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Chapter Ten:

Breathe

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A full two months had passed before Erwin showed any signs of improvement. In this time, he had lost a lot of weight, and his hair lost its usual shine. Aluna also started allowing visitors, deeming that he was no longer contagious, as he was no longer coughing up blood. But simply because his illness had passed, didn't mean he was out of the woods. He was still having trouble breathing on his own, and needed the respirator when he got tired.

Winter was beginning to pass, and the snow that trapped them in the building had melted, through the air still had a bit of a chill to it. The pipes flowed again. Penny and Sasha were even able to sneak out, with Levi's assistance, and kill a few deer, without running into a single titan. While they had gotten extremely lucky, this made the whole group feel a lot less threatened by using all of Aluna's rations, given that they were only meant to supply a single person for two years. Sasha even skinned the deer, and used it to make Hanji clothes, as her uniform was chafing and rubbing her, and the spare clothes that Aluna had wouldn't fit her either.

Sol knew that they would need to leave soon. The closer they got to summer, the more active that the titans would be. They would have more sunlight after all. But Erwin was still bedridden, and according to the professor, he would be for several more months. "Levi, I think we need to consider leaving Erwin here with Aluna."

"Absolutely not. We cannot leave him here. He came here to help us, we're not leaving him." Though Erwin wasn't himself anymore. This new Erwin seemed… empty. "He couldn't make it back to the wall by himself, and your people wouldn't take care of him."

Hanji nodded, adjusting the deer skin, it felt strange for her to wear. Leather was for the rich. "Erwin will get better. He already is-"

"He asked Aluna to stop the respirator. He wants us to get going, without being held back. He asked to die so that you could leave safely… He wants to protect you. We should listen to his wishes. He is going to live, but he is willing to die to make sure that you two get home again." Sol said, and Levi's eyes widened briefly in shock. That wasn't Erwin. Erwin had a mission, and he was going to be the one to complete it. "Levi?"

"That little shit." He stomped off towards the Commander's room, flinging the door open violently, "Oi, listen up." He leaned over his friend, taking out the respirator, "I did not give you permission to die. We've still got a job back home." Being this close, he noticed just how deathly his friend looked, those bags under his eyes, his lips, his nails were even purple, almost if someone had painted them. Death had painted them. "Oi Erwin." He said again when there wasn't a response.

"Sorry… Levi… But you need to get home." Erwin opened his eyes, which had lost all their shine, all their hope for humanity, "The longer you wait, the more dangerous it will be… You would only leave if I were dead."

"And your dirty filthy corpse would burden us all the way home. It would even start to putrefy in the heat. Tch. I don't need that." He took Erwin's hand, deciding to be more compassionate, "Live, Erwin. Hanji Jr. is going to need an uncle."

"It's a girl?" He smiled, picturing the family inside the walls, safe. Someone would make sure that they were in wall Sina, where they would be safest from titans. "Congratulations."

"Well we don't know yet, we won't know until the baby is born, but I think it's a girl. Hanji is on the other side of the coin." He noticed the man's smile, he was happy, "Which is why I need you to make it back. I'm going to make sure that you make it back."

Neither of them noticed that Hanji was leaning in the doorway, a smile on her face as well. How had the two gone from hating each other's guts, to being so close? To willing to risk their lives for each other? That was humanity to her. The ability to connect with others, whatever the circumstances. Animals didn't do that. Humans did.

Recovery was slow, about a month after that, Erwin could walk on his own. He was greeted with smiles wherever he went, though he felt guilty. The longer he took to heal, the more danger that everyone was in. They all knew that though, and were still happy Erwin was able to move again.

"Commander, are you sure that you wouldn't like to sit?" Sasha asked, bringing him down into the basement, where everyone was gathered. Going down the stairs wasn't nearly as difficult for him as going up, but it still left him winded. "You're pale."

"I am fine, thank you." He patted her shoulder, thankful for the support. "I just don't think that I will ever look at stairs the same way again." It took a full two minutes for him to get down a single flight of stairs, clutching onto the railing every step of the way. But he was determined to do this by himself, he needed to.

Sasha smiled, seeing how determined he was. The Commander really was a strong person. The only person or thing that could break him was himself. She clapped when he reached the bottom, earning a small sigh from the man. "Curry!" She exclaimed when the smell hit her nose, taking Erwin's hand, "Come on Commander, it's curry!"

"Dear god." Erwin whispered as he was dragged down the hall.

Two and a half months later, the group decided it was time to leave. Erwin was able to ride his horse around the lobby, and it was as if he had never been sick. Professor Amore still advised against using his 3DMG though, so Levi and Sasha would have to pick up the extra slack. The Captain didn't want to put Sasha in so much danger, she was still so green in his opinion, but it wasn't like he had a choice. If they did run into titans, which was looking probably at this point, he would need back up.

