Chapter Text
If Isabel had to be honest, she never saw her life going this way. Being surrounded by people, under the sun, and seeing the birds fly high in the sky without a care for the world below them. It was like a faraway dream for her when she was a child, but now she considers it a part of her every-day life. She even had a rank, being the Captain of the Medical Division even came with her own squad, and she couldn't help but care deeply for each member.
Isabel could see her squad mates packing up their designated cart, talking and working together. She smiled at the sight of Alfonzo, her trusted second-in-command, teasing Tim, their newest member, as he dragged him into a hug. Laya and Marianna laughed at the sight of them before trying to save Tim from Alfonzo’s grasp. Alfonzo tended to tease Tim, ruffling the young boy’s shaggy brown hair and sneaking up on him. She sometimes worried that Tim was bothered by Alfonzo’s teasing but he never seemed to complain.
Isabel sighed, content with the sight of her beloved squad before turning back to giving out the supplies. She always tried to be quick with this process, if Commander Erwin found out, she would surely be scolded harshly. She passed around small bundles of bandages as she walked, exchanging quick pleasantries with everyone she walked by.
She could hear a loud shout, easily identifying it as Squad Leader Hange due to the level of excitement that was blatant in the tone, before noticing Levi getting his horse ready. Isabel walked over, setting the crate down and turning to him, “I have some supplies for you and your team, use them wisely!” Levi sighed, “Are you not supposed to be getting ready with your team? What are you doing handing out potentially wasted supplies?” as he finished saddling his horse.
Isabel giggled, “Hey, hey, no need to get feisty with me, Levi! It builds camaraderie, what if there is an emergency? It’s better to be prepared in cases of..unexpected emergencies..”
Levi looked at her, an understanding look in his eyes, as the wind lightly picked up in speed before calming. Isabel could see that fond look in his eyes and felt pride fill her chest, it was rare to see that soft side of Levi. She only got to see it on rare occasions.
She glanced over, noticing Petra had walked over and was smiling at the two, “Well, I think it’s sweet of her, Captain, it shows she cares about those us with much less skill than you!”
Isabel nodded, “Exactly!! We don’t want anything bad to happen to our dear Petra, now do we, Levi Bro?!”.
Levi rolled his eyes at her teasing tone as both girls laughed, the noise drawing the rest of Levi Squad’s eyes to them. Levi rubbed the back of Isabel’s head, “Go back to getting your squad ready, brat”
Isabel did a quick salute before running off, leaving the supplies with them, giggling as she went. She eventually found her horse and patted his back, seeing him shake his head in response. Church was her trust companion on missions, he was a blonde horse with splashes of white around his hooves, she always thought he was quite pretty. Quickly she saddles him before looking at him, “Ready to go, Church?” smiling as he neighed in response.
Isabel gave his neck a quick pat while feeding him a small piece of a carrot, from her lunch earlier that day. A sharp whistle broke through the air causing Isabel to jump onto her horse and make her way to the growing crowd of riders. She quickly rode over to where she last saw her squad, noticing how Laya seemed to be scolding Alfonzo, possibly for his teasing of young Tim. Laya had always seemed to take charge when Isabel wasn’t there, having an innate sense of responsibility instilled from her cadet days. Marianna was watching from on her horse, her stern blue eyes following Alfonzo as he climbed up onto the cart.
Isabel rode closer, “Hi guys, is everything ready to go?”
Tim nodded, his hazel eyes, which were always framed by the dark circles underneath them, darting over, “I asked Laya to check everything over and she seemed to give me the all-clear”
Isabel nods while turning to Laya, “Is this true?” causing her to nod, her blonde braid swinging with her motion, “Yes ma’am, everything is accounted for!”. Isabel turned to the cart, biting her lip in worry. She always worried about leaving things behind, always checking multiple times for absolute certainty.
Alfonzo chuckled, “Captain, everything is here! No need to worry!” he rubbed the back of his bald tan head, a smile peering out from his dark beard. Isabel nodded, giving him a small smile, “Alright..as Commander Erwin said, Tim and Alfonzo are in charge of the cart, Laya and Marianna will be on either side to protect the supplies. Just follow my lead, got it?”
“Yes ma’am!”
Isabel smiled, “All alright, let’s go!” they all headed forward, joining in the moving Survey Corps towards the beginning of their expedition.
Cheers surrounded them from every corner, wishing them good luck for their mission, young children staring at them in amazement. Isabel turned to Marianna, who was staring at the crowd with discomfort, “I’m going to go check on Levi, I’ll be back before we head out!” Marianna nodded, her dark brown hair, cut to her chin to hide the mole on her cheek, moving with the movement before turning to relay the information to the other squad members. Isabel quickly rode over to where she knew Levi was stationed, faintly hearing the conversation behind her.
“Does she always run off before expeditions..?” a younger voice sounded, most likely Tim. Alfonzo’s laugh followed, “If she didn’t, we would need to be concerned, she has always done this even when she wasn’t captain..”
Isabel hurried Church forward, weaving her horse through the other horses and people, eventually spotting Levi and Hange riding next to one another, their squads being a few feet behind them. “Levi Bro!!” Isabel announced while riding up next to him, before pouting at his rolling eyes.
“Isabel.”
“Isabel!! Good luck out there!” Hange raised their hand up, initiating a high-five between the two. Hange always seemed to be excited, never running out of energy, it was definitely a great change of pace from when they first joined the Survey Corps. Before them, it was just Isabel and three stuffy older men who didn’t seem to understand what fun was. The two quickly exchanged their greetings as Levi stared forward, listening in on the two.
“Here they come!!”
“The Survey Corp’s main force is here!”
“Commander Erwin!!”
“Captain Levi, kick some titan ass for us!”
