: Year 845 :
Isanna wondered if she would have made a difference that day.
The Survey Corps had just returned from yet another expedition beyond the walls, but the Long-Distance Scouting formation did little to lessen the deaths and casualties on their side. Just their luck, they had ran into a horde of Abnormal titans before they reached the supply point, causing the death of so many of their veteran soldiers.
In the end, it had taken the combined effort of Isanna, Mike, and Levi to slay the Abnormals.
Isanna watched with pitiful eyes at the mother who was wailing in the middle of the street, trembling in agony as she clutched the remains of her son - which weren't.. that many to begin with, since it was just an arm wrapped in a cloak.
The aged fragile mother lifted her face at Commander Shadis, and with tear-stained cheeks she demanded to know if the death of her son, even if not directly, were able to bring humanity one step closer in defeating the titans.
There was a pregnant silence that followed her question, with Commander Shadis hesitating. "... Of course..!" His lips quivered in response, as if even he himself did not believe his own words. With head hanging low, he corrected himself with a shaky voice.
"No... our survey this time too... we.. " he paused, gritting his teeth while tears gathered in the corner of his eyes before he shut them close, "we accomplished.. nothing!"
Isanna teared her eyes away from the scene and clenched her grip around the reigns of her horse, brows furrowed down and jaws tightened, as Commander Shadis' voice broke down while he blamed his own incompetence; even though she never shared his burden as a Commander, she knew the pressure that weighed on his shoulders in leading them outside the walls and how he was always the brunt of the accusations and criticisms from the people within the walls.
Following Shadis' break down, countless undertones poured through the atmosphere above the streets of Shiganshina, and Isanna could hear the murmurings of dissatisfaction flowing from around them as civilians proceeded to shower the Scouts with scornful expressions.
She couldn't blame them, because even she herself was disappointed with the outcome.
After that bitter scene, the remainder of the soldiers trotted down the cobbled street with their horses back towards Wall Maria where their main headquarters were.
Commander Shadis called for Erwin just before their horses could enter through the inner gate, causing Isanna to pull her mare to a stop as she watched her Commander approach them with a sullen and defeated face.
"I'm promoting you to thirteenth Commander of the Survey Corps," was all he said.
•
For formal processing of Erwin's promotion, he had to travel to the western part of Wall Maria where the military headquarters were located. Currently, he was in a temporary office as he waited for the papers, accompanied by his most trusted soldiers.
"I wonder why he resigned so suddenly," Hanji mumbled to no one in particular, breaking the silence that had formed inside the office. She was sitting on the couch opposite to Levi, who was sipping his tea with his odd way of holding the cup.
"Probably couldn't handle the pressure," Levi curtly replied after tasting the slightly bitter liquid, his face contorting to a scowl when the flavor wasn't to his preference.
Isanna, who was leaning against the desk where Erwin was sitting, leaned her head back and closed her eyes shut with a tired sigh. It was cruel for her body for them to travel all the way to the western part of Wall Maria right after an expedition, but she didn't have much choice.
"Perhaps that's the case," Hanji voiced out, her tone fading away after her statement.
Opening her eyes, Isanna cocked her head to shoot the brunette a playful smirk. "Why? You gonna miss him?"
It was no secret to them that Hanji bore a crush on their Commander. Or ex-Commander. Truthfully, Isanna could never understand why her friend found that sunken man attractive, but she guessed everybody had their reasons. Maybe she liked the way he yelled at Hanji whenever she would get too distracted talking to titans while in the middle of fighting? Or was it the way Shadis tended to charge mindlessly without a concrete plan? Isanna would never know.
Hanji glared back at her after the evident mockery lacing Isanna's tone. "I thought we agreed not to mention that!"
"How can I not mention Hanji Zoe crushing on the Keith Shadis?" Isanna retorted with crossed arms, followed by a snicker.
The brunette erupted into a blushing mess, her eyes squinting harder at the raven woman. Not long, however, she calmed down and wore a smirk of her own.
"Sure, Isa. I hope you haven't forgotten the time you got your period while we were on an expedition."
