The Rat and the Falcon

by JustAnotherCricket

Levi is a street rat from the underground. Erwin is a hero destined to save humanity. Nothing could ever bring them together—or so they think. After all, what could a falcon possibly need from a rat? From the end of A Choice With No Regrets to the end of the series, this is the story of Levi Ackerman and Erwin Smith. Basically slow burn enemies to platonic soulmates.

8. The First Trial

In the early afternoon on a blustery day in late August, Erwin set out across the headquarter grounds. He strode down the sloping hill, passing both veterans who saluted him with the automatic air of habit and new recruits who stared at him open-mouthed before remembering to stiffen into exaggerated salutes. Erwin kept his face hard-set, his eyes serious and imposing. He nodded at the Scouts he passed, every now and then pausing to grasp a shoulder, to ask a question or two of a veteran or offer a word of encouragement to a brand-new recruit. So many of them were just kids, some of them barely older than twelve or thirteen.

He would never get used to the look of shock and wonder every time he called one of them by name.

First, he made his way across the grounds to what had been affectionately (and in some cases not so affectionately) dubbed "Hange's Corner." The space consisted of a glorified shed and an attached quad, penned in by wooden fences that were too tall to see over. Practically all Scouts—squad leaders, section commanders, veterans, and recruits alike—gave this area a wide berth, driven away by the sounds of unnatural screams and maniacal laughter that burst out from inside the fence at unpredictable hours of day and night.

When Erwin arrived, he passed through the main building and into the large quad outside. Hange noticed him before he had even set foot on the packed dirt field.

"Erwin!" she screamed from the other end of the quad. She and Moblit were both buried in what looked like the metal guts of a set of ODM gear. Hange gestured wildly at Erwin, who crossed the field toward her.

"How are things here?" he asked, surveying the broken wires and metal pieces strewn across the ground.

"Fantastic!" Hange flung her arms out wide, gesturing at the mess around them, and accidentally flinging a bit of wire halfway across the quad. "We've made so much progress on the ODM improvements!"

"I'm glad to hear it. What's the latest development?"

"I'll show you! Moblit, go get the gear!" Moblit went running back toward the shed and returned momentarily with a set of ODM gear. Hange strapped herself in, grabbed a trigger in each hand, sent her lines whizzing out to grapple over the top of the fence, then retracted the lines, sending herself flying straight at the fence. With a thud, she slammed against the wooden slats.

"Oh, no," Moblit said, sounding distressed, but in the weary tone of someone who had been spending every waking hour of this past summer with Hange Zoë. He ran over to Hange and helped her up, but she waved him off. A red lump was already beginning to appear on her forehead.

"Did you see?" she asked enthusiastically.

"I'm afraid I didn't catch it," Erwin replied.

"I played around with the springs and the retraction is 15% faster now! That's more momentum when passing Titans, higher speeds when evading a Titan's grip!"

"Excellent work, Hange," Erwin said, and he meant it. Visible to an outside observer or not, any increase in speed outside the walls had the potential to decrease casualties. "This is very helpful."

"I know!" Hange burst out, grinning widely. "Isn't it great? And I checked with the suppliers—the redesigned gear should be in by the time we leave next week. And look, let me show you—" She broke off and began searching through the piles of scrap, muttering to herself. "Moblit! Where did the new hook go?"

"Here," Moblit said, picking a grappling hook off the ground and handing it to his superior. She displayed it to Erwin proudly. "Look!"

"What am I…?" Erwin began.

"It isn't finished," Hange interrupted. "But you know how every now and then, one of the spokes will snap off when you send the lines out too far?"

"Yes, of course."

"Right, well, I'm working on finding a way to reinforce the hooks so that…you know…it won't do that," she finished, tinkering with the placement of the spokes and clearly getting a little distracted.

"Good," Erwin said. "Very good. Thank you, Hange."

"Oh—and before you go—" Hange said quickly. "I want to talk to you about something else."

As if instinctively, Moblit turned to head back inside, but Hange grabbed his arm.

"No, Moblit, you should stay for this. I want to capture a Titan."

Erwin suppressed a sigh. "Yes, I'm aware."

"Yes, I know you know, but I really—"

"Hange, the answer is unfortunately still no."

"But Erwin!" It never ceased to amaze Erwin how quickly her face could go from unbridled enthusiasm to intent displeasure. "On that little recon mission the other week—the one I did with Levi's squad—"

Erwin had already heard this story. Everyone had heard this story by now. He let her tell it anyway.

"I kicked the head of a decapitated Titan—and it was light. So much lighter than it should have been."

"Right," Erwin said, waiting for her to finish.

"So I need—we need to know why. And we'll never know unless you let me run experiments on real Titan bodies, and we won't have any real Titan bodies unless you let me capture one!"

"I'm not opposed to it as a long-term goal," Erwin said, keeping his tone as diplomatic as he could. "But I can't worry right now about how to capture a Titan safely."

"Yeah?" Her face crinkled up as she watched him curiously. "What are you so worried about, Erwin?"

"Thank you for your work, Hange," Erwin said, turning to leave.

"I bet that little bastard knows!" Hange called after him. Her tone was sarcastic, but buried underneath the wisecrack, Erwin thought he sensed a hint of real bitterness.

Next, Erwin crossed the grounds, crested the hill once again, and descended to the training forest. At the top of the tower, he met Bradley Zion, head of training for the past three months, as he surveyed his domain.

"How are the drills?" Erwin asked.

"Better," Bradley acknowledged. In the forest below, the tight, disciplined semicircles that made up the Long-Range Scouting Formation were clearly visible. Every now and then, a training Titan emerged from a tree, triggering a flare and a sudden direction change. "I think it's clicking for them. They're responding much more quickly now. The flares are the correct colors. On average, the first row is communicating with the cart teams in less than thirty seconds, which is a huge improvement—as you know."

"Good work," Erwin said, squeezing Bradley's shoulder once. "Your timing is perfect. They look like they'll be ready for next week."

"Sir," Bradley said, hesitating a little. "Since you bring it up, I do have a question."

"Go on."

"Captain Levi's squad hasn't trained with the formation yet, unless there have been drills that I'm not aware of."

"You already know there haven't been," Erwin said.

"Yes, well. I don't understand how Levi's squad fits into the overall structure."

"You don't need to concern yourself with them." Erwin looked down at the formation—his masterpiece—as they smoothly carried out yet another full 180-degree turn. "You've been doing admirable work. I'll handle Captain Levi's squad."

