Isanna was walking past the boys' cabin dorms just as Levi, Farlan, and Isabel stepped out, with the trio already wearing their gears.
"Isanna!" Isabel beamed with her usual cheery smile. "Don't we all look cool?"
The older woman couldn't help but smile back at her enthusiasm. Despite the trio's plan in stealing Erwin's documents, she couldn't deny the positivity Isabel gave to the soldiers in the headquarters; although there were still quite a few who were still not as closely acquainted with the new recruits, the loud girl's buoyancy had definitely brought more than one smile to a few soldiers.
Isanna lifted a hand and ruffled the girl's head. "Yeah. It suits you."
Isabel widely grinned with a blush. "Just you wait! I'll kill all the titans outside!"
"Idiot." Farlan stepped forward and lightly bonked her in the head. "Don't get cocky."
"Shut up, Farlan! Let's make a bet to see who kills more titans, then!"
The smile in Isanna's lips slowly fell at Isabel's challenge, unpleasant memories flooding back in. However, she shook her head to push the scenes away and teared her attention from the two bickering friends to see Levi staring at her harshly from behind Isabel and Farlan.
Without saying anything else, she ignored him and turned around her heel, heading for the building to gear up. Isanna passed by a lot of soldiers jogging here and there, making the final preparations for their expedition as they lugged the necessary supplies onto the wagons and readied the horses. A few would pause from whatever they were doing and saluted as the raven passed them, with her nodding at them before they proceeded with their tasks; the campus was filled with hustling shouts of the soldiers preparing for their departure.
When Isanna reached the supply room inside one of their main buildings, she wasted no time in readying her gas tanks and stocking up her spare blades, guaranteeing the stability of her equipments as she double checked her gear. When she was all suited up, she took a glance at the remaining soldiers who were still gearing up and ordered them to double their pace and hurry up, before finally exiting the room after receiving a chorus of "Yes ma'am!".
Isanna walked out of the building with rushed steps as she saw the line of soldiers who were already mounted up on their horses while some were still pacing around, carrying supplies and the like.
She saw a figure at the corner of her eyes and turned to see Mike who was mounted on his horse slowly trotting towards her, with the reigns of her mare in his grip.
"Thanks." Isanna received the reigns and pulled herself up on her horse, steadying herself atop the saddle as she patted Fish.
"I swear you're the only one who names their horse 'Fish'," Mike remarked as he watched the girl.
"Oh, shut up." the girl rolled her eyes before eyeing the blond's horse. "It's better than 'Tempest', at least. What are you, a seven-year-old? No offense, boy," she quickly added her last statement while reaching over to pat Mike's horse.
"Anyway, where's Erwin?" she asked, pulling her hand back to grasp her reigns.
".. You're like one of those plushies that repeats one line whenever their buttons are pushed."
The girl wrinkled her forehead at him. "What?"
Mike smirked. "Where's Erwin?"
Realizing his joke, Isanna glared at the blond before she reached over from her horse and playfully punched him in the shoulder, earning only a low chuckle from him.
"This ain't the time for your stupid jokes, Mike."
The blond smiled as he watched the girl steer her mare away towards the front of the line of soldiers, before he directed his horse to follow her.
Soon after, the formation of the Survey Corps were led out of their headquarters and into the streets of Shiganshina district. Civilians made way as numerous horses galloped down the road, adults with rueful expressions while innocent children looked on with amazement as the Scouts zoomed by, heading for the southern gate.
Isanna steadied her horse beside Erwin, both hands holding on tightly to her reigns as she fixed a hard gaze on the gate, waiting for the Garrison soldiers to lift it up.
"Eren, wait!"
A female voice that seemed to belong to a kid caused Isanna to glance at her left and saw a brown haired young kid with bright green eyes gleaming at them with pure wonder and a wide grin, tiptoeing on his stubby legs as a girl with dark hair panted lightly just as she stopped by the boy's side.
The look of utter admiration on the boy's green hues brought a small smile to Isanna's lips as she nodded at him, causing the boy to widen his eyes and grin wider.
"Open the gate!"
Commander Shadis' sonorous shout pierced the air followed by the ringing chime of a bell.
