A/N: Thank you for keeping up with this story! I am sorry I missed the last couple of Wednesdays as it has been pretty hectic for me. I will unfortunately be unable to continue with weekly updates for the time being as I am trying to find more time to write this. So I apologize for that. I get more inspiration when I hear from you all, so please let me know your thoughts, predictions, and hopes for the story and I hope to get the creative juices flowing with this one again! As always, I appreciate your support! :)
Chapter 43
Turning her direction from the stage and towards the Scouts, Willow shoots her head up to the sky, noticing that they are all coming in from the same direction, and that is where she will strike. They had to have brought in replenishments of their supplies, so if she takes those out, as well as any Scouts guarding it, she will cripple their forces against them. They can only carry 2 thunder spears per Scout that will do any damage to Reiner's Armored, so if she can at least get those supplies depleted, he can finish the rest; wherever he is.
She feels a panic in her chest wondering where Reiner and the others could be. They were all expected at the play together, so something must have happened to them before or during the play. Considering that Reiner never picked her up, she can safely say that he was intercepted before the play began, which means that he's probably being held captive somewhere, along with the others.
Willow shakes her head of the idea and focuses on her plan. She periodically looks up to the sky to continue tracking the Scout's movements back to their hideout. She is close judging by the momentum of their flight.
She jumps when she hears a gunshot ringing in the air, and before she can process much, a Scout falls from the sky and into the streets in front of her. Willow quickly hides in a nearby alley while she waits for someone to check if the person is alright. She hears a few of them call down to their comrade, but none drop down to check, figuring he is dead.
Willow takes this opportunity to run up to the Scout. He has been shot in the heart and is dead. She quickly grabs his stiff body and drags him into an alley where he will not be in the direct line of sight for the Scouts.
After placing him on the ground she notices that the Scouts have new uniforms and ODM gear since she was last suited in their uniform. She looks down at the man below her, and she doesn't recognize him. She looks up to the sky once more, seeing the massive amount of Scouts they've managed to gather together since their crippling defeat the last time she saw them.
She needs to get closer to their supplies without being noticed, and that's when the vile thought creeps into her mind. She looks back down at the soldier that bleeds beneath her. She drops to her knees, her hands shaking as she begins unlacing his belts. A whine escapes her lips as she begins stripping the Scout of his uniform, feeling an abhorrent sensation crash through her as his dead eyes look onto her.
He is much larger than she is, both taller and broader, so the uniform will be nowhere near a close fit, but she doesn't have much of a choice since her off-white overcoat will be a dead giveaway if she gets anywhere near their location.
She quickly slips off her overcoat, unbuttoning her shirt and slipping off her skirt, leaving herself in her underwear as she slips the bloodstained outfit on. She tightens the straps of the ODM gear onto her thighs, the loose fabric reminding her of her first outfit, and the sickening memory of Petra's kindness crashing into her skull before being replaced with her dead body smashed into a tree.
The crackling of lightning rips through the sky and Willow's heart races wildly as she looks up to see who managed to change, but she can't see anything beyond the buildings she's surrounded by. She figures she needs to make quicker work of her mission. She can hear the battling Titans as they roar at one another. The tremors of their fight shake the ground below her, but she keeps her eyes focused on the task at hand.
She notices the Scout is not wearing a hooded cape, so moving around with her long curly golden hair will be a dead giveaway that she's killed and stolen a uniform, so she ties back her unruly hair until she manages to locate a Scout with a hood that she can steal.
Willow looks down with furrowed brows pressed in confusion at the lack of swords or a cache. She notices that the Scouts are using guns now, with their mechanism moved to the pistol's trigger and not the swords. Once she is dressed in the bloody uniform, she plays around with the trigger system, awkwardly throwing her body around a bit before getting the hang of the new mechanism.
Once she has the hang of moving around, Willow uses the mechanism to shoot her up to the rooftops. An exhilarating feeling flows through Willow once she's flying in the air again. She finds herself involuntarily tearing up at the sensation of moving weightlessly through the sky, missing the feeling of flying over falling all these years.
From her vantage point on the rooftops, Willow sees a large crystalized spike shooting up at the sky with Eren's Attack Titan skewered on the pike like a piece of meat. "So, this is the War Hammer," Willow says incredulously as she watches the Titan create weapons from hardening crystals.
