Hope you guys enjoy the latest chapter!
Saph's PoV
It had been a long time since I felt the rain pelting my face. Living Underground meant that I was spared from all types of weather, also the sun had been shining everyday since we had joined the Survey Corps. This wasn't how I wanted to experience the nostalgic moment. The first time we were trying Erwin's new formation with flares, and it just had to storm. As if the rain assailing us wasn't enough, fog had rolled in cutting the four of us from the rest of the military members. Our group had squeezed closer together, desperate not to lose sight of one another.
"What are we going to do? We lose sight of everyone," Isabel shouted, sounding more frightened than I've ever heard her before.
With one hand on the reins and the other on the latch of my cloak, I resisted shutting my eyes. "Its not like we can stop," I yelled back.
"Saphs right, we need to just keeping moving," Farlan confirmed. "The only thing we can hope for is that the fog will clear soon."
The sky growled above us and I shuddered. My fingers fisted themselves into the horse's mane as I leaned down. "Its as if you can hear Titan's breathing heavily all around you," I whimpered into its neck. I didn't know what was scaring me more, the thought of Titans or the frightening sounds right above us.
I could hear somebody grumbling near me, I turned slightly in my saddle to see Farlan grinning.
"Well it would certainly suck to have Erwin get eaten by a Titan. Then there is no way we could get those documents." Farlan turned to look at Levi. "The only way to get them will be to go for the center."
There had been few and far between moments when Farlan left the decision making process up to Levi. While Farlan was a good leader, he never went against Levi's wishes. Instead, choosing to change to convince him instead of an idea than outright ignore him. There was nothing I could add nor was I strong enough to volunteer to go by myself. I would have to trust whatever choice that Levi made was the right one.
"I'll go alone," Levi finally declared. "You three catch up to Flagon. I'm going to kill that bastard before any Titan does."
Isabel shook her head, "I'm going to go with you, Big Bro!"
"You guys have will have a much higher chance of survival if you go with Flagon's squad," he stubbornly reprimanded her.
Farlan was having none of it. "It's too dangerous for you to go by yourself! Titans could come at any moment!"
"Just trust me," Levi's voice boomed, louder than the horses hooves thudding on the ground, louder than the thunder echoing in the sky, louder than the pounding of my own heartbeat.
Farlan began to laugh hysterically after a moment and Isabel soon joined in. "Okay. Fine. I'll trust you. Don't get yourself killed."
"Yep. You better come back to us, Big Bro."
"Don't mess up," I muttered after catching Levi's eye. Giving a small nod in his direction, I joined Isabel and Farlan heading to where the distant sound of a gun shot had been heard.
It didn't take us long to find Flagon, thankfully. The look on his face was one of being relieved. Weird since I had only ever seen him grimace at us before.
"Magnolia! Church! Monstrum! Are you guys alright? What happened to Levi?"
"We lost him in the fog," I replied shielding my face with my arm to look at him.
A girl with short black hair shook her head. "I wonder if he is dead since he didn't hear the noise round."
"Big Bro isn't dead, Sayram!" Isabel screamed at her. "He will definetly co-"
"Titans!" Flagon yelled.
It was too late of a warning as a monster reached down with one hand to pick Sayram up. The fog parted as if a curtain to reveal five titans beginning to surround us. I could feel my limbs trembling. This was bad. This was bad. What could we do? We couldn't even fight in that weather.
"We need to split up," Farlan barked when he turned to face Isabel and I. A Titan's face appeared right in front of him, and in his desperation to turn his horse, the both of them slid to the ground. His leg was stuck underneath the beast. A panicked look on his face, Farlan continued to try and wrench free.
Isabel leapt up to the hand descending on her friend to slash at the gigantic fingers. My vision then focused on an approaching Titan that was lumbering its way over. Too preoccupied on getting a good angle to reach it's neck, Isabel didn't see the one advancing behind her.
With its focus elsewhere, I was able to jump off my horse and approach it without the Titan taking notice of me. Teeth clenched so I wouldn't make a noise to draw its attention, my throat vibrated as I hummed softly. Only when I landed a hook in its shoulder did it pause. Flying towards its neck, I was able to get cut deep enough that I knew it was dead. My feet slipped as I landed back onto the ground, sending me sprawling into the mud.
Covered in muck, I froze as I saw a Titan right above me. At least I had saved Isabel, I thought as a huge foot soared over me. Thinking that it was going to step onto me, I curled into a ball and covered my head. Too scared to see my impending death.