And Erwin climbed back down the tower, fought the wind as he hiked around to the other side of the hill. From a distance, he could already spot six flying figures, diving and leaping and rolling through the three-dimensional obstacle course—and up on the rickety platform stood the tiny form of their captain, watching them.

"Where have you been?" Levi asked curtly as Erwin clambered up over the platform's edge.

"Hello, Levi. It's good to see you too. Thank you for greeting me so nicely."

"Yeah, hi, whatever. I haven't seen you in a week."

"Last-minute expedition plans." Erwin crossed the platform and stood next to Levi, looking down over the obstacle course. "Ironing out supply details. That kind of thing."

"I never want your job."

"Then I won't give it to you."

One of the flying Scouts tripped while crossing a rope bridge, nearly tumbling down into the net far below.

"Ral!" Levi yelled. "Get your shit together!"

"Sir!"

"She's nervous because you're here," Levi said abruptly, turning his attention back to Erwin. "She'd never do that normally."

"You're telling me you don't make them nervous?"

"I used to. They're over that now. But they've never had their commander watch them train." Levi eyed Erwin from the corner of his eye. "So? Are you going to approve the squad?"

"Tell me about them first." Erwin pointed at the nearest Scout—a sour-faced teenager climbing up a long rope. "I see you kept Dover."

"Yeah. He's quick. Sizes up situations well. Makes good decisions in a pinch. Honestly, he'd make a good squad leader someday."

"You just see yourself in him," Erwin said with a small smile.

"Anyway," Levi muttered, clearly uninterested in Erwin's psychoanalysis. He pointed at a young woman who crouched atop a climbing wall, sizing up her surroundings before she jumped. "Julia's still here, obviously. She's great with the gear—her balance is better than anyone's. Practically an acrobat. Besides, she made it out of Shiganshina alive. That has to count for something, right?"

"Good. I can't tell from this distance—is that Eld Jinn? And Gunther Schultz?"

Two male Scouts—one with blond hair tied back in a bun, the other with dark brunette hair combed into a point—were sparring with one another on a rope bridge.

"That's right. Eld's a natural leader. He doesn't have to convince anyone to listen to him—they just do. He's got a cool head, thinks clearly in tight spots. Gunther's a stick in the mud, but outstanding in the field. His reaction time is basically flawless."

"Neither of them are veterans, if I'm remembering correctly."

"Yeah. They were both new recruits back in February. But they're survivors of both Shadis's last expedition and Shiganshina, so they know something about killing Titans."

"Fair enough. What about the other two?"

"Oruo Bozad." Levi pointed at a young man with a sandy brown undercut and a smirk visible even from this distance. "He's from the middle of nowhere, or that's what they tell me. He's a smartass, but he has the best combat skills out of any of them."

"Also a new recruit?"

"Well, yeah. He and Ral came in with the June recruits."

"Ral?"

A young woman with strawberry blond hair and a heart-shaped face was whizzing past the others, flying from one side of the obstacle course to the other.

"Petra Ral. She's the newest…I picked her about three weeks ago."

"What happened? I thought you only wanted five."

"There was a stray kitten drowning in the pond. No idea how it got onto the grounds. She broke rank to jump in and save it."

"And?"

"And I didn't have anyone that brave…or stupid. I meant to assign her a punishment, but I don't know what happened. I guess I recruited her instead."

Silence fell for a moment as the two of them watched the squad fly through the obstacle course.

"Well?" Levi finally asked. "Do they have your approval?"

Erwin turned to face Levi. "Do you trust them?"

Levi tore his gaze away from his squad and met Erwin's eyes. "Yeah. I do."

"Then I approve." Erwin stepped away from the edge of the platform, pulling Levi back with him. He lowered his voice. "As for your place in the formation…"

"Right."

"I'm going to have your squad ride just to the lower right of command. You'll be within earshot of me."

"That's fine."

"No, listen. You'll stay until I give you orders. Even if you spot a Titan, even if another squad gets in trouble. Stay put until I give the word. I'm not going to waste you on a stupid scrape that should have been avoided."

"Yeah, okay, okay," Levi grumbled, already turning back to his squad.

Erwin grabbed Levi's arm and held him back. "Levi. I'm serious."

"So am I." Levi shrugged. "As long as it's you. I'll listen."

A small wave of relief washed over Erwin. "We can talk more about the details after your lesson tonight."

Levi's nose wrinkled. "I thought you'd forgotten."

"Of course not. I've just been busy." Erwin shook his head, amused at Levi's irked expression. "Don't be like that. You're getting better every time."

"I already know how to recognize all the words I'll ever need."

"Mm-hmm." Erwin was already turning to leave.

"I mean it!" Levi called after him. "I know Titan, Scout, clean, asshole—"

"I'll see you at seven," Erwin threw back after his shoulder, then stepped onto the ladder and began the long climb back down to the ground.

"That's good," Erwin said, pulling the book back toward himself and pointing at one of the lines. "But this word is running, not ramming."

"Oh, wait." Levi stared at the word for a few more seconds, then nodded in recognition. "Stupid double consonants."

"They're hard to recognize if you go too fast," Erwin agreed. "You could stand to slow down a little."

"Yeah, okay." Levi leaned back and crossed his arms.

"You're doing well—lots of improvement, even since last time." Erwin closed the book and pushed it back toward Levi. "I should probably get back to work now. You can help if you want. It would be good for you to practice writing anyway." Wordlessly, Levi held out his hand, and Erwin passed him a report. "I just need a copy of this one so I can send it back to Zachary."

"It's not Hange's report, is it?"

"No, Bradley's."

"Good." Levi grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and smoothed it out on the desk. "Hange's handwriting is impossible."

They worked side by side in silence. While Levi read too quickly, he always wrote slowly. He sat hunched over the paper, his forehead furrowed in intent concentration, as he copied down every letter with mechanical precision.

"Levi," Erwin said suddenly.

"Mmm?" Levi mumbled, clearly reluctant to break his concentration.

"Back in January—when we were trapped outside the walls. How much did you hear of what I said? About my father?"

Levi glanced up. "That was months ago. Why ask about it now?"

"I don't know. Maybe I didn't think you would tell me."

Staring back down at the report, Levi paused. "All of it. I think. At first, I thought I had dreamed it all—but when I kept thinking about it later, I realized it made sense."

"Made sense of what?"

"Of you." Levi looked back up at Erwin. "Of everything I didn't understand before."

They fell silent again, returning to their work. Several minutes passed. The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

"What did I say about Kenny?" Levi asked suddenly.