Eren's Attack Titan cuts from his entrapment as the Marleyan forces begin shooting Anti-Titan rounds at him. His body is soft like the Female Titan's so they are able to pierce through his skin effortlessly. Willow decides she needs to focus on the task at hand; the military can distract Eren as much as they'd like, but once Levi shows, there is no winning this war.
Willow follows the location that the Scouts are descending from, and she quickly finds a building rooftop that most of them are huddled at. Assuming this building is where they are located, she can turn here, take out the whole building, and then go and fight Eren, but that still doesn't tell her where Levi is. She can destroy all their reserves as much as she can, but she needs to find their Captain if she plans on killing Eren.
A series of loud explosions cry out in the distance and Willow watches as the War Hammer is assaulted with an array of thunder spears to the nape, knocking the Titan to the ground. She hears more than the two shots that she knows they are capable of holding in their cache, so they've clearly figured a way to hold more than two per Scout.
Willow groans to herself at the realization that the War Hammer is down and the rest of the Titans are nowhere to be found. She figures she will have to do with on her own, and with a shaking hand, she lifts her hand to her lips.
"Hey! Are you trying to burn down the whole Internment Zone?" her heart races, and she widens her eyes as she falls back behind a pony wall with recognition of that voice striking her. "We need to try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. Understand me, Flock?" Jean yells out to a red-haired boy.
Willow grits her teeth at the sight of him, knowing that he will recognize her immediately if he sees her. She can turn into the Female Titan and obliterate him here and now, but something about the idea makes her halt her actions.
She knows that she can't turn into her Titan form with Mikasa and Levi out there somewhere, posing a direct threat to her nape, but there is more to her apprehension of turning than just that. Something doesn't sit right with her in turning into the Female Titan with the knowledge that Jean is here, and she keeps her mind off of questioning why that is. For the time being, she figures she needs to stay away from him and any of the other Scouts from Reiner's training corps.
"Everyone here is the enemy," Flock returns. "These are just our enemy's homes; don't forget what they've done to us. The Titans who've been slaughtering our people for years came from here, right? They've been eating us alive! So they've got it coming and then some!"
"Seriously, you have to stop thinking like that," Jean says placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Look there," Flock tells him, pointing at the Attack Titan, who remains immobile. "He's telling us something. That we have to fight. We can't just cower behind our walls waiting for death to come. We need to fight like he does. Like devils."
Jean growls as he pushes away from Flock, turning to address the other Scouts. Willow takes in a deep breath, trying to focus on the wild beating of her heart as she tries to formulate a plan. Reiner and the others still haven't shown their faces, and she begins to fear that they made a fatal move towards them and are biding their time to do the same to her.
She can see the War Hammer lift itself from the rubble and her brows press together in confusion. It's undeniable that Mikasa destroyed the War Hammer's nape with those thunder spears. There is no way anyone could have survived that assault because the likelihood that they pulled out of the War Hammer before Mikasa detonated the explosion is improbable.
She decides she needs to move from here, but with Jean here, there isn't much that she can do without him recognizing her.
"We stalled their reinforcements," she hears and turns to see that Connie arrives.
"What about the lights?" Jean asks him.
"All of them are in place now," Sasha joins them on the rooftop.
"Are things going alright?" Connie asks and Willow sinks lower behind the wall.
"They are for now, at least," Jean sighs as they watch the War Hammer from this vantage point.
Willow decides she needs to get moving and slips from the rooftops to the building where she sees their supplies through an open window. She climbs into the building and looks around, noticing hundreds of thunder spears, dozens of canisters of gas, and plenty of guns and ammo.
She locates a cape and quickly fastens it around her neck, lifting the hood to cover her face. She looks around for a set of traditional ODM gear, not feeling comfortable with the new setup when she hears someone enter the room and call out to her. "What the hell are you doing in here? We need more men out there!" she keeps her head down, glancing through her lashes to see it's the same red-haired boy Jean was speaking with just a moment ago.
"Sorry, I was replenishing my spears," Willow says with her head down.
"Spears?" he asks and her heart races. "The thunder spears are reserved for Jean and the others. You should be focusing on setting up the lights to blind the Titans," he says glancing down at her.
His eyes land on her uniform, noticing how ill-fitting it is, not to mention that it's covered in blood. He opens his mouth to question her when she speaks over him. "Right, sorry I—" before she can formulate an excuse, another large boom shakes the immediate area.
