~*~

Night began to cast over the horizon.......

Flicking the reigns sharply I lean my body forward to increase speed, knowing that the news and presence is needed at the giant forest. The wind pounding against my ears trying to shake off how uneasy I felt, especially with knowing that Zeke might have to do with Assassination or a plan to free Eren. However we had to assume the worst, to prepare for what's to come. 

"Shit......"

Every dip or crevice of the ground my horse travels along, I could feel it yanking my injury from the explosion. It wasn't terrifying when it was unexpected, especially when not waiting for it to commence. No. I was afraid of the message it would display for the people, which would cause a stir within our people.

The only thing that kept creeping into my mind was the mid goal of this entire plan, which was finding out Eren is seeking Zeke's location.

The scent of burning pinewood fills my nose, noticing a glowing flicker of flames coming from a fire. It's been roughly a month or so since I've seen Levi, and I honestly missed him that I couldn't sleep well like I used to. With both of ourselves suffering with insomnia, it seems we can only get a good few hours of sleep when together. Given the circumstances, my level of trust is only around Levi, Hanji and my children. 

Finally the burning flames grew closer and soon I settled my horse beside the others horses, seeing a few soldiers noticing my presence.

"Section Commander.......why are you here?!"

"Captain Levi is not far, he's over there," Another gestures to the fire.

Throwing my leg over the side of the horse I jump down, before tying my horse up with the others before thanking them. Patting my horse soothingly I made sure she had her water and some feed due to the long hours, just to get here from Shiganshina. Swiftly I make over towards the campfire seeing Varis, one of our loyal soldiers beside us walk behind me as I approach Levi and Zeke who were having a deep conversation.

"......look, it's not like I wanted to do it," Zeke says, blatantly. "I just did what was needed to convince the Maleryans that i was loyal to them. If they learned the truth, I never could've brought hope to this island.....none of this is new to you, though. I told you guys the exact same thing when I first got here. Why do you keep asking me about it?"

Stopping in my steps I decided to listen in, "Because I can see that you aren't burdened by a shred of guilt over what you've done," Levi replies, honestly. His eyes darkens in response, glaring dangerously with the light casts a shadow over his brows.  "The fact my wife was harmed during that event at Ragako, is why I'm pissed. She had her life on the line, because you cornered her squad leaving her defenceless once running out of supplies. Against a village of innocent villagers of titans, and now she has their blood on her hands because of you.......tch....I still can't tell if you actually wanna save Eldia, but it's clear that those lives meant nothing to you."

Zeke scoffs slightly, "Doubt you were well liked by the ladies before you met her, cause seriously..considering how you think you know what everyone else is feeling," he mentions, which really made my nerves bundle up.

Stepping forth I approach the two causing Zeke's head to lift, noticing a change in his demeanour.

"Ahhh speak of the devil, we were just talking about you!" Zeke's voice breaks the silence, earning Levi's attention to perk up realising my presence is known. "Seems like your precious wife couldn't stay away, could she?"

Levi turns to me when his eyes slightly widen, looking at the state I was in before standing up walking towards me.

"What is it?" 

Looking away from Zeke I lean into his ear, "Let's speak more privately,"

~*~

"Zachary was assassinated?" 

Levi repeats quietly in shock, while his eyes scan my face with a few light bruises from the impact of the explosion. "That's correct, somehow the Yeagerists effectively control everything inside the walls now," I explain, finding my voice still raspy from the fumes from the incident. 

Varis nods, "That's what I've been told........"

"We believe that all this chaos is caused by Zeke, through a plan he's been using Eren and Yelena to implement," The other scout adds, as the two just received word as well probably from the three other scouts that come by with the supplies that just left I assume.

Levi turns to me, "So what now?"

"All I know is that Eren is supposed to see Zeke soon just as the Yeagerists have been demanding," I explain, hoarsely. Clearing my throat I sigh deeply, "Pyxis remains steadfast, and due to the circumstances......he said his plans to make his move while Eren's being led here."

"So......would this plan involve having somebody eat Eren, right?" Levi assumes, lowly. His eyes remain stoic and steady, "We're gonna kill him ourselves."