Levi glared at the crowd, “Noisy brats..” making Isabel snort. She punched his shoulder, lightly, “Be nice, Levi Bro! They are excited to see us!! Remember when they couldn’t even stand the sight of us? It was so awkward every time..”
Hange nodded, “Those kids and their envious looks..if only they knew what a clean freak you are, it’d burst their bubble..”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Isabel chimed in, getting a teasing look in her eye. Levi turned to her with a glare, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Like you can talk, you’re a hoarder..”
“Shut up!”
A shout, the voice of Commander Erwin, filled the air, “The gate’s opening! From here on, it’s titan territory! We’ll re-capture the town that was stolen from us five years ago!” before the gates began to open. “Ah shit, I gotta go! Stay safe, Levi Bro!!” Isabel panicked turning her horse to run back to her squad. Levi quickly chimed as she began to ride off, “..you too”
This expedition wasn’t meant to be too long, they weren’t planning to head to Wall Maria, only a village between them. But she couldn’t help but carry some worry on her shoulders, something that seemed to follow her every expedition. Isabel hurried her horse over, stopping in front of her squad and giving a sheepish smile, “Sorry I took so long, everyone ready?”
They all nodded, getting a hardened look in their eyes for preparation. Isabel turned and began to speed towards the gate, her squad following close behind her. They emerged out of the wall, the sight of the destroyed houses and fields causing her heart to skip a beat in anticipation of an attack. They sped through and the wind began to settle around them, “..it’s quiet”
When Isabel had first joined the Survey Corps, she remembered being amazed by the outside of Wall Maria. But it was after that fateful expedition that her reaction had changed, she stayed focused, looking around for any potential threat to her squad. She wouldn't risk a repeat.
The silence seemed to follow them, as they went further and further from the comfort of Wall Rose. It took too long for the quiet atmosphere to be broken, due to a shout from Laya, “Squad Leader! Red smoke over to the right!”
Red smoke, titan spotted. A green flare followed shortly after, the squad adjusting their direction to match the designated course of travel. This process repeated as they headed for their location, avoiding Titans where they could and collecting the bodies they could along the way.
It was their job as the Medical Division, after all, to save those you can and bring those you can’t home.
It took some time before they reached their desired town causing Isabel to turn towards her squad, “Spread out, collect all the bodies you find, and help those you can, stay safe!” before getting off her horse and zipping through the air. The sound of the air rushed over her ears, almost deafening with the speed she was going.
Isabel could vaguely hear the rest of her squad going in their own directions, all ready to help those around them survive the mission. She zoomed through, cutting the napes of Titans as she went through each street. It was during these moments that she felt like the young girl who had just left the Underground. The wind moved her hair around her and the feeling of flying, like the birds she had come to admire. But then she would open her eyes to the world before her.
And see the bodies and pools of blood left behind, and be reminded of all she was fighting for. To live in a world where families won’t be ripped apart because of the destruction the Titans created.
During this flight, she eventually spotted Levi, who seemed to be trying to clean himself off, “Levi! How did it go? Is everyone safe?” Levi glanced at her, before shaking his head and moved off the rooftop to Petra and a dying man, who Isabel couldn’t seem to recognize. She followed, and kneeled next to Petra, quickly taking over and putting pressure on his bleeding wound.
Petra gave her a small smile before grabbing the man’s hand, giving him support as he lay there bleeding on the floor. The man reaching his bloody hand out, gasping for air, “Was I…of use..to the human..race? Or am I..gonna die..useless..” Levi grimaced, quickly grabbing the man’s hand and staring down at him with intensity behind his eyes, “You’ve done more than enough..and you’ll do more. The resolve you leave behind will give me the strength..I swear to you, I will eradicate the Titans!”
Petra teared up, as Isabel slowly eased the pressure off the man’s chest, “Captain..he’s gone..” Levi sighed through his nose, squeezing the man’s hand, “Did he hear me to the end?”
Petra nodded, “Yes..I’m sure he heard you. I mean..he looks like he’s sleeping peacefully..” before turning back to Levi.
Levi nodded, “good, then..” before letting go of the man’s hand and standing up, noticing Erwin making his way over. Isabel glanced up, standing up alongside him, as Erwin stopped before them, “Levi, Isabel, we’re retreating.” Isabel’s eyebrows furrowed, “Already..? We just got here an hour or two ago?”
Levi nodded, “Isabel’s right, we haven’t even reached the border yet! You mean all my troops will have died in vain? You better have a good reason for this.”
Erwin frowned, “The Titans are after the town! They’ve started moving north together as a group..It’s just like five years ago, somethings happening..they may have broken through the wall!”
All three of them froze, as Erwin rode off to alert more squads and raised his smoke gun in the air. Levi quickly turned to the two girls, and hurried, “Isabel, go and hurry to your squad! Petra, go try and gather the rest of ours, we can’t waste any time. I need to go aid Commander Erwin to clear some of the remaining Titans!”
Petra quickly nodded, “Yes, captain!” before shooting off and flying through the air. Isabel turned to the dead man next to them, “You go ahead, I have to help get this man home to his loved ones.”
Levi nodded before shooting through the air down the direction Erwin ran off to, disappearing from sight quickly. She looked down at the man, sighing, bringing her bloody fingers to her mouth to whistle for her horse. Isabel couldn’t help but stare at his peaceful face, as she waited for her horse to find her, and wonder. Would she look that peaceful when she died? Would Levi be by her side when it happened? She had already almost died once, and never wanted to relive the fear that filled her at the sight of giant hands reaching for her.
Church eventually found her, snapping her away from the thoughts that filled her head, and let Isabel put the body on the back before hopping onto the horse herself, “Come on,
let’s go home..”