"System checks are good. Won't be long now," Hange said, grinning at the sight of the men unloading barrels of fuel. The hanger smelled of petrol and ocean.

A voice from the wing of the flying boat called out, "Takeoff sequence starts in an hour!"

Hange turned to the Scouts, who were circled up and gearing up for departure. "You heard 'em. Don't forget to inspect your equipment."

The soldiers replied with a firm, "Yes, Commander."

While busying their hands with tightening straps and sharpening swords, Karma and Jean swept glances to Captain Levi.

Levi lifted a blade with his mangled hand and caught Karma's eye, wrinkled with worry. He tightened his grip. "Relax. Two fingers is all I need."

"Gross." Jean sliced a sharpening stone down the edge of his blade, flicking sparks.

Levi scoffed and returned to his equipment. He hoisted his blade like a rifle and feigned inspecting its length to watch Karma. The worry still hadn't left her eyes.

Dammit, that son of a bitch was right—he was torturing her.

Had he been more tactful, he'd still be at HQ. But he'd been impulsive in his attempt to prevent his nightmare. Or was he only postponing it? He watched Jean shoulder hug Karma and whisper something that smoothed the wrinkles between her brows. The bastard even earned a smile.

Levi hung his head between his knees. This was stupid. He didn't impulsively sprint to the boat because of his damn feelings. He was a soldier—he came to do his duty and stop The Rumbling. Everything else was flowery bullshit that his comatosed brain had bought into.

But now, that was behind him. Levi straightened his legs, abandoning his crutches. He sheathed his blades and made to turn his back to the shoulder hug when the hanger echoed with thunder. Metal pinged like a tin roof in a hail storm.

The bullets seemed to shower in slow motion. Levi's weak legs betrayed him twice—without his permission, they sought Karma. Then, before he could manage a step, they buckled. Levi smacked his chin on the cement and cursed. He cowered under his elbows until the rain stopped, preceded by an abrupt scream.

He lifted his head as though peeking above a war trench. Mikasa was panting. Floch was soaking in his own blood. Hange was beside him, knees dunked in red. And Jean was swallowing his body around Karma.

So horseface beat him to the punch. Whatever. Levi wasn't bothered.

But a fiery coal dropped into his gut when he saw that look he'd seen a thousand times. It was reserved for him—that doe-eyed, lip-parted awe—but it was being directed at Jean.

That bothered him.

"Jean?" Karma lifted her chin. Her body looked delicate in his arms. The sweet honey of her eyes glazed the features of Jean's face like she was desperate to memorize them.

This time, Jean didn't miss his chance. He kissed her. And in the stupor of awe and adrenaline, she kissed him back. She fisted his sleeves. He buried his face into hers. They shared breaths.

The lining of Levi's stomach was blistering. The pain balled up in his throat and threatened to choke him as Jean kissed Karma. As Karma kissed Jean.

I love you, Captain.

These words were meant to ease his passing.

But deny it as he might, these were the words that brought him back.

Hange's sacrifice was not in vain.

They managed to weld the bullet holes and refuel before The Rumbling could reach the hanger. The engine screeched, the propellers whirred, and the boat was riding the clouds enroute to Karifa.

The horror emerged at the pace of a sunrise.

A limp marionette with waterfalls of black hair. A dome-shaped carcass the size of a city. Red giants that spanned the horizon. Billowing dust clouds. Trembling earth. Canyon footprints. Bodies melded together like squished putty.

From the sky, the scene fit in Karma's palms. She crushed them together, imagining that she could save the world with her clasped hands. The wind roared, punching her ear drums, but she managed to catch the signal.

"We're stopping The Rumbling! Now! Jump!"

The Scouts dropped from the flying boat, shooting their hooks and reeling their cables to land on spires of rib. Karma's feet struck bone.

It happened fast.

Walls rose around her, blocking out the sunlight. But these weren't walls of stone and mortar—they were gigantic beasts in varying degrees of horror. A green creature coated in reptilian skin. A humanoid figure with tree trunk arms that extended into long branch-like fingers. A caribou on hind legs the size of a tower. A beast veiled in tendons wielding a trident.

"Those are the Nine Titans from throughout the ages."

But Karma couldn't make sense of Pieck's warning, and there was no time to because the reptilian one was fast. She just managed to dodge its razor claws and retaliate with her swords, but they cracked on the impact, leaving her with silver nubs. Its skin must be as hard as boulders.

She was weaponless—she needed to retreat. But the bone dome trembled beneath her feet and all around her. There was the hiss of steam. It looked like the clouds had sunk to engulf the battlefield.

The last thing she saw was the red face of the Colossal Titan.