Suture

Levi quickly ran towards Hange and Lara, who were sitting down on a place on top of the Wall. When he knelt beside them, he got startled. Lara's wound was practically all stitched up and Hange was already bandaging it.

The admiration he already had for Hange grew even more on seeing her taking care of his daughter's wound with mastery and speed. Hidden by the shadows of his hood, he gave a brief smile as he looked at that woman, so focused on saving her daughter.

"How's it?" he asked, worried.

"Thanks to my mom, I don't think we'll have to cut off my arm," Lara even tried to chuckle, but her expression of pain was saying something else. "You know better than anyone that she makes excellent sutures, don't you?"

Without meaning to, Levi stroked his left forearm, where there was a scar that Hange herself had sutured, when they came to Shiganshina by the time they had rescued Lara. He remembered that day with nostalgia, but avoided thinking about the part where he was rude to Hange at one point. Then, he ruffled Lara's hair and acquired a very serious expression.

"That bastard..." he began, his teeth gritted, "I should've finished him! But he ended up using some kind of power, which somehow made him survive my attacks."

"You were amazing, Levi," said Hange, still concentrated on the curative. "When I realized, you had already left my side and were flying down, saving our daughter." She then lifted her face and gave Levi such a beautiful smile, that he felt his heart skip a beat for a moment.

"It was pretty amazing, dad, really," Lara grimaced in pain as Hange had to tighten the bands that wrapped her arm. "Reiner almost plunged that sword into my chest..."

"What?!" exclaimed Hange, looking furious.

"Yeah..." continued Lara, crestfallen. "I noticed that he hesitated when he recognized me and changed the position of the attack, from my chest to my arm."

Levi, who was already with an angry expression, got even angrier. He looked around and saw that all soldiers, without exception, were too focused on watching the Beast Titan in front of them.

"I need to check Erwin's orders."

Levi then felt an immense urge to hug Hange and Lara, as he knew that the moment he left to talk to Erwin, he would command him to do something, probably far away from the girls.

And who knows if they would ever be able to see each other again, given the current circumstances.

Levi was rubbing his hands together in anxiety, because he wanted to do something, but he was too embarrassed for being surrounded by people. However, he looked around and saw that the soldiers were so intent on watching the Beast Titan, that they could make any noise and no one wouldn't even notice.

Then, Levi quickly placed a kiss on each of their foreheads and held their faces. The girls stared at him, perplexed, surprised by this sudden public display of affection.

"I love you both, okay?!" he said, looking deeply into their eyes.

Hange and Lara were still blinking several times, trying to understand what was that, but then they nodded and gave him a big smile.

"We love you too, dad!"

"We love you, Levi," Hange also placed her hand on his face, caressing his cheek.

He gave Hange a little smile, and automatically, they held their hands together. Levi needed to get up and go to Erwin, but it seemed like every time he tried to, he wanted to stay with the girls even more. Still holding Hange's hand, he slowly got up and, with a pain in his heart, he let it go. She watched Levi walk away and going to take a look at the Armored Titan before talking to the Commander.

All Hange wanted right now was for Levi to kiss her like he had kissed her in her bedroom the day before, when he had finally told her he loved her. But she knew that not in a thousand years would he do that in front of so many people. She chuckled at the thought.

"Mom…" called Lara, looking seriously at Hange.

"Yes, baby? Is it hurting?"

"I think I can handle the pain..." Lara gave Hange a little smile. "Thank you so much for taking care of me. I wasn't joking at that time. If it wasn't for your speed, I'm sure my arm would end up pretty bad." She acquired a serious tone. "But, I would like to ask you, please, act as if nothing had happened to me, 'cause I'm gonna keep fighting!"

Hange's maternal instinct wanted to say a loud and clear "No freaking way!", but she tried to take a deep breath and understand that this was a time where she should be strong, and that her daughter was committed to the mission. Lara had already shown enough evidence that she was capable. Hange then gave her a sad smile.

"Alright, sweetie... I understand and I'm very proud," Hange caressed Lara's cheek.

As they were not ashamed of showing affection in public, they gave a big hug right there, just being careful not to hurt Lara's arm, who was still feeling lots of pain. In the first-aid kit, there was a syringe with a strong painkiller, which Hange then gave to her. That would make Lara be able to bear the pain for the next few hours and to fight with more easiness.

