Chapter 21

"Captain Levi!" Connie shouts, "The troops are ordering a retreat, just like how Crystal predicted. Should we regroup with her or tend to our wounded?"

"Tsk. You didn't listen during our review of the plan, our job is to make sure our injured gets recovered. Crystal will signal if she needs backup."

"But captain-" Connie went to shout but Levi left out of a broken window.

Crystal reloaded her pistols and continued firing, she climbed up into one of their watch towers so they couldn't surround her. Grabbing the long rifle next to her, she starts firing it quickly, moments later she shot the head of the last soldier, and waited.

Soon they jumped out of the side buildings, this was when she would've been ambushed, firing into the crowd now, she watched as their blood splattered everywhere. For a moment she thought of how many families she just robbed of a son or father, or husband.

"My friends mean more to me than being empathetic," Crystal shot the last three and pulled her smoke canon, firing a yellow smoke into the air she sat inside the watch tower panting.

She was so physically exhausted from the poison, even with being completely healed, she was still feeling the effects. She wanted to just give up and go to sleep, back in Levi's arms.

"Oi." Levi shouts into the watch tower and Crystal opens her eyes, "Are you hurt?"

"No, Captain. Just tired..." Crystal smiles tiredly at him, and he walks over before lifting her up into his arms.

"There's not a single wound on you?" Levi asks as he uses a hand to shoot his grapples onto the airship that was flying over, "Huh?" Levi looks down as they fly towards it, Crystal had closed her eyes and wasn't responding, "Tsk. Idiot." Levi jumped into the door that opened for him and Hanji looked at Crystal worriedly, "She doesn't have any wounds, according to herself."

"Oh. Must be exhausted from the adrenaline rush, take her to the cabins. We're going to discuss the details of the armistice with the Yulvaskian King."

"Right." Levi held Crystal's sweaty body to himself, he usually hated being so close to someone who was clammy, but he was worried sick about her. Carrying her into his cabin, he laid her down on the cot, "Tsk. You're drenched in sweat, its kind of gross. I'll have to get some water." Levi walks back out and looks in the kitchen where he found some canisters of water.

"Captain, those are for drinking-" Armin went to say when Levi looked at him with a cold stare.

"Can they not be used for cleaning someone off?"

"Well yes, but we'll be short." Armin said weakly and Levi huffed.

"Consider these taken from my portion. I'll go without water for two days."

"Just to clean yourself? I know you're kind of a clean freak, but I'm sure you can wait a few days until we get back to Paradis." Armin said, a slight judgemental tone shining through his words.

"Tsk. This isn't for me idiot." Levi walks around Armin and heads to his cabin, opening the door he finds Crystal breathing heavily as her sweating continued to grow heavier, "Shit. She must have a fever." Levi placed the canisters of water down before touching his hand to her forehead, it burned to the touch, "Shit she does..." Levi starts to remove her straps then her jacket.

Removing her shirt, his eyes widen as he notices the gunshot wound from before was completely healed, not even a scar remained. He looked up at her face as it winced in pain, swallowing his animosity he strips off her pants, leaving her just in her underwear. Grabbing a rag and a bucket, he pours the water from the canisters into the bucket, before dipping the rag in and dabbing it softly onto her inflamed skin.

"What the hell..." Levi mumbled as he wiped down her body, hoping the water would cool her down before it got dangerous.

"Levi?" A knock came to the door, and Levi looked back at it, "Is everything okay?"

"Hanji, come in quickly. Crystal has a fever and I don't know what to do-" As the words left his mouth the door burst open and Hanji closes it behind herself. Walking over to Crystal's head she touches it.

"I fear that her body is still fighting off the poison. She might have healed tremendously from the bullet, but traces of the poison may still be present. Chances are when she was fighting with her swords, she caused her body to strain and while it overloaded with multiple processes, she ended up with a fever."

"Speaking of healing... Hanji-" Levi looks down at where the gunshot was, "Her gunshot wound..."

"Levi," Hanji looks over at him, "She didn't tell you?" Levi shook his head, "I see. Crystal is a Titan shifter."

"What?!" Levi shouts angrily, "What do you mean?!"

"It was a rather recent development. When she went under due to the poison, she was supposed to die that night, in that bed with me and you by her side. She did die, for 20 minutes. But Zeke Jaeger saved her life by bestowing upon her a unique titan."

"Wait... Are you saying she became a titan shifter to remain alive?"

"Yes." Hanji says softly, "Crystal told me that Zeke offered her a deal and she took it. Eventually Zeke will call her to help with a mission of his." Hanji takes the rag and puts it on her forehead.

"I wonder why she kept it from me."

"Crystal has always hated the idea of being a titan shifter." Hanji says softly, "I'm sure the reason she accepted Zeke's deal was due to her love for you. I'm sure she resents that she's now one of them."

"I could see why she would hate it..." Levi sighs softly as he feels her body cooling down.

"I wouldn't press her about it. Honestly I wonder what it looks like, her titan form."

"When did she tell you?" Levi asks and Hanji held her chin.

"The day we were leaving." Hanji looks down at Crystal, "Keep wetting that cloth, eventually the fever will break and she'll burst into another sweat fit."

"Alright." Levi stands up and looks at her, "She won us victory."

"Yes, yes she did."

"Commander Hanji!" One of the scouts called down the hall, "We're arriving at the meet up point!"

"Got it!" Hanji walks out and Levi follows after her, "Don't you want to stay with her?"

"I'm trying not to worry about it." Levi said simply, before he realized how blunt that was about his feelings.

"Right." Hanji looks at the scout that was calling for them, "Call for Mikasa to guard Levi's Cabin, tell her not to let anyone in." Hanji ordered and the scout saluted before running off.