"Today, we take another step forward! Show me the fruits of your training!" He looked behind him, towards his soldiers. "Show them the strength of humanity!" As Shadis gave his usual declaration before every expedition, the looming gate began to rise higher with a loud grating clamor.
Isanna returned her attention to her Commander just as the soldiers raised determined fists high up into the air with a battle cry.
"We will now begin the 23rd expedition beyond the walls!"
Steeling her gaze, Isanna waited as Erwin bursted forward first after Commander Shadis, before she whipped her horse to follow him as the animal released a neigh. Just as she had went through with all her previous expeditions, their line galloped through the tunnel of the wall, briefly hidden in the dimness before they exited through the other side. Isanna lifted her face high up into the air and allowed herself to appreciate the glorious heavenly firmament extending high above them, clouds decorating the sky in a beautiful swirl.
Always the calm before the storm, she thought before she lowered her gaze and focused ahead of her, alertly surveying the surrounding grasslands for any titans.
A few minutes went by with the Scouts staying in their line as they soon stepped into a small cluster of trees, their environment fading away into a blur as the clopping sounds of hooves hit the ground.
"Titan sighted!"
Isanna sat up erectly at the thudding footsteps coming from up ahead of their route.
"Two 15-meter class right ahead!"
The girl watched with narrow-eyed slits at the two monsters clumsily running to their formation from the opposite direction. She slightly lifted her body from her saddle, awaiting orders for engagement, when another yell came from behind them.
"Two 10-meter class titans are heading towards us from behind!"
Isanna clenched her jaw but didn't look behind her. The soldiers stationed at the back were responsible for whatever was going to happen at the back, so she wasn't going to play hero and ruin their line.
"Prepare for combat!" Commander Shadis yelled, "equip your 3D maneuver gear!"
The soldiers who were forming their vanguard, including Isanna, lifted themselves from their rides and leaped into the air as they shot their hook lines to tree branches and pushed forward. Isanna zipped past the flying soldiers in breakneck speed and flew behind the first titan's neck, slashing both of her blades across its nape as blood spurted out in hot steam.
She vaguely saw one of them landing into the other titan's mouth since it suddenly leaped forward and crushed his body in its jaw.
Isanna tightened her grip and was about to slay the next titan when she saw squad leader Flagon fly by and sliced past its nape, killing the titan as it crashed on the ground. She decided to go back to her mare and landed on Fish's back, returning to her position behind Erwin. Looking behind her, Isanna saw two titans lumbering at the back and nearing Levi, Farlan, and Isabel's horses.
"Remain in your position."
Erwin's command brought Isanna's attention back, her eyes darting over to the blond's back as they rode forward through the small forest.
"Yes, sir."
Isanna caught squad leader Flagon riding past them and heading towards the back line, undoubtedly intending to protect the new recruits. She heard him curse as he rode by.
"Are they trying to get killed?!"
His rhetoric demand prompted Isanna to glance over her and realized what he meant; she saw Levi ride towards the two titans head on, with Farlan and Isabel hot on his trails. Levi flew off his horse and hooked a line on a tree as he whirled around its ankles, using his momentum to rise higher up the monster's body until he reached its nape and slivered through it with his blades.
Right after his rather showy display, Isabel and Farlan worked together to bring down the second titan. Isanna's heart nearly leaped out of her chest when the younger girl got grabbed, but she luckily severed its fingers and managed to escape while Farlan killed it.
Isanna released a breath of relief she never even knew she was holding. As the trio gathered together, probably cheering themselves for their first titan kills, Isanna arched a brow when she noticed Erwin treading his horse over towards them.
Meanwhile, Levi was mentally sighing in relief that they managed to survive their first titan ordeal when he heard the nickering of a horse and turned to see Erwin regarding them stoically.
"Indeed, that was impressive considering it was your first time," the blond commented, "but you used too much gas. You need to be especially conservative out here."
His words incited vexation inside Farlan and he parted his lips to lash out when Levi lifted a hand to stop him.
"You're expecting me to take priority of my equipment over the lives of my friends?"
