The Black Sky
A warm voice call my name.
"Ivonne, it's time to wake up. " I hear Erwin's calm voice.
"…uhm… Is it morning already?" I snooze.
"Yes. And it will be a long day, so you should start and prepare yourself for the departure. "He now instructs. Erwin's leader-mode activate.
"…. But it's cold outside…." I cuddle more in the bed sheets.
"Hmpf. Ivonne." He is serious and firm. He does not like people who are lazy and irresponsible.
"Fine…" He is cranky. But it's true, we will adventure again in their territory, with no place to hide and others may die today as well. I look on the window. "But it's still early! The sun is still hiding."
"You should also go and wake Flagon as well. I need to talk to him. Also, remember that I need both of you at your best and –"
"No one will die today, no?" I wait for a reaction but he just stares at me. "Don't answer because I know there is no guarantee, but I really hope so. It's such a beautiful day… " I look on the window.
The first ray of the early morning sun fall slanting through the window. Ray of brightness touch my checks and the warm glow is mesmerizing. Hope is the first word that comes into my mind when I think about it.
"… It will be a shame if on this peaceful day the grass will be painted red, again."
"Ivonne." He pauses. "You are quite dramatic this morning. I would love to stay and chat but I have things to do. Please send Flagon to me. He will know where to find me."
"I will… "I sigh.
Yesterday I haven't talked with Flagon nor did I spend time with him. I made him worry about my whereabouts because I felt lonely and chose to sleep here. It was a silly thing to do. It's been long since we haven't shared the same bed. I bet he is angry. But, I can't blame him for my childish behavior.
I change into the military equipment and go to his room. Just as I was about to knock the doors suddenly opens. I see Flagon who at first was surprised to see me but his face got colder. He is pissed.
"It's you." With a cold face and voice starts talking. "What do you want?"
"… It's you? That's the first thing you tell me?" I ask confused. He does not respond but looks the other way.
"And to think I came here to apologize. Now, get out of my way! I need to get my things. Don't worry I'll leave in a second. "I snap his head off.
"What do you want me to say?" he shouts at me. "Just because I didn't pay attention to you for a day, one damn day, you can't share the same bed with me?"
"Flagon… I… I am sorry." I humbly apologize as I feel tears coming down my checks. I look down, avoiding his eyes.
"Sheesh, Ivonne. Really. Don't start crying now. Look, I'm sorry I yelled and because I didn't pay attention to you yesterday…. But I was hurt too, you know? Dean was also my friend…. And I was busy because I had to fill in papers and stuff like that. " he opens up.
"I'm sorry *sniff* for my childish behavior." At this point I cannot refrain myself from crying.
"Come inside. I'll prepare some tea." He invites me.
"Erwin is waiting for you…" I mumble between my sobbing.
"He can wait. We are more important." He warmly replies.
We sit down at the table and he prepares tea with chamomile infusion. His bed is unmade and his stuff are all around the room. Why he is awake at this hour and where was he leaving?
"Flagon, where were you leaving? Did I interrupt something?" I ask.
"For a walk. I didn't quite sleep last night, you know." He replies. "I had this dream…. I have this dream for some time. I see the dead, Ivonne. My men, how they died. I see their bloody faces and it's haunting me. And, because you weren't there last night it made it hard, as well."
"For how long has it been?" I ask.
"I don't know. For a while I guess. They stopped until last night. Dean and the other's faces were added. Heh." He sighs.
"… Why haven't you told me?" I ask him concerned.
"Look, it's not like anything can be done. They were my men and I shared a bound with them. Nothing can change that. I was their leader and I feel responsible for their deaths. All I can do is prevent more from dying…. Something that I don't have power over. "
"No one will die today. I'm sure of that!" I cheerful smile.
"Heh, idiot. You don't know that." He smiles. "You will ride with Erwin, am I right?" I nod. "Then, at least you will be safe. I'm glad. "
"I… am that useless?" I ask hoping he will say no.