Levi noticed that the Armored Titan had hardened the tips of his toes and fingers, and had started to climb up the Wall. Then, he warned Erwin of what was happening, who ordered everyone to stay away from him.

Running, Eren approached Hange and Lara, who by this time were already on their feet, also watching the Beast Titan with his army of Titans by his side.

"Hange," he said, flustered, "why the Commander didn't give us orders to attack? What's he thinking?!"

"He's watching the enemy's movements," she replied, serious. "Reiner and his allies must've prepared some kind of grand welcome for us..."

Lara noticed that next to the Beast Titan, there was a quadrupedal Titan, with a very long face. It carried a large box on its back. At this moment, she gave a "psst!" at Armin.

They looked at each other in a meaningful way, as if to say, "That must be the fourth enemy, the scout!"

It was probably this quadrupedal Titan who spotted the Survey Corps arriving, to warn its other three companions. Erwin also noticed the same thing.

Suddenly, the Beast Titan clenched his fist and punched the ground so hard, that dozens of birds flew out of the trees, while he screamed loudly. Then, to everyone's bewilderment, several three-meter Titans who were accompanying him began to run towards them.

The Titans moved in a completely strange way, swinging their limbs and body unevenly, looking abnormals. Hange shouted, warning the soldiers.

It was impossible to return to the Districts without a horse. It would be a complete suicide to try to go on foot, because the area was infested with Titans.

In addition, if the horses were killed, the Survey Corps would also lose their supply line, causing the soldiers to eventually become trapped in the Walls, dying of hunger and thirst. That way, it would be an excellent opportunity to capture Eren.

It was the perfect plan. They wanted to trap the Survey Corps soldiers at any cost.

To make things worse, on the other side of the Wall, from inside Shiganshina, the Armored Titan was almost reaching the top of the Wall. Now, their highest priority was to stop Reiner and Bertholdt from killing the horses.

Levi was a little impatient next to Erwin. Armin approached.

"Isn't it time to give orders yet?" asked Levi. "If I knew we would have to wait, I would've made some tea or stayed with Hange and Lara."

Then, Erwin began to wave his arm.

"Dirk Squad and Marlene Squad! Join the Klaus Squad to protect the horses at the gate!"

He then turned towards where Lara and Hange were, catching their attention.

"Levi and Lara Squad, and Hange Squad! Take down the Armored Titan! Use the Thunder Spears at your own discretion!"

Thunder Spears were elongated devices designed to combat the Armored Titan's hard skin, made with technology that the Military Police kept in secret. The user should aim the device at the target and pull a pin, which would cause an explosion. It was a powerful and effective weapon, but very dangerous to handle, as the user would always need to be in a location where they could attach their ODM gear to keep some distance, as the device's explosion could hit them.

"Right now, in this battle, we are deciding the fate of humanity!" Erwin continued to shout. "For our sake... DEDICATE YOUR HEARTS!"

Each soldier went to their positions and for a brief second, Levi couldn't believe he was going to be able to fight in the company of Hange and Lara. He and Armin were already running towards the girls when Erwin called them back.

"Wait, you two!" exclaimed the Commander. "Levi, I'm gonna give you a different task from the rest of your Squad."

The Captain's happiness only lasted a few seconds. He already knew what Erwin would order him to do.

"You want me to protect the horses, instead of Eren?" asked Levi.

"That's right," Erwin then pointed his sword at the Beast Titan. "And once we have the chance, I want you to kill him. You're the only one who can take on the Beast Titan."

Levi took a deep breath and paused. Then, he replied:

"Understood... I'll make up for my earlier failure on killing that damn Armored brat by bringing that monkey's head on a platter."

Before leaving, Levi looked at Hange and Lara for a few seconds, which he wished would last forever. The three of them stood there, trying to keep each other's memories. With a sad smile and a tightness in his chest, Levi turned his back and walked toward the horses.

"Armin," continued Erwin, "I have a plan for the Armored Titan. I know Lara is a strong soldier, but we cannot play around with her wound. I want you to help her even more at this moment. You, she, and Hange will take responsibility for one of the most critical parts of this battle."

The boy tensed up, eyes wide. Erwin told his plan and Armin left to meet Lara and Hange.