"Almost nothing." Erwin kept writing. "When I picked you up, you said the name. That's all."

"I see." Erwin waited, hoping that Levi might continue, might finally answer the question Erwin had asked so many months ago, but the minutes ticked by and his captain remained silent, fixated on the report in front of him.

Erwin sighed. Some things would never change.

"William sent a note," he said eventually, changing the subject.

"What does the asshole have to say now?"

"It's short. He says he wishes me well on this expedition—and he says it's 'very important that I succeed.'"

Levi leaned in close to his work, carefully looping his pen across the paper to form pristine printed letters. "Stupid. As if we don't already know."

"Yes." Erwin shook his head. He couldn't ignore the pressure of this first large-scale expedition. Even if his position as commander weren't relying on his success, it would still be absolutely essential to retain the respect of the Scouts under his command. If the mission was successful, they would follow him forever. If he failed, he would lose some part of their loyalty forever.

"Don't worry," Levi said, interrupting Erwin's thoughts. "William has no idea what you can do."

One week later, Erwin sat on his horse facing the outer gate of Utopia, waiting for the rest of the force to finish assembling behind him. He had waited in front of the gates many times before, but always as a soldier, a squad leader, a section commander. Now for the first time, no one stood in front of him. For the first time, this gate was the only thing standing between him and the Titan-infested world outside.

"Bradley," Erwin said.

"Sir?"

"Keep your squad's trajectory tighter on your way to Row 1-8. They've been drifting a bit."

"Sir!"

"Hange, remember to stay back until all the carts are through the gates. Report any problems to me."

"Yes, sir!" Hange's smile spread even wider. "Sixty whole miles? This is the best day ever!"

"Levi."

"Yeah?"

"Signal the Garrison. We're ready."

And slowly, the gates opened. For only the second time, the Long-Range Scouting Formation streamed out onto a grassy plain, merging and ebbing and flowing until all two hundred Scouts had snapped smoothly into position. The arrow shot forward like a flock of geese in flight, aiming—at last—for a real destination.

A few wispy clouds floated overhead through the vibrant blue sky. A warm wind rushed across the grass. A few excited, energetic whoops echoed through the scattered trees as the relay row sped up and fanned out, disappearing into the distance. Erwin took a deep breath, relaxing his hands on the reins. He looked up at the sky.

He decided to allow himself a ration of hope. At least for today. At least for now.

Around midday, the first red flare rose up through the trees on the northeastern horizon.

"Red! Fire!" Erwin shouted, and right behind him, the spurting sound of a firing flare split through the air. Silently, Erwin counted to thirty, letting the flares echo behind them until they reached the squad guarding the tail end of the carts. Then he fired a green flare, sending it just slightly northwest. All around him, Scouts angled their trajectory slightly to the left, fluidly changing course.

After a few more minutes and no flares on the horizon, a surge of adrenaline rushed through Erwin's body. It worked. The formation worked. Erwin hadn't even realized that he had any doubts until this moment, until the doubts all melted away, replaced with this wild, exuberant energy. He wanted to fly. He wanted to kill a Titan. He wanted Elijah William to be there riding next to him just so that he could see the bastard's face.

The long-range formation was the ace up Erwin's sleeve, and Eli still had no idea.

"Look at that," Levi yelled from about twenty feet behind him, as if reading Erwin's mind. Two or three members of his squad had broken out into cheers. "It works."

"Of course it does," Erwin called back, keeping his tone brisk and commanding. "And get your squad to quiet down."

But inwardly, he was cheering just like the kids behind him.

The sun rose until it shone directly overhead, beating down in waves of thick August heat. Then, little by little, the temperature began to drop as the sun fell and the shadows began to lengthen.

They passed through small groves and larger forests, circled around lakes and across shallow brooks, crested rolling hills and left the walls of poor villages behind. Every now and then, a single red flare lit up the horizon, and Erwin initiated a minor course correction. After each flare, Erwin spent a few tense minutes waiting for a cluster of flares to light the tree line—but nothing ever came.

They had approximately an hour left before sunset. If Erwin's calculations were correct, they should reach Lakne, a small village about twenty miles away from Wall Maria, in about forty-five minutes. So far, Erwin's exhaustive planning had proven immaculate. They would arrive right on time.

Over the sound of hoofs beating the earth, someone to Erwin's left shouted, "Commander!"

Erwin looked back over his shoulder and caught the end of two red flares fizzling out on the southeastern horizon. A moment later, another red flare split through the blue haze above the trees.

Picturing a diagram of the formation, Erwin quickly scanned for the position of the flares. Row 4-4—one of the relay squads, led by Squad Leader Arankowski. No one up ahead had spotted any Titans, so Arankowski's squad must have been attacked on their eastern flank.

A purple flare shot up into the sky.

"Sir!" called Muller from Erwin's left. "Your orders!"

Erwin gripped the reins more tightly, sorting through their options—but only to be perfectly careful. He already knew what they needed to do.

"Erwin!" Levi had ridden up beside him. "Send us. We'll go."

"No," Erwin said. "They can handle it."

"There is absolutely no damn way that we're—"

"If you say another word, I will have you court martialed," Erwin interrupted, staring straight ahead. On the distant horizon, the walls of Lakne had just appeared.

"Erwin!"

"I will not warn you again. Get back."

Levi let out a frustrated grunt, but fell back anyway, returning to his squad. Erwin felt his face harden. As brief as the argument had been, he was acutely aware that everyone around them had heard it clearly. A tense silence hung in the air around him.

All these months later and a promotion to boot, and Levi still somehow managed to be the worst soldier in the Survey Corps.

As Erwin rode through the gates of Lakne, the squads from the first row had already gathered, maintaining formation, waiting at the ready in case one of the incoming squads had encountered trouble outside the village. Erwin circled around as more squads came in behind him.

"Kozel," he called. Kozel dismounted, left his squad behind, and strode over to Erwin. "Any problems?"

"Not here," Kozel said shortly. "The first row is accounted for."

More squads trickled in—first the rest of the second row, then the third. The carts rattled through the gates. Then the fourth row began to appear, but more slowly than the others, and Erwin waited, watching for Arankowski's squad. After a few minutes, a shout rang just outside the gates.

"Commander! Row 4-4!"

Six scattered soldiers were stumbling through the gates. Most of them were spattered in blood. One of them was being carried by one of his comrades, and with a small lurch in his chest, Erwin realized that his leg was a bloody stump, wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. He was unconscious—or dead.

