Once the ship is well away from where the fight happened, everyone spreads out to find their own spot to think, talk, or distract themselves.
"I have to go find Yelena," Levi says pushing himself up to stand.
"Levi, no, you're not ready. You need to rest," you start "If I rest any longer everyone's going to forget I exist." You know you can't stop him, so you just let him go and follow him down the hallway. He uses the handrails to guide himself to the front of the ship where Yelena is.
You see Armin coming down the hall, trying to convince Levi to not be reckless, but Levi gives him the same response he gave you. "Make her tell us where Eren is," he demands Armin. Pieke suddenly appears behind you, startling you. "I'll help too. Nothing else to do," she says solemnly.
Yelena talks. Levi doesn't even have to put his boot in anyone's mouth like usual. "Eren's second objective with likely be Fort Salta. He knows about the weapons there, especially the airships that could take him out." She finishes.
"You're very forthcoming with answering our questions," Levi says raising his visible eyebrow.
"I just have to ask you all something. You have to know Zeke's plan was the right thing to do. After all of this suffering? Isn't it obvious?" Yelena asks.
Everyone stares down at their feet. How can that have been the solution. There seem to be no right answers. Regardless, you're carrying a child right now, an Eldian child. Who you love more deeply than anything, except maybe Levi and Simon. Zeke was wrong, but so is Eren. Apparently there's no middle ground for Eldia.
Hange talks first, "I admit it, I was powerless. I had no solutions. No future to show Eren," they finish.
The rocking of the ship makes you queasy. You double over, almost vomiting. Levi stands from beside you and supports you on your feet despite his injuries.
"Are you alright?" Hange and Armin both ask in unison.
"I'm fine. Just morning sickness," you blurt out before realizing what you said. You quickly jerk your head up when you realize what you said. You find everyone staring back at you. There eyes wide and jaws hanging open. Levi is rigid, but still supporting you with his arms.
You break the silence, "...surprise.." you say awkwardly, shrugging your shoulders and giving them a questioning look.
No one says anything.Everyone's too stunned to say anything. Levi helps save you from the awkward silence, "...and we're also engaged," he says just as dryly as you had presented the original news.
Of course, Hange's the first one to break the silence. They run over to the both of you, squeezing you much too hard for a pregnant woman and a severely injured person to handle. "EEEEPP!! CONGRATULATIONS!" They squeal into your ears. "I can't wait for the wedding! I'm only a little terrified to have a little Levi running around!"
You're surprised Levi doesn't swear at Hange or threaten them in anyway. He just stands there. You think you can make out a faint smile under his bandages.
"It's not the best timing, but we know Zeke's plan was not the solution. This child will live a beautiful life. We will make sure of it," you say tears streaming down your face. Levi rubs your back to calm you down.
Yelena's face is twisted in thought. "Congratulations," she offers kindly. "I hope we can stop Eren," she pauses. "For your babies sake."
You smile at her and realize where she's coming from. You see her for who she is. You see the part she played in all this. You understand her. She's human, just like you. She was just born in a different place. You accept her thoughtful words.
The rest of your comrades congratulate you as they prepare for docking. Everyone gets to work, putting on gear, bringing supplies onto the air ship. The engineers are gearing up the engines to prepare for lift off. Onyankopon prepares to fly the plane and you finally have the energy and strength to talk about battle plans with Hange and the rest of Levi squad.
Levi grabs your arm and leads you back towards the boat. "Where are we going?" You ask him curiously, still trying to adjust the strap on your ODM gear. "Mrs. Azumobito is getting ready to leave the dock. We have to go back now before the plane takes off without us," you say following him deeper into the ship.
Finally Levi stops and holds your hands in his. He scans your face desperately, like he's trying to memorize every line and freckle. "I love you," he says sighing, "I can't let you join this fight. It's too dangerous."
You start to protest, "I'm going where you go. If it's too dangerous for me, then it's definitely too dangerous for you. You're hurt and injured. You can't go either!" You yell at him angrily. What was he thinking? You are in full working condition, other than being pregnant. You knew the risks, but you needed to be with him.