Flock runs to the window, looking out to see what's occurred. "Shit, we took too long. It's the Jaws!" he says and Willow's heart flutters.
Galliard! I need to help him.
Willow approaches the window when her eyes widen at what transpires before her. She can barely see his movements; a single glint of light reflecting against his swords as they pierce through the Jaw's grip on Eren's nape.
"Levi," Willow gasps, watching awestruck and frozen at the sight of him.
"They need our help," Flocks says as he lifts himself over the windowsill. "Get those lights up!" he commands her before he uses his ODM gear to launch him towards the fight.
Willow leans out the window, looking to the roof to see the rest of the Scouts joining in the action to help against the Jaws and now Cart Titan who have raised their arms against Eren. She looks around, still unable to find Reiner in the mix of it all, but knows that she will have to do her part.
She takes a thunder spear and straps it onto her arms. She moves to the window and jumps out, sending the thunder spear into the cache of their supplies, blowing the building up in an explosive blast. She covers her eyes from the debris and flames as she quickly flees the scene.
Willow hears thumping coming from the distance and looks up to see that the Beast has joined the others. She figures with Zeke's help, they will have a better chance of fighting back against the Scouts, so she continues her efforts at depleting their supplies under the cover of her Scout uniform.
She follows a few more Scouts where they lead her to another building with supplies. She watches as they replenish their cache when she approaches the window. She pulls back on her arm, launching the thunder spear through the window.
"Hey, what the hell are you—" they are silenced by the explosion, killing everyone inside the building.
Before she can make another move, the entire sky lights up around her as if it were daylight. She turns towards the port when she sees the source of the light. Her eyes widen at the sight, her heart dropping in the pits of her stomach as the giant cloud lifts to the sky. "The Colossal. Our ships!" Willow realizes that with him here, there is nothing left. They've lost. No matter what she's done here to ensure the Scouts have no supplies, none of it matters now that the Colossal is here.
Willow is once again completely frozen in shock at what to do. She is unable to move or think and if she assumes the Female Titan, she will be taken out like the rest of them. There is no hope for them, and with Reiner still missing in action, she won't be able to win in a fight against Eren and the others. Her best and only option is to attack when they least expect it.
She looks up to the sky and that is when she notices her best move. Above her, a slow-moving aircraft approaches the city. She knows it's not one of theirs, so it must be how the Scouts crossed the Sea. They are now here to retrieve the survivors and return to Paradis. If she gets on that aircraft and turns into the Female Titan, she will be able to tear it out of the sky and end this once and for all.
Hearing the carnage around her, Willow turns from the dying Cart Titan, the fallen Beast Titan, and the fighting Jaws Titan in favor of getting on that airship and waiting for the final blow.
She begins sprinting in the streets towards the aircraft as it flies above the city. She needs to get to the perfect vantage point in order to ascend up the craft. She can feel her heart racing in her throat as she runs in a full sprint towards the ship.
"Reiner!" Willow stops dead in her tracks when she hears the deafening wail coming from across the courtyard. "Help us! You have to save Galliard! He's about to be eaten!" Willow recognizes the voice to be Gabi's and she begins to hyperventilate.
She turns towards the fight, preparing herself to transform when she thinks about the most likely outcome. If Eren is moving to eat the Jaws, then he's already eaten the War Hammer, and god only knows where the Cart is. If she assumes her Titan form and tries to fight Eren, she will be going in without any help from the other Warriors, and she will just be eaten by Eren as well. There is no chance for her to fight him and win this. The only way she can finish this is by taking out that airship.
She shuts her eyes tightly, groaning as her hands grip the pistols until her knuckles are white with pain. "I'm sorry, Reiner," she says as she turns away from the frantic cries from Gabi and Falco, and heads towards the airship.
Willow releases the grapples of her ODM gear, launching herself towards the airship and into the sky. She flies upwards towards the ship at a frightening speed when the sky around her lights up with a yellow bolt of lightning. Willow's eyes widen as she looks down to see Reiner assuming the Armored Titan. She smiles to herself, knowing that he will fight and she promises him that she will too.
She lifts herself onto the airship, seeing a group of other soldiers already aboard. She pulls on her hood, hiding behind the simple cloth as she moves to the edge of the airship. There are too many soldiers for her to be distinctly picked from the crowd, though she is the only one wearing a hood, which might come off as suspicious now that they are off the battleground.