"Sir," Arankowski, breaking away from his squad and approaching Erwin. He was limping.

"What happened?" Erwin asked.

"We encountered three Titans at once. Either we missed the flare, or they came straight from the east."

"How many casualties?"

"Two," Arankowski said. "Some minor injuries. Cal lost his leg."

"I want a more detailed report later," Erwin said. "You did well. Go take care of your squad for now—and get a medic to look at your ankle."

"Sir," Arankowski acknowledged, saluting and limping away. Erwin turned his attention to other logistical matters—delegating section commanders to direct the squads in setting up camp, tending to the injuries in Arankowski's squad, refilling gas canisters, unloading supplies, separating the tents and food for that night and food to drop in abandoned buildings for the expedition back. Once Erwin was satisfied that the first watchmen were assigned and the watch schedule for the night was settled, he retreated to the command tent and sent for Arankowski.

Standing at attention in Erwin's tent, Arankowski gave a detailed description of the attack on his squad. Even though he made a valiant effort to keep his voice detached and professional, he was clearly shaken. When Arankowski broke off once or twice to take a deep breath, Erwin averted his gaze upward as if the ceiling of the tent had suddenly become very interesting.

"Thank you," Erwin said when Arankowski had finished. "Are you on watch tonight?"

"Yes, sir. At midnight."

"I'll have someone else cover it. Get some sleep."

Arankowski saluted and left. Erwin rewrote his notes from Arankowski's description, documented the casualties, and stored the report for safekeeping. Next, he sent for all four section commanders and Levi.

All four section commanders stood around the table with stiff backs and attentive faces. And then there was Captain Levi standing in the corner, leaning against a tent pole, his arms crossed over his chest.

"We need to double-check tomorrow's plans," Erwin said. "Barring any emergencies, we should arrive at Benien approximately two hours before sunset. The city is about three square miles, and the treasury is on the far end. After we enter the city and clear it of Titans, all the relay squads in the first row will form a perimeter outside the city."

"Sir," said Kozel. "Will the color code for flares remain the same?"

"Of course."

"What constitutes an emergency for this expedition, sir?" Miche interjected.

"Any cluster of Titans. Three or more. The second row will circle inside and reinforce in case of emergency."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Kozel said, then fell silent again.

"The other squads will layer throughout the city like we've drilled. We're just as likely to encounter Titans within the city as outside, so instruct all squads to move carefully. The fifty newer recruits—all the soldiers who have been traveling with the carts—will enter the treasury and retrieve the twenty-five coffers. The Scouts carrying the coffers will obviously be completely vulnerable to attack. That's why Levi's squad will serve as the last line of defense outside the treasury."

Levi snorted. The section commanders turned back to look at him, but he said nothing.

"Are there any questions?" Erwin asked. Simultaneously, his four section commanders said, "No, sir!" Levi, still slouching in the corner, said nothing.

"Dismissed," Erwin said. "Except for you, Levi."

Erwin shuffled his papers as the four officers left. Levi waited, his expression unreadable, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Are you going to get your shit together or not?" he asked. He kept his tone calm and even.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"When I gave you this position—which, let me remind you, gives you an unprecedented amount of authority and independence—it was on one condition. You promised you would follow my orders in the field."

"Which I did, in case you haven't noticed," Levi interrupted, his eyes flashing.

"After you swore at me in front of my soldiers." Erwin laced his fingers together, laying his folded hands on the table in front of him. "Which you absolutely may not do. Do I make myself clear?"

"Look, I didn't—"

"But you did. It doesn't matter what you thought you were doing, or what you were trying to do, or what excuses you have now. You're a soldier of the Survey Corps, and you will not speak to me that way in front of your comrades. I'll ask one more time: do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah," Levi grumbled.

"Good. Dismissed."

"Erwin—"

"You're dismissed, Levi."

The tent curtain flapped in the wind as Levi stalked through it. A moment later, Hange poked her head in.

"Can I talk to you, Erwin?"

Erwin motioned her in wordlessly, still jotting some notes down in his notebook. When he had finished, he looked up. "You can have a minute."

"We're, um…we're a little concerned. The section commanders, I mean."

"About?"

"About Levi."

Erwin pushed his papers away and sat back. "Is that so?"

"Please don't be angry. Just…just hear me out."

"I'm listening." Erwin looked up at Hange expectantly.

"Frankly, he's a little menace," Hange said. She spoke quickly, as if worried that Erwin might try to stop her before she finished. "He doesn't take orders, he fights with his superiors, he insults his inferiors, he does it for months, and then you reward him by making a special position just for him where he has a sanctioned excuse to ignore everything but his own whims. All your other officers salute when we're supposed to, call you by your title, treat with you with respect, and he's out here running around like he owns the Survey Corps. Everybody knows what he said to you today."

"Word certainly travels fast," Erwin mused. "But I notice that you don't call me commander either, Hange."

Hange's face grew red. "That's not what this is about."

"You also continually try to persuade me to let you capture a Titan, even after I've repeatedly told you no."

"It's more than that, though!" Hange exploded. "You tell him things you don't tell anyone else—I know you do. You took him to the Capitol after Wall Maria fell, and suddenly he's the one in your office day and night. He's the one who gets an elite hand-picked squad."

"Hange," Erwin said, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. "Is this jealousy I'm hearing?"

"Of him? You think I'd ever get jealous of a rat?"

"Hange!"

"Sorry," she said quickly. "Sorry. I just don't get it. None of us get it. He's good at fighting Titans, sure, but nobody's that good."

"Do you trust me, Hange?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Do you trust me?"

She opened her mouth to answer, then stopped, her forehead crinkling in thought.

"Yeah," she said. "I do."

"Then trust me when I say that he really is that good, and one day I hope you will see it for yourself." Erwin returned to his papers. "I'm glad we had this talk. You're dismissed now."

"First row, move in!"

At the shouted command, the relay squads galloped through the city gates: first the vanguard, then the rest.

"Second row, with me!"

Erwin spurred his horse forward, motioning the second row to follow. Levi's squad rode directly behind, and the others came after. From somewhere behind them, Erwin could hear Hange yelling orders, directing the other squads to follow in formation.

Erwin scanned the deserted buildings, searching for any sign of Titans in the landscape of grey walls and broken stone. Most of the houses were cracked and damaged. Many of them had been demolished completely. As they rode through the street, they passed a patch of buildings that had been reduced to heaps of charred rubble. Maybe someone had tried to ward the Titans off with fire and it had gotten out of control. Maybe a house fire had spread when a building had collapsed. Either way, it was clear that when Wall Maria had fallen, Benien had been reduced to rubble.

