"The Commander is here!"

Moblit whipped his head and was hit by an immense wave of relief when he saw a group riding towards them across the top of the walls; the group of soldiers was trodding nearer and he could make out a familiar stark white horse leading them at the frontmost center, ridden by their Commander.

There were also soldiers from the Military Police, but that was the least of Moblit's concern.

The Commander.

He could never put it in words, but there was always this sense of hope that would fill him up whenever their Commander was in the scene—like a beacon of hope—that no matter how bleak and hopeless the situation was going to be, someone was there to show them the way. Like a guide.

A leader.

With mild difficulty, Moblit managed to sit up. His body was still slightly sore from the injuries he'd incurred from their previous battle, but it wasn't as bad as his squad leader's. He sent a worried frown at Hanji, who was lying by his side, unconscious with red patches all over her body from the extreme steaming heat from the colossal titan's attack from earlier's battle.

Standing up, Moblit held his arm and staggered towards Erwin, who'd just unmounted his horse.

"You made it, Commander Erwin!"

"Is the situation the same?"

"Yes sir—" he abruptly stopped when Erwin brushed past him in a brisk pace, like he was in a hurry.

Confused, Moblit turned around and followed him with his eyes, watching him walk past the line of unconscious soldiers, who were mostly veteran ranking officers who'd been within the closest range to the colossal titan's unexpected attack and thus caught the highest damage.

He quickly tottered after Erwin, wincing slightly from his injuries; the blond was marching in long strides so he had to double his pace in order to catch up.

"Apologies, sir. We were caught off guard by the enemy." He frowned when he remembered the last part of their battle. Eren had the armored titan subdued on the ground—well, they thought he did. But then the colossal had came barreling towards them from above and sent everyone flying in a heap of steam and heat. With majority of their ranking officers out of commission, they couldn't go after the kidnapped titan shifters. "Six hours had already passed since then."

When Erwin suddenly stopped walking, Moblit almost bumped into him. He followed his Commander's gaze and finally saw the woman he knew he was looking for.

Right at the end of the line of unconscious Scouts, Isanna was beside Hanji's unconscious figure; just like everyone else, she had sustained harsh burn marks, patches of red all around her face and body.

But unlike Hanji, Isanna was still very much conscious.

"Fancy seeing you, Commander," Isanna greeted with a flat voice that contradicted her words. "What took you so long?"

"My apologies," he said. "Preparations for the lifts took longer than intended."

"Well, better late than never, I guess."

"The messenger reported you were heavily injured. I expected you to be out of commission."

"Whoever said that was overreacting. Hanji's worse than me." She squinted at him. "What, you want me to be knocked out cold?"

"You misunderstood me."

Isanna looked like she had something else to say, probably a snappy comeback of some sorts, but Erwin patted her on the head and rounded his heel without a word, heading back to the rest of the soldiers.

"Deploy the lifts!"

Moblit suppressed a surprised yelp when something latched around his ankle. He looked down and widened his eyes when he realized the hand belonged to Hanji, who'd somehow crawled all the way towards him.

"Hanji-san?!"

Meanwhile, Isanna was trying to drag Hanji back by the ankle, to no avail. "Hanji, you're in no condition to move."

"G—get me.. a map.."

Moblit didn't question her order and nodded before he went away to get what she asked for. In no time, the soldiers who were not busy with transporting their horses and equipment had gathered around an immobilized Hanji who was lying on her stomach, with a map spread out in front of her that showcased the landscape beyond Wall Rose.

Tapping a trembling finger on a certain area, Hanji began explaining to them that Reiner and Bertholdt may very well be heading to a forest of giant trees to recover from their recent battle and surrounding titans, although it was merely a gamble at this point.

She took a pause to gather her breath. "You have time till nightfall. If you can make it to the forest before then, you might just be able to catch up to them."

Erwin understood and nodded, standing. "That settles it. We should make haste and leave now."

While the circle of Scouts dispersed and began refilling their equipment and saddling up their horses, Erwin turned to the direction beyond Wall Rose and stared at the vast landscape of grassland and trees; he lifted his gaze to the sky that was beginning to melt into orange shades. It was already nearing late afternoon. He knew he needed to exert everything he had to lead this mishmash of a squad of Scouts, Garrison, and Military Police if he wanted to retrieve Eren before nightfall.

"Sergeant Major, please lay back down!"

At the exasperated voice that belonged to Moblit, Erwin turned around and saw Isanna in the middle of refilling her gas canisters.

Erwin understood her intentions and immediately walked over like an automatic reaction. "You will not be accompanying me in this operation, Isanna. You will remain here. Take charge of the remaining squads."

She gave him a pointed look. "I'm coming with you."