Varis nods with a reluctant sigh, "That's right,"

Due to Levi's reaction he's beyond pissed knowing full well what he's thinking, especially after so many years of defending Eren. This was it? We saved Eren again and again, as we both watched more of our comrades die every time. We did this because we believed he was the best hope humanity had......this, this damned belief has gotten us. Holding us at a double edged blade.

"Such bullshit, its not even funny," He curses, bitterly beneath his hot breath. "Tch, the piece of shit we need to feed to a titan is right beneath us."

Varis gasps shortly, "What do you mean?"

Levi rakes his fingers through his hair with a sigh, "We'll transfer Zeke's Beast to some other host," He replies, glancing down to Zeke who was sat near the small flickering fire. "We just need to grab someone expendable, like one of these Yeagerists. Turn them, then feed them Zeke. I don't know if Eren's under Zeke's control or not, but I do know that if the Yeagerists lose Zeke, their party's over. Go tell that to Pyxis, all right?"

Varis was in shock, "Are you serious Captain?" he asks in disbelief, before turning to me. "Section Commander, isn't that too hasty--"

"Whether or not Pyxis will or not allow it, all we can is prevent Zeke from transforming and meeting with Eren," I reply quietly, glancing to the side to notice Zeke was eavesdropping on us. "Damn monkey...."

Levi shifts towards Zeke's direction, "Tell him I'm about to cut Zeke's limbs off," He adds, before dismissing them. "That should get them moving."

The two scouts leave us alone as I stood there quietly, before suddenly Levi's hands were back on me checking for more injuries. His eyes flicker across brushing every scar or mark that was laid on my body, seeing anger slowly surfacing beneath his eyes. The silence was so loud, that I swear I could hear him mentally trying to keep it all together.

"What the fuck happened?" He mutters, eyes filled with concern. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Pursing my lips tightly, I could feel the pain vividly from the explosion.

"The......explosion that killed Zachary....." I mention again, my voice comes out hoarsely again before clearing it. ".......I was caught in the blast before I.....could exit his office. Just a few stitches on my collarbone and stomach, but I'm no--"

He steps closer in anger and pulls my collar gently, seeing the fresh ghastly scar stitched together and gauzed over with red staining the white material. Levi seemed rather quiet, but despite that I knew he was trying to keep himself guarded and strong for us both.

His eyes soon flicker with confliction, "........h-how is our boy?"

A soft smile curls upon my lips, "He's healthy and is in safe hands," I spoke gently, as I straighten out his collar and cloak that sat comfortably on his stiff shoulders. His pale skin and bags under his eyes shows his lack of sleep again, but I couldn't say anything about it cause I haven't been sleeping well myself. A look of relief fades onto his tired face, "He's helping Ingrid and Klara around the Bakery, the customers seem to love him. A little helper he is......"

A brief fatherly smile rests on his lips, before he leans to me and pecks temple shakily.

"He gets that from his mama......." He whispers softly, his hands drift down and rests upon my hips. He studies me for a little longer as if he's wanting my image to burn through his memory, "You look tired.........have you been taking care of yourself at least, besides getting yourself almost killed?"

Truth is I haven't been resting easily since the raid on Liberio, as I've been non stop investigating alongside Hanji who also barely had any sleep herself.

".......I'm gonna take that as a no," He sighs deeply, and pinches my cheek gently with a gentle scolding look. "Please take care of yourself......your important to me and the scouts."

With a heavy sigh, "I'll try........and you can't say that, when you look like you barely slept a wink......" I remark, before pressing a chaste kiss. "Come on.......let's see the damn ape...."

With that we both shot out our grappling hooks and flew down and landed near the fire area, as the light flickers across Zeke's calm neutral face. The way he holds the book while peeking from the top of the pages, he definitely was listening in to the conversation earlier.  He held such a nonchalant expression, it was barely unreadable to know what was going on in that head of his.

"Enjoying your book?" Levi comments.

"As much as possible, for a book I've read seven times," Zeke retorts, blatantly. I wasn't even sure if he was directly aiming the accusation on Levi, or he was just being sarcastic for the heck of it.

Levi clicks his teeth, "Seems to me that you've been eavesdropping more than you've been reading,"

Zeke scoffs lightly, "Can you really blame me when I've read this many times?" before he fixes his eyes on me, studying me from head to toe and then flickers back to Levi with a slight interest. "By the way, is there any wine left?" 

