Hello! Another Friday, another update. It's Stohess tiiiime! I've been having so much fun going through canon events this time round, I hope you enjoy them as well, with Robyn's pov as a new angle.

In the carriage the air could be cut with a knife. The Commander sat bolt upright, staring out the window, watching the streets of Stohess rumble past. As far as I knew, Eren was being snuck into the city another way, while Jean pretended to be him in the guarded carriage. I'm sure neither of them liked that arrangement. I was sat next to my Captain, glad to have him so close if only for his steadying presence. Occasionally his knee would knock mine and linger. Whatever happened, we would get through it together, as a team. Or what was left of it… Damn it, stop that.

We would be approaching the meeting point any second if the map had been any kind of decent, and I prepared myself for an outlandish display. Not exactly difficult for me to tap into, but still. My bruising persisted, the supposed 'fast' healing having stopped as soon as I was out of mortal danger according to Hanji. So I couldn't be directly involved in the fight. I hated it, to be sidelined. But my own frustration was likely nothing compared to Levi's. We were both eager for revenge. But also for answers. Our world had always been a violent one, between his own shady past and my violent childhood, and then the battlefield itself. But at least with those we could understand, or comprehend the root. But this? Shifters appearing from our own ranks, to attack our own ranks? It was madness.

We had to do something.

A woman's voice peeled into the air and I drew a long breath, showtime. Levi nodded to me, knowing he had to play his part as well, the ever-impatient Captain of the Scouts.

The Commander smirked. "Never thought I'd say this, Sanshi. But hold nothing back."

I winked and then looked out the window, seeing my dear Keza at the side of the road, wailing and cooing to our carriage as she supposedly 'happened' upon the procession. Se looked every bit the over-zealous civilian. I threw my window's curtain wide and squealed, reaching for her. She ran forward and clasped my hand, rambling about old times and how wonderful it was to see me back in one piece. The words became a blur. As expected from her profession – she was good at faking it.

I threw open the door and hugged her tight, our squealing display going on as long as the two strategy men behind us deemed necessary. We didn't mind, plenty of our cons had relied upon folks assuming us to be 'silly girls'. Right before we robbed them blind. As we giggled and jumped, the procession ground to a halt, and I heard the tell-tale creak of the carriage shifting. Here he comes.

"Oi! Sanshi!"

I ignored, as I had been told to, far too enthralled by my dear friend to consider protocol.

My Captain's boot hit the cobbles. "Sanshi, dammit we don't have time for your personal crap. Get back in the carriage."

"Levi, we must move on." The Commander grumbled, impatient and surly.

"I know, I know. Sanshi stop clucking like a chicken for fuck's sake."

Keza gasped when I was tugged back from her embrace. "No! I only just got to see her again though! Oh please! Can't she come–"

"We have duties to attend to, Miss." My Captain rolled his eyes and tried to move me away, both me and Keza tearing up right on cue. "Shit. Can we move this ridiculousness into our carriage? We have room." My Captain barked at the MP's that were escorting us, and as much as they were under orders, they all looked very uncomfortable with our emotional outlandishness. Between Keza's beauty and my sheer volume, they were helpless.

They nodded. "Get on with it."

"Yes, just get them inside."

"We can't be late."

Blah blah, blaaaah. Thank you very much.

We kept the tittering going as the door closed on the carriage and the procession continued – after all if things went suddenly quiet at that point it would be a little suspicious. But while we got moving again, and continued to babble, Keza passed over papers with updated directions and confirmation of things being in place. The stage was set, and we now had the means to run if things came to that point. We allowed the hysterics to dim. I held her hand tightly, no pretence in the need to have her close right now. Between needing her to be safe, and needing to ground myself, I was beyond grateful to have my Keza within arm's reach.

As we turned another corner we were able to lower the pretence and I was able to give Keza a proper greeting and a quick kiss on the head. She winked and settled into her seat, foot tapping the floor as no doubt nerves nibbled at her. I hadn't wanted to upheave her life, but I knew it was at risk regardless. Danger had entered the walls. Or maybe we were just aware of it now.