"What's with that question?" He looks at me worried and disturbed.
"He wants to protect me, that's why I'm won't be with the squad. It's because I'm not a good soldier." I reply looking down.
"I don't think that's true. And, even if it is, I'm not mad but grateful. He is your brother after all and he should look after you. Also, you are a good soldier. You have 9 solo kills, am I right?"
"Yeah…. " He is trying to make me feel better?
"And only with me and Dean have a fair number of team-kills, as well. So, I don't think he thinks you are useless. Maybe he wants to keep you away from me." He jokes.
"You are such in a good mood, now." I point out.
"Yes, because you came and talked. And I am grateful, you know. He is doing me a favor. And I know you will be safer there and I don't care about the reason why he wants this." He explains scratching the back of his head.
"Flagon… be careful. I want to sleep together this night."
"Heh. You know I won't die that easily. Even more, we've still got some time to…." He comes closer to me and puts his hand on my thigh.
"Pervert!" I sigh. "But a nice one. Come here!"
His hand alights on my face, moving down past my collar bone and rest on my breasts, gently touching them. I put my hands around his neck, pulling him closer. We start undressing each other and I admire his well-trained body. He lifts me up and slowly puts me on his unmade bed. We gently caressed each other's skin and we stare at each other for a while. "I love you, Ivonne." hear him say. Soon after the sweets words were spoken, he comes down to my lips and kisses them with lust. He loves me with his eyes as much as with his body, our souls mingling in the quiet moments between action and stillness.
We've lost track of time and we hear a knock on the door.
"Captain! Are you in there? The squad leaders are looking for you." It's Sayram. "Captain?"
"Damn it." He shouts.
"Captain? Are you ok!? Captain!? I'll come in!"
"Flagon!" I poke him. "Don't let him!"
"In a minute Sayram! Don't come in!" He turns to me. "Go and change! Shit."
I run in the bed sheet with my clothes in my hands and hide behind what used to be wardrobe. Flagon manages to put his trousers on and goes to answer.
"Sayram, why are you so noisy?" He asks calmly.
"Are you ok? The others are asking for you. We shall leave in 30 minutes and your presence is needed! You aren't usually late, captain." He then spots me coming out of my hideout. "I see. Captain, you are irresponsible."
"Err… Come in. We shall go together." Flagon invites him in.
"Hey, Sayram." I salute him.
"Ivonne." He nods.
He has never been fond of me for an unknown reason. Maybe he thinks I am the reason why Flagon doesn't advance. He is very loyal and dedicated to both the cause and his squad leader. It makes sense if this is the case. At first he gave me nasty glares, but in tine I learned how to ignore them. We can also make a good team as some of my team kills are with him, so it is good.
"Iv, I'm off. 20 minutes, remember please be down." Flagon instructs.
"Yes, Sir." I response.
Downstairs I meet with Isabel who is still having breakfast. I take my coffee and bread with some jam and join her.
"Good morning, Isabel!" I smile.
"You are in a good mood, Ivonne! Did something happen with Flagon?" She asks curious.
"Let's say. Where are the boys?" I ask looking around
"They are waiting outside." She pauses. "You look really nice today, Ivonne! The messy hair suits you!"
"Damn…. Thank you." I am a bit ashamed.
"Hehehehe. Ivonne your pervert!" she starts laughing.
"Isabel! Are you ready?" I see Farlan coming with Levi.
"Messy hair, today. But it suits you. He is a lucky man. " he laughs.
"Farlan…. Don't make me feel awkward. Please." I response.
"Let's go. We will be late."Levi says leaving us.
"He's not in a good mood?" I ask Farlan.
"Let's say that he has something on his mind…." He evasively answers my question. "But, it's true. We should go."
We soon mount on our horses and leave.
We are riding at full speed in an open field. There is no sign of titans, which is good, but the weather is not in our favor. The sky is clouded by numerous shades of grey and white and black and the sun light can hardly break through the iron curtain. We've been riding for a while and because there is no danger it is time to cover as much ground as possible.