"You will not." Erwin's reply left his tongue in a split second, without a moment's hesitation. "Your body is compromised from the previous battle." He briefly scanned her body and saw all the red marks. "You will stay here with Hanji. That's an order."

"I had six hours to rest, Commander," she said. "And my injuries aren't as bad as Hanji."

"I recall advising you to refrain from making unwise decisions," he warned.

"It's not unwise." Isanna straightened herself and turned her body to fully face him. "It's a matter of responsibility. I.. lost Eren under my watch. It's only right that I be there when we retrieve him."

Even under Erwin's gaze, she didn't back down.

Isanna looked at the rest of the soldiers, looking for someone, before she returned her eyes on him. "Where's Mike?"

The name brought a quiet pang to Erwin, but he didn't show it. He couldn't afford to break the news to her especially now. He decided to ignore her question. "Isanna, you're staying here, and that's final."

Isanna stepped forward, not backing down. "If Mike and Levi isn't here, all the more I should go with you."

They needed all the best soldiers they could dispatch, and she knew she could still move with her current condition. Fortunately for her, her burns were not as bad—just slightly sore in a few spots, but enough for her to ride a horse and move around. Hopefully.

Their back-and-forth exchange had began garnering the attention of the soldiers, wary glances being shot at the two. Normally, one would be heavily punished at any acts of insubordination against the highest figure in the Survey Corps, but this wasn't just any soldier. This was the second-in-command, and they realized that she was probably the only one who could ever dare to talk back to their Commander.

Isanna snapped a look at Moblit, who was just standing at the sideline. "Moblit, prepare my horse and get me some spare blades."

Moblit shot a questioning look at Erwin, who gave him a look that told him not to listen to her. Now in the middle of their crossfire, Moblit looked back and forth at his two superiors, torn to whom he should follow.

The obvious choice was to follow his Commander, because, duh, he was the Commander. But then, his Sergeant Major was not one to be disobeyed as well.

"Moblit," Isanna repeated, an edge in her voice, "now."

Gulping back a heavy lump, Moblit curtly nodded at her before he darted away from the two, hurrying to prepare what she asked. He didn't dare shoot another look at his Commander, too afraid to see his reaction.

Isanna heard Erwin release a low sigh.

"Is there nothing I can do to make you change your mind?"

She looked at him and noticed something off. "Erwin.. what happened?"

For a split moment, Isanna thought he looked like he wanted to tell her something, but decided otherwise halfway.

It was unlike him to be distracted, she thought.

"... I'd rather you worry about yourself." She said before she turned on her heel and stalked towards the equipment wagons. Her body felt warm and there was a slight throb pounding in her head, but she thought it best to ignore that sting, hoping Erwin wouldn't notice it.

While she walked away, Erwin glued his stare on her back, the worry lines on his forehead making more pronounced creases the longer he imagined her going out into titan territory with her condition.

She'd become rather bolder and rebellious in the recent years, he noted. He wasn't sure if he admired that part of her or not.

But he understood that this was no time to be arguing over who should come and who should stay behind. He decided to trust her as he headed towards where the lifts were being deployed.

Meanwhile, Isanna was currently replenishing her gas when she felt a presence come up to her. "Sergeant Major."

She glanced, her eyes landing on Mikasa who shortly held her gaze before she lowered her own with a small frown.

"Thank you for shielding me from the blast earlier. And I'm.. sorry," she said, defeatedly. "Back then, I hesitated killing Reiner and Bertholdt."

Mikasa was well aware they could never get a chance like that ever again, and she wasted it. She'd wasted it just because her emotions got the best of her. Isanna had entrusted her to keep her guard up, and she'd failed her.

She felt a hand pat her head, prompting her to lift her gaze.

"Chin up, soldier," said Isanna. "The fight's not over yet. We'll get Eren back, I assure you."

That was all she said. Nothing more. However, the assurance in her eyes was enough for Mikasa to regain her courage. She swallowed back the regret and firmly nodded. "Yes."

Soon after, all soldiers of Scouts, Garrison, and Military Police were finally lowered on the verdant terrain, saddled on their horses, prepared to launch their emergency rescue mission.

Erwin gave one brief glance at Isanna, before he returned his eyes ahead, towards the horizon of melting orange skies and forest green landscapes. With a loud bellow, he ordered for everyone to head out in full speed.

"All soldiers, move out!"

•

From atop of Wall Rose, Hanji and Moblit stared at the cluster of formation comprised of soldiers that was getting farther across the distance, leaving behind a trail of dust behind them.

Hanji was lying on her stomach near the edge of the wall, worry painted in her eyes as she watched the soldiers slowly decrease into a tiny dot until they disappeared from her sight.

"Isa, that idiot," she mumbled, exasperated at Isanna's decision to go with Erwin despite the injuries she'd gotten from their previous battle. Hanji knew Isanna was strong, but she wasn't invincible.

