ZERO, SEE YOU LATER

THE PEOPLE OF Marley had begun to fill the empty streets as the morning sun arose. White, red, and yellow armbands wrapped around their left arms each signifying a different title. Those who were regular citizens, others were warrior cadets and the official Marlians.

Underneath them, a woman sat tied down to the stone-hard ground by her feet and arms. The metal chains clashing against each other whenever she made any sudden movement- body growing weaker as the years went on due to the lack of food, her slick red hair that once was soft and shiny was now greasy and dirty. The glow to her skin had disappeared and so did the shine in her once vivid emerald eyes that used to hold so much light in them.

Time had not been treating her well. It was as if there were an anchor clamped around her ankle keeping her head beneath the water as she drowned in a void of torturing silence. Alone with the voices in her head either telling her that she made a mistake or convincing herself that she was a good mother for sending her daughter across the sea.

Despite feeling like this, not an ounce of regret plagued her mind. Every decision she's made that got her to where she is was worth it and was necessary if she wanted to keep her safe for as long as possible. To keep her away from the troubles of this cruel world she'd soon have to face because she'd rather her daughter fight to live by her own law than to let someone else decide that for her.

The final moments with her daughter plays on repeat in her mind like a broken record every second. It was the only thing keeping her sane and distracted from hearing all the people above her living happily while she got to rot. Their muffled footsteps made the ceiling crumble and sometimes the fine particles would fall on her. It enraged her. She would grit her teeth once in a while but other times she'd let out a small scoff and let it go. Not like she can do anything about it.

She often thought about how these same people had no idea they were being brainwashed to believe the lies that history told them- the parts written in books of who were the good guys and who wasn't, because unlike them, she could see right through their corrupt government schemes who didn't want anyone getting near the sad truth. No war will ever save humanity. The cycle of hatred will continue to exist even if some savior out there attempts to put an end to the endless conflict.

Titans were and have never been the real problem, it'd always be humans. They were selfish and forever will be.

The day she returned from Paradis island trying to sneak back into Marley to say goodbye to a certain someone, guns were pointed at her and she was beaten to a pulp without an ounce of mercy. In the eyes of her people, she was a traitor, not only did she go to such measures to keep one of their own from fighting against their enemy on that same island filled with devils, but because they trusted her.

The woman took a glance at the old faded red armband embroidered with an explosion-like symbol around her left arm. It reminded her of all the time she spent training and killing innocent people simply because someone else told her to and she never questioned it- serving as a warrior for Marley, she means. Back then she'd been clueless about the cruelty of her actions and how they affect those on the opposing side. The people she looked up to never once saw it as a bad thing so why would she?

She was stuck with a past that no matter how hard she tried to scrub off it would never wash away.

The sound of a rusty steel door being opened instantly tore her tired eyes from the symbol to the metal bars that kept her prisoner as she listened to the familiar heavy steps become clearer. Already knowing to who they belonged to the woman rolled her eyes. She waited patiently for him to get closer, letting the slow trickles that dropped from the leaking drain pipe above her fill her ears as she watched the flickering lightbulb in the middle of the dimly lit underground hallway.

It didn't matter how many times he visited her down here, or how many times he repeatedly asked the same questions. She wasn't breaking. She knew from the beginning that there only so many chances he'd give her before she'd meet her end.

"Léonie." He said her name softly, his hands slowly wrapping around the cold metal bars and his voice sounding desperate and irritated at the same time. She didn't care for his tone though. Her eyes were glued to the ground pretending the cracks acted as some sort of entertainment for her. She paid him no attention whatsoever. Though she did steal a glance at his ring finger which had the same engraved flowers that rested on hers which made her smile to herself.

It was silent for a moment. The man stared at her fragile body in chains waiting for a response. He never thought he'd see her in this position, so frail and far from the woman she used to be.

"It's been years." He sighs, "do you have the decency to at least look at me?"

Unfazed by him, Léonie readjusted herself straightening her back, and rested her head on the wall behind her.

"It has, hasn't it?" She replies, "Tell me, Zeke. Why is it that I'm the one in shackles and here you are on the other side of the bars looking more pathetic than me? Have the years treated just as badly as me?"

A rough groan left Zeke's mouth feeling himself grow furious at Léonie by the minute. He couldn't understand why she was being this way, why in the span of a single second she ripped away the only thing that had brought him joy in a long time.

"You can't move a muscle but still have the energy to make smart remarks at times like this." Zeke comments, a fake chuckle leaving his mouth pretending as if her words didn't bother him.

"It's one of my many talents."