When Hanji's statement processed in Isanna's brain, her eyes widened in shock at the unpleasant memories that began to flood in. Cheeks in a flustered hue of pink, she sputtered as she uncrossed her arms and shot the brunette a flabbergasted look.
"HANJI!"
Walls of Maria. With the way Hanji just suddenly blurted that out, you wouldn't think there were three men in the same room - and to make matters worse, one of those three men happened to be her long time crush.
"What?" Hanji innocently shrugged her shoulders and reclined her back against the couch, crossing her arms. "Don't act so surprised. I still remember how you went on a rampage, killing all the titans we encountered and purposely drenching yourself in titan blood, only for them to evaporate and - "
She was cut off when Isanna leaped from her position (quite literally) and clamped her hands over her mouth, shutting her next words in a muffle.
Isanna heard Levi snicker, causing her to snap a sharp look at him. "This is the first time I've heard of that."
"It happened before you joined." Mike unhelpfully supplied, who was leaning against the bookshelves at the side this whole time. "She also lost her cloak at the time, so Erwin had to give his to her."
Flushing red, unwanted images of the dreaded expedition flashed in Isanna's mind, only causing her to redden deeper like a tomato. She really didn't want to be reminded of that embarrassing moment in her life.
She had been bloody after the expedition. The other kind of bloody, if you get what I mean.
"Can you like, shut up?"
"Come to think of it," Mike continued, ignoring her plea like the asshole he was, "it was after that expedition people started calling you the War Goddess."
The blond quietly sneered at the memory; the image Isanna had rampageously made that time was likened to literal hell. After she killed all the titans in the vicinity, she had been soaked with liters of steaming titan blood while surrounded by countless carcasses, only making her look more menacing. Because of that, people eventually began equating her to a mythical war goddess - hence the nickname and her feared reputation.
Only Isanna's friends knew the behind story.
"MIKE!" Isanna stood up, exasperated and embarrassed beyond her wits. She thought they had gotten over that expedition already - it had been years since that happened, and she wanted nothing more to do with the memory.
Mike and Hanji chuckled at her reaction, causing the raven woman to groan before she chewed the inside of her cheek as she stomped towards the desk where Erwin sat, who was silent and unbothered this whole time.
"Ooh~," Hanji cooed teasingly from her couch, "watch out guys, the Sergeant Major is going to complain to her beloved Commander~!"
Mike and Levi exchanged glances and smirked. Sergeant Major; it was an uncomissioned rank and high position given to the second-in-command, and Erwin had decided to appoint the title to Isanna. None of them found the need to complain, because it was the most obvious and natural thing in the world for Isanna Herrmann to be Commander Erwin Smith's right hand. She always was.
Isanna shot Erwin a 'Can-you-believe-this-woman' look, only earning a chuckle from the blond. She dramatically gasped, placing a hand on her chest. "I thought you were on my side."
He smiled at her. "I always am."
"Get a room!" Hanji groaned and made a blanching face, only causing Isanna to glare at her while the other men softly laughed.
Isanna swore that one day, she was going to strangle the brunette; the amount of times she had teased her in the presence of Erwin, no less, was getting out of hand. She turned around and was about to snap at the woman, when, quite out of nowhere, the door to the office was pushed open rather abruptly with a loud bang reverberating throughout the office.
All heads turned to the Scout soldier standing at the door, his face was as pale as a white sheet of paper and he was trembling nonstop with sweat trickling down his face as he panted; either he just came rushing from a marathon or he just saw the most horrifying scene. Or both.
However, Isanna couldn't imagine what kind of image would cause a Scout to look so terrified; after all, they were the Survey Corps. They had already seen the worst, and that was the gruesome air of death beyond the walls every venture. Nothing could be worse than that.
But as the Scout saluted at the officers inside the room with a shaking fist and announced in a frantic yell, Isanna realized there was something far worse than the scenes she grew accustomed beyond the walls.
And that, was when the horrors of the outside world broke inside their haven.
"Wall Maria has fallen!"