Levi didn't understand why Hange wanted them to meet alone in her cabin.

After she'd left with Eren, she didn't show up for the rest of the day. Levi had to deal with the prisoner alone, since Erwin wouldn't help him torture the torturer. The commander preferred to watch, which Levi didn't understand. He shrugged it off, though; he was used to doing this kind of thing alone, back in the underground.

Only now, it was much more personal. As a child, he fought for survival. As a man, he fought for humanity. Now, he fought for justice. The discovery that not only was humanity thriving outside the walls, but doing so at the expense of their lives, made him remember Kenny. He taught him that the world worked through violence. In the end, he was right. But not fully. Not only was he a slave to a goal, but a slave to the depravity and perversion of those who despised him. They wanted the destruction and humiliation of the memory of those he chose to love. Levi couldn't allow that. He had to give every bit of strength he had for them. That was the fair thing to do. That's what he told himself with every finger he chopped off, every scream that came from the Marleyan torturer.

Hange had shown up at his door the next morning, looking distressed, anxious, and like she hadn't had a wink of sleep. She told him briefly to meet in her room that afternoon, but nothing else. She'd then scampered off quickly, maybe to catch whatever sleep she could.

Throughout a disappointing breakfast (Levi missed his tea; he couldn't make himself like coffee), he worried. He worried about Hange, who had been reinvigorated by their work the day before, only to show up at his door looking like deep-fried shit. He worried about Eren, a few seats down from him at the table, who still looked drained and distressed. He worried about what they could've talked about, what could've been so awful. He wished he could speed up time.

Finally, at noon sharp, Levi knocked on Hange's door. He started talking as soon as it opened.

"Tell me, now. What's happening? What's wrong with Eren?"

"Come in…" Hange said weakly. She wore striped pink pajamas. He always thought she was a little immature, but wearing that, and in the middle of the day, was too much even for her. She always found a way to surpass his expectations. With her, you could never know, and he found that incredibly frustrating.

He brushed violently past his childish comrade and turned to her.

"Answer, now."

Hange slowly closed the door and sat on her bed, sluggish with exhaustion. She looked down, her loose, messy hair covering her face, and didn't say a thing. Levi's temper flared; he'd spent the entire day worried about her and Eren. Now, she was just sitting there as anxiety fanned his anger. Erwin had told him to be patient, that they'd have plenty of time to talk about it when they arrived in Al-Waheguru. That was soft talk; Erwin was too loose with Eren for his own good, probably as a way to try to win the brat's trust. Levi knew that was a losing battle; they lost any chance at his forgiveness the second Armin died.

'Or you did, at least,' he thought.

"Well?!" he snarled.

"Erwin is dying…" Hange muttered, voice ragged.

"Why?" Levi asked, unbothered.

Hange looked up at him. She wasn't wearing her eyepatch, but Levi still felt like the damaged eye looked into him as well. "Because Eren is dying too…" Her lip trembled and she dropped her head, as if it were pulled by a great weight.

Levi's stomach dropped and he clenched his fists. "Explain."

Hange sighed in a saddened and disgusted sob. "Eren said each person who has one of the Nine Titans dies 13 years after inheriting the power. It's called the curse of Ymir. There are no exceptions, no cure. He said it's been like that since the beginning of titans themselves.."

"Why didn't he tell us sooner?"

"Because… He didn't want Mikasa to find out. And he's right; Mikasa shouldn't know."

"But…" Levi looked away angrily. His annoyance was brutally replaced by a miserable impotence that inflamed his bitterness and anger. He trusted Hange enough to know that she knew what she was talking about, but he couldn't accept it. "Maybe he's wrong. There wasn't anything about that in Grisha's book. Why would he hide something so important?"

"Because he was Eren's father. I assume he didn't want to risk his family knowing about his fate. And I guess he didn't find the courage to tell his own son that he had condemned him to die."

"It doesn't make sense! Eren has to be lying!" Levi shouted. Hange flinched, a single tear falling from her eye. The fear on her face added guilt to the mix of heated emotions in Levi's heart.