"What happened here?" Levi asked, riding up next to Erwin.

"There were almost no survivors from Benien, so we don't know for certain," Erwin replied. "It appears that the Titans broke through the main gate and made short work of the city. We heard from a few who did survive that many citizens tried to barricade themselves inside the treasury, but that some kind of collapse killed them all."

Levi glanced around, eyes narrowed. "No Titans yet."

But right on cue, a red flare shot above the rooftops up ahead.

"Titan!" Erwin yelled. "Row 2-4! Reinforce them!"

He heard the order repeated behind him, then again more faintly, and then Wickes' squad went galloping to the right, disappearing around a side street sloping downward to where the flare's smoke was still disappearing in the air.

A minute later, another red flare lit up the sky to the northwest. Erwin sent another backup squad from the second row. Another flare, another round of reinforcements. Erwin, flanked by Levi's squad, still galloped ahead. By now, they must have been halfway through the city.

On all sides, Erwin knew that the first row was spreading out, fanning through the city streets, searching for Titans out in the open and hidden in between collapsed walls. Before they entered the treasury, they would be as certain as they could be that no Titans were left within Benien.

There was one more flare and one more round of reinforcements sent due west before Erwin spotted a huge stone castle, Wall Maria looming directly behind it, casting its long shadow over the treasury.

"Target spotted!" Erwin called. "Remember! No recruits go anywhere near it until we search for Titans!"

When the towers and spires of the treasury were less a quarter mile away, Erwin yelled back over his shoulder, "Special Operations Squad! Search the treasury's perimeter for Titans!"

Instantly, Levi was pressing forward, flanked by his squad. He barked orders that the wind carried away from Erwin, but not from his subordinates, who split down the middle and rode the perimeter, disappearing around the western and eastern walls. Levi himself went flying up onto the treasury roof, followed by Dover and Petra.

Erwin slowed as he approached the treasury, frowning. He knew from his research that the only ways inside the treasury were through these southern doors and a second, smaller entrance on the western side—but the southern doors were nowhere to be seen. The entire entry point, which must have once jutted out from the rest of the castle, had collapsed into a pile of stone and rubble. There was no way in.

Around him, the cart convoys had begun to gather, pulled by the newest recruits. Erwin held up a hand.

"Stay with the carts! Wait for further orders!"

He dismounted, approaching the walls and striding along the perimeter of the castle, scanning the walls for any points of entry. The treasury had no obvious windows, no visible cracks—but Erwin wasn't surprised. It was built for security against would-be robbers, which was also the documented reason that the Royal Government had built only two doors.

As he approached the southwestern corner, Levi came flying back down from the roof, landing in front of Erwin.

"Western door's collapsed too," he said.

"Any other points of entry?"

"Gunther and Eld are double-checking, but as far as I've seen, no. The whole castle is sealed up tight."

"Come with me." Erwin returned to the carts. He counted them quickly, pleased to find that all the convoys had arrived.

"Minor setback!" he called to the recruits. "We'll need to excavate the entrance! Retrieve shovels, picks, any supplies that might help to move stone. All recruits, to the rubble!" The recruits saluted and began to dig through the carts. Erwin gestured at Muller. "Organize them. Keep them moving."

Erwin glanced down one of the streets to his west and caught a glimpse of one of the relay squads galloping past, heading back toward the outer walls. Soon, the entire long-range formation would have inverted until five rows of squads were layered throughout the city. Erwin felt himself relax a little. Benien had been cleared of enemies and there were multiple lines of defense between the treasury and any incoming Titans. They had enough time to clear the southern entrance.

"Erwin," said Levi, drawing him out of his thoughts. "I can take my squad to the walls. If a Titan shows, I can take it."

"No," Erwin said. "You stay with the recruits."

Levi's already narrow eyes became slits. He opened his mouth.

"Think very carefully," Erwin said, "about what you're going to say next."

As if subconsciously, Levi's right hand clenched into a fist. For a second or two, Erwin was back outside Wall Maria, standing in the rain, staring calmly into the face of an armed thug threatening him with a knife. Then, slowly, Levi's hand fell open.

"What were you going to say?" Erwin asked.

"Nothing," Levi said in a low voice.

"Good," Erwin said. He turned and walked past the cart convoys to where Bradley stood, watching as the recruits began to dig through the rubble.

"How long will this take?" Bradley asked.

"About an hour, I'd guess." Erwin looked up at the sky, measuring the sun's distance from the western horizon. "We'll cut it close, but we should have everything loaded by nightfall."

Bradley nodded. "Do you want me to stay here with the recruits, or head back toward the walls?"

"Captain Levi's with the recruits. You can go."

At Levi's name, Bradley's eye twitched. The movement was barely noticeable, and before Erwin could mention it, the section commander had saluted and spun on his heels. Shaking his head, Erwin turned back. He grappled to a nearby rooftop and stood, keeping one eye on the recruits as they dug, and the other eye on the walls, barely visible in the distance.

Down below, Levi's squad were drifting around the perimeter of the castle, zipping up and down from the roof, apparently keeping an eye out for any Titans the others had missed. Meanwhile, Levi himself sat sulking on a large boulder, arms crossed, watching the recruits labor in the falling sun. Erwin rolled his eyes, although truth be told, even Erwin wasn't exactly sure why he had asked Levi to stay with the recruits. Something about the situation didn't feel quite right, even if he couldn't put his finger on why.

Nearly an hour later, the recruits had managed to dig through nearly all the rubble. They were speeding up now, eager to finish the backbreaking work. Any minute now, they would have a hole large enough to walk through.

Distracted by the recruits, Erwin didn't even see the first flare. It was Eld, standing in the shadow of the treasury, who first glanced up, whose eyes widened in shock, who shouted, "Commander!"

Erwin whirled around—and breathed in sharply. All along the distant walls, flares were lighting up against the darkening sky. Instinctively, Erwin counted them: one, two, three… By the time the last flare had fizzled out, Erwin had counted eleven. Nine red, two black.

Mind racing, Erwin turned back to the treasury. He meant to call for Muller, to mobilize reinforcements, to send some recruits back to the walls and leave the rest to load the coffers. Instead, his first shouted order was drowned out by the crashing sound of an avalanche of rubble. The last few support stones had caused the rest of the stone mountain to collapse, leaving a huge, gaping hole in the treasury. Below, the crowd of recruits cheered, picks and shovels raised to the sky.

