Hey all! I'm back from holiday and my battery are recharged and ready to go.
This chapter was originally around 11k words but I've cut it in half to make it more manageable.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter out in a few more days.
Also, a quick thing I wanted to cover here before we start following the revelations in chapter 130 (or as I like to call it the 'Yams throwing petrol into the EH vs EM dumpster fire' chapter lol). When I brought back Hisu there were lots of theories going around that Hisu would know Erens plan but I took a risk and had her not knowing. However, if I wanted to change this fic to incorporate that factoid it would require either a total rewrite of ALL hisu PoVs (and that includes my two favourite chapters; tribulations and soldier's armour) or a complete 180 change in her character which would probably give me whiplash.
And to be perfectly honest I'm not interested in doing either of those, so to summarise in the NTT universe, Historia didn't know Eren's plan at all. She is just as clueless about what Eren's plan was as AM.
Anyway, on with the show!
Ragako Village - Wall Rose Territories
Ymir tapped a finger against the kitchen table with a frustrated sigh. Waiting was not her thing. Waiting patiently even less so.
But what else could she do? Cue ball and Freckles were out getting the horses that this weirdly interconnected village had lent them ready, and Potato girl was making herself a pest in the kitchen 'helping' Mrs Springer prepare some food for the road. Ymir thought that was pretty pointless all in all, but she wasn't going to complain about free food. That is if Sasha hasn't already slobbered all over it.
Ymir sighed again, her drumming fingers coming to a rest against the cool wood, nails pressing down as her thoughts started to drift back to that idiot Braun, what he did and what she had been preparing to do. The dark memories that accompanied those thoughts made Ymir uncomfortable, deeply uncomfortable, like there was a venomous snake coiled around her ribcage which threatened to squeeze down and turn her organs into a bloody paste.
Even hours after the fact, that feeling would not go away. And it was all because of that damnable question cue ball had shouted at her during his breakdown in the woods.
"Why the hell would he bother pushing you out the way? Well?! Why would a Titan do that?! You and Reiner hate each other!"
The snake coiled tighter, and Ymir found it hard to breathe. Why did Braun help her?
Cue ball had been right (perhaps for the first time in his life) that there was no love lost between them. Hell, they barely tolerated each other most days, and putting them within the same room was usually enough to start an argument.
So why the hell had Braun tried to save her? It couldn't have been out of camaraderie or loyalty, for they were not friends and he was obviously not loyal to anyone in Paradise seeing what he had done. So why them? Had he somehow known about her ability and wanted to prevent it being lost if she was killed? Was the moron playing the hero or just suicidal? Or was it been something else?
So many whys and not a single answer to be found.
'Story of my life.' Ymir thought bitterly. 'And what a life its been…'
Ymir had spent most of her 'life' trapped in a 60-year-long living nightmare of unending existential horror as she roamed mindlessly in search of human flesh. And the worst part was how she remembered it.
Not all of, thank all that was holy, but parts of it. Jumbled, messy and scattered memories, merging together in an endless haze of suffering. Yet in that haze, there was one memory that stood out.
A memory of dirt, and a noise. A memory of her rising and flailing out. A target, a shove, a new target. Grabbing, lifting, screaming, biting. Then she remembered the clarity of a mind restored, the feel of the coarse sand under her naked body and the almost blinding brightness of the sky.
All of that because the boy she grabbed was a shifter, and with a single crunch took his power for herself, and finally woke up from that nightmare.
She didn't have to have Arlert's brain to figure out that Braun was likely part of that group she had scattered when rising from the earth. A group of shifters carrying some of nine Titans of her deific namesake; The Armoured, the Colossal and the Jaws. They would have had to stick together to make it to the Walls across the Titan infested island.
What she did need Arlert's brain for was why they were even here? Had they been sent to wipe out the last 'free' Eldians? That seemed most likely, but what about the Colossals? Even back in her day, everyone knew about the King's threat and what would happen if anyone dared raise a hand against Paradise.
"If you ever try to interfere in our affairs, the tens of millions of Titans that sleep inside the Walls will surely flatten the entire earth."
Was the outside world's desire to kill everyone here really worth the risk? Did the world truly hate them that much, that they're willing to be destroyed, just to take Paradise down with them?
Madness. Utter madness.