She glances around, trying to locate a Scout that will recognize her, but doesn't see any for the time being. She buries herself in the crowd, not allowing her hood to fall as her curly golden hair is a dead giveaway to her identity.
"Jean! Grab on!" she hears the voice of Connie yell as he reaches out for the Scout. Willow stiffens, sinking lower into the bodies around her.
"Thanks guys," Jean says lifting himself onto the airship. "Who's all left?"
"We're still waiting on Lima Squad," Connie informs him.
"But assuming they all make it back, we've lost six soldiers to the battle and five from an explosive that detonated in one of the buildings holding our supplies," Sasha tells him.
"Right, shit."
"That's nothing compared to the damage we did to the enemy," Flock snaps at him. "Good work, Soldiers!" he cries out to the soldiers on the ship. "We just fought the New Eldian Empire's first battle, and it ended in victory!"
The fighters around her cheer and jump with praise while Willow sinks deeper in the crowd at the sight of Jean and his friends.
"That's right! Celebrate! That's how we'll pay tribute to our eleven fallen heroes!"
Willow's eyes peer on Jean and the others through the edge of her hood, watching as the three embrace one another with relief in their victory. She frowns, seeing the many soldiers that she's lost and how they used to be relieved at their little victories. Now, most of them are in the ground.
Her eyes continue to survey the other soldiers and she doesn't see Eren, or Levi, or Armin and Mikasa. She wonders where the rest of them are, hoping they are on this airship if she plans on taking it out; since there's no use in taking it out if it's just transporting nameless soldiers.
She needs to find a way towards the main brig of the ship, figuring that is where all the key players are located. Willow begins slipping through the crowds of soldiers, making her way towards the door that leads to the brig. She wonders what she's going to do once she's through the door, as all eyes will be on her. Will she just change into the Female Titan there? Will Eren change and save the ones that he loves? She noticed that he changed three times out there; the same number of times she's able to handle, so he shouldn't have any more fight left in him.
The soldiers begin cheering and partying, boisterous laughs and jeers filling the small space around her. Willow can't help but remember the train ride back to Liberio where the Eldians were celebrating in the same way after their victory. She feels a sinking pit in her stomach at the memory of them all.
"Hey! Quiet down over there!" Jean calls out while Flock directs them to continue celebrating.
Willow decides this is her chance to move towards the door, hoping that no one is in the doorway to stop her, though if they are, she has her gun on her.
She reaches for the doorhandle, grazing the metal with the tips of her fingers when she hears the deafening blow of a gunshot. Her eyes widen and her vision blurs. Her hands shake as they move unto her own body, thinking that maybe one of those soldiers saw her reaching for the door and recognized her. However, it isn't long for her to realize that she wasn't shot.
Her eyes shoot up when they notice the group of soldiers all opening up a clearing around a teetering soldier. Willow's eyes enlarge when they land on the brown-haired Scout as she falls back into the ground. Her eyes feverishly search for the shooter, when they land on Gabi holding a steaming rifle.
Fuck, Gabi. No!
She can't take out this airship with her here. Willow growls to herself, but takes this time to move forward. She can save her in the blast when she takes out the ship, but right now, she needs to get to the control room to ensure that all the Scouts are on this ship and it's worth the risk.
Willow grabs for the door, opening it and closing it behind her as another shot rings out and soldiers begin running towards the girl. Willow grits her teeth, figuring they won't let her live after this, and maybe saving the girl won't be an option.
I'm sorry, Reiner.
She approaches the door, breathing heavily at the realization that she will need to take out this whole ship with Gabi and Falco on it penetrating her skull. She should have turned. She should have fought Eren as the Female Titan instead of trying to outsmart them.
Willow takes in another staggered breath, closing her eyes and allowing herself a moment of quiet before she makes her move. Her hands are shaking so violently that she's scared she won't be able to do anything with them. She shakes the fear out of her head, knowing that all she needs to do is take down the ship.
She opens the door, lifting the gun up and pointing it at the first person she sees. Her eyes land on Mikasa. The dark-haired girl gasps when she sees Willow's hard eyes through the hood of her cloak. Armin glances over at Mikasa to see what she's reacting to when his eyes land on Willow as well.
She takes a step in when her eyes land on Levi's. Her heart races and she immediately moves the barrel of the gun to his face. Her breathing is wild, and her eyes hold a feral look of crazed fear in them. His eyes, on the other hand are lidded and indifferent when they land on hers. How can he look at her like that after all these years?