Erwin's blue hues pierced into his stormy-grey ones, intently studying him. "You're performing a lot of unnecessary movements." His brows knitted together in a frown after a pause. "Are you beginning to have doubts?"
Levi's eyes twitched, perturbed as to why he could somehow read the stirring mess brewing inside his thoughts ever since the start of this expedition.
"If you are," Erwin paused, face unmoving as he pulled the reigns and directed his horse away, "that'll be the death of you very soon."
Levi continued to stare at his retreating back, allowing his words to process in his mind as he thought it over. Doubts? Him? Was he really doubting?
The raven already made his choice and hardened his resolve yesterday after his conversation with his friends. He was going to trust them. He believed that they were going back home, together, alive.
Isabel glared at the blond. "Damn him! He'd better watch his back when he's alone!"
"Shh!" Farlan shushed her, "he'll hear you." He looked back at Erwin, who was now returning to his position and saying something to Isanna.
Besides, getting near him while Isanna's sticking close will be a pain, Farlan thought begrudgingly. He knew they had to use the chaos of the expedition to their advantage and steal the documents, but the girl's strength and her tendency to stick beside their target was getting in the way - her presence was one of the main reasons why they had a hard time searching for the papers Nicholas Lovof wanted for them to steal, and before they realized it, months had already passed.
If he gave those documents to Isanna, that's even a bigger hassle.
Farlan looked at his friends with a frown. They had already discussed the possibilities of her carrying the papers, and Levi eventually decided that should he find out that their guess was indeed right, then he'll have to go ahead and kill Isanna along with Erwin. Of course, Farlan wanted to garbage this option away, because having Levi and Isanna battle it out while in the middle of titan territory was not favorable for both sides.
In this expedition, they needed to find a way to get Erwin alone, find those papers, and kill him.
•
When the gloaming twilight of nightfall came, the Survey Corps had already reached their base situated atop a grassy hillside; an old castle ruin in fragmented bricks. It wasn't as habitable, but it was good enough for a one-night stay.
The soldiers stabled their horses while some hauled down their supplies from the wagons, carrying the needed supplies like refreshments inside the castle as the Scouts rested for the night.
Isanna plopped her bag down on the cracked floor of cement against the wall, stretching her torso and arms as she felt the satisfying clicks of the kinks in her back after a day of riding. She had already removed her gear and placed it beside her bag after replenishing her gas and restocking her blades, because even though it was nighttime which meant for there to be zero titan attacks, they were still outside the walls and she couldn't afford to slack off.
"The Commander summoned me to review over the new formation." She heard Erwin say and she turned around to see him on the other side of the dim room where they were going to be staying together, with only a lone fire torch hanging on the wall serving as their light.
One reason why the Commander had decided to use this base for their expedition was to finally test out Erwin's Long-Distance Scouting formation.
"Sure. I'll just get something to eat with Mike and Hanji."
Erwin nodded before he headed to the splintered door as Isanna added, "Levi and the others will probably search through our bags while we're away."
Even though Erwin had already sent the documents over to General Darius Zackly in advance, he still had Isanna carry a fake one just in case.
The blond didn't bother to look back at her. "Just let them."
As Isanna watched him exit the door, the raven sighed and leaned her body against the cold wall, her gaze flittering over towards the small squared frame of a window that showed a full moon.
•
After discussing over the final points of their new formation with Commander Shadis, Erwin was heading back to his temporary room when he saw Levi's figure leaning against the grey cinder blocks as a hanging fire torch lighted the narrow hallway.
The raven had heard footsteps and also turned to see the blond, the both of them catching each other's gaze before Levi broke eye contact and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Farlan and Isabel was currently rummaging through Erwin and Isanna's stuffs in their room and he was tasked to stop Erwin should he come back.
It was aggravating. Levi just wanted to slit the blond's neck and be done with it.
"What are you up to here alone?" Erwin asked him as he continued to walk down the corridor, "aren't your subordinates with you?"
"They're not my subordinates." Levi didn't look at him as he answered with a blank face. "I don't see your girlfriend with you either."
There was a short pause before he heard Erwin respond; he had even stopped walking, his tall figure now in front of Levi but not facing him.