"All squads! Execute long distance scouting formation. " We all hear Erwin's instructions and execute.
This is the part we split up. Flagon is on the third line, second section from right, I am on the first line with Erwin and Lord Commander Mike. If anything goes wrong we are close enough to go and help each other, right? Soon, we cover even more than I have expected and I can barely see the teams that are to my right or to my left. The first signal we see come from the right part and it's a red one which means a titan has been spotted.
"Red flare signal confirmed!" I hear Lord Commander.
"Roger! Preparing green!" Erwin's fires the green signal to the left. Soon a wave of signals are being shot.
"That's impressive!" I shout.
I can see Erwin smiling.
"Yes! Brother these strategy is great! We can avoid many battles and more lives will be spared!"
"Erwin, do you see that?" Lord Commander points out to the sky. A storm is coming and fast.
"Yes… Storm clouds are gathering…" Erwin is worried.
Flagon… I am scared.
The clouds soon gave in and heavy cold rain pour down. Everything goes darker and darker and by know we surely have lost the communication with other teams. The icy sheets of rain obscure our vision and we can hardly hear each other.
"At this rate, we're going to lose communication with the other squads!" Lord Commander yells.
"Then let's disband the formation!" Erwin replies.
Lightning bolts are dancing in the graphite sky.
Erwin fires a smoke signal but they are of no use. They are not a viable option anymore as they cannot be either distinguished in the dark atmosphere or reach the sky high enough.
"What the hell is with this rain?! I've never seen it pour like this before!" Lord Commander complains.
"Protect the flares! We won't be able to use them if they get wet!" I suggest.
"We are going to lose sight of the squad. Don't shut your eyes!" I can hear Lord Commander instruct but I look at Erwin who is peacefully watching the sky.
"Brother." I go to his side "Put your hood on. We must continue and pass this storm."
"Yes." He looks at me relieved.
.
We've been riding for a while. The weather improves a bit in time but not enough. We need to be careful, as danger can be at every step. So far we've been lucky and no titans were spotted. At one point during the ride we have heard some weird noises but we they disappeared. They are a concern, I hope no team was lucky enough to meet those monsters.
"That's the stream from a fallen titan…" Steam? Erwin, did you just say steam?
"To be able to take down that many titans at once-" Mike continues.
I cannot believe my eyes. So much steam! A fair number of titans were killed to generate this… The only person who could have done that is….
"Levi?" Erwin asks. Flagon!
We ride towards the steam. Soon, all we can see is blood, a pool of blood. I stop. I know I need to go further but I am afraid of what I can see. Erwin notices that I stopped and instruct Mike to continue.
"Ivonne, we need to go." He tells me in a calm voice.
"I know… But there is so much blood. That is Levi, I am sure. We rode to them. Flagon might not be there…"
"Ivonne, you have a duty! And you can't stay here forever!" He is worried.
"Very well…"
We catch up Mike who is already near Levi.
"Hey! Are there any survivors?" Mike asks. No response. Flagon.
"Levi! Are you the only one who managed to make it out alive?" Levi glares at Erwin. "These titans remains… Did you kill them all by yourself-". Levi bashes at Erwin.
The both fall off the horse. Mike rushes to Erwin's side but I hear Levi threating him to back off while pulling his sword to Erwin's head. He won'.
"I'm going to fucking kill you! That's the only reason I'm still here." Levi states.
"Your friend must have died. I see." Erwin pauses.
Death. I look around and I see Farlan's half body lying a pool of blood and Isabel's head near Levi. No sign of Flagon. Did he escape? I look closely around and I see a little object shinning in the blood. Taking a closer look I recognize the ring. It is Flagon's. He is dead… I come to my knees. Am I in shock? Mike comes to my side, watching Erwin closely. Erwin, he is threatened by Levi. Mike looks at me confused and see in my hand the ring.