Nothing I can do about that. Hanji resigned to the fact that the woman was as stubborn as Erwin himself in some areas, so she decided to pray to the walls that they'd return safely with the kidnapped titan shifters in tow.

Hopefully, in one piece.

•

Back at the formation Erwin was leading, he had his soldiers assume the long-distance scouting formation with the Garrison and Military Police following different Scout squads; titan engagement was not their priority, thus he ordered for them to push through forward with their route and head to the titan forest as fast as possible before sunset.

Countless signal flares were being shot upwards, billows of smoke rounds filling the skies above them in heaps of swirling pillars and dissipating into faded puffs of clouds.

In the near distance, Isanna could finally make out the nest of woodlands, its spiring trees stretching high and wide and covering a massive area. It was the ideal place for their maneuvering gear, but it was also undoubtedly packed with numerous titans.

Once they neared the entrance to the forest, they were unsurprisingly greeted with a horde of titans exiting the coppice and dashing over towards them, eager to devour the clump of fresh human meat.

Just then, a bright light from somewhere inside the forest came piercing through the cracks of the woods, and the soldiers were momentarily caught in surprise.

Isanna instantly whipped her head towards her Commander. "Erwin—"

"I know," he briskly cut her off. "We're just in time. All soldiers, disperse!" He announced to expect that their enemies had already transformed and thereby should proceed with caution. "Locate Eren and recover him! Battle is not our priority!"

Following his instructions, their formation quickly divided into different columns, some avoiding the titans and entering the forest while some rode through the edge of the line of trees.

Shouts erupted from the soldiers—mainly the Military Police, as another one of them was snatched by a titan; the rest were stupefied while they stared at their comrade being eaten, terror coursing through their veins at the reality of the outside world. The reality that was a stark contrast to their easy life in the interior—a reality so foreign to them.

Isanna threw a glimpse over her shoulder to see the sheer chaos spreading behind her; the Garrison seemed to be faring better than the Military Police, highly because they were the southern troops that were stationed at Trost district and thus were soldiers belonging to the front lines. The Military Police, however, were in shambles. Not that she held any high expectations for them in the first place.

Isanna was about to pull her reigns and swerve into the forest to join some of the soldiers when Erwin stopped her.

"Do not enter the forest," he ordered. "Stick close."

"What?"

"The forest will be filled with titans," he said, a stoned-hard expression on his features and authority lacing his voice. "I forbid you from engaging them directly."

There were screams all around, and the thundering hooves as their horses rode side by side made Isanna raise her volume. "You want me to laze around while Eren's somewhere inside there?"

"You will only fight if necessary. We will circle around the forest and wait for them to exit."

Isanna clenched her jaw as she held his gaze, eyes clashing with each other as their horses continued to gallop around the forest line. Maybe he saw through her trying to act tough from her sore limbs. And here she was, thinking she could hide it well from him.

I hope you have some sort of plan. She broke eye contact, directing her attention ahead. "Fine!"

Erwin pushed Maximus faster until he was finally at the front, leading Isanna as the two of them traced the forest line, keeping a wary attention inside the woods in search of their target.

It wasn't that long until they heard the burst of familiar crackling explosion.

A titan transformation.

It was then followed by thudding footsteps that sent tremors reverberating across the terrain.

"Behind us!"

Erwin didn't need Isanna yelling to figure out where the sound came from. He shot a look over his shoulder and saw the armored titan dressed in steam from his recent transformation, and perched on his shoulders were another titan with dark hair, a soldier he presumed to be the colossal titan, and finally, an unconscious Eren who was strapped behind the said soldier.

He recovered from his initial surprise and yanked his reigns to face their target. "All squads, let the titans chase after you!"

Isanna looked at him, incredulous, her jaw unhinging.

He sent her a knowing glance before he addressed the rest of the soldiers with a raised blade, rallying them. "Follow my lead!"

Without further ado, Erwin bursted towards the armored titan that was already meters ahead because of his head start.

Isanna finally found her soul back and muttered a curse. Why do I even follow you? Suicidal commander.

Despite that, a part of her already knew why: she was too devoted to him for her own good.

A sudden throb in her head made her flinch and she quickly held her temple. Mentally cursing, Isanna realized all the constant jerking of her body while riding a horse made her body feel more sore.

"Erwin, you demon! Are you trying to use us as bait again?!"

Isanna turned and saw that it was an MP.

"You Scouts are crazy!"

"We know! It's in the job description!" said Isanna, earning a flabbergasted look from the MP.

As Isanna kicked her horse and followed after Erwin's lead, the MP soldier was left with no choice. He ordered his men to follow orders, a chilling sensation crawling through him at the thought that he was most likely riding towards his death.

