. Physically, she was still Sophie, but there was something in her gaze that had changed. Those weren't the gullible, lonely eyes of an Underground girl; now they were patient and defiant. She wasn't afraid, nor careless anymore. The way she had confidently moved through the room, how carefully she had set up the tea for the man who left her behind for years… That's when he realized that she could've killed him when he entered the room. But she had decided not to. He knew Sophie was in control now, and she wasn't going to talk until he did it first. It was her game now, but if they were going to play, it would be by his rules.
"Should I expect Kenny to join us as well?"
Sophie smirked, "All these years, and you come back to me now that you are cornered? So much for Humanity's strongest soldier." She grabbed her cup and took a sip of the tea, with the delicacy of someone who had grown up with a silver spoon in their mouth, and not the dust of the Underground.
"I guess we are both disappointed with each other, then. For someone who swore revenge and to fight anyone in her way, you surely enjoy the comfort of the upper class."
"Well, we both know what is on the other side. Or below, actually." Her blunt comments were not crude anymore, instead, they were like a sleight of hand.
"I thought you didn't want to live above."
"I thought you didn't run away. Or abandon your friends."
"And I don't. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here." She seemed perplexed at his remark. She had probably assumed that he hated her, hence why he had never replied to the letters. However, Kenny would soon be defeated—he would make sure of that—and the Survey Corps would rise again. He wanted her to respond to her actions, but he also wanted to see her before the Government shattered. "Whose side are you on, Sophie?"
"Does it truly matter to you? Or are you just angry that I helped the Military Police instead of the Survey Corps?"
Levi didn't reply. Of course, she wouldn't let go of the information so easily, but he had an ace up his sleeve. If he couldn't make Chief Lhant talk, then he would address the girl from the Underground. And for that, they both needed to look back into their past.
"I know it was you. You told Erwin about how we were using the ODM gear in the Underground. That's why he came after our gang, even though he already knew about the complot against him." She opened her eyes and left the teacup back on the table. Her composure slowly started to tense up, and Levi could hear her breathing more heavily. "Because of that, me, Farlan, and another girl, Isabel, had to go outside the walls. Only I made it out alive. You may think of me as a coward, but at least I try to protect the people who take care of me."
Her gaze softened and she looked down before addressing Levi, "Is that why you never replied to my letters?"
"Is that the only thing that matters to you? You don't care about all the people dying? You only care about the damn letters?!" shouted Levi. Sophie clenched her jaw in response, recovering her dauntlessness.
"So, you would've preferred to stay in the Underground? Is that what you mean?"
"No."
"Then what do you want from me?! I know I made a mistake, not everyone is as strong and astounding as you are, Captain Levi," she said, clenching her teeth in anger as she named him. "When I arrived at the surface, I was alone, working day and night so they wouldn't send me back to that hellhole. I just wanted all of us to be together again. Even after what happened, you never came to see me, you never replied to my letters.
"I needed something to keep me going, so I did what I was asked, without question. I was the good girl, and that turned me into the best engineer this kingdom has ever seen. It didn't matter if I was working for the King, Kenny, or even the Titans themselves. I didn't care if I was breaking my mom's promise because I just needed someone to tell me that I was doing the right thing, even if it was a lie. Because our friends' deaths will hang over me forever."
He held his breath for a second. Not because she had revealed to him something he did not expect, but because he knew exactly how she felt. He had also joined the Survey Corps to have something to fight for, thinking that it was the right thing to do, only to have recently learned that all the Titans he had killed had once been human.
"I've made mistakes too, and if this is about guilt, then I am as guilty of their deaths as you are. But I vowed to not regret my choices, instead, I followed Erwin in his conviction that humanity would be free one day. The same way you kept working on the gear after your father died, I kept fighting for freedom so that their deaths would not be in vain." Sophie's expression softened, and Levi bent over slightly to get closer to her. "You can still do the right thing here."
They fixed their gaze on each other once again. He finally saw the eyes of little Sophie shining through the ones of Chief Lhant.
"I don't know where Kenny is. I just designed the gear," she admitted as she looked down. "If it is any consolation, I didn't know it was for him until he came in for the testing. Putting a bullet between his eyes in front of Commander Nile didn't seem appropriate at the time."
Levi snorted. At least, she still despised Kenny as much as before; she just had more self-control.
"Do you have any equipment we can use against him?" he asked.
"Hm. I have some protective pieces that were used to test the bullets' damage. They are not infallible, but it is better than nothing. I can also set up some smoke bombs from some spare material, that should help you escape if things get ugly." She paused and frowned. "Levi…what is going on? If Kenny is working with the Police, then it must be something big."
"I can't tell you much right now, but I need you to get all those things and send them to our location as soon as possible." She didn't seem convinced by his request, which made Levi clarify, "You have to trust me, Sophie."
She pondered at his words before asking, "You are going to kill him, right?"
Levi didn't hesitate to reply, "Yes."
"Then that is everything I need," said Sophie as she stood up. Levi followed and disclosed to her the cabin meeting point to where the others were headed, so she could deliver the cargo. Once all the details were arranged, Sophie accompanied him to the door. As he was about to turn the handle, she suddenly but gently grabbed his arm with one hand. He froze and looked at her in what seemed like ages, while his heartbeat started to race.
"If you didn't blame me for what happened, then why didn't you reply to my letters?" she asked, with a softer voice.
"Because in every letter you asked me to come back alive from the missions." He paused, getting closer to her despite his nervousness. "I didn't want to make you a promise I couldn't keep. I would never hurt you like that. I thought you would be better off without waiting for a dead man."
She didn't say anything, and remained staring at him. Levi was confused on what to do, on why she had held onto those letters for so long rather than moving on, even at that moment. She let go of his arm, softly caressing it.
"Even if you don't promise me that you'll be safe, I'll still wait for you," she whispered.
Levi didn't try to convince her otherwise. He wasn't planning on losing against Kenny, but he also didn't want to lie to her. And so, he opened the door and left.