"Muller," Erwin shouted for the second time. Muller looked up, raised a hand in acknowledgement, and grappled up to the roof next to Erwin.

"We need reinforcements outside the walls," Erwin said quickly. "I'll take ten recruits. You can direct the rest in loading the—"

But he was interrupted by a scream echoing out through the hole in the treasury wall.

In an instant, Erwin assessed the situation. While he had been talking to Bradley, some recruits had already run into the treasury. The rest were stumbling backward as another scream came from inside.

"Titan!"

And then Erwin knew. The Titans had been trapped in here along with their prey ever since the day the wall had fallen. Now, Erwin had ordered the recruits to open up the wall, unlocking a cage full of Titans.

"Levi!" he shouted, but Levi was already up and running through the rubble. He disappeared into the treasury, followed by Eld, then Gunther, then the rest of his squad.

Erwin grappled down from the roof, drawing his blades, just as a Titan lumbered out of the treasury. One of the recruits was locked in his grip. She was shrieking, eyes wide, screaming for someone to help her.

Sinking his grappling hook up and into the treasury wall, Erwin flew past the Titan's nape and swung. He felt his blade slash through flesh, a split second after the sickening crunch of human bone. He was too late.

Erwin redirected his course, tried to move inside the treasury hole, but another Titan was emerging, blocking the way. He couldn't see inside. Erwin hesitated for a moment, then turned around. If anyone could handle the Titans within, it was Levi. Erwin would deal with the outside.

"Scouts!" Erwin shouted to the rest of the recruits. "Engage your ODM gear! Prepare to attack! You!" he added, pointing at one recruit—a young man named Wes, whose face was ashen white. "Fire an emergency flare!"

As Wes fumbled for his flare, Erwin took a few steps backward, staring up at a second Titan as it emerged from the gaping hole, followed closely by a third.

Behind him, squad leaders were mobilizing the cart squads. Three or four squads advanced to engage the two Titans as off in the distance, multiple purple flares light the sky. Erwin cursed and moved back until he found Muller.

"You're in charge here," he said. "Until Captain Levi makes it back out. I have to find out what's happening at the walls—I'll try to bring reinforcements."

"Sir!"

Erwin turned, ready to engage his gear and fly back through the city, when Hange nearly barreled him over.

"Hange! What—"

"Eleven Titans at the walls—two Abnormals—"

"Yes, I saw the flares. How are—"

"They broke through sections of the walls—the Abnormals are too fast—the second row retreated—they'll be here any minute—"

"Slow down. Who will be here—the Titans or the second row?"

As if in response, Scouts came flying over the rooftops, running, grappling over one another, filling the streets.

Erwin shook his head. He needed a better vantage point. He took off running toward the treasury, dodging the Titans—they were everywhere now, pouring out of the gaping hole. Once he skidded to a halt to pull a kid out of a Titan's reach, once he grappled up and over a Titan's shoulders, slashing through the nape. Each time, he ignored the cries of "commander!" behind him. He kept running until he reached the walls, sent his lines whizzing upward, and flew up onto the roof.

Below, he could see the sprawling streets of the city. He could spot the small figures not only of squads from the second row, but the third, and the fourth. They had all retreated, pushed back to the treasury by something—but what?

Then he saw it. A huge Titan, lean and lanky and twisted, tearing through the streets at twice the speed of any normal Titan. A second, moving just as fast, was half running and half crawling toward the treasury walls. Unless they responded quickly, soon the entire force would be backed up against the walls.

But there were Titans coming from outside and inside, and the incoming Scouts were being surrounded. Erwin watched as squad after squad turned, tried to fight, but kept falling over themselves, their comrades, the huge Titan legs that pounded the ground. Erwin watched one screaming Scout in the grip of a Titan, moments before she was crushed into bloody pieces between its jaws.

He watched another soldier die to the west, and another to the east. They were being pressed in from every side. If Erwin didn't do something right now, he would be returning home with a devastated force, wallowing in the exact same disgrace as Shadis had brought upon himself four months ago. If he didn't act now, Elijah William's plan would succeed beyond even the bastard's wildest dreams.

Just below, Levi came flying out of the hole in the wall. Propelled so quickly that his body was nothing but a blur, he shot past the nearest Titan, leaving a bloody hole in its nape. He ricocheted around the Titan's head, spinning to cut a second Titan's life out of its neck.

"Levi!" Erwin barked, praying his voice would cut through the crashes and screams. "Levi!"

Just before leaping off a rooftop into another set of Titans, Levi froze, head whipping around to look up at his commander. Erwin could see a flash of hesitation—then Levi reversed direction, grappled up to the treasury roof, and landed next to Erwin.

"This is bad," Levi said.

"We need to—" Erwin was interrupted by a second whizzing sound. A moment later, Hange fell out of the sky. She stumbled between them, catching her balance.

"This is bad!" she yelled over the noise.

"Quiet," Erwin said. "Listen. Levi, take your squad and lead some Titans south—away from the treasury. We can't fight when we're all packed in like this, so you need to lure a little over half of them away. Get both of the Abnormals. We'll take the rest."

"Got it," Levi said, already starting to run back toward the ledge.

"Wait," Erwin said, pulling him back. "Don't risk your life. You don't need to kill them all—just keep them busy. We'll send reinforcements once we've freed up the space here."

"Right," Levi replied, and leaped back into the fray.

"He's taking half?" Hange stared after Levi, mouth hanging open. "You want seven Scouts to hold—what, nineteen, twenty Titans at bay? And two Abnormals?"

"I told you he's good," Erwin said. "Now you'll see for yourself."

In the streets below, Levi's squad was already circling through the crowd, beginning to pull the Titans away. Erwin pointed down into the battle raging below him.

"We join them now," he said, and took a running start before jumping over the edge into a sea of Titans and soldiers. In the middle of the street right in front of him, a Titan was reaching for a frozen recruit, who stood paralyzed with fear. All of Erwin's focus narrowed, and the uproar of combat became a muffled roar. He grappled onto a nearby building and flew past the Titan, killing the giant with one swift slash of his blades. He landed on a wall and looked back at the recruit, who was jumping backward to escape the falling Titan body. He appeared shaken, but unharmed.

Erwin turned back, scaled the wall, and climbed up onto the roof of a house. Something crashed behind him, and he whirled around to see the Abnormal barreling through the street, moving faster than any Titan that Erwin had ever seen.

In a blur of motion, Levi appeared out of nowhere and spun around the Titan's head, leaving a long gash on its face.