"So…" Keza kept playing with her hair, looking between my Captain and the Commander, looking about as meek as I had ever seen her. Which really, when thinking about the situation, wasn't that meek, not by normal people's standards, but for Keza? She looked downright sheepish. "When are things meant to be… uhm…"

The Commander dipped his head. "Apologies, we are all a little out of sorts today. We met briefly before, but to reiterate, I'm Erwin Smith, Commander of the Scout regiment. And you are…"

I put my hands to my face. "Sorry! Yes, Commander Erwin, this is my good friend Keza. Keza, this is my commanding officer, and you've already met Captain Levi."

She smiled at me softly. "You had other things to think about love, don't worry yourself. Pleased as punch to meetcha again Erwin, nice to see you again, Levi."

"Indeed." The Commander had certainly reacted to the first name usage, but I couldn't quite tell if he was bothered or not. "And to answer your initial question, hopefully we will hear of a commotion near the Underground's entrance. Then we will know how to proceed."

Keza blinked. "I thought the plan was in the streets?"

"An aspect of the plan, yes. It is often wise to have a few contingencies in place."

My Captain rolled his eyes. "Keeping us in the dark simply to fuck with us, yes, we know. Hopefully we'll get word of the bitch being contained, and then we can proceed with getting the hell out of the MPs firing line as they'll have a new target."

"Ah." Keza sat back and folded one leg over the other, looking more at ease immediately. "Smoke her out, noose her and then have the little Unicorns study to their heart's glee?"

"If it keeps them out of our way, and away from Jaeger, yes." Levi nodded and drew a long breath. "But that is assuming things go in the most favourable way, which I can't say I trust much. If she acts out, hopefully she's at least within the Underground's entrance tunnels to slow her down. It'll still lead to carnage, and a reappearance of Jaeger's questionably useful Titan, but beyond that…"

Keza bit her lip. "And if she's not in the tunnel when she uh… Goes all big and chompy?"

I shivered. "Then we have to hope Eren can contain her, as well as our back-up squads, who are ready with their gear to take her down."

Though I had to admit, my faith in that part of the plan couldn't help but waver. We had our gear on the field as well, we had been ready to take down anything that came at us. Fair enough we might not have been ready to take down her, but I wasn't convinced we knew enough yet to be fully prepared this time round either. If we did have to face her again, it was going to be carnage. The city of Stohess likely had evacuation protocols in place – nearly everywhere did since Maria fell – but there was no telling how seriously the civilians had taken them. Or how often they were practised. This was the interior. Here folks didn't expect danger to ever really enter their lives.

"Hey." Keza touched my knee, bringing me back to the real world. I swallowed hard and realised my hands were clenched tight, knuckles pale. "You with us?"

"Yeah, sorry. Got a little lost in my thoughts."

Keza patted my knee. "Makes sense, love. You hardly had a relaxing encounter with the bitch last time you saw her, and that was what… A few days ago?"

Levi tensed beside me and I felt the Commander's eyes land on me heavily, the unasked questions now filling the room like water about to brim a cracked glass. However my Captain and Hanji had managed to hold him off during my few days of recovery, that no longer applied. He wasn't a stupid man. Far from it. And in all likelihood he knew how badly I'd been injured on the field. So naturally, I should not be walking around, or even talking much in all honesty. He knew something was up, and presumably all Hanji and my Captain had really been able to reassure him of was that I was on their side. Or rather, that I was still a Scout.

I glanced at him. His blue eyes seemed to be looking through me. Had I lost his trust?

"Sir, I–"

"I am glad you felt able to attend this mission, Sanshi. Truly." He dipped his head and continued to look out the window. I blinked. Everyone did. Apparently picking up on our confusion, the Commander sighed. "I am not certain of many things in this world, but I am certain of one thing, Sanshi…"

I swallowed hard.

Keza continued to look confused.

My Captain still hadn't moved an inch.