Wine.....? Why was wine brought here, when the Scouts should be on the damn job?

"Of course not, we've been here for a damn month," Levi replies. "There isn't a single drop left."

Zeke tilts his head up, "Damn too bad," before letting out a sigh. "You're a real expert torturer, ya know that? Can't believe you married such a mad man, Mrs Ackerman......truly I don't know.....?"

Glaring directly at him, "Because he isn't a mad man for starters.........and he cleans himself nicely......." I retort, gesturing to Zeke's thick messy beard. 

"Just leave my wife out of this, and read your damn book," Levi gestures for me to follow him, as we walk away from the campsite. Resting a hand on the small of my back we walk away.

 Zeke reluctantly sighs, "As you command, Captain,"

Whilst we walk silently away I could tell a lot was on Levi's mind, as my hand drifts to take his own and squeezes, "Everything alright?"

He nods, "Yeah........just not in a good mood,"

Judging by the reports earlier a month ago about thirty fully armed soldiers are waiting in the trees up above, and even if Zeke becomes the Beast there's no way he'll escape. Levi took Zeke down so easily during the battle of Shiganshina four years ago, so what will be the difference now? What alternative could Zeke have for us, that we're not prepared for? Regardless, Zeke will always be an enemy, especially after what he did to Commander Erwin and my soldiers.

Suddenly I felt a chill in the air that made me halt in my steps, causing me to turn around noticing a fluttering book of pages left by itself.

My eyes trail up quickly only to see Zeke running, even Levi just noticed while we both stood there dumbfounded for a moment. We both stood there unsure what to do think, wondering why he's suddenly running all of a sudden. Does he know he cannot escape from all of us, with both Levi and I included?

"Whats...........he doing?" 

Out of nowhere a loud powerful cry comes from Zeke which left a chill to run up my spine, as my eyes widen in horror. Stepping forward about to charge towards Zeke, multiple bright lights began flashing from every corner of my eyes. Unable to process what was even going on, the wind blew from the large bright lights that showers down around Levi and I. My head looks up straight away only to find titans falling down around us both, as Levi grabs me pulling me away from a titan.

"Shit!!!!"

All the titans turn directly towards Levi and I, before charging at us without any hesitation. Activating my ODM gear we both dodge the sudden attack, causing my body to quickly evade the titans finding myself more hesitant. My hands shook when gripping my blades, as I continue to fly higher. My question is why our men are titans? How......?

"Levi! Why are they suddenly titans?!" I call out to him, causing his jaw to clench tightly as his hair flew in all directions.

"The wine......." He utters out, in sudden realisation. "Shit! Zeke's spinal fluid was in the wine? Since when?! Not a single person froze up when in consumption! Was it all a lie?!"

A titan began climbing the tree vigorously and speed, realising that their adapting more and more.

The titan soon hit the tree when Levi dodged the titan, when another titan comes out of nowhere with it's large hand reaching towards Levi. Realising we have no choice but to act, Levi's hand guns dig into the compartment of blades and drew out fresh ones before slicing off all fingers. Blood sprays from his attack about to take it out, when he recognises whom the titan was. Even I couldn't forget a face of a comrade, as it was Varis.

A titan falls towards me as I evade it quickly, before finding myself surrounding by all our scouts.

"Why.........I can't......." my voice comes out shaky, finding my drive not there for a moment. Knowing that these are actual people, innocents dragged into this mess all along? This wasn't right, it was sickening as my eyes fall upon the giants around us both.

However.........this is bigger than my personal feelings, because once Zeke escapes then there would be many more lives in danger.

Closing my eyes I inhale slowly, "I'm sorry........."

Simultaneously we both draw our blades in unison as my eyes wearily met Levi for a moment, before we both began to prioritise our mission.

Counting all titans it only added up to only twenty seven of our men, which meant a few were ahead of us with Zeke. Every bit of anger slowly surfaces allowing my frustration to drive within my blades, as blood began to spray from every comrade I've slain. Their thick flesh was easier to gouge out, as a bloody massacre showers us both. My breath heaves thickly, as I use every bit of strength with every kill.

Spiralling up the arm of a comrade I recognised, I would mutter an apology and wish them peace in the next world.

