ATTACK ON TITAN: 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗 // an erwin smith fanfiction

twenty-three /// levi

Hanji's eyes hold just as much confusion as mine as we share a glance. I don't even want to consider what the presence of titans in Wall Rose might mean - we don't have the time. I hope Hanji knows what the hell to do now, because I sure don't.

"We've got to move to engage!" Hanji shouts. "There's a village off in that direction, and we need to ensure the civilians' safety!" 

At my side, Sofia's face is unnaturally blank. She stares straight ahead, cheeks rapidly draining of color, as Hanji points their flare gun in the direction of the titans and shoots of a round of green smoke.

"Come on, kid, you've got nothing to worry about. You've taken on Titans before," I remind her sharply.

She sways her head back and forth. "That village ... that's where ..."

"Don't worry, Sofia, I'm sure your daughter will be all right," Hanji interrupts us in a low voice before shouting a command for everyone to hear. "Ride as hard as you can for the village! Until the relays reach us we don't know how many of the fuckers we're dealing with!"

I grit my teeth. So that's  what's putting her on edge - I had no idea we were so close to Mike's sister's farm. As much as I want to believe Hanji's words, I find myself worrying along with Sofia. The thought of a community of civilians having to deal with a Titan attack is nauseating; but there's little else we can do but get over there as quickly as possible.

"Hanji's right," I tell Sofia. "Put your kid out of your mind for now and focus on what you can do. You're worth nothing if you're too panicked to do anything useful."

Sofia nods in understanding. Her grip on her reins tightens, her arms tensing and expression hardening, but her lower lip still trembles a bit.

No relays reach us by the time we make it to Dohna Village. Immediately, I'm overwhelmed by the chaos of the scene. A few houses have been smashed, flattened by the steaming corpse of a Titan, and civilians are milling about like a colony of panicked ants, some with half-packed carts of belongings and young children tied to their backs. Some scream with relief at the sight of reinforcements; it looks like the only squad who's made it here is Jean Squad, and they've got their hands full with four other Titans that are threatening the village's town center.

Where the hell are the rest of the squads? At least Armin Squad should be here by now, if no one else.

Three of Jean's squad members are attempting to direct evacuees and generally restore order as their squadmates address the Titans. One of them, a portly fellow who's name (I think) is Declan, waves Hanji down.

"Commander!" he calls out. "Thank god! We need direction on how to deal with these civilians!"

"Where's Jean?" Hanji demands.

"He's coordinating the attack right now. But we're not exactly sure - "

"How many Titans are there? Just those four?"

"Those are the only ones we've seen, yes. Plus the one they killed already." He nods towards the steam billowing from the fallen figure a couple hundred yards away. "But the villagers are saying there's more."

"My son-!" A woman staggers towards Hanji and clings to their boot. Her apron is streaked with smears of soot, and her hair is powdered in a fine layer of dust. "My house collapsed - please sir - I think my son is still inside!"

"Eren! Go deal with the smashed houses," Hanji orders at once. "Transform if you have to. Everyone else, stay close, secure the perimeter of the village. If there are any other Titans out there, they'll be drawn to this town. We need to be ready to deal with them when they arrive."

"Roger!" we chorus.

Hanji turns back to Declan, offering the woman a comforting pat on the head. "Cadet, make sure all the villagers stay put. We can't have them running off and becoming Titan food. Understand?"

The cadet nods.

"Commander Hanji!" Another panicked voice rings out from the throng of frightened villagers. "What about the folks livin' on the farms outside the villages? What should they do?"

I glance at Sofia. Her whole body has begun to shake again.

"And my daughter!" A man clutching a worn straw hat in his hands pushes through the crowd and pleads with Hanji. "My daughter and her fiance - they went out for a horseback ride together this afternoon and they still haven't come back. They're still out there!" 

The sight of fat tears rolling down his wrinkled cheeks perturbs me, and I have to look away.

"I'm sorry. Until more troops arrive we will have to stick to simply securing the town limits." Hanji's voice is apologetic, but firm. Only I, who've known them for years, can detect the slight tremor on the end of their words.

"Comm- " Sofia begins to say, but I shoot her a warning look. You have to obey command. She falls silent at once, though I notice she's taking very shallow breaths. Her horse shifts beneath her uneasily.

The sound of galloping hoofbeats behind us causes me to whip around. Another squad, ready to help us out?

Instead, a lone farmer on a old dun plowhorse charges up to us. He's panting heavily, the underarms of his cotton shirt soaked, and his hair blows wildly across his sweaty brow.

"Commander Hanji! Thank god it's you! Please, you've got to help me - there's ... there's ... my family ... two Titans -"

The crowd around us gasps, and the man who's daughter is missing lets out a despairing moan.

"Where?" Hanji interrupts him.

"About a mile - I'm Gregory Langel, sir, we live a mile east of the village -"

Sofia inhales sharply at the name. He must be Mike's brother-in-law.

"Where's the rest of your family?" Hanji's tone has increased in intensity; their gaze snaps up to Sofia, who has moved to kick her horse into a gallop. The two of them share a glance laden with urgency, but Hanji shakes their head almost imperceptibly. Sofia lowers her reins and scowls.

"They - we only have one horse, and I had to - they're back at the farm," Gregory Langel breathes. "Please, sir, the Titans are very close to them. My mother and father, my wife, my children ..."

At the mention of the children, Sofia doesn't hold back anymore. I lunge for her reins as she wheels her horse eastward, giving her horse a swift kick to its flank, but before I can reach her she's out of my grasp. She takes off at a breakneck pace towards the Langel farm.

"Arawen!" Hanji bellows, their voice uncharacteristically angry. "Where the hell are you going?"

"What's got into her?" Floch stares after her blankly. The rest of the cadets share confused glances.

"Levi!" Hanji turns to me. "Go after her and make sure she doesn't kill herself! She's going to whip that horse to death if she's not careful."

"Thank you, sir, thank you!" Gregory Langel cries out.

"You can thank that suicidal maniac who's disobeying orders!" Hanji snaps. "Go, Levi! Now!"

I bob my head once and take off for the farm, leaving everyone else behind me. That girl - I bare my teeth, uncertain if I should be angry or impressed. She's too much like Erwin for her own good.