The Commander smirked. "If you could turn into a dozen or so high metre monster due to sheer rage and determination, you would have already done it."

Keza blustered. "If you could wha–"

"I'll explain later." I clasped her hands tightly. "Just trust me, okay?"

"Anytime, Numbnuts, you know that." Keza nodded, though admittedly still looked a bit spooked.

I dipped my head at my commander. "Thank you, sir. The trust is appreciated, and I'll continue to earn it."

"I'm sure you will."

And then the time for talking was over.

I think we felt it before we saw it. That crackle of energy, that tension of the air that warned us to brace for impact. Boom. Even looking in the wrong direction, I saw light flash across the sunlit city skies. The Female Titan had returned. And it didn't sound like she was underground. Sure, it could have been Eren, but without a feral scream to follow the light, I doubted that. The carriage came to a halt and we stepped outside.

Flares fired, wires activated, and even from where we were my heart was galloping at full pelt. She was here. Somewhere between the buildings. The bitch that took all of them down like bugs beneath a boot. Gunter. Eld. Petra. Oluo. And every other Scout she waved aside like they meant nothing. My throat burned with unvoiced screams, and my eyes bleared as the fear joined my anger. I'd love to claim my nerves were like steel, I'd be thrilled to announce I didn't waver before that returned threat for a single moment. But I did. My whole body trembled. My mind reeled. Death. Death. Death. It rang in my ears like the impact of my bones against her armour, that tree and then the ground. Echoes of the pain that had nearly drowned me filled my mind and brimmed my lungs. Shit. She was really in this city, really trying to get Eren again, likely about to tear countless more lives apart.

We hadn't really wanted this, had we?

It was the only way, right? But these civilians, their lives, they would never be the same. No longer could they feel safe, anywhere. Being so far in, they had likely feared the famine more than anything else when Maria fell. They likely had no real idea what a Titan even was. And as those thoughts passed through my head, I felt cold. Was that part of the point? Show those this far in what could happen? What we, as Scouts, were trying to protect them from? It made sense. In a sick and demented way. I suppose. But as the screams rose into the air, of families, children and confused loved ones, I wasn't so sure it would be worth it in the end.

I looked to my Commander and I don't know what he saw in my expression, but that cold impassiveness of his wavered for a moment. A mere blip. But I still think I made him wonder about his own actions.

"So where's the other one?" Keza asked, touching my arm gently, coaxing me back to reality.

"The… W-What?" I swallowed, trying to focus as the thunder of the beast's feet made the ground shudder beneath my boots. How close would she get? Did I have to face her again so soon? Would she turn me into dust like last time? Shit. Shit. Shit.

Keza raised a brow and shook my arm slightly. "Oi, focus, Love."

I shivered. "Sorry."

"Uhuh, look, don't you lot have one of these big buggers in your back pockets? On your team? Thought he was meant to be making an appearance."

"E-Eren. Right."

The Commander looked towards the commotion. "Jaeger should have transformed by now, it's true."

"If he even can." Levi rolled his eyes

He'd be trying his damnedest, if he was even able to at all. There was no way to guarantee what had happened during their attempt at corralling Annie – I think they said that was her name – no way to know where they had got to, or how much she had been fooled. If at all. And I knew Eren didn't want to attack a classmate. He had been so broken when he went into the training camp, and he had come out capable. Or at least, felt he had. And all those kids had been with him. If the Female Titan really was one of their friends, like we suspected… How was he going to wrap his head around that? So much trust, blown apart.

I couldn't be sure how long we waited; my heart hammered so hard that my ribs ached. No doubt the fractures there would need rebound soon, or perhaps I'd damaged them? I didn't know. It didn't matter. I had to be there. I had to help. I had to make it worthwhil–

The feral roar ripped through the skies.

Eren had transformed.

And then Dawk had his gun drawn on the Commander.