She pulls her hood down as her wild curly hair falls around her shoulders and down her back. Her hands continue to shake as she holds the gun to him, the tip of her gun less than a foot away from him. She can be the worst shot in the world, but from this close up, she can't miss.
Levi watches her, waiting for her to move, but all she can do is breathe erratically. "Good of you to finally join the fight," Levi finally speaks. "Had to say, I missed you down there."
"Stop," she warns him, not wanting to hear his voice teasing her while her head is muddled at his reappearance.
"What's the plan, Willow?" Levi asks her, now turning his body fully towards her. "Are you going to pull that trigger?"
She doesn't have time to respond as the door swings wide open with a loud bang. She turns her head to see Jean holding Gabi and Falco by the scalps. Their bloodied and beaten faces land on hers, and their eyes widen in shock at her presence on the ship.
"Gabi, Falco, how did you get here?" the voice pulls Willow away from the sight of them and her heart drops at the sound of his voice. She turns her head to see Zeke sitting in the corner of the room, arms and legs chopped off as he slowly heals himself.
Willow was so honed in on the sight of Levi that she hadn't even realized Zeke was there. She shutters at the sight of him as the kids turn to him to ask the same. "What about you?" Falco asks him. "We thought that you were dead."
"They took you alive?" Gabi shrieks. "But how is that possible? Why would you let them?"
"You piece of garbage," Willow sneers as her nose wrinkles in disgust. "You're working with them? After everything?"
Zeke turns to her, his eyes hidden behind the glint of his glasses.
Willow turns to Levi, shaking her head as she scoffs, "After he decimated the Scouts?" she spits.
"Yeah, you and the monkey have a lot in common so it seems," he deadpans right back at her. He turns away from her, not seeing her as much of a threat since she hasn't moved to shoot him. "Who the hell are these kids?" he nods his head at Jean.
"They somehow killed Lobov, and then used his gear to climb aboard. This one shot Sasha before we could get a hold of her," Jean places his head down as he grimaces, "I don't think she's going to make it."
Mikasa and Armin are quick to run out of the room towards their fallen comrade while Levi turns back to Willow. She hears the door behind him open up when a familiar voice enters the room. "I'll leave the rest to you, Onyankopon," she turns halting her stride when she notices the blonde holding the gun to the captain.
"Willow?" she asks, eye widening at the sight of her.
"Hange," Willow says with a sharp exhale. "I'm glad to see…" she swallows hard, feeling the words to be pointless now.
"Well looks like the gangs all here," Zeke states with a rasp in his voice as he struggles to chuckle.
Willow shakes her head, trembling hands still on the gun pointed at Levi. "What did you tell them that they forgot what you did to them? That they were willing to overlook everything you did to the Scouts in order to work with you?" she growls at Zeke.
"You know, I'd like to know the same," Eren speaks with a tilt of his head. "I am more than a little curious how you conveniently forgot about Reiner slaughtering your Squad, and decimating your home in favor of tangling in the sheets with him."
Willow gasps, eyes widening as she turns her head to him. He looks at her through stray strands of brown hair. He smiles at her, tormenting her with a grin that shows the disgust he feels towards her.
She turns back to Levi whose eyes are heavily lidded, he shakes his head slightly when their gazes meet and he scoffs when she looks at him for a response. His upper lip turns up slightly as the subtlest look of disgust touches his outward expressions.
Holding the gun to his face, her hands visibly tremble now as her eyes shift between his, clearly reading the blatant revulsion in his features. He's disappointed with her, and though there may have never been much between them, what little respect he held for her is gone.
She pulls her gaze away from Levi, unable to look at his disappointed face any longer. "You tricked us all," she says turning back to Zeke. "Pieck and Porco… What a show you put on for them. Throwing those rocks at the Scouts like you're fighting for Marley," she says shaking her head.
"Ah yes, you have been fighting so hard as a dutiful Warrior for Marley these past four years, haven't you, Willow?" he returns in a condescending tone. "Such a good Warrior you've become."
"Have you told them your plan?" she asks Zeke with an unsteady voice as she tries to deflect the conversation from her. "Are they really that stupid to go with it? Or are you keeping the details to yourself?" she asks him. He gives her an incredulous look and she smiles to herself. "I saw Laylah's memories, Zeke," she tells him and his expressions fall into dissatisfaction. "Yeah, what a dutiful Eldian until the end," she scoffs at him.