Nothing happened.
"Big Bro!" I heard Isabel shriek.
Quickly getting to my feet, I saw how she was dangling helplessly on the back of a Titan. Her limbs waving wildly, not able to get a good enough grip to unhook herself. No. No. Another one was approaching from the side, a smile plastered eerily on its face.
A sound split the sky with light as if the darkness had been cracked open. My head ducked down instantly, and I cowered with my hands covering my ears. Something was sitting on my chest, so heavy that I was just making short bursts of air leave my mouth. The sound of a whip cracking repeated itself, making me cower even more. Fear had freezed my veins, making it impossible to move.
"Isabel!" Farlan shouted, his leg finally free. Peeking, I saw a Titan getting off of the ground with blood splattered all over its face.
Isabel was dead. The girl with black hair was dead. Levi might be dead. I didn't know where Flagon was. Farlan was going die. I'm going to die. Four Titans remained.
Another bolt of light made itself known in the sky. My knees hit the ground, horror was locking me in place.
"Church! Get a horse. Find whoever else is still alive and get out of here!" Flagon said swooping down.
Get out of here. Get up, and get out. Run. I knew how to run. I was good at running, so I ran. If I just knelt there in the dirt, I would die. I would never ever see Suzu again, so I would escape. My sword swiping at any hands that tried to get near me, I sprinted faster than I ever did before. Faster than when I raced the horse. Not knowing where I was going, I just focused my feet slapping the ground and leaving again.
"Squad leader!" Farlan cried out.
Nails had burrowed themselves into the soft skin of my palms as I swung my arms, pumping my aching legs harder. Just then I realized that their was a figure fast dashing towards us. Feet barely touching the ground.
"Don't go back there, Levi! Not even you can kill all of them," I shouted as I grabbed onto his cloak.
The force of me going one way and him going the other made us fall to the ground. "Let go of me," he bellowed, trying to shake me loose. "Everyone is going to end up dead!"
"You can't." I tackled him to the ground in desperation.
We both stood up at the same time, but before I could protest, he sent a fist right into my jaw. My head snapped backwards making my vision go black as I was sent tumbling backwards. Woozy, it took me a bit before I could sit up to watch Levi sprint towards Farlan. Exhausted, I couldn't muster a single word to snap Levi out of his rage. He was fast approaching the Titan that was holding Farlan it its grip.
I had to keep moving. To survive I needed to get away. Levi fighting could give me enough time to limp away. Somewhere along the way, I had lost one of my shoes. Wet dirt squished between my toes as I stood up. I wondered if my feet would be cold if I wasn't so numb. Had the rain been cold in the first place? What was it even like to be warm?
A howl brought my attention to what was happening with the Titans. Eyelashes fluttering, I peered into the fog to try and make out if Farlan and Levi were still alive. I could make out a person carrying something. No. It was someone. My hands reflexively grabbed my stuttering legs as I realized that Farlan had been bitten in half. Before I could comprehend just how dire of a situation Levi was in, I was already moving towards him. Not sure how fast my pace actually was, I couldn't keep my eyes off of the wings waving on Levi's back as he flew directly toward the ones who had murdered his friends.
Body stilling, my breath was forcibly taken away. I couldn't help wonder if it was because tiredness or how fast Levi was moving that I found it hard to inhale. Each swipe was done with a such precision, you wouldn't have thought that the man was screaming while he delivered it.
Trying to focus on what Levi was saying to the last remaining monster, I hadn't realized that I had taken the few final steps to reach the decaying, steaming bodies. With one cut, the Titan that had killed so many people, fell because of a single man.
"Levi," I started, but before I could continue he lurched towards me.
Everything hurt as I was pushed, sprawling once again to to the hard ground. My eyes widened as I watched Levi's face twist in fury. "I could have saved him! If you hadn't stopped me, I could have at least saved Farlan!"
Trying to scramble away from him, I paused as I saw what lied just a little to the left of me. Levi stopped raging as he noticed what had caught my attention. Both of our chest rose and fell rapidly as wee took in the sight of Isabel's head. A keening whine left my mouth as my body trembled. Gently, Levi bent down so he could close Isabel's eyes.
"Levi! Saph! Are you two the only survivors?" Erwin's voice rang clear. The storm had stopped, and with it, all of the sounds of battle.
Grabbing the blonde, Levi threw the squad leader off of his horse. "I'm going to fucking kill you, Erwin, That's the only reason I'm still here."