"These are the documents concerning Nicholas Lovoff." Erwin continues.
"You bastard, you knew?" Levi is surprised.
"I'm sorry that I took so long." Brother throws an envelope with blank to the ground.
"Hey. Just what the hell are you trying to do?" Levi asks. I am confused as well.
"It was a bluff. I knew that Lovoff was embezzling funds… Using what was left from our suspended expeditions over the past several years. I wanted definitive proof, enough to convict him, so I had spread false information about him."
"But if you knew all that why did you make us join your survey corps?" Levi is even more confused.
"For one, your fighting skills are truly outstanding. The other reason is because I wanted to use you, the ones Lovoff made a deal with in order to throw him off. But none of this matters anymore. The real documents are now in possession of supreme commander Zacklay. It's all over for Lovoff."
"They threw their lives away for nothing. You just dragged us into your worthless schemes. But now I'm just going to drag you down, too!" Levi threatens rising the sword.
"Don't even dare!" I shout from the bottom of my lungs pressing my sword to the back of his neck. "Don't even dare touch him, or I will murder you. You won't lay your filthy sword on my brother. "
"Ivonne!?" Erwin and Mike are surprised.
I was impulsive and acted on instinct. I didn't even realize. But now I have the upper hand.
"Levi, put your sword down, please." I try and reason with him.
"Levi! Who was it who killed my subordinates, killed your friend? It was me? Or it was you? Even if you had gone together with them to ambush me, do you really think that they would've survived unharmed?" Erwin pulls away Levi's sword. His hand is cut.
"You are right. My arrogance… My own shitty fucking pride…" Levi starts.
"No, you are wrong! It's the titans!" Erwin now shouts. "Where did the titans come from? Why do they exist? Why do they devour humans? I don't have the answer. None of us do. Limited by our ignorance, we'll continue to be devoured by the titans! If we just stay shut behind the walls, we are never going to escape this nightmare. Take a good look around you!"
The cloud are slowly disappearing and rays of sun come down on us.
"No matter how far you go, there aren't any walls here. In this wide open space… I believe there is something there illuminating our despair. But there are those who seek to prevent us from venturing beyond the walls. They are consumed by selfish thoughts of their own losses and gains from behind the walls where it's safe!" Erwin continues explaining. "It's only natural. During the past 100 years, hindered by the walls, the eyes of the humanity have been clouded. They cannot see the landscape that lies on the other side. But what about you, Levi? Will you let your eyes remain clouded? Will you kill me and return to the darkness of the underground?" Erwin now stands up. "We will not give up our journey outside the walls. So fight for the survey corps, Levi! Humanity needs your strengths."
"I'm not making a deal with you this time… " Levi responses.
"Good." Erwin smiles.
I put my sword down and double my fist. Flagon is dead. What am I going to do now…? He… I do not even have his body, something to burry. Just a hand and a ring. I could have lost Erwin too, just in one day. Tears finally come down to my checks. I am not strong enough, I am weak. I should have stayed with him, I could have protected him or we could have died together. I want to die with you Flagon.
Erwin wraps his hands around me and pulls me closer to him. I cannot help but hug him tight, fall prey to his embrace.
"Everything is going to be all right. Shh! We need to get back. " Erwin starts.
"He died saving Farlan. He died protecting his subordinates. He had an honorable death." I hear Levi's voice.
"Ivonne…. We need to hurry. We should bring the dry noise rounds back to the supply squad." Mike suggests.
"We will regroup from here. Ivonne, are you ready?" Erwin gently asks me. I nod. "Levi, you will ride with Ivonne."
"When the weather improves, the titans are probably going to become active again. Then we need to join the commander in the vanguard, before we suffer any more losses. "Mike explains.
"We will make it back alive!" Erwin shouts confidently.
Erwin helps me mount my horse back.
"Take care of her, please." He asks Levi. He nods. And so we went on our way,