He hummed in response, then crouched down to her level to observe the woman in her state of frailty, and perhaps, since this was the last he'd be able to see her he wanted to search for a spec of vibrancy in her jaded eyes like when they had first met before everything comes crumbling down on him again.

"Why?" he asked. "I need to know why if you're not going to tell me where she is. Don't I deserve that?"

It was true. He did deserve an explanation for her doings and she'd give him one even though it might not be exactly what he was looking for.

"I didn't want her to become a mass murderer for the sake of some war and with you, as her father, she'd have no choice but to be just that, because you made her special. The minute they find out about you, your bloodline, why you have the power to control other Titans, they'll want to use her as well-"

She was cut off by a loud scoff as Zeke looked away from her in an irritated manner. She's crazy, he thought. To think he would ever send her down that same path when his childhood was absolute hell. He'd never become his father, he would be better than him in every way.

"Is that really your explanation?" He queried, "because if you knew me you'd know that after everything that has happened to me I'd know better than to put my own daughter through that. So why? I ask again."

"Yes, while you've never had those intentions, my actions were purely out of fear." Léonie admitted, finally meeting Zeke's eyes as she felt her voice wobble, "you have to understand as her mother, I did it all to protect her which may be selfish of me to do without telling you but in the end, all that matters to me is that she lives."

"Fear?" He questioned, pulling his eyebrows together at her absurd logic.

"Yes, fear that one day they'd figure just how special she really is to have that sort of blood course her veins," Léonie says, noticing his eyes saddened at her words which made her breath hitch for a second wanting to wipe that look off his face, "While we've been arguing back and forth about my intentions, I've noticed you're newfound hatred towards me and it's understandable- but know she's been living peacefully. I can promise you that."

The woman attempts to ease his pain by giving him the tiniest bit of information about his daughter's well-being.

For the past years, she'd been so focused on her daughter's safety that she didn't care if Zeke was hurting or not. The man she once loved was sitting in front of her begging at her feet for the smallest details about his daughter and at the same time trying to understand the woman that is Léonie Markov, because he knew she was incredibly smart, that she wouldn't have acted without a plan.

So what exactly was her endgame?

"Where is she?" Ignoring her words, he asked the same question he'd been asking for the last couple of years with the same hint of desperation each time. Praying she would give him an answer. Zeke remembered the day he gently held his only child in his arms. A feeling of affection washed over him when his kind silvery eyes gazed into his daughter's similar ones- although she was a replica of her mother with every other feature, he still shared a part of him with her.

And soon the man's craving to live suddenly flourished watching as his offspring smiled up at him.

The sound of chains clashing against each other caused the blond to glance up. The weak woman had begun to crawl closer to him, her limbs trying to support her body which made the man wonder what the hell she was doing. She came face to face with the blond- new round silver glasses rested upon the bridge of his nose, a beard to match his hair. With the bit of strength, she had left she grabbed his hands pulling him as close as possible causing his breath to hitch at her sudden actions.

"I know I don't have much time left, " She says, her voice sounding raspy as she leaned the bars for support, "I also know about the mission that's going to eventually ruin our daughter's peace."

Zeke's eyes widen, his lips parting at her words, what did she mean by that?

"Your Titan isn't suited for the type of mission that they're planning so you won't be able to do anything but you could have others do the work for you." She explained to him, "Listen to me, Zeke, I knew at some point my acts to protect her would falter and that I wouldn't be alive for much longer."

"What are you trying to say, Léonie?" He asked a bit too loud for her liking. The woman put a finger to her lips telling him to quiet down as she gestured that same finger to the metal door signaling that they could hear them.

"I can't say much, " She slowly went into her pocket and pulled out a note with everything he needed to know, "read it when you're out of here and do exactly as it says, do you understand?"

Zeke couldn't answer before a loud knock made the two jump causing their necks to snap in its direction. That meant their time was over, that after he steps outside he would no longer be able to see Léonie again. If he was being honest with himself the thought of not being able to see her again hurt, to know that she'd die made him want to rip his own heart out.

He looked back at her only to see the tears pulling in her eyes through the dark hair covering her face. If Zeke knew anything about her it was that she was afraid to die. One of her biggest fears. And it hurt even more that he couldn't to much help.

"Go before they get suspicious." She told him, "I'll be fine."

He didn't know if she was trying to comfort him or herself but she failed- they both knew she wasn't going to be fine. After today they'll see each other again. It was the tragic truth. He took the note and headed towards the steel door without looking back. This was the easiest way for him to leave, he had a lot to say but time was not their side and so no further words were exchanged between the two individuals.

Her suppressed sobs became muffled as he got farther away, Zeke cringing at them as his hand turned the cold knob and exited the underground cell room with a tear slipping from his eye.