Upon their journey, it was made clear that the Yeagerists had taken over the pier, guarding the flying ship they needed to save the world. However, what confused the group most, was the fact that they hadn't destroyed it yet. What use could it possibly be to them? In anticipation, the saviours sat on a nearby cliff, observing the enemy and the threat they were going to face.

"I never expected Floch to take action this quickly." Hange spoke.

"If the Yeagerists destroy the flying boat, our plan would be dead in the water. So why haven't they done it already?" Magath added.

"Hard to say. If I had to guess, they suspect we're alive and maybe that we're trying to stop Eren, but they're not entirely sure. They could blow it up in a second if they wanted to, but they can't build another, without the Azumabito's knowledge, they'd have to start from scratch. They'll want to use it for themselves if they can, to make sure the mainlands been wiped clean. Plus, there are Azumabito ships here, that's their objective. To capture a small fleet and the technicians to keep it afloat. Regardless, the Yeagerists would sacrifice that objective if they caught wind of us." Hange revealed their knowledge, scaring everyone around.

"So they'll blow the flying boat to bits the second we're spotted?" Kaya added, Hange's nod confirming her belief. "Well, in that case, we can get caught, just not by the ones blowing up the ship." She guessed, but no one else saw her point.

"What are you saying ghoul?" Magath asked, confused as ever with Kaya's interpretation.

"As long as the message doesn't travel to those guys." She pointed her hand at some of the guard near some explosives. "They won't know we're here. The boat won't get blown up."

"She's right, if we send our most elite to save the Azumabito's, we might be able to savour enough time to secure the boats, we may not even need the nine." The commander of the scouts agreed. "Go make sure everyone's geared up, I'll deal with the details of the plan." They then instructed Kaya, who didn't have the energy to make a remark about being a babysitter.

"Sure." The Lieutenant answered and slid down the cliff to inform the soldiers and warriors of their plan. "Everyone, get you're ODM gear on, I assume you're still familiar with it?" She alerted the younger group.

"Like riding a bike." Reiner replied, not knowing that the scouts weren't familiar with that type of machinery. However, the other's were too proud to admit that, so they guessed it was a yes.

"We have no choice but to kill them all with our first strike. It's the only way to secure the flying boat. To pull this off, everyone's got to be in sync. We need our power, and your fire power. Understood." Annie decided to speak the topic that rested on everyone's minds, some of them still reluctant to kill their old comrades. Though, her approach was far more demanding, which the ghoul was shocked by, considering Annie was one of the youngest there.

"Just hold on a second?" Connie tried to intervene.

"What's the problem?" Annie shot back, forcing Connie to backtrack, instead, Mikasa spoke for him.

"The Yeagerists are holding the Azumabito's hostage, we need to keep them out of the line of fire." Mikasa reasoned.

"Yeah. Exactly." Connie agreed.

"You expect me to care about that? We won't protect people who have been destroying our homeland just because they are your distant cousins." The girl retorted.

"Slow down Annie." Pieck interrupted.

"The Yeagerist's have the technicians too, we need them for the ship to take off and to make any possible repairs." Kaya stated, agreeing with Pieck.

"Yeah, we need them alive. I should be able to pilot it, but first we need to get it into flying shape." Onyankopon added. "The wings are folded up to make it easier to tow. So they'll need to get extended and secured. There's still more to do to get airborne."

"Start to finish, how long is it going to take to get flying?" The armoured titan asked.

"Hard to say, it'll be up to the mechanics."

Mikasa looked down at her wrist, gazing at the bandage that hid her tattoo, Kaya wasn't the only one to take notice of this. "I get it." Annie spoke. "But to confirm, you're asking us to protect the Azumabito's technicians from the Yeagerists, to get the boat ready to fly. Let me guess, you want us to hold the enemy off for as long length of time, without killing anyone?" The Female Titan assumed.

"If at all possible, we've known these guys ever since we were cadets." Jean requested.

"So you've got a plan, think you can fill me in? We don't have an estimate on how long the Azumabito's will be yet, so if you've got some scheme to keep the Yeagerists occupied indefinitely without killing them. Can you explain it, in detail? There is a plan, right Armin? You had one for me?" Annie continued to ask, and Kaya figured she'd had enough.

"That's enough." The ghoul stepped in, activating her eyes once again. "There's isn't a plan where no one dies, sorry, but these Yeagerist's determine if the world ends or not, if it come's to it, I won't hesitate to kill every last one of them." She assured, frustrating the scout's slightly, as far as they were concerned, Kaya got on well with some of the recruits, her connections with her squad led to many acquaintances. Then again, they didn't know what happened in that forest, with Sally.

"We have to wipe them out with a lightening strike." Pieck agreed with the ghoul. "Any survivor will destroy the boat and strand us here."

"Hold on, you're siding with them?" Connie targeted his Lieutenant. "We can see that it's a long shot, but we're trying to help people, so you're saying we have to gun down a bunch of our friends to save the world? Thats so messed up."