But he had just discovered that he didn't save Erwin, only given him a measly 13 more years. He had sacrificed Armin, a 15-year-old kid, not for Erwin's life, but for 13 years. 13 fucking years. That wasn't enough time to make his sacrifice worth it, not for Armin and not for those who died before him. How many more years would they have lived if they hadn't been sacrificed? How did those numbers stack up against the 13 goddamn years their deaths had bought? Levi didn't need to know the exact number to know it wasn't even close to fair.

'This has to be a cosmic fucking joke.'

He turned around and marched towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Hange asked.

Her words stopped him. "To tell Erwin."

'To make sure he spends every single moment of that time paying what he owes me.'

"And what good would that be!?" Hange screamed.

Levi turned back to her, confused.

"You don't want him to know?"

"We don't need to tell him! Erwin won't stop being bold and hasty no matter how much time he has left! It will be for nothing!"

"Maybe, but he has to know."

Levi didn't wait for her to continue and headed towards the door.

"No!" Hange leapt from the bed and blocked his way, grabbing his shoulder. "I don't want Erwin to know yet!"

Levi frowned and looked up at Hange, annoyed.

"Why? You know Erwin, he can take it. I don't think he plans to live that long and we have to make sure he does. That's why we have to inform him."

"I know! Just… I don't want him to know. Okay? Not yet."

"But why?"

"I don't want him to suffer even more. It's not necessary!"

Levi cocked an eyebrow at her naivety.

"I'm sure he'll start crying like a baby once I tell him," he deadpanned. "Very sad indeed." He thought that maybe he said it too seriously for Hange to notice the sarcasm. She had a hard time detecting it, at least from him. He didn't know who was at fault there.

"Please, do it for me. Maybe it isn't sad for you, but it is for me! And Erwin is more sensitive than you think."

"Yeah, he's known for his sensitivity." He remembered Erwin's confession back in Shiganshina, before before charging at the Beast. He was sure he knew Erwin better than Hange. "Poor soul… You can kiss him better once I tell him. He'll need some consolation for sure."

She ignored his provocations. "Levi, he's way skinnier. Remember when he just disappeared for the year after Shiganshina? We had to wait for him to be ready before we could go outside Wall Maria. When I came to check on him one time, he had a full beard. Erwin had a full beard! He didn't look good at all."

Levi frowned at her; he had heard that she'd fallen in love with the previous commander of the Survey Corps, Keith Shadis. It looked like she was stupid enough to have fallen for Erwin too.

"And what?" he mocked. "Did you help him shave or something? Did you make sure he was well-fed?"

Hange puffed angrily. "You sound jealous."

"Jealous? Fuck off, Hange, and get out of my way."

He tried to side step around her, but she mirrored him, blocking his way. "No. I told you this because I trust you. You will not tell him."

"You should've thought this through more before sharing your little secret with me. Why wouldn't I tell him?"

"Because I know you are a good person, and you care about me."

'That was a cheap shot,' Levi thought, but it stopped him nonetheless. She looked into his eyes intensely, her face very close. He looked at her damaged eye, closed to hide the worst of the wound. Despite himself, he pitied her. He wasn't a good person, that had been a clumsy attempt to manipulate him, but he knew the second part was true. He cared about her.

'Much to my regret.'

"Okay," he grunted.

Hange sighed with relief and hugged him, wrapping her arms tight around his neck and rubbing her cheek into his. "Thank you," she whispered.

Levi froze in her embrace, wondering when she'd become more affectionate than usual. He thought it was just alcohol at the party, but she had been like that for a while, when he thought about it. He had no idea what to do about it; his fondness for her made him feel very vulnerable, and he hated that. He knew that she needed someone to be kinder to her, but he wasn't up to the task. He couldn't hug her back, tell her everything was going to be alright, make her feel better. The best he could do was feel sorry for her.