Isanna pushed through the cantering horses until she reached the front line where Erwin was; some of the soldiers had already begun attacking the armored titan, but their attacks were all but effective due to the hardened skin.

"Commander, what's the plan?"

She watched as his steel eyes of blue focused intently on the armored titan, probably wracking up his brain.

"Tell the front squads to follow me," he said without looking at her. "We'll lead the horde of titans and intercept the armored from the front."

Despite the amount of risk his plan had, Isanna didn't doubt him.

After confirming his order, she pulled her reigns to decrease her speed, until she reached the group of veteran Scouts that had been riding a far off behind Erwin.

As the small squad of Scouts led by Erwin circled around the area so as to not let the armored titan see them speeding ahead, she knew that their situation was only going to get even worse.

•

"What the hell is that Erwin thinking?!"

Hannes shot a look of disbelief at the group that was rushing towards them from the front; much to everyone's surprise (and dismay), Erwin together with a small group of Scouts were leading a horde of titans, the loud thumping titan footsteps resounding across the terrain and signaling all the soldiers in the vicinity of the impending hell they were about to engage in.

The Commander steeled his glare at the oncoming armored titan, undaunted at the nearing threat as both sides crossed the distance between them in narrowed seconds.

"All soldiers, disperse!" he ordered once he judged that they were at an acceptable distance. "Get away from the titans!"

Isanna quickly pulled her reigns and guided Fish away from the hellish battle between the titans, numerous billowing of dust permeating around the ground from both horse hooves and titan steps; luckily, Fish successfully managed to totter away from the scene and she wasn't stomped to her death. At least, not yet, anyway.

For a few seconds of stunned silence, the remaining soldiers observed the ensuing fray unfolding right before their very eyes as the armored titan and the smaller agile titan struggled against the other titans, steams of blood spilling from large wounds.

Jean had his jaw unhinged. "Is this.. hell?"

"No," Erwin said, riding past him, "but it will be!"

Isanna watched as Erwin stopped right in front of the formation, raising a blade, and she instantly realized what he was planning on doing.

Fuck, is he really going to—?

"All soldiers, charge! The fate of humanity will be determined in this very moment!"

Motherfucker. Isanna clenched her jaw and coiled her hands around her reigns, fighting back the throbbing in her head and letting the adrenaline rush take over her system because she knew she was going to be needing it.

"Offer up your hearts!"

While the rest of the soldiers were still fogged at the current turn of events and Erwin's order to charge right at imminent death, Isanna had already rushed forward after him.

"You heard the man!" she yelled at them. "Go! "

Mikasa was the first one to snap out of it. She kicked the sides of her horse and sped forward, followed by the rest of the soldiers as they all let out a chorus of battle cry towards the scene of utter destruction, blood pumping into their veins and their heartbeat quickening the closer they got to the titans, with only one clear goal in mind: retrieve Eren.

The other soldiers from the Garrison and Military Police were still at a loss of words, their eyes following the charging group and wondering how the Survey Corps could be so fearless while marching right in the mouth of death itself. What they didn't know, was that the Scouts themselves were inwardly drowning in fear—but what made them different was that they were brave enough to stand their ground despite it all.

And they realized, this was the true image of the Survey Corps. They were surrounded by hell, everything was a mess, they had no fucking idea what they were doing, and all odds were against them; to think these soldiers were relentlessly massacred by titans outside the walls, and often ridiculed by their own people inside the walls.

A suicidal organization filled with oddballs. But the beacon of hope and strength of humanity. This was the Survey Corps.

Isanna winced when her head began throbbing once more, signaling her that she was moving way too much for the past hour, but she forced herself to focus. The soreness in her body was stinging, but nothing she couldn't handle.

She whipped her reigns and picked her speed, until she was riding right beside Erwin, both their horses tearing through the grass, their surroundings meshed into a blur.

Almost there, Isanna thought, squinting as her eyes zeroed in on the armored titan that was being mowed on by the others. Just a bit more..!

She vaguely heard Erwin yelling, "Advance!"

And then her head pounded, and she cursed, momentarily staggering on her saddle. Fish whinnied, noticing her rider's hold had slackened.

While Isanna was recovering from the split-second headache, she failed to notice a titan that had been hiding behind a small cluster of thin trees, surging forwards with its hungry maw wide open for her.

Isanna's visioned blurred. She'd remembered her hands twitching in reflex after years of living a soldier's life, her battle instincts spiking up, the hilt of her blades burning in her palms as she raised them to defend herself from those large teeth that threatened to devour her whole.

But, a rough shove rammed at her, throwing her off her saddle. What was just a span of seconds felt like eternity, time slowing down.

Isanna watched, thunderstruck, as Erwin shoved her, his arm now in the way of the titan's face.

"ERWIN!"