His leg had also healed at this time. He wouldn't be climbing any more trees as recklessly as before. Though getting Hanji up the trees would be a problem. She couldn't climb them anymore, her belly was too big, and she couldn't use her gear to zip up there. Even if it was safe, it didn't fit her anymore, and couldn't be adjusted to the correct size. This meant the group would either have to stay in caves that the titans couldn't get into, or in abandoned cities, and simply have a guard on watch at all times. Both of those were extremely dangerous. If a titan blocked the exit of a cave, they would either have to fight it and hope for the best, or wait. The waiting could be a death sentence. If they nestled in a city, titans could come from all directions and surround them. It wasn't smart to fight a swarm with only two soldiers, even if one of them was humanity's best.

For this, Sol, Erwin, and Aluna put their heads together to form a plan. Aluna took apart all of the old beds in the facility and used the wood to make carts, which Hanji helped her assemble to be in the same model that the scouts used for their expeditions. The mattresses were then put into some of these bed carts, along with supplies, particularly gas refills for the scouts, as well as food and water.

Sol mused his map of the surface to figure out which paths would be best to avoid titans. Which had the least sunlight, most diverse terrain, and of course terrain with trees, in case they did run into titans. This ended up with their path being slightly longer than it originally was, well, way longer. But it was their safest bet, and Erwin decided it was worth the gamble given their current situation. He even expanded upon Sol's map using what he knew of wall Maria. "Erwin, is there any chance we can do this without casualties?"

"Unlikely. Very unlikely." He answered honestly, looking to Aluna and Hanji, who were building more of the carts. "Armin, the young man I asked to take my place, will be looking out for a purple signal flare. He's sure to have someone positioned on the walls at all times. We have to let them know that we will be heading to the northern gate." He reached down to his side and ran his fingers over the flares, "And I have emergency flares. I doubt I'll be able to tell them about just how shitty the situation is… But they'll know we need aid as soon as possible."

"You sure they'll be able to come and get us once they see the flares?"

"Unless someone stops them, yes." Would the government try? Would Armin be able to fight back if they did? The boy had spunk, that was for sure.

Sol nodded, crossing his legs, brown hair falling into his face. He needed to cut it so that it would not get in the way. "We can't stop moving, no matter what. Half of us rest while the other half keeps the horses moving. We only all rest when we get to caves, or when the horses are tired, and that has to be at nightfall." The biggest risk in all of this was the horses. While the humans could take shifts in this, the horses couldn't. "Have you had any luck in figuring out how to use the moss more effectively as a weapon?"

Erwin nodded, "We use it to repel the titans at night, wherever we are. And it's currently attached to every single arrow we have… It makes us slightly safer. How long do you think Hanji has?"

"Penny says three months. We'll make it to the northern gate of wall Rose in two and a half, two if the horses don't give us trouble." If only they didn't need to take the long way. The completely long way.

"Erwin, the supplies are ready. We can go as as soon as all of the carts are finished." Levi said, boots clicking on the linoleum. "Come up with a plan?"

The commander nodded, "Everyone will be briefed before we head out. But Levi, in terms of time, we're going to be pushing it very close." Levi nodded as well, in response, "Penny says she shouldn't ride a horse anymore, either. So she'll be in a cart." Hanji would hate it. In fact, she did hate it. She felt like she was restricting everyone's movements, and while she was… It wasn't her fault. "What timing, right?"

"If it was meant to be." Erwin smiled, Levi was going to be a great father.

They marched on the following evening, trampling muddy snow beneath the hooves of their horses, and the wheels of their carts. Levi took the first shift, since he didn't really sleep much, allowing Sasha and Erwin to rest. Stella was beside him, keeping an eye of everything. She was tense, "Are you scared?" He whispered to the assassin, who jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Yes." She looked on, scanning the darkness. She was carrying Penny's bow too, which was armed to the teeth with moss. "I don't like the dark."

"An assassin… Who doesn't like the dark?"

"...Yes." It sounded ridiculous, but it was completely true. She hated the shadows, because she knew first hand what kind of evils could hide there. "Though the stars are beautiful tonight." She smiled, eyes twinkling in the starlight. "Back home, we say that those who have heard the whispers of the stars are the freest. If someone is warm, and loving, we say they have a starry soul. Like Penny, and Aluna." Not like her, at all. "Your people are so beautiful. All of you. You're like gods…"

"What do you mean?" He tilted his head towards her, perplexed, "If you're referring to our appearance, our people would consider yours very beautiful." All of the people from the underground were ghostly pale, "Being pale is a sign of beauty, because it means you've never had to work the fields. And a lot of you have black hair, which is almost nonexistent where we come from. And you have large eyes."

"Really? How strange. We consider being tan a sign of beauty, because it means you've been to the surface a lot. And we like blonde hair, that's the rarest down below… Do you know what's strange? Neither of our homelands have names… Why is that?" Was it because they never expected to encounter others? "I can't help but wonder how many civilizations there are like us around the world."

"Well, I really hope none kidnap Hanji and I again." He smiled, looking over to the cart that she was currently sleeping in. "Then again…" He doubted he would have ever gotten to tell her how he really felt, had they not been completely cut off from everyone and everything that they knew like this. "Some good came out of this."