Levi thought of Eren. He cared about him too. That's why he had to make sure Erwin would fully use the time they had left. It was only just. But Hange was right; their suicidal commander wouldn't be less bold and hasty no matter the time they had left. He could wait a little while; it wasn't necessary to betray Hange's trust.

Levi sighed, annoyed. "How much time has Eren got left?"

Hange didn't immediately answer. She hugged him more tightly.

"Seven years… Maybe a little less… He thinks he ate his father at age 10, but he doesn't remember the month. There are… More problems with him that I didn't tell you about. We'll discuss them with Erwin."

Levi nodded, but said nothing else. Despair petrified his lips as he stayed in her arms in silence. He didn't want to admit it, nor thought he deserved it, but he felt relief and comfort from her warmth. Kenny had told him both could get him killed.


Onyankopon sat at a table on the main deck with his officers, sipping his bittersweet orange juice. It needed much more sugar, as far as he was concerned, but it wasn't enough to ruin the day. The sun warmed him up and a refreshing morning breeze pleasantly cooled him down. He felt comfortable in the captain's uniform. Or, rather, the former captain's uniform.

'He won't need it anymore. Poor asshole.' He was sleeping with the fish in the same seas he had travelled hundreds of times. Surely if he still wore his uniform it would've been a waste of a good suit, even more so than when he was alive. A short, fat, ugly bastard like Captain Stefano didn't deserve to be wrapped in the creations of better men. Onyankopon, however, thought that the dark blue color suited him perfectly. One of the things he liked most about the military was the clothing And as much as he appreciated his new comrades, Marley had much more style.

"Captain Onyankopon," he muttered to himself, delighted.

"What did you say?" asked the old Alemayehu next to him.

"I'm the Captain, grandpa!"

Alemayehu wasn't his real grandfather, but everyone in the volunteers called him grandpa. He was the first and former leader of the black resistance against Marley. He was as wrinkly and dry as an old grape sprinkled in grey hair and twice as sour.

He emitted something between a grunt and a chuckle. "The captain here is that blonde, blue-eyed whitey friend of yours," he leered, voice raspy and harsh. "Another Marleyan."

Onyan sighed heavily while Afuom, his younger brother in arms, smirked silently on his other side. Bekoe, his burly older brother with a large, curly beard, sipped his own juice through a tiny straw without comment.

"He's an Eldian, not a Marleyan," Onyan corrected him, not for the first time.

Alemayehu put a hand to his ear. "What?"

"He's an Eldian!"

Onyan suspected that grandpa pretended to be deaf when he wasn't interested in what he was hearing and to piss people off without facing any consequences. The only reason the Marleyan army didn't discharge him was that even though he was (supposedly) half deaf and consistently rude, he had the sharp eyes of an old, angry bird. His reputation as a sharp shooter had earned him the moniker Black Eagle. He had gained great prestige among the Marleyans after fighting for decades in their wars, so much so that they revered him even though he openly despised all of them. In Marley, a veteran had the right to hate you, and even more if that veteran was a foreigner who fought and won their wars. Even if they were his enemies, Onyan admired them for that respect.

"And what's the difference?" Alemayehu scoffed. "I sure can't tell."

"They're Marley's biggest enemy and, therefore, our greatest ally!" It wasn't the first time he told him either, but Onyan kept responding and explaining. He had to have patience with his elders. He was part of his family after all, just like the rest of his brothers.

Grandpa was against the entire Paradis operation, so much so that when Onyan had told him the plan, he had tried to take his position as leader back. But Onyan had been leader for nearly 10 years at that point and the men all trusted his judgement more than that of a cranky old man, so Grandpa had grudgingly given up and followed along.

"Bah!" He waved away the words dismissively. "Nothing good comes from someone so pale. They're weak, just like their skin. But whatever, if you trust that blonde titan of yours, that's fine. Just be careful with these new ones. I noticed something strange in that commander's eyes."

He always saw something strange in the eyes of Marleyans, or whoever looked like a Marleyan. After the party, Onyan found Erwin much more affable and trustworthy. He was still worried about their overall competency, but they weren't bad people. Maybe he should've invited Alemayehu to the dinner so he could see for himself, but at the time he didn't want to risk them being offended by his comments. It was the last thing he needed.