"Arghhhhhhhhhhh!" slashing across the nape of another, I noticed Levi was in a fit of rage. "Levi! Go get Zeke, I can handle it here!!!!!"

"But--!!"

His eyes met mine filled with anger and hesitance, before nodding as he flew in Zeke's direction.

Without wasting another second I resume taking them all out with the remaining few, as I slice through preventing them from following Levi towards going to Zeke. Slicing through each nape of each comrade, I continue to whisper an apology as a few faint tears subconsciously flow down. Suddenly a titan grabs the wire yanking me down drawing me towards him, as I use the other hook to latch on something to catch onto the branch tightly. 

"Shit!!!!"

Finding myself like tug-of-war between the tree and the titan, I didn't want to break the ODM. Releasing the one that latched onto the tree I allowed my body to bounce back towards the titan, as I gather the momentum and spiralled down slicing through the stretched out arm. Recognising their face instantly I looked away quickly, and quickly latched onto their nape and gathered all the strength in my arms.

With one final blow their nape goes flying, as their body drops with a heavy earthshaking thud. 

Hanging upon a tree to gain the air into my lungs after using most of energy, I turn to hear the sound of a transformation. Assuming it was Zeke I quickly began flying directly towards the sound, feeling a warm wave of the transformation from Zeke's titan. Flying towards the battle between Levi and Zeke, I began to circle Zeke. 

"Come on, fight me!!!!" Zeke's beast titan roars, holding the head of a titan he managed to tear apart. He then found Levi, "There you are!!!!"

The beast crushes the titans head into pieces and throws it directly towards Levi, just like he would to a boulder. Taking my chance I swiftly swoop down towards the ankles of the Beast, when he grabs the rest of the body of the headless titan and splits it apart by the legs. Grimacing at the sight of his appalling and gory display, I aim towards his ankles.

"Where did all your cute little soldier friends go?" Zeke growls sarcastically, through the Beast titan. "Where's your cute wife? Did you leave her to die?! Don't tell me you killed 'em all! The poor things!"

Finally making contacts I slice his ankles with ferocity in my upper arms, as I fly back into the trees to disguise myself into the shades of the leaves.

"What the hell?!" Zeke roars angrily, stumbling back with one foot. "How did--"

"You look desperate, Hairball!!" Levi mocks Zeke, as he began slicing the branch one by one around Zeke. "All you had to do was read your damn book! What gave you the idea that you could escape from me? From us?! If you really thought I'd hesitate to kill my comrades once you turned them, then you have no idea how many friends I've had to kill!!!!!"

Levi began charging down towards Zeke with the falling branches, as Zeke roars in anger throwing multiple chunks of titan flesh Levi's direction.

Taking my chance I swoop down towards the beasts ankles I swipe my blades towards the other one, as Levi threw four thunderspears around the nape of Zeke's Beast form. The beast stumbles down to his knees when the thunderspears were brightening up and soon exploded all in unison, causing Zeke to roar in complete agony. Landing on the ground beside Levi, a body was flown from the nape onto the ground with a heavy thud. 

Thick heavy Steam swallows Zeke up, as Levi walks towards him finding a ghastly sight of Zeke's body almost mutilated. 

Grabbing the tufts of Zeke's hair he pulls him up with no ounce of mercy in Levi's steel blue eyes, "Ah.....hey, beardy......." Levi growls, as Zeke coughs up a heavy amount of blood with his skin sunken in so much he looked like a skeleton.  "Amazing. You've gotten uglier somehow. You even smell worse. Shitbag. Well, don't worry. I'm not gonna kill you. Not yet."

Levi began dragging Zeke back to where the campsite was, as I follow suit beside him quietly for a few minutes. It all happened so suddenly that I needed time to register what had happened, as my heart slowly calms down.

"Seriously........the dumbass stooped so fucking low," I curse under my breath, finding my body heavier than before. From the intense and stressful amount of action in minutes, now turns to a tranquil peace for now. The silence was loud enough, realising what had occurred just now. We both knew Zeke was planning something, and he confirmed our suspicions.

 "Varis.......Johann.....Alder....Aldalric....Berdina......all of them," I add, before we reach the campsite. Adjusting my forest green cloak around my