He was right, it was messed up. But when something so important was at stake, she had to make sacrifices. Her friends were dead because of them, and Eren was killing every man, woman and child in his way. Thus, this was the only option, she wasn't changing her mind.

"Im sorry, this will be a pretty ugly operation, we shouldn't expect you guys to take part in it. We don't even have the right to drop that choice on you. If it had been you in our place, you probably would have done different to what we did that day. You wouldn't have breached the wall." Her tone was entirely different, like a sudden empathy switch had flipped within her, proving that she wasn't just a weapon, she was Annie Leonhardt.

"None of you need to join this battle. Stick with Gabi and Falco and observe. You'll have to defend yourselves if the Yeagerists spot you, so be prepared to fight. But for now, just stay out of it." Reiner walked towards the scouts, taunting Kaya with the height difference. He was being nice, but some part of her was angry at him for underestimating her willpower.

"And let you guys kill each other while we sit back and watch?" Connie questioned.

"Would that work? Can they win this without us backing them up?" Jean asked Armin. Thats when all heads tilted to the commander and general sliding down the cliff.

"I've got no interest in being a spectator. Look, I know they were our comrades, but I've already had to shoot four. On top of that, our window to save humanity is shorter than we realised." Hange interrupted. "I saw the titans crossing the sea, leaving monstrous clouds of steam in their wake. Considering how fast they were moving, they've probably made landfall in Marley right now. The closest cities in North Eastern Marley, are most likely gone. I had no idea they'd be able to make it across the sea that quickly. There's no telling how many people hey've already killed."

Everyone was shocked by the recent development, including the Eldians. But no one was more aggravated that one of the loyal Marleyans. General Theo Magath. In his rage, he stormed towards Yelena, gripping her mouth with his hand and then forcing his foot onto her elbow, putting pressure on it to the point of breaking.

"Tell us where Yeager is going with those titans!" He demanded, watching Yelena toss around her legs in a poor attempt to escape from the General. Unfortunately, no one was willing to help a traitor. "Every time you make me ask you again, I'll break a new elbow." He informed before applying more pressure and snapping her join. Her screams were heard by everyone, regardless of how hard Magath was pushing his hand over her mouth.

"Magath! Stop it!" Hange commanded, but the man failed to listen, instead, he was fixated on the tears in Yelena's eyes, wondering if another break would encourage her to talk. "Kaya!" The commander turned her head to one of the few people who would still listen to orders.

As instructed, the ghoul pounced towards Magath. Then, she gripped the back of his jacket and jabbed her foot into the back of his knees, resulting in the man falling forwards, but due to Kaya's grip on his shirt, he was dragged back and away from the other Marleyan. "Let go!' He ordered, but Kaya didn't take orders from him.

Despite her wanting to drag him further away, she dropped the man, then walked back towards the commotion. "Thanks." Hange said quietly.

"Anytime. Besides, he was getting on my nerves." The ghoul responded. "So, why do you look so damn afraid Yelena? I thought you wanted to die. That said, it'd be stupid to let someone with that information die."

Instead of carrying her scared look, Yelena's face formed a smile. "Thats good to hear. I've changed my mind." She relaxed. "Now that you've caught me up in this, I don't want to die without knowing how it ends. If we survive, and you take me with you, I might tell you where to find Eren."

"No, you will tell us where to find Eren. Then we might have a deal." The ghoul countered, annoying at Yelena's attempt of staying alive.

"Our main priority is securing the boats." Hange placed a hand on Kaya's shoulder, making her take a step back from Yelena.

"Yeah, torturing her isn't gonna do us any good now." Onyankopon reinforced.

Magath walked back towards the group, then looked at the Eldians in sympathy. "Forgive me, all of you. I was, a fool." He apologised. "I'm sorry for my behaviour last night, we were never in the right. I deluded myself into thinking we were the good guys and believed the evil I'd done was justified because of the cause. But in the end, that's just not true. I'd attempted to ignore the fact that Marley's soul has grown rotten, I didn't consider what that meant about me. This war isn't your fault, you shouldn't be punished for sins of people you never knew just because their blood flows in your veins." He spoke to the scouts, all shocked at everyone's sudden change. Kaya was confused if these sudden confessions were genuin or just a ruse to convince them to help.

"Pieck, Annie, Reiner." Magath then changed the topic. "You've been shouldering the burden of humanities hatred since you were born. It's inexcusable. But, senseless as our blood stained history may be, we have a duty to carry on. So the generations after us can do better." He continued. "Yeager's planning to erase everything, including the lessons of the past. I call that unforgivable. As long as all this want and killing continues, our world will only go to hell, we have to break the cycle."

Then suddenly, the general bowed down to the Eldian's in front of him. "But right now, we're trapped in it. There's no way to avoid spilling more blood today. So please, look the other way."

The group stayed silent, even the ghoul was too astounded to make a comment about his spontaneous speech, which she loved doing. However, then, Armin spoke up. "I'm not doing that. I refuse to let someone else stain their hands in my place." Now that, was even more shocking.