Onyan caught sight of Yelena on the promenade deck, approaching with Commander Erwin, Eren and their officers in tow. His new comrades took seats around the table, eying grandpa curiously. He squinted back at them resentfully and opened his mouth. Onyan could already hear grandpa's many insults, but surprisingly, he shut his mouth without saying a word. His Eldian comrades looked at him expectantly, waiting for a presentation. He sighed nervously, gave a sip of his juice, and just at that moment realized that there weren't any drinks served for them.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Onyan said, putting down his glass. "Do you want something to drink on this beautiful morning?"

Hange opened her mouth, but Alemayehu interrupted. "Let them move their pink asses for a little without kissing them cheeks so much, for God's sake, Onyankopon. What a fucking disgrace. Our leader is a darn waiter. Things were better with me, for sure, much better. I would've made them serve me after giving these pale motherfuckers this ship I captured. Yes, I would've." He gazed fiercely at each one of the Eldians. "Now let's talk about the mission and you better hope you convince me, because just as I took this little riverboat from those Marleyan faggots, I can retake it from a bunch of blonde Eldian monkeys."

The breeze stopped as if the air was tense enough to be cut. Everyone stayed silent and looked at grandpa, shocked. Levi seemed the most outraged and Hange's mouth hung open. Onyan felt the acidity of the orange juice crawling from his stomach up his oesophagus. He was suddenly sweltering and drops of sweat ran down his forehead.

Yelena laughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Oh, I fucking love you, grandpa!" she cried.

"If I were your grandpa you wouldn't be a titan, or at least you'd be a black titan. That would be worth seeing. I saw many titans, each one uglier than the last. But if one was black, it would be different for sure. Yes, it would."

Onyan followed Yelena's laugh nervously amid his nausea. "My dear comrades…" He coughed. "I have the… the pleasure of presenting to you the first and former leader of the black resistance against our oppressor Marley, Alemayehu. Others call him the Black Eagle, but we call him grandpa. You'll… get to know him."

"I see," Erwin said and looked at grandpa. "It's a pleasure, Mr. Alemayehu."

"Not for me. Now explain who the fuck these teenagers are and why they're sitting at an officer's table." He pointed at Eren, Jean and Connie. "I doubt they have hair on their balls yet." He looked at Historia. "And a child too?" He turned to Hange, Sasha, and Mikasa with disgust. "And tell me, what kind of army has women in their ranks? Unless they're whores, I don't get it. But these wouldn't even be good as whores. A whore with an eye patch, that would be new."

'I'm going to throw the fuck up.'

"But grandpa, I'm a woman in the army and I'm not a whore," Yelena pointed out lightly.

"No, but you're a titan, that's why the Marleyans let you in."

"Look, you old fart," Levi said with restrained anger. Alemayehu looked at him impassively. "I assume you're senile, so I'll forget what you just said. But I've had a tough week… and if I hear you spewing more shit out of your mouth, I'll b-"

"What!?" Alemayehu interrupted with his hand behind his ear, making Levi shut up, red with rage.

"Mr. Alemayehu, forgive my captain," Erwin said diplomatically. Levi glared at him. "These young fellows are Commander Eren Jaeger, Colonel Jean Kirstein, and Major Connie Springer. Our country has only modest resources and a small population, so we have to rely on the youngest. That's also why we allow women like Brigadier General Hange Zoe, Lieutenant Colonel Sasha Blouse, and Captain Mikasa Ackerman, to be part of our ranks. But I can assure you: they have all proven their worth in battle. They defeated Marley's Warriors, and I personally inherited the Colossal Titan from one of the invaders thanks to their prowess."

Alemayehu's eyes opened widely with awe. "The Colossal…?" His jaw dropped and he trembled. Onyan took the opportunity to speak up.