"You seem to have gotten the wrong image about us."
I didn't mention anyone's name, Levi thought but didn't answer. He wasn't fond of sticking his noses into other people's businesses unless he was somehow involved anyway - much less relationships. He couldn't care less.
"Do you guys always unnecessarily lose lives every expedition like this?" Levi knew it was a stupid question to make, but he needed to stall for more time for his two friends.
Erwin still had his eyes forward when he replied, "As you may have guessed, the Survey Corps was built upon countless sacrifices. There are still too many things we don't know about the outside world." He flicked his eyes towards Levi. "But if it means taking back the world for humanity, I'm sure none of them regret dedicating their hearts to that cause," he paused, eyes hardening, "no one."
Levi stared at him, his words settling in his mind.
"Levi! I'm sorry I'm so late!" Isabel's shrill voice cut the silent air as both men looked to see the young girl waving and beckoning for Levi. "I finished changing, so you can come on back!"
Erwin watched with unreadable eyes as Levi stalked over towards the girl, the both of them engaged in hushed tones as they disappeared down the corridor.
•
The next day, the Scouts set out to employ Erwin's formation.
The dawn of the sun was steadily rising over the east, its rays of light pouring over the grasslands of trees and shrubbery as a new morning greeted the soldiers who were galloping across the field on their horses in a packed formation, trails of dust pushing behind the clopping hooves of the animals.
They had already went over the new formation and Commander Shadis had stationed Erwin in his group in the command team in order to lead them, accompanied by a few veteran soldiers including Mike and Isanna.
When they were a distance away from their base, Isanna saw Erwin extend an arm to his side and bellow out an order amidst the loud galloping.
"All squads, deploy the Long-Distance Scouting formation!"
In her peripheral vision, Isanna could make out horses dispersing at both sides and getting into their designated position according to the planned formation. Since she was stationed in the command team just right behind the front lines to accompany Erwin and Commander Shadis, she remained in her route as they rode through the whopping terrene.
Just minutes after Erwin's order, they saw a red flare signal shoot up from the east.
"Red flare signal confirmed!" One of the veteran soldiers in the command team affirmed as Erwin pulled out a flare from his jacket.
"Roger that, preparing green!" He then raised its muzzle to the sky before pulling the trigger, a pillar of green smoke shooting upwards from the gun. Soon after, there was a series of green smoke signals shooting towards the sky as the formation changed direction accordingly.
This continued on for a long while; Isanna was mentally counting the amount of times they had changed routes and counted a total of 14 times, which meant their formation had encountered 14 titans in total so far.
At this rate, we're going to reach the supply point with little casualties -
Isanna cut her own thoughts when she felt the subtle change of the breeze that was slapping her face. She lifted her head and saw dark clouds shadowing overhead and obstructing the sky; what was once a clear blue layer of atmosphere was now drowned by stormy-grey of palling puffed clouds that were threatening to pour.
"Have you noticed, Erwin?" asked Commander Shadis as he stared at the looming clouds.
"Yes," the blond curtly replied, following Shadis' eyes, "those clouds don't look good."
Erwin then turned to Isanna, who was riding to his right. "Wear your hood up."
Isanna did just as she was told, and in just a few minutes, the storm finally began to fall.
At first it was just a few droplets pouring down, with Isanna feeling the drips on her cheeks trailing down her face. Soon after, large buckets of rain followed, like waterfalls streaming down and harshly slapping the ground.
"We'll lose contact with the other squads like this!" Commander Shadis exclaimed through the rain.
Erwin turned to him urgently. "Let's close formation at once!"
Lightning crackled down from the heavens, and Isanna flinched at the ear-splitting roar, briefly recalling the time where she had been thrown off her horse. For a scary second, she thought she was going to be reenacting the accident, but Fish didn't seem to be fazed at the thunderstorm and continued galloping through the earth that was now drenching in puddles of muddled rainwater.
Erwin tried to shoot a flare into the sky, but just as he expected, the harsh rain blew the smoke away, cutting off their means of communication with the other squads - which, in the case of an expedition, could only mean one thing.
Shit.
What luck, Isanna thought with a curse, what are the odds of a storm happening on the very same day we enact this new formation?
