Damn, Levi, where are you? I need to tell you about that abnormal!
Hange spotted his squad standing awkwardly, a bit afar from the other soldiers, and pushed their mare towards them until they were within earshot.
"Hey, do you know where Captain Levi is?"
They shook their heads.
"He left at some point during the assault," one explained with a slight frown, "I don't know where he went."
"I last saw him heading towards the village," Hange said, pointing with their thumb at the small cluster of houses on their right, beyond some sad-looking trees.
"Then you know more than us."
Maybe he didn't see the retreat signal?
"I'm going to fetch him," they decided.
They fired a hook into the closer tree without waiting for an answer, ignoring the faint sound of Moblit shouting their name behind them.
"I'll be back in no time!"
There were still some titans in the village, wandering around the streets, looking for left-behind corpses. Hange shivered and quickly averted their gaze when they spotted one throwing a torn-up leg into his mouth.
"Come on, Levi, where are you…" they muttered under their breath. "Ah!"
They spotted a familiar figure soaring above the houses, a few streets away, the wind blowing his green cape behind him. They watched him come down on the titan, his blade catching the sunlight as he spun and sliced across the nape. Their smile faded, though, when she saw the weapon shattering and it reached their brain that he only held one even before that. Which means he was probably out of weapons now.
They felt worry clawing at their insides and hurried down to where they last saw him, making quick work of the titan that curiously reached for them.
"Sorry, I do not have the time for you right now!"
They wiped out its blood with the back of their hand as their gear took them closer to Levi. Their boots touched the tiled roof and it took a few steps for them to slow down enough to look at their surroundings. No signs of their friend- wait, there. A titan was crouching to peek into a house, so focused that it didn't even sense their presence – and there was only one thing that could distract a titan from a human: another human. Hange hummed in satisfaction. They will kill it in one swift motion, and then they could gloat all they wanted about saving Levi's ass.
I'll never let him live that down.
The first part of that plan went like clockwork and they landed on the windowsill before the huge carcass even touched the ground.
"Hey, midget, do you need glasses too? Because the retreat signal was pretty obv-"
The rest of their sentence died down on their lips when their gaze landed on his body lying down on the floor, completely unmoving.
"Levi!"
They barely felt the impact of her knees against the wood, barely heard their own voice as they repeated his name, again and again, as if it could make a difference somehow. As gently as they could, Hange pushed him on his back, noting with a pang in their chest that his head rolled limply with the motion. He was completely covered in blood – so much that it tinted their palms red immediately – and while most of it was steaming away, some wasn't.
Fighting the rising panic in their throat, they fumbled for his pulse, struggling to get to his neck under his cloak collar and ascot.
He was alive.
It felt like they could breathe again, though the fear stayed here, deep within their chest, ramming against their ribcage like it wanted to carve its way out. They pushed Levi's cloak away, trying to get a better view of his injuries. Two gashes on his stomach were steadily bleeding, but they didn't seem that deep. It did nothing to ease Hange's worry. They knew he had a high pain tolerance, had seen him walk with wounds that would have anyone else passed out, so for him to be unconscious, it could only mean that most of the damage was internal.
"Han… ge?"
Their eyes shot up to his face, sinking into familiar steel-blue ones, clouded by pain and shock. It felt weird to hear him say their name, instead of the usual nicknames – it held too much seriousness, and right now it scared them.
"Yeah, I'm here, I'm here. Don't move. You're gonna be okay, I swear. I-"
They forced their lips shut tight, cursing themselves internally. Now was not the time to ramble.
"Are you…"
His voice was so faint that they had to strain to make out the words, and he couldn't even finish his sentence. He coughed, blood slipping past his lips, and gasped for air. He was wheezing now, and Hange didn't want to even imagine what state his ribcage was in.
His hand found their wrist and squeezed it with surprising strength.
"Hange…"
There it is, my name again. They definitely didn't like it.
There wasn't much they could do for him there, no way to stop the bleeding or to allow him to breathe more easily. All they could hope for was that he would make it to the safety of the Walls, where he could be treated.
"I'm taking you back to the chariots," they decided.
They carefully slipped an arm under his knees, cringing at Levi's cry when they jostled his left leg, then the other under his shoulder blades. By the time they were bracing themselves for standing up, they could tell he was already mostly out of it again.
They got up to their feet, swaying slightly under his weight.
Shit, you're heavy.
Crossing the small village in the other direction took more time than they would have liked, especially since they had to cautiously step around the remaining titans. Thankfully, none seemed too interested in them and they managed to get by without picking up a fight.
Their mare was obediently waiting for them, munching on grass and paying very little attention at Moblit who held its reins out of habit. Their squad and Levi's had stayed behind while the rest of the formation took off towards the Walls. They were anxiously looking that way too, longing to be somewhere safe again, but when Hange landed clumsily on their saddle, their attention snapped back to their leaders. They could hear a few gasps when they noticed the limp figure in their arms.
"Is he-"
Don't you dare finish that sentence.
"Only injured," they quickly said.
Out of the corner of their eye, they saw Moblit nodding curtly, his lips tightened in a line. They ignored him, readjusting their grip on Levi's body.
"I'm going to the chariots."
One squeeze of their thighs against its flanks and their mare headed towards the formation. Levi was still breathing, which would have been a relief if it didn't sound so painful.
Don't you dare die on me, or else I swear I'm going to find a way to bring you back just so I can un-alive you myself.