Stella smiled, petting her horse, "not just for us, but for our peoples." Sol had dragged Aluna along so that she could learn some of the wall people's technology, and bring it back home. "Just wait until your people see everything that we have. The night rainbows of the north, the oceans, the animals! Though the night rainbows are my favourite, even though I have never seen them in person."

"The scouts are going to have to make uniform changes for those expeditions." Their current uniforms weren't that good for the cold, "Though… I cannot wait to see it all."

Yet another month passed, and everyone could sense that they were getting closer to the walls. "Oi oi Levi!" Hanji called, reaching up for him from the ground, whereas he was still on his horse, "Can't you feeeel it?" She laughed, being very happy. She had just been in a good mood lately, which brought joy to the entire group. "We're almost home! I can't wait to see Mike! And Nanaba!" She stood on her tip toes, reaching all the way up to pinch his cheeks, laughing more.

Erwin smiled, coming up with bread for the two, helping Levi off his horse. "Actually, the two are engaged. But they swore not to tie the knot until I brought you two home."

"Really?!" Levi and Hanji said in unison, in absolute shock.

"Trust me, they're going to be even more shocked when they find out about Hanji Jr." He grabbed the reigns of Levi's horse, going to tie him up, noting that Hanji was giving him a look, "Hm?"

"Two things, how could you just forget that our precious nose and banana were getting hitched? And Second, it's Levi Jr.!" She pouted cutely, and Levi wrapped an arm around her, curious as to what was making her behave this way. Not that it wasn't endearing, but she was usually only this way when it came to titans. Wait, was she planning on dressing their child as a titan?! Was that even possible?!

"Nose and Banana, I'll be sure to tell them that. Nanabanana will surely appreciate that-"

"HELP!"

Without even a second's notice, Levi moved Hanji into Sasha's protection, who happened to be nearby eating, and he and Erwin zoomed off, flying through the trees. "That sounded like Stella!" Levi said, looking to Erwin, "She was fetching water with Aluna!"

"I see her!" Erwin yelled in response, grabbing his blades, careful not to let them hit the trees in any way. That would dull them, and they needed these blades to last.

When they got closer, they could see that Stella was on her knees, covered in blood. She was going into shock, and didn't even look up when the scouts landed in front of her. She wasn't even shaking, she was just frozen. Erwin knelt down in front of her, "Stella, what happened?" He asked calmly, trying not to let her snap. Though he knew that look in her eyes. He had seen it so many times on the battlefield, that was the look of someone who just saw their friend die, "Aluna… What happened?" He looked to Levi, "Aluna is dead…"

"Ti…" Was all Stella could manage, desperately trying to point behind her, but she was shaking so violently.

"Stay with her, Erwin." Levi said, zooming off. It was only a few seconds before He came across an abnormal Titan, playing with Aluna's bloody corpse. Her spine was broken from it shaking her, beating her against the rocks of the river. The back of her skull was shattered open, her beautiful and marvelous brain was no longer in her skull, and laid splattered among the trampled flowers.

There weren't supposed to be any titans in the area. How had this one passed their sweep?

He slayed the beast while it was preoccupied with Aluna's body, and caught her corpse before it fell to the ground. It would be a shame if it became even more mangled, before they could give her a proper burial. Looking at her closely now, he didn't see any scream lines on her face. She and Stella had probably not even known that the titan was there. Had it been hiding deliberately? Practically every bone in her body was broken. Seeing her like this… Made him sick. "I'm sorry." He said to her, closing her eyes.

Erwin had managed to get Stella on her feet again, but she immediately collapsed upon seeing Levi approach with Aluna. "She's… She's… gone." Erwin helped her back up again. "Why… Why her? Why here? We… were just getting water."

"Stella… This is the reality of the world." He looked to Levi, who was already heading back to the rest of the group. "It's not fair, I know. All we can do is fight it. What happened is not your fault." She would be getting survivor's guilt soon, he had seen this so many times. "Look at me, Stella." He grabbed her shoulders, "This is not your fault."

Stella didn't respond, her eyes were blank and completely glazed over. Aluna had just died right in front of her. She couldn't even think.

Levi entered into the camp, with Aluna's corpse in his arms. "There was a titan that got passed the sweep." He said to Sol, who gasped, seeing the professor so… destroyed. "We need to bury her, she deserves it. Then we need to move out."

"...Was she in pain?" He reached for her hear, it was matted with grey matter, "Oh Aluna…" This was so sudden. Only a few moments ago she was here, laughing, and being her usual self. He kissed her forehead, which had blood smeared all over it, which was already drying and caking.

"Probably. Though she didn't scream, so it was over fast." He could see that Sol was having a hard time with this. They had lost two soldiers already, but this was different. This was a civilian. Someone that they should have protected.

They buried her underneath a willow tree, which was in bloom. Penny said some prayers for her, wishing her luck in the next world. Orion tried to be a 'man' and not to cry, though eventually he started to sob, clutching onto Sol, and wiping tears and snot onto his shirt.

She was gone.