"Hey!" Levi yelled. "Asshole! Follow me!"

Confused, the Abnormal stopped, searching for Levi, who kept flitting back and forth around his head like an irritating fly. The Abnormal turned, swatting at Levi with huge arms that moved at impossible speeds. But however fast the Abnormal was, Levi was faster, dodging so gracefully that Erwin couldn't even track his movements from moment to moment.

Gradually, Levi began to zip down the street, drawing the Abnormal along with him. To his left and right, Erwin could see Gunther and Eld, Dover and Julia, doing the same with small groups of dead-eyed, grasping Titans. Slowly, bit by bit, they were relieving the pressure. Already the streets were a little clearer—already there was more space to maneuver.

"Soldiers!" Erwin shouted, stepping onto the ledge of the roof, his voice echoing through the sprawling streets. "Regroup! Back in formation!"

All around him, the wide-eyed, terrified faces of Scouts were shooting upward. Even over the noise, they had heard the voice of their commander.

"Look around you—even as I speak, the Titans are being divided! We are stronger than all the Titans that remain! Give your hearts—for everyone you love, for everything you hold dear, for the sake of humanity, fight to your last breath!"

Below Erwin, a low rumbling passed through the Scouts. The sound became a shout like rushing wind, then burst at last into a wild war cry. Everywhere, on all sides, squads were regrouping, returning to their formations, attacking the Titans with renewed energy—and, even more importantly, with enough room to engage their ODM gear.

Erwin threw himself into the thick of the fight. He darted in and out of skirmishes, weaving his way through the streets, assisting anywhere that he saw a squad or a Scout in danger. He snatched recruits out of Titans' jaws at the last possible moment; he swooped in to deal the killing blow after watching soldiers miss by half a foot; he stopped to wrap an arm around wounded Scouts, helping them back toward the carts.

Titan bodies fell—and continued to fall. Even without counting, Erwin could tell that their own soldiers' casualties had been minimal. As the shadows melted into the twilight gray, as the throng of Titans thinned, it became harder to find any Titans at all.

In the square in front of the treasury, Erwin stopped to catch his breath.

"Fan out through the nearby streets! If there are any Titans left, find them! Fire your flares!" he called out. He heard his command repeated through the forces, and tight formations of Scouts went flying out into the streets. A minute later, he saw a flare—and after a couple more minutes, a wild cheer rang out. Another flare followed, then another cheer. Several more minutes passed, and the sky remained dark.

Miche stumbled up to Erwin, eyes still shining with the adrenaline of battle.

"I don't smell any," he said. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but—I think we got them—at least for now—"

"Go," Erwin said. "Take your squad, take every squad you can find—move south and back up the Special Operations team. Send all recruits back to me. I'll follow in a minute."

Miche saluted and ran, yelling for others to join him, pointing wandering recruits back toward Erwin. Bradley appeared a moment later, rounding a nearby corner. A nasty cut on his left arm was oozing blood.

"Bradley," Erwin said. "Can you direct the recruits to load the coffers into the carts?"

"Yes, sir," Bradley said.

"There are twenty-five coffers. We need all twenty-five."

"Yes, sir."

"And be quick. We're losing light."

"Sir."

And Bradley headed back toward the treasury, calling for the incoming recruits to follow him. Satisfied by the number of recruits that were heading back inside the treasury, Erwin went flying up onto the top of the nearest house. He ran along the rooftops, leaping the gaps between buildings, heading back south, listening for the sound of Scouts battling Titans in the distance—but he heard nothing.

He searched the streets. A small, anxious feeling had begun to constrict his throat. What if he had sent too many of the Titans with Levi's squad? What if he had lost—

But he rounded a corner and nearly slammed into the back of a green-cloaked soldier. A whole crowd of Scouts was spread out in front of him, gathered in a huge city square. None of them were fighting—instead they were fixated on something in the middle, something Erwin couldn't see yet. Erwin pushed through the crowd. Inside his chest, his heart was being squeezed.

"This is Commander Erwin Smith!" he yelled. "Let me through!"

Then he fell through the line of Scouts surrounding the center. In the middle, Levi was bent over a wounded Oruo, helping him to stand. Levi was covered in blood, but he didn't look injured.

Relief washed over Erwin. He walked next to Levi and took hold of Oruo's other arm, helping to lift him up.

"Thanks, Commander," Oruo mumbled. His left leg was twisted unnaturally. A bit of bone was jutting out an inch or two below his knee.

"Levi," Erwin said, quietly enough so that no one else would hear. He could hear the urgency in his own voice. "What happened? Where are the rest of the Titans?"

Levi looked up. His eyes were shockingly white against the backdrop of blood that coated his face.

"They're dead. We killed them all."

Later that night, Erwin would learn that out of the twenty-four Titans engaged and killed by the Special Operations Squad, Oruo had killed two. Dover and Julia had killed three together. Gunther, Petra, and Eld had collectively killed four.

Levi had killed the other fifteen.

Just before sunset on the next day, the expedition arrived back in Lakne. The supplies they had dropped on the way out were still tucked inside their carefully marked buildings; the village was still Titan-free.

A cautious, almost bewildered optimism hung in the air as the Scouts set up camp. They had loaded up all twenty-five coffers and spent the night in Benien without further incident. They had traveled the twenty miles to Lakne and, aside from a couple of small course corrections to avoid engaging distant Titans, had not encountered any obstacles. Only one more day of riding through charted territory lay between them and the safety behind Wall Rose.

Erwin was walking through the camp, checking on wounded soldiers, gathering reports from squad leaders, when Hange bounced up next to him.

"Have you seen Levi?" she asked.

"Levi?" Erwin gestured over toward a nearby tree where Levi sat on a boulder, staring at the ground, twirling a small twig in his hands. "But what are you—?"

"Levi!" Hange practically shrieked as she danced over to where he sat. He started in surprise, nearly dropping the twig. She landed in front of him, hands planted on her hips.

"That spinny thing you do!" she began without preamble. "How do you do that?"

"That…what?"

"The spinny thing!" Hange demonstrated on an imaginary Titan with an imaginary blade. "When you go—" She made a noise that sounded nothing like any Titan attack ever.

"You've seen it," Levi grumbled. "What else do you want to know?"

"No, show me! Pretend this tree is a Titan!"

