A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

The Final Operation I

He turned to the glowing horizon, the direction of Shiganshina, and the basement to Eren Jaeger's home—their destination. As his eyes fixed on the burning orb that was slowly rising, his thumb absentmindedly felt for the ring on his finger, a reminder that he had a reason to return.

When he heard ripples of commotion coming from the town of Trost, he turned and walked over to the other side of the wall, looking down to see a crowd of citizens gathered below, cheering for them.

"Take back Wall Maria!"

"Come back safely!"

"The future of mankind is in your hands!"

From his side, Erwin heard Levi softly click his tongue. "Well, they blew it."

"Someone was bound to figure it out after all that noise last night," Hanji added as she looked at the cheering crowd.

Isanna walked up to Erwin's side, looking below as a smile slowly formed on her lips. "Not a bad parting gift. How long has it been since we had a warm sendoff like this?"

Erwin stared at the crowd, who all wore grins of encouragement as the cheers and yells continued to fly through the air, resounding the streets of Trost. A brief flashback of all previous expeditions rolled in his memory, only gloom and scorn reigning.

A smile made its way to him. "As far as I know, it's a first."

They heard cries of replies from their side, making them turn, only to see Jean, Connie, and Sasha with their arms flung up high as the trio mirrored the crowd's excitement.

"YEEEAH!"

"YOU CAN COUNT ON US!"

"WOOOOH!"

Levi watched them with his usual stoic. "We have idiots here too."

"They're on your squad," Hanji reminded. Levi didn't quip back.

Amid the ringing cheers, Erwin and Isanna exchanged looks, a knowing gaze and smile etched on them. Then, they turned to the crowd down below, and as if to answer to the citizens' cheers, rose their voices high together.

At the sight of seeing their two top officers yelling with the crowd, the Scouts blinked in a mixture of confusion and surprise. Even Hanji and Levi were staring at the two as if they'd just grown two more heads each.

"They're idiots too," Levi said as he watched the pair's enthusiasm. Hanji elbowed him in the gut, muttering to 'leave them be'.

Then in a matter of seconds, the Scouts boarded the lifts and were lowered down the other side of Wall Rose; the rush of adrenaline and newfound determination coursed through them as they cantered their horses across the fields, heading for their final operation to retake Wall Maria.

•

It took the group an entire day to reach the last thicket of forestation before Shiganshina. They had deliberately chosen a new moon night to set out in case abnormal titans lurked in wait.

Crunches of footsteps filled the nightly silence, minimal conversations exchanged between voices so as to maintain a high alert. Illumination from their recently-developed portable lights provided them ample vision as they traversed through the forest, down the slope of a hill, and only a thin cloak was their source of protection from the freezing temperature.

The longer their journey stretched on, the more time it gave Isanna to think about what their enemies might have prepared for them in Shiganshina.

Bertholdt and Reiner were bound to be there, so at least they knew they were up against the colossal and armored titans, but that was just about it.