My mind reeled. Not only did we have a new shifter but also guns pointed at us. Shit. Death. Death. Death. I clung to Keza. Fear flooded my broken body, and I'd never felt more vulnerable. This wasn't the battlefield I knew, it was a city, full of people. I had no gear. I was covered in bandages. Shit. Breathe. Humans against humans, shifters against humans, for humans, and all underneath the endless hunger of the Titans. Did it ever stop? Were there more layers of danger that we didn't know about? Was anything safe? I tried to breathe. To focus. I was sidelined for the fight, but I could help here. Couldn't I? People tended to listen to me. Eventually. Speak, convince them to stop pointing their damn guns at your commander. Stop panicking!

"Robyn look at me." Keza put her hands on my shoulders, squeezed and breathed slow. "With me, in and out, in and out."

I peeked over and my Captain was sorting the Dawk shitshow out, but I was still shivering.

Keza squeezed again. "Oi, look at me. It's comin' from all sides right now and you're still hurting after that mission, it makes sense to be scared. It's all right."

She hadn't done this since we were children. I hated when the fear took over, when I was too scared to move or think, and then Keza would step in and talk me through it. It's okay to be afraid. Just breathe. You're allowed this. It's not wrong. It's human. It's fine.

I came back to the surface, the shivering lessening as I followed her breaths. Good thing too, because she was moving. They both were. Tearing through the city, fighting, scrambling, roaring. It was chaos. The people of Stohess had been rudely awoken to the truth of our world – nowhere was safe. Eventually, the Titans would come for us all.

Our ramshackle group, still including the gun wielding Dawk, made its way South, towards the wall. Shit. That's right. She would be headed for the wall.

A sinking feeling filled my gut, a nervousness bubbled up my throat. Why was that such a concern? Sure she might get away, but it felt like it went beyond that. Like another memory was waiting to unfold. To be heard. I held onto Keza's hand as tight as I could. She didn't let me waver. We followed the MPs and Commander, with my Captain close by. He kept glancing at me. I could only assume I looked a mess – but we didn't have time to stop. I just nodded to him and he took that as confirmation. I was okay. At least, enough that he needn't worry right now. There was bigger problems at present.

We reached a small bridge where we could see towards the wall gate. The fight raged on. The Female Titan was definitely making for the wall, for escape. Heading south, as usual, and on that trajectory she could have been at the base where Mike was in a matter of hours. Shit.

Another wave of nerves rushed through me.

My hand grabbed the small fence beside us as nausea gripped me next.

Don't damage the wall.

Why was that running through my mind so loudly? Like a warning. I swallowed hard. My back ached, the scars burning with urgency as the Female Titan launched herself and began to climb. Parts of the wall fell away. She was practically digging her way up. Digging. Revealing. Breaking. I swallowed and looked down, my whole body filling with that panicked sense of aimless urgency.

"Robyn?" Keza held my shoulder. "Honey you're fuckin' vibrating here, what's going on?"

"Dunno what it is I… We can't let her damage the wall too much."

The Commander frowned. "You're no Wallist, Sanshi."

I shook my head. "No I… I Dunno… Just this sick feeling and this panic inside of my head. We can't let her break it. Can't… Fuck." I lurched to the side and vomited. Don't let them see the sun. Don't. "Get someone over there to check it right a-away!"

"All right, I'll get Hanji on it…" The Commander eyed me, but I could only gasp for breath and try to ease this queasiness that swamped my mind.

He loomed over me and sneered. "You got no idea what kinda cage this is, rat. The things I could tell you, the things I should tell you." He laughed bitterly and took another long swig.

I was strapped face down onto the table, having nothing better to do than listen to his madness. The newest brand still itched at the small of my back, blood slowly clotting, congealing enough that I'd be able to stand without dripping all over the floors. Couldn't go making a mess now, could I?

"But I can't." He slammed the bottle onto the table by my head, bracing himself over me, stinking wafting down. "Because they said not to. Orders. Gotta follow orders, little rat. Beyond that you wouldn't believe me anyway, would you? Too stupid to heed the words of your own salvation. Fuck I hate this place. But I guess someone's gotta do it."

I didn't answer. I wasn't meant to.