Apparently and unsurprisingly, the odds were never in the favor of the Survey Corps; that was a fact Isanna had come to know of in her 11 years working as a Scout.
Just another day in the Survey Corps, as what she would like to call it.
Isanna made sure to steer her mare closer to Erwin's side so that she wouldn't get lost in the thick fog that had began to swirl around the command team; that, and, she didn't want to lose her sight on Erwin in this situation as well. She could only rely on a diminutive hope that the other squads were faring well - although, if she were to make a guess based on countless past expeditions, that idea seemed highly unlikely.
Craning his neck, Erwin stared through the thick rainstorm, before he resigned to accept their current dire situation. He brought his gaze back to Commander Shadis, a grim expression on his face.
"Commander," he called, "unfortunately, we can no longer scout ahead."
"We should expect to encounter a titan at any moment."
Isanna could feel the heavy gravity lacing Erwin's words and strained her vision across the wisps of fog curling around the command team. In times like these, she would have to rely on her sharp senses.
"Mike!" she called behind her, trying to put more volume in her voice to fight against the loud rain, "signal me if you smell something off!" Isanna knew that with the rain and mud, Mike's sense of smell might have become befuddled, but they needed all the help they could get.
The stormy deluge didn't seem to be easing at all, with Isanna feeling the ice-cold of the droplets soaking her uniform and sticking to her skin - but that was the least of her worries. Splashes of mud landed on her boots as Fish's hooves ran on puddles, and then, a shockwave of alert ran down her spine when she heard the familiar thudding of large footsteps.
And it sounded eerily close.
"Isanna, to your right!"
Right after Mike's shout, the raven snapped her head to the direction just as she saw a humongous hand stretch out to try and grasp her. As her reflexes kicked in, Isanna shot through the titan's hands with blades already brandished, her figure zipping across its extended arm as she slid upwards and reached its nape. With a grunt, she sliced past its neck and brought the titan down with a loud crash, its steaming body splashing on the moist earth.
Isanna snapped around her, scanning for any more titans with tense eyes.
The neighing of a horse brought her attention back towards the command team as she saw Erwin pull up with her mare's reigns in his hand. She leaped off the titans body and hastily heaved back on Fish's back, before they continued on pushing forward.
Isanna wondered just for how long were they going to ride like this, when a soldier came bursting behind them in his horse, pale and frantic painting his expression and voice as he made a report.
Apparently, the ranks that had formed the back of their formation had been completely decimated.
"Erwin, take your squad and head back to provide back-up," Commander Shadis ordered urgently, before adding that they were going to proceed with the expedition despite the losses.
Erwin affirmed his order and teared away from the command team, a few soldiers following his lead as they rode their horses to the rearguard.
As the small group headed back, Isanna took note of the way the rain had began to let up, the thick droplets fading into light drizzles. Her thoughts went back to the soldiers who were forming the rearguard; it was mostly the new recruits. She tightened her fists in worry at the gruesome images flashing in her mind.
Luckily for their group, they did not encounter a single titan on the way back, but what greeted them was a bloody field of massacre.
The steamy fog had began to dissipate, allowing clearer vision as strips of sunlight peered through the clouds and dawned on the land. The greenery had now been drenched in a blood-stained red, piles of bloody severed soldiers were laid across the grass and an acrid smell of death hung over them.
And in the middle was a lone soldier.
Upon closer inspection, Isanna realized with a start that it was Levi, and there were countless steaming carcasses of disintegrating titan bodies resting beside him.
"That's.. steam from fallen titans," Mike muttered, loud enough for Isanna to hear as she too, was astonished at the clouds of vapor dressing the area; she had had her fair share of a mass of titan kills, but this was by far more impressive—it reeked of spectacular titan-slaying talent.
"To have defeated that many at one time.." she trailed off, tone laced in amazement, ".. that shortie's pretty damn good."
As the rest of the soldiers surveyed around the blood bath for any more survivors, Mike and Isanna trotted their horses towards the center of the carnage.