"You're pregnant, Y/N. Don't you get that?" He pleads with you, moving his hands from your grasp to your face. "You both need to live!" He says, tears forming in his eye.
"You can't go either then Levi. I go where you go!" You say, starting to sob, understanding that you will never get through to him.
"Please don't make this difficult. I haven't finished my orders from Erwin. I'm not done fighting."
"Levi! Erwin's dead and you will be too if you try to fight Eren! The more people you have fighting the better!" You plead with him.
"I love you so much Y/N," Levi says dropping to his knees and hugging you around your midsection. His ear is pressed against your stomach. You see a tear roll down his cheek, wetting the bandages under his eye.
You can't stop the sobs from coming. You're shaking uncontrollably. "Levi, please," you beg him. "Let's just leave this place! Please."
"You know I can't just do that," he chokes out. He pushes himself to stand again and pulls your face in for a kiss. You taste salt on his lips from his tears and you bet he tastes the sting on yours too.
He opens a door to a room and you hear Gabi and Falco protesting from a few feet away.
"I love you, Y/N. Forever and always," Levi says firmly as he turns to go. Annie throws Gabi and Falco in the room with you. They stop crying out for a moment so that you can all listen.
The rumbling is here. The ship lurches forward and you all start screaming out this time, begging to be let out and go back and fight, but it's useless. You all grow weary of banging your fists at the door. Gabbi's are practically bleeding and you have to admit, she is determined girl.
You worry for Levi. He wants to kill Zeke. You have to get back to him. You just have to.
...
Annie let's you all out of the room once the ship has sailed over the horizon. You can still hear the noises of the titans rumbling, but there's no way you could get back there by yourself.
Falco's passed out in the corner and Gabi walks with you out onto the deck of the ship. You see Annie and ambassador Azumobito talking at the front of the ship. A sadness fills Annie's eyes. You wonder how she can even sit with herself knowing she left everyone back there to die when she has titan powers stronger than most. If you had titan serum, you'd eat her right now and walk back to save Levi.
You hear Falco call to Gabi, who runs back into the room he had fallen asleep in. "NO WAY! Are you sure?" You hear Gabi exclaim from behind you.
"I'm almost positive," you hear Falco say, his voice getting louder as he emerges from the room and steps out onto the deck of the ship.
"Come with us," Gabi gestures to you. "We're back in the fight," she exclaims happily.
"Annie," Falco starts, "I had a dream. No, not a dream, a memory. The clearest one is the memory of flying above the clouds. It feels like... that's something... I could do."
Annie whips around, her jaw dropping.
"And so..." Falco starts, "We're leaving," he says gesturing to the three of you.
Annie almost loses it, "You'll destroy the ship! What's lost isn't coming back. It's too late!"
"Miss Leonhart," Miss Azumobito interrupts, "I do not mind if this ship sinks. Not when the alternative is living with even more regrets."
...
Luckily you all arrive on Falco's back just in time. There seemed to have been versions of all of the nine titans fighting on the back of Eren's founding titan.
You spy Levi and your heart soars in your chest. He's okay. He's okay.
Falco swoops low and Levi squad is able to jump on. You don't see Armin or Hange anywhere. Levi doesn't look up at first, probably assuming you are still on the boat like he told you.
"Hey, stranger," you say smiling down at him.
Levi looks up. His eye widens, he has titan blood steaming off his hair and wetting his bandages. "You fucking rat bastard," he says sternly.
"What do you expect when you leave us behind like that?" Gabi screams at a very angry Reiner.
You fill them in on Falco's discovery and they fill you in on what's happening. "Armin's in trouble," Mikasa informs you both, "The titan that took him should be by the tailbone."
"Where's Pieke?" Gabi asks nervously. You hadn't even noticed that Pieke wasn't there. You were too nervous about your own friends.
"She tried to blow the neck up, but couldn't hit the trigger in time," Reiner tells her.
"We're doing both." Levi says firmly, "One group will rescue Armin. The other group will go after Eren. We don't have time to worry about his life anymore," Levi says.