"I'm not going to pretend…"

But before Levi could finish, Hange reached down to grab Levi's arm and pull him up. Within the blink of an eye, Levi had seized her arm, yanked her off balance, and sent her flying onto her back. With the wind knocked out of her, Hange lay there for a moment, gasping for breath. Levi glanced over in Erwin's direction, and Erwin could guess what he was thinking. Am I going to get punished for insubordination again?

It took a minute before Hange was able to speak again. "Incredible," she gasped out. "Just…wow. Can you…oof…teach me that one too?"

"Uh…" Levi scowled down at her, but there was something unusual about his expression too. He looked genuinely taken aback by her enthusiasm. He reached out his hand and helped her up—but when he tried to pull his hand away, she continued to hold onto his arm with a death grip. He looked like he might want to knock her back down.

Erwin was proud to see that he managed to restrain himself.

"That's fine," Hange interrupted, ignoring the fact that Levi had not answered her. "We can do all that later. Do you know how to play euchre?"

"What?"

"Euchre. Erwin never plays since he became commander, but I bet you're better than he was. No offense, Erwin!" She threw these last words back over her shoulder.

Amused, Erwin lifted his hands and shook his head, struggling not to laugh at the distraught look on Levi's face. "None taken," he said.

"Come on," Hange said. "I'll teach you. You'll be great. Let's go."

"If Titans show up—" Levi started to protest.

"We're wearing our gear!" Hange insisted, dragging Levi along. "It takes half a second to throw your cards! Maybe it'll even distract them."

"I don't…"

But they were already halfway across the camp.

Long after sunset, Erwin sat in the command tent, writing reports, arranging and rearranging his papers. He didn't actually need to do any of this work right now—but adrenaline was still coursing through his body, and he needed to channel it somewhere.

But as much as his restless hands wanted to be working, to be writing, to be solving every possible conundrum the Survey Corps might ever face again, his brain was too tired to keep up. He couldn't concentrate anymore. After an hour or two of forcing himself to stare at half-written reports, he finally gave up and pushed himself back from the table.

A full moon was spilling out over the village as Erwin walked through the camp. Except for the watchmen, who sat on scattered rooftops, the entire force was fast asleep. No wonder—of course they were exhausted. No one—ever—had spent this much time in Titan territory.

Erwin wandered past sleeping soldiers, winding his way toward the southern fence. When he happened to pass under the shadow of a watchtower, Erwin glanced up, hesitated, and stepped onto the ladder.

When he reached the top, he swung one leg up over the ledge—then looked up and froze. The unmistakably small figure of the Scout Regiment's only captain was already sitting there, knees drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped around both legs.

"Hey," Levi said without looking back.

"Hello." Erwin pulled the rest of his body up and over the ledge. "Can I sit here?"

Without saying a word, Levi inclined his head toward the empty space next to him. Erwin sat. A sloping green field stretched out before them, flooded in silver moonlight, eventually fading into a thick black forest that disappeared into the horizon.

"You're not on watch," Erwin said. It wasn't a question but came out like one.

"I don't sleep on a normal night. I definitely don't sleep when I might get eaten."

"Fair enough."

They both fell into silence, staring out over the colorless landscape. After a few minutes, Erwin spoke again.

"Did Hange make you play euchre?"

"Against my will, I did learn the rules." He paused. "Bradley and Miche aren't very good."

Erwin chuckled. Of course Hange had recruited Levi to play on her team. "She's good—and for a lot more than euchre. You'll get used to her."

"Yeah, maybe."

Levi picked absentmindedly at the straps on his harness, a slight frown on his face. Just like the landscape, his face glowed silver in the moonlight.

"I'm sorry," he said abruptly.

"Pardon?"

"You heard me," Levi retorted. He took a deep breath in. "Sorry. Sorry, I'm just…yeah. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I'm sorry I swore at you when you didn't send me to back up Row 4-4."

"Levi, that's—"

"I'm not done." Levi stared down, refusing to meet Erwin's eyes. "I'm sorry I got angry when you told me to stay with the recruits. I'm sorry I almost didn't come when you called me back at the treasury. I'm sorry I called you a fucking asshole."

"You…you didn't call me a fucking asshole."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry for thinking it."

Erwin laughed. He couldn't help it.

"Thank you. I appreciate that, and I accept your apology."

"I think I just didn't…" Levi trailed off. Erwin waited for him to finish. "If you hadn't told me to stay with the recruits, I would have been miles away when—"

He broke off again, but Erwin didn't need to hear the rest.

"No regrets, remember?" Erwin said softly.

"No regrets," Levi repeated.

They sat there for a long time. The moon rose and a light breeze blew and not a single Titan disturbed the motionless horizon. Sitting in the peaceful silence, Erwin could almost imagine that the trees, the grass, the gently sloping plain were the inviolate elements of an ancient world that was safe from the Titans. In this moment, Erwin nearly believed that monsters had never trampled over this field, had never wandered through this forest. In this place, there were no walls. In this place, they were free.

They're called the Wings of Freedom, after all.

"Would you sleep here?" Erwin asked suddenly.

"What?"

"I'm keeping watch. You won't get eaten. Would you sleep up here?"

Even as Erwin asked the question, he was certain that the answer would be no. But when Levi looked up, Erwin was surprised to see hesitation on his face.

"I'll make the choice for you," Erwin said lightly. "Go to sleep. That's an order, soldier."

Levi paused—then, to Erwin's complete astonishment, he pressed his right fist over his heart in a salute.

"Yes, sir," he said.

"Levi!" Erwin broke into a smile. "I've never seen you do that before."

"And you'll never see it again."

An hour later, Levi was asleep. Until the first light of dawn began to tint the distant horizon in shades of pink and orange, Erwin kept his promise to keep watch.

There were no Titans. All was well.

Out of the two hundred and fifty Scouts that had embarked four days ago, two hundred and thirty-two Scouts returned through the gates of Utopia. Crowds of surprised citizens lined the streets as two hundred and thirty-two Scouts marched through the gates, as soldier after soldier after soldier came riding in, faces glowing with their success. Two hundred and thirty-two Scouts met their onlookers' eyes instead of turning away.

The more Scouts that poured in through the gates, the more the citizens of Wall Rose cheered. The cheer became louder and louder until it was a deafening roar, swelling the chest of every riding soldier. For the first time in the history of the Survey Corps, the Scouts had returned in the wake of a triumph that was undeniable, unquestionable.

And Erwin didn't think about the coffers filling the carts behind him. He didn't even think about Elijah William. He thought about his father's face, his father's voice, and this time, he didn't even have to ration his hope. He didn't take it in a small glass like medicine—no, this time he drank straight from the bottle.