"He killed all these by himself?" Mike rhetorically asked quietly to no one in particular, as they neared the scene of massacre and bloodbath. For the rear guard to run into a horde of titans during the first test run of their new formation under that stormy weather, it was the worst stroke of luck in the most possible way.
Fate just hates us, Isanna squinted her eyes in a glare with her fists balled.
She knew this was normal. During every expedition, they always expected the worst outcome; bad luck always befell on the Survey Corps, like the heavenly celestial being - if there was even one - found pleasure in mercilessly allowing their soldiers to die time and time again under the hands of these abominable monsters that plagued mankind and their freedom.
But deep down, Isanna desperately wished that some day, maybe they would break down this continual streak of defeat.
That maybe one day, the heavens would take pity on them and grace humanity with hope.
But the question was, when will that day come?
"Levi, are you the only survivor?"
Erwin's question caused both Isanna and Mike to turn and follow the Squad leader's gaze, directed right at the dark-haired soldier who was still standing on the ground with his shoulders slumped.
Isanna noticed the way Levi hung his head low, shoulders sagged down in defeat, his blades tight in his hands—so tight that his fists were turning white at the tension in his grip. Splotches of blood decorated his face, and judging by the way they weren't steaming, she guessed those were human blood.
Her eyes caught the slight twitching of Levi's hands, and before she knew it, he brusquely turned and leaped towards Erwin, hooking an arm around his neck and roughly shoved him off his horse; Erwin grunted as he landed on the soggy soil with mud splashing at the impact and staining his uniform.
Isanna's eyes shot wide open before she narrowed them into a threatening glare as she hopped off the saddle of her mare, brandishing her blades with a swooshing slice as she marched towards Levi, her steps heavy with vehemence. She heard Mike calling for her attention from behind her, but ignored him as she stalked towards the raven undercut who was standing before Erwin's form on the ground.
Noticing her presence drawing nearer, Levi shot a warning glare over his shoulder, his grey pupils dilated in a thunderous look as he pointed his blade at Isanna's direction. "Stay back."
"No, you stay back."
The chilling temperature seemingly lowered a few degrees as the two engaged in a stare down; one itching to kill Erwin, the other desperate to protect him.
Isanna glanced at the blond, who also caught her gaze, and in that brief moment, he sent her a look that told her he was fine and that she should back down.
She felt an eye mildly twitch, before she brought her eyes back to Levi, who was still glaring daggers at her. Isanna moved her stare to see some familiar mangled bodies on the ground, and couldn't help but feel a sinking remorse settling in the pits of her stomach. "So.. they all died."
She made eye contact with Levi once more and noticed the way the slight pain flashed in his eyes at her statement. Isanna reached for the scrolled document she had earlier stored inside her jacket and chucked it at the ground between her and Levi, the latter eyeing the papers with shock as it rolled on the soil to a stop.
Erwin decided to break the silent tension.
"Those documents revealing Lovof's crimes," he started, "are a fake. The real ones have likely reached Darius Zackly by now; Lovof is finished."
As he uttered the last sentence, Levi gritted his teeth as realization dawned on him. Erwin had him fooled; like they were just rats scurrying around for something that wasn't even there in the first place. He didn't know what he should feel at the information. He turned his body away from Isanna and glared at the blond who was still leveled on the ground.
"You knew everything right from the start!" he yelled, "they were nothing but pawns in your worthless game!"
Panic surged through Mike as he saw Levi swipe his blade right towards Erwin's neck, aiming to decapitate him, but a metallic clang erupted as another blade parried Levi's attack before it could slice the blond's head off.
As he watched the two soldiers with their blades connected, shaking in intensity from the strength in their arms, there was only one thing Mike was sure of: a full-out battle between Levi and Isanna was not going to be favorable for both sides, because 1) Levi was surely going to outdo her, and 2) they were still in the middle of titan territory.
Levi glowered at her. "You're not my primary target, woman."
"Too bad; because if you lay a hand on him, you're making me your enemy," Isanna seethed back.
Shit. Mike desperately sent Erwin a look, but he didn't even turn to him. Do something before this gets worse, Erwin..!