"And Falco get my wife out of here," Levi orders.
"Fiancé!" You clap back.
"We'll come back for you!" Gabi says as the Levi squad makes their last push to try and stop the rumbling. Levi's last to jump. You're shocked he's managing this. He looks up at you with pain in his eyes. "I love you, Levi. Forever and always," you can't hear if he responds because Falco's already flying away towards the spine where Armin was taken.
Projectiles are coming at you fast. Falco dives around them and you have to hang on tightly so you don't fly off. Once you're close enough, the rest of Levi squad jumps. You see a flash of light and watch Reiner transform as you fly out of reach of more projectiles.
You, Gabi, and Falco remain hovering close by, watching the fight. Things are looking grim for team 'save Armin', The titans on Eren's back are fighting back with a fury. You wish there was more you could do to help. You feel helpless from above, and you know Gabi feels the same. She's practically frothing at the mouth to get in there and shoot something.
Suddenly the titans stop. They aren't throwing projectiles any longer. They aren't swinging at Levi squad. You try to make out what's happening, but its hard to see with all the steam. Falco must see something you don't because before you know it, you're diving through the air straight towards Eren.
Suddenly, you see Levi. He jumps onto Falco's back with more grace than you could imagine someone having in his predicament at this moment.
"The titans are helping us?" Gabi says in shock.
Falco continues forward. He must see something else.
"Hey! Over here!" You see a blonde man waving down Falco. "You missed me didn't you Levi? I can't say I've missed you!"
"Zeke!" Levi whispers in shock.
Before you know it, Levi jumps off of Falco and flys through the air towards Zeke, blades drawn. Blood shoots off of Levi's blade as he soars down through the air, Zeke's head plummeting towards the ground.
You can't see Levi through the steam, but you can suddenly hear very clearly. Everything seems quiet. The titans have stopped.
The titans have stopped.
You did it. Levi did it.
Falco soars forward towards Eren's neck, his head lays on the ground in front of him. Reiner tackles a giant centipede emerging from the spine to the ground. It's tossing him around with ease.
Thankfully you hear ODM gear and Falco does too. He soars in the direction of noise and you see all of Levi squad except for Armin hop on Falco's back.
Levi looks up to you. His face is sad. He just finished his mission. He knows it's not over yet.
"We have to go Armin's gonna blow everything to pieces!"
Mikasa sobs from behind you. You watch as a flash of light blinds you. It's not over yet.
...
Falco drops Levi squad off near Fort Slava. Many families are awaiting the return of their children. You see Falco reunite with his parents. It brings tears to your eyes. You wonder how it must feel from their perspective. You'd never want to have your child risk their life. You would do anything to keep them safe.
"We have to kill the centipede!" Connie yells urgently.
"It survived the explosion.. How can we kill it?" Levi asks, turning towards Connie. You hadn't noticed until now that he's limping. Levi answers his own question, "We have to go after Eren. It's not over until he's dead."
People who are watching the battle unfold in front of you start screaming out, "What's going on?"
You all jerk your heads to see what they are talking about. They are pointing to the centipede on the ground. Reiner can't control it. There's no way he can destroy it on his own.
"Isn't this... the same thing as Ragako village...?" Connie asks, his face haunted with pain.
"Mikasa! Pieke! Get on Falco! We have to get out of here!" Levi say's holding back tears. "Hurry!" They do as they are told.
Levi pulls you in for a hug. He squeezes you harder than he's ever squeezed you. You feel the air leaving your lungs. You are completely frozen. He's leaving you and you know why. He's an Ackerman. Rogako village. Spinal fluid. It's all fitting together in your head like a morbid puzzle. "I love you. Forever and always," Levi says bringing a hand to your face and resting the other one on your belly.
He pulls away quickly and runs to board Falco.
You are still frozen in place. Silent sobs rock your body. You feel like you are going to scream. This is the end. For you and the hope you had of having a family.
You lock eyes with Levi and he doesn't take his gaze off you as Falco flys away. You can tell he's crying. Suddenly you feel nauseous and everything goes black.