The edge of a blade toyed near Erwin's exposed neck. He didn't seem to be afraid though as he just stared evenly at Levi. Erwin took in his surroundings after a second, trying to discern what had made Levi is enraged."Isabel and Farlan... must have died… I see." One hand moved into his coat to pull out a sealed envelope. "These are the documents that you guys came for."
"You knew?" I growled out, finally getting off of the soaked ground. This had all been a ruse then? Why did he want us on the Survey Corps? Were Levi and I just going to have to go back to the Underground empty handed? No. We might even be sent to jail for trying to do Lovoff's bidding. That's if Levi did't murder me first.
"It was a bluff," Erwin stated.
We were used. Every single one of us. Erwin obtained proof because of Lovoff making the deal with us. That was what Erwin had wanted all along.
"If you knew all that… why did you make us join the Survey Corps," Levi asked, the sword still being held steady even as his voice quivered.
"Your fighting skills were truly outstanding for one, and I needed the deal to be made to throw him off. Now all of the evidence is in the hands of Supreme Commander Zackalay, it doesn't matter."
Baring his teeth, Levi leaned forward. "Then my friends threw their lives away for nothing. You just dragged us into your worthless schemes to be used as pawns, but now I'm going to drag you down too."
"Who was it that killed my subordinates and your friends? Was it me? Was it you?"
Was Erwin blaming the death of Isabel and Farlan on Levi? My mind drifted back to the sight that had greeted me when Levi had begun to fight. Its not like he had been aware of the Titans coming for us at the time, but if he had been there, Isabel and Farlan would probably still be alive. The whole squad might have made it with Levi's tremendous strength.
"It's the Titans!" Erwin cried as he grabbed the blade. Blood beginning to drip down his fingers as it sliced his hand open. His eyes didn't waver though as he continued. "Where did the Titans come from? Why do the exist? Why do they devour humans? I don't have the answers, but none of us do. If we continue to remain ignorant then we will continue to be eaten."
But the walls kept us safe. Without the walls, humanity wouldn't survive. The only reason people died because of Titans was that they were in the Survey Corps. A peaceful life would have awaited them if they only hadn't went outside. Not that a life without trouble would be up for grabs for me. Even if I wasn't arrested and thrown into jail, I had spent all of my money on the information. If I was sent back to the Underground, I would have to start all over. I grimaced at the mere concept of doing so. There was a higher chance of me finding my brother while I was in the Survey Corps, I just couldn't die. What should be an easy task looks near impossible out here. Then again, they didn't have Levi before. Sticking with him does lead to a higher chance of survival.
"Will you let your eyes remain clouded? Will you kill me and return to the darkness of the Underground?" Erwin turned to look at me. "Fight for the Survey Corps! Humanity needs your strength!"
I was blown away by the sheer force behind his demand. No love for humanity was in my heart, but I couldn't return to the Underground. Couldn't I fight for the freedom outside of these walls while also looking for my little brother? Not only had I now tasted what it was like to walk in the sunlight, I had also experienced a world without a cage. That tantalizing goal of all the world belonging to us was one worth fighting for. I was in.
"I'm not making a deal with you this time," Levi simply stated before getting on a horse.
Mine hadn't been killed by the Titans and was returning to me just at that moment. I couldn't help but scratch his cheek as he nickered, teeth grazing my shoulder. "I guess you and I are both survivors then. Now we just have to make it back alive."
"We will make it back alive," Erwin declared after stirring his horse forward.
The group began to gallop in the general direction of where the commander was at. Heat began to warm our wet wing covered cloaks as we raced away from the carnage behind us.
Yeah. I know. I usually have my author notes at the beginning, but I had some stuff to add after you read the chapter. This storyline has been closely following the original prologue of A Choice With No Regrets, but that's going to change for a bit. After a few chapters of my own plot, I'll pick up when the Attack on Titan manga starts and continue onwards! That doesn't mean it's going to be completely canon, there will be a ton of changes since I don't want to write the fic until the manga itself actually ends. If you haven't read the manga, there will be spoilers. Then again, the next season for the anime might be out before I mention anything slightly spoiler-ish. Guess it all depends. Sorry about this long author's note.
Anyways, I hope you guys don't regret the chapter though it be filled with angst. Comments and criticism are very much appreciated. You can even go on a rant if you so desire. Thanks for reading guys and I will hopefully post the next chapter soon!