"Grandpa, he is the commander Erwin Smith I told you about, the captain is Levi, and the child…"

"I'm Historia Reiss, Queen of the Walls. And I'm not a child," she said, mildly enraged.

Onyan was about to apologize, but Levi spoke up. "So you're the queen now then?"

"Yes, but I'm a scout too," she said seriously. Levi rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Now, with your permission Mr. Alemayehu," Erwin cut in, "we'll talk about the mission."

Grandpa didn't respond, he just looked at him wearing a terrified expression. If Onyan knew that he would've been more respectful by knowing about the Paradisians' success and power, he would've told him beforehand.

His young brother cleared his throat and spoke. "Before apologizing for my grandpa's manners, first I would like to present myself. My name is Afuom, Major Afuom, at your service, commander." He put his open palm to his chest and nodded reverently.

"You have nothing to apologize for, much less you, the second in command of your unit. You're all free to express yourselves openly without restraint."

"Then, I would lie if I told you I don't share the same concerns as my dear grandpa. Of course, I wouldn't have expressed it that way, and even if I don't have to apologize, I'm sorry for his... unfortunate choice of words."

Erwin looked at Onyan intrigued and confused, but he stayed silent, letting Afuom speak for him. He was only 24, but his slim face was weathered by time and struggle. His sharp inquisitive brown eyes fixed firmly on the commander, yet without defiance. Youthful arrogance drew in between the thin lips of his smirk.

"We've captured this ship with the help of our Eldian allies only to meet you," Afuom continued. "We risked men and resources in the name of expectations that... frankly, haven't been met."

"You mean you're disappointed in us?" Hange challenged, glaring. Afuom put up an appeasing hand.

"I don't doubt your capabilities. As the commander said, you defeated the strongest unit in Marley's army, and not only that, you took its most powerful weapon. But, Marley never won its wars with just titans. We've seen your ranks and… we can understand admitting boys, but women and girls... It's just madness."

"Mikasa is the most qualified in the Corps," objected Jean. "She could beat any man's ass without trouble."

Afuom examined Mikasa, who looked back at him coldly. "As I said, I don't doubt your capabilities," he assured Jean. "There are exceptions, but I don't think most women are like your friend. Much less the girls under your command, who I assume are barely 15, and half her size. As men, our instinct is to protect our women, and many would sacrifice themselves in battle to do so." Jean looked away, as if he agreed, but didn't want to admit it. "We don't need the brave ones, who are scarce, to sacrifice themselves so recklessly for the weaker soldiers. We need them to lead, so everyone operates as a cohesive unit. Men and women are too different to do that. Grandpa has fought and seen many armies. I'm sure he never saw one like this."

Alemayehu didn't add anything, still too scared to meet their eyes. Erwin frowned at Afuom.

"Nearly 30% of our troops are female, and our conscription is voluntary," he retorted. "We don't have the privilege of dismissing anyone because of their sex."

Bekoe cleared his throat, drawing the table's attention. "My name is Captain Bekoe, at your service, commander. I ask for permission to voice some concerns of my own." Erwin nodded his approval. "We don't need many soldiers for this mission, which I would like to remind you is a diplomatic one. Why in God's name have you decided to mass deploy three thousand boys and girls, with barely any sub-officers and officers to lead them, in a foreign country we intend to ally with? Don't you see this could be considered hostile?"

"I need them," Erwin insisted.

"For what?"

Erwin looked at him in silence for a couple of seconds.

"To learn."

Bekoe glared at him, unsatisfied with his response.

"Brothers," Onyankopon spoke softly, calling their attention. "We have to trust in our new commander. He admits he needs to learn, and we'll teach him in due course." He looked at Erwin. "I suggest that the deployment of your soldiers is done in small waves along the coast, only after we first create a command post in a safe house. Before that, I recommend a further subdivision of your troops. My officers and sub-officers can merge with the new units to ensure the chain of command. I trust Yelena's group to do the same."

"Seems good to me," she smiled.

Erwin thought for a couple of seconds. He looked down at Eren, sitting at his side. The boy looked very sick, probably due to his unfamiliarity with the open sea.