Fortunately for him, Erwin seemed to share his thoughts as he stood up and, to both Isanna and Mike's surprise, he coiled his hands around Levi's blade and pushed it away so that he was now standing between him and Isanna.
Isanna had to take a double at the blond's actions as she stared at his back, and she was about to step forward and intervene once more when Mike reached her side and pulled her back.
Levi, on the other hand, was not faring any better. His usually impassive eyes that were now filled with a mixture of anger and pain flitted downwards to look at Erwin's grip, which he noticed was now wounded as blood began seeping in.
"Worthless game?"
Levi lifted his eyes back to look at him.
"Who was the one that killed my subordinates, comrades, and your friends?" Erwin began, a hard expression on his features as he held Levi's gaze, "was it me? Was it you?"
His sudden barrage of questions caused Levi to lapse into a brief silence while Erwin continued.
"Do you think that if you had come to attack me together, the two of your friends would have made it out alive?" The blond tightened his grip on the sharp blade, unfazed at the wound on his palm.
Levi clenched his jaw. Isabel and Farlan died for nothing. This wouldn't have happened if he had just listened to his gut feeling and didn't allow them to come with this expedition. They wouldn't have died if only Levi didn't leave them in the formation to look for Erwin alone.
No.. all of this wouldn't have happened if only they didn't accept Lovof's offer in the first place. The gratifying idea of being able to live aboveground was far too tempting, but he shouldn't have allowed themselves to be baited.
"That's right. It was my faul—"
"No," Erwin cut him off, lowering the blade as drips of his own blood began soaking the weapon and trickled down to the ground, "it was the titans."
From behind the two, Mike and Isanna listened as Erwin told Levi about the state of mankind behind the walls, weak and helpless as they cower under the pillaging terror of the titans—monsters that humanity knew absolutely nothing of; and how the Survey Corps, as the front spearheads of offense and defense against these titans, have been striving to fight back to regain the freedom of what was rightfully theirs.
Levi went silent after his speech, his words ensconcing inside him as his thoughts went towards the loss of his only friends.
"Don't regret this. If you begin to regret, you'll dull your future decisions. And let others make your choices for you," Erwin said, "all that's left for you then is to die."
There was a heavy silence, as if Erwin knew his words were rooting inside Levi's mind, before he continued, "We're going to continue the expedition." He turned around and began to walk away. "I expect you to come with me."
While Mike guided a spare horse for Levi, Isanna headed towards Erwin before he could even mount back on his horse.
The blond paused in his tracks when Isanna grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards her horse. "Idiot," she said with a frown, not looking at him, "did you have to grab his blade? You wanted to look cool or something?"
Erwin didn't say anything as they stopped beside Fish while Isanna rummaged inside the pouch at the side of her saddle, taking out a gauze; she gave him a pointed look before she began wrapping his wounded hand.
"If I hadn't done that, the both of you would have started battling it out," he said, eyes watching her every movement. He only earned a soft click of her tongue as a reply.
Once she finished, Isanna told him to not stress his hand too much, to which Erwin obliged before he headed back to his stallion. Isanna shifted her attention back towards Mike and Levi a few steps away from them, noting the way there was a different kind of glint in the latter's eyes this time; it was no longer of anger and pain. Instead, it looked akin to that of acceptance, and newfound determination.
And it dawned on her that Erwin wanted to push him forward. He wanted to give Levi another reason to continue on with what he started, with what he and his friends started. Not to steal documents, but to fight for their freedom—not only from the chains of the Underground, but the chains of the walls and the titans that lived beyond them.
The longer she stared at him, the more Isanna realized that, at some point in her life, she too had went through what he was feeling.
Her eyes flitted over towards the severed bodies of Farlan and Isabel.
She knew that feeling all too well.
Thinking that harboring resentment towards the other won't do both of them any good, Isanna stalked towards Levi and stood in front of him, before she held out a hand in hopes of a conciliation.
"Their deaths won't go to waste," she said as she held his gaze, "if you give meaning to them by living on."
She watched as Levi stared at her outstretched hand, and after a long pause, accepted her hand.
Isanna faintly smiled at him with a gentle squeeze of consolation on his hand.
Soon after, the four soldiers rode away towards the distant horizon.