He scraped his greasy hair back and jabbed at the waning fire with the poker, the end growing that dull orange before it would brighten to light gold. Don't bring it over here. Please.

"But this cage is gonna break one day, little rat. And then all you'll be able to do is scurry. The walls themselves… Heh… Those fucking walls." He then jolted and looked at me with wide eyes, coming over with the poker. He knelt, the white hot metal glazing his sweaty face in a honeyed light. "They can't see the sun you see. If they do? You're all fucked. If those things wake up too soon… We're all doomed. And not just this shitty place, the whole world. The whole damn world."

I whimpered, the poker having begun to waver in his hand, towards my face.

He sneered. "That's right, be afraid little rat. As you should be. Stay afraid, stay in your place. It's where you belong."

I gasped and held my head, the voice still rattling around inside, laughing and rumbling like always. Keza ran her hand up and down my back. She was shouting at someone. How long had I zoned out this time? I tried to focus. Come back to reality, damn it. This wasn't time for daydreaming!

Keza practically growled. "You take one more step and I'll gut you myself, hear me? Don't give a damn if you're Commander of the Scouts or the whole fucking place, you touch her and that hands gone."

"I am concerned for one of my soldiers, Miss Keza, I mean no–"

"You're looking at her like she's some fucking new weapon. Get that look outta your eye first." She then leaned closer to me, all warmth and affection as she cupped my cheeks and made me look at her. "You back with us?"

"Sorry I… I dunno what…"

"Shh, it's okay. You zoned out, like you used to when we were kids. Wasn't long, a couple minutes at most. Just breathe. The situation's… Well it's under control at least."

I shuddered, thinking of those pieces falling from the wall. "But the w-wall–"

"We've sent a team over." My Captain drawled, landing beside us, having suddenly been using his gear. Where had he been hiding that? He looked down as impassively as ever, but without any coldness. He stepped between me and the Commander. "What is it you think you know about the wall, Sanshi?"

"Just this feeling of d-dread." I was helped to my feet by Keza. "Like there's something dangerous about the walls themselves. I think Vincent might have talked about it."

Keza clicked her tongue. "If that bastard talked of it, no wonder you're spooked."

The Commander drew a long breath and looked towards the gate, the open area that the Female Titan and Eren had reached before my mind went haywire. I looked over and gaped. She was down. Sort of. She was steaming to nothing, but something remained in her place. Something large and shiny. An egg of some kind? No. It was… I had no idea.

"She's trapped herself." My Captain explained, nodding over to the strange object. "Same crystal as she used on her body."

I jolted, feeling like that crystal was ripping into my skin all over again. Red. Everywhere. The screaming, the pain. Slice. Crack. Burn. Blood. I breathed through my nose. Calm down.

He continued. "Jaeger's fine, we got him out. And there's a team attending the wall… With a Wallist having come over in a panic, saying something very similar to you."

I blinked. "R-Really?"

He nodded. "You might well have given us a few extra minutes of time to hide whatever the hell is going on inside those walls, Sanshi. Well done."

"Th-Thank you, sir." I looked down. "Not exactly my choice but… thanks."

So the plan had worked. Kind of. We had proven that the threat was real, that Eren was on our side. But we had also destroyed half of Stohess to do it. No one was going to be pleased. And no doubt the higher-ups would want someone to blame. That would be the Commander. He was their usual go-to. But where did these strange memories keep coming from? How many more were buried? And what exactly was going on inside the walls? What couldn't see the light? My mind fizzed.

We made our way over to the wall, Keza still holding me steady. The dust settled. The carnage was vast, and it would take a long time for this city to heal. Perhaps the world. Something was different. We had confirmed someone from within the 104th was not only al- Manage Storiesso a shifter, but actively working against us. She had killed dozens of scouts. And likely many more civilians now.

We're walking into a new world.

Nothing is ever going to be the same…

Dun dun duuuuun, and there we have it. Stohess is in pieces and everything else is up in the air! Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading, faving, following and reviewing when you can. ^-^ Cya next week folks!