"What do you think, Eren?"

He gulped and nodded weakly.

"Then if he approves, so do I."

"Excellent!" Onyan said. "Troop deployment is the easy part. You know, Yelena and I thought about your disguises and… Oh, breakfast is coming."

The waiters served everyone a cup of coffee, along with several toasts of smoked salmon with pureed tomato and olive oil.

"Where's my whiskey?" Onyan asked, mildly annoyed, but he lit up once he spotted the cook approaching with an entire bottle. "Oooh! You already know how I like my coffee, Niccolo."

The young head chef nodded, smiling, and poured a shot into his cup.

"C'mon, don't be shy. My stomach is upset, I need medicine." The cook poured another shot. "Good. Now give me the bottle." Onyan grabbed it and left it on the table near him. Having the bottle nearby made him happy, gave him confidence. "Comrades! This is Niccolo, the best chef in Marley, and probably in the whole world."

Niccolo blushed and smiled nervously. "You say that every time I bring you booze..." He was a tall good looking guy, yet he was timid as a schoolgirl. His curly blonde hair made him look even younger than he was.

"No no no, it's true. Sasha," he called her, which made her jump. "Tell him how great the feast he prepared was. Maybe he'll believe you more than me."

"I-it was very tasty, sir," she said weakly.

"Sir!?" Onyan cried. "That's a first, Nico. If you are a sir, I'm fucking Helos!" He slapped Niccolo on the back as he, his brothers, and Yelena burst into laughter. The rest didn't seem to understand it.

"Please don't use his name like that…" Niccolo pleaded nervously.

"C'mon, Niconi, you should join us," Yelena jeered. "We still don't know if they're going to let you live. It could be your last laugh."

Niccolo blanched and looked away pitifully. Levi frowned, confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Onyan took a huge swig of coffee in preparation. He would've drunk straight from the bottle, but that would've been poor manners.

"This young lad is a Marleyan," he confessed bluntly.

A couple of seconds of silence were what they needed to process his revelation. Levi glared at Niccolo and even Hange looked unexpectedly livid, but most of the Paradisian officers showed more curiosity than anger.

"Why weren't we told sooner?" Erwin asked.

Onyan downed the rest of his coffee. "We were protecting him," he sighed. Erwin raised an eyebrow, expecting a further explanation. "Just look at him… he's just a cook. A good one. If you want to kill him, well, that's your call, but I don't think it's necessary."

"I…" Niccolo stuttered nervously, calling everyone's attention. "I don't agree with what Marley does to Eldians! I never did… I… I just wanted a job and they paid well… This ship was used for tourists! They… they forced me!"

"No, they didn't," Onyan rebuked. "Yes, this ship was used for tourists, and you could've rejected the offer to stay, but you didn't. You wanted to keep your job even if it meant feeding those bastards."

"I fed you too! I gave you whiskey every time you asked! You worked for them too!"

"I infiltrated and held my position till I was able to deliver a good blow. It isn't the same. But I recommend you don't throw shit at the only one who's defending you. Yelena wouldn't mind if they threw you overboard."

"No I wouldn't," she agreed. "It would be pretty funny. You're a good cook, but the only good Marleyan is a dead one."

"Please!" Niccolo cried. "I… I'm sorry!"

Yelena looked at him coldly, but Onyan didn't find pleasure in his suffering, much less in his death. He sighed.

"Look…" he called the Paradisians' attention. "Before you decide what you do with him, I want to tell you about my plan for your disguises. Grandpa is right, it's hard to tell the difference between a Marleyan and an Eldian. Just take a look at Nico: tall, blonde, pale, light-eyed… Did you know that Marley makes random blood tests on its population, trying to hunt any hidden Eldian to then throw them in ghettos? Sometimes they find even high-ranking officers in the army. Maybe Niccolo is one of yours and even he doesn't know. He could help you blend in."

"Blend into what?" Hange spat. "You can't be implying that…"

"That you disguise yourselves as Marleyans, yes."