"We destroyed Marley's brass," Eren brings their attention back to him. "And took out their primary fleet and port. That outta buy us some time," she glances over at him, wondering if Zeke at least informed him of his plans for Eldians.
"Before the whole world comes crashing down on us with a coordinated attack, you mean," Hange reminds him. "Every single time you get yourself caught, we give up lives to get you back. No matter how high the cost, we pay it. You noticed that trend and you used it against us."
"So, what do we do about her?" Jean asks, pointing his gun at Willow. "We can't really take her hostage with Zeke. She won't comply," he grumbles.
Her eyes shift from Jean to Levi's as he watches her with cautious disinterest. The image of him stings and she can tell after all this time, there is nothing left in his eyes for her.
She lifts her gun and places the barrel between Levi's eyes. She inhales as he stiffens at her movements.
"Put the gun down, Willow." Jean threatens her as he steps towards her. "I have no problem killing you. I don't owe you any debts," he reminds her of her words to him back in Paradis that allowed her to take Reiner alive.
"Give me back the kids," Willow says between clenched teeth, "And I won't blow this thing out of the sky," she says lifting her hand to her mouth. "Eren and Zeke are in no state to transform and save any of you from being obliterated."
"Like hell," Jean grumbles in her peripheral, but her eyes are locked on Levi's, "She shot Sasha."
"You transform and you'll be taking them out with the rest of us," Levi reminds her with a flat tone.
Willow shakes her head so slightly, "Haven't been known for the sentimental type, now have I?" she challenges him as she continues to bring her hand to her mouth.
"Willow, what are you saying?" Gabi murmurs with a whine, but she keeps her eyes off of the girl who idolized her.
"It's a risk you know I'm willing to take," she ignores Gabi's words as she challenges Levi but he can hear the blatant lie in her tone.
"Do it then," Levi tests in a flat tone and Willow lifts her brows at his nonchalant expression. "You've come this far. I wouldn't want to hold you back from killing off all the Scouts."
He watches her reaction, and to his surprise, she isn't angry with him for challenging her. Her brows are turned downwards and her eyes are sunken in. She looks tired to him, and he can see the cracks in her resolve. She holds the gun loosely and her finger barely grazes the trigger.
She can't do it. She won't do it.
She's lost the fight in her eyes, and she doesn't want to oppose them anymore than he does with her. He has a chance… he has a chance to convince her otherwise. Maybe, if he can be forthcoming with her like he was when she was in the crystal, she will come back with them.
He parts his lips to convince her to stay when a loud bang fills the small confines of the room. The shot rings out and everyone in the room freezes. Levi's lidded eyes widen as he looks onto Willow.
The blonde returns his look with the same amount of shock lacing her gaze on him. Willow looks down seeing the blood pooling out of her chest and saturating the uniform that she's in. She looks up to see smoke lifting off of Jean's gun as his chest lifts and falls from the adrenaline of pulling the trigger.
Her shaking hand lifts to her chest, saturating her hand in the blood spilling from her. She looks at the man, confusion lacing her face as she drops the gun to the ground with a loud thud. Her eyes slide back to Levi's as he watches her with tight shoulders. Lightning begins crackling around her wound as her expressions turn remorseful.
Levi doesn't have time to think about convincing her otherwise and he is quick to respond. He panics and all he can think about is protecting the others in the airship. He steps towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders to push her out of the airship through the doorway, before she can assume her Titan form and eliminate them all.
Levi quickly moves to the doorway, holding onto the metal handle as he looks out the opening, watching as Willow doesn't assume the Female Titan's form, confirming that she did not intend to assume her Titan form with them in the airship.
His heart races as he watches her plummet to the ground, wanting to yell at her to turn before she falls to her death.
After a heart stopping moment, Willow's body is finally enveloped by yellow lightening and the Female Titan lands harshly on the ground below. She looks up at him, her blue eyes looking onto his and he sees the pain in her eyes.
He can see the regret lacing them for the fallout that's unraveled around them. He looks down at her, no longer seeing the bloodthirsty drive in her eyes that she used to hold, and instead sees the guilt consuming her expressions.
His heart thumps in his chest as he thinks about the contrast from the serene look she once held in that crystal, and he can't help but feel the sting of regret for not telling her that he forgives her when he had the chance.
End of Part 5