And it was in the middle of that madness that Ymir no name, a 60-year-old, once 'divine' leader of a cult, now found herself. Residing in possibly the last bastion of free (but ignorant) Eldians anywhere on Earth, all thanks to a power that was not hers and one she barely understood. And somehow along the line, she had found love and even friends (not that she would admit that part openly) who were all under threat from the enemies beyond the sea.
What a fine fucking mess this was...
"You alright, Ymir?" A hand reached out over the table towards her, resting palm up in a clear invitation. Ymir looked at it for a moment, taking in its familiar shape and blemishes, as the snake uncoiled just a tad. She could breathe easier now as she inspected the small and dainty hand, and marvelled at the small faded scars and rough calluses that dotted it from years of intense military training.
She loved those hands, and everything attached to them.
Looking up at Historia, Ymir smiled as she accepted the invitation and rested her own hand on top of it.
"I'm fine, love," Ymir answered, only partially lying. Historia had been the best thing to happen in her life, and she was the main reason Ymir even put up with this whole shitstorm in the first place. But with love came a duty to protect, and as happy as Historia made her, Ymir wondered how long she would be able to protect her.
If the nations beyond the sea were willing to attack Paradise even with the threat of its promised Colossals, then they either didn't care about their own survival or had developed weapons to resist them.
'Or, it was a bluff all this time.' Ymir thought grimly, seeing how even when Maria was breached, and a third of their land and population was lost, the founder did not act.
Whatever the case was, it meant this island was living off borrowed time, and sooner or later, this isolationism will end. Whether that be by an external force wiping them all out, or the scouts reaching Yeager's basement and finding something there about the outside world.
Ultimately a moment would come when Ymir would have to make a choice. And in her eyes, there were only three possibilities.
The first was to run. She could just grab Historia and just run, as far and fast as she could before the world comes crashing down on this island. It was the most straightforward option, but not a smart one.
For running requires a destination, somewhere to go where you didn't have to run anymore, and Ymir knew of no such place. Her knowledge of the outside world was limited at best, and what she did 'know' was over half a century out of date. Even if they could escape Paradise, (and that would be a challenge in and of itself, with Paradise being an island and all…) Ymir had no idea where they would go next. She'd likely end up leading Historia somewhere even more dangerous without even knowing.
The other option was to make a deal. When the world came knocking, she could offer herself, as one of the nine shifters, to any power that would grant them sanctuary. She could use her power to fight in their wars and destroy their enemies. She would do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't hurt Historia.
But why would any power accept her deal? Or, just as importantly, why would they keep their word even if they agreed? The minute she handed herself over, they could simply restrain her and have someone they actually trusted and trained take her power. Then, if she was 'lucky', Historia would be thrown into some Eldian ghetto or camp to live out the rest of her life as a second class citizen, and if she wasn't then she would simply be shot and dumped in a shallow unmarked grave.
So with those two options out, only one path remained open to her. And it was the one Ymir knew with all her heart would be ultimately futile.
She'd have to fight.
Ymir suppressed a grimace at the thought. Fighting some MPs or a few Titans was one thing, but if she genuinely wanted to protect Historia in the long term, then Ymir would have to fight against the entire fucking world with only Yeager and the bunch of flying, sword-wielding lunatics that made up her comrades for help.
Yeager might be willing to give that a try, hell, he'd probably relish the opportunity knowing that nutter, but Ymir wasn't exactly enthused on the idea. How could they survive against a world that hated them with only a few Titans, a handful of soldiers, and weapons which were already obsolete back in her day?
The answer was simple. They couldn't.
So there it was. Three options to choose from, each of which was terrible and hopeless in its own unique way;
1) Flee, and eventually get hunted down and killed.
2) Make a deal, and almost certainly get stabbed in the back and killed.
3) Or fight in some unwinnable war against the rest of the world and most definitely get killed.
How the fuck was she supposed to protect the woman she loved with options like that?
"Just fine." Ymir vacantly repeated, giving Historia's hand another loving squeeze.
Across the Springer household in the kitchen, oblivious to her (sort of?) friend's worries, Sasha brought the knife down again and again with deadly precision. First, she had severed the head with a single slash, then she cut off the limbs before breaking them in half with a delightful snap.
It wasn't often she got to do this, thanks to Instructor Shadis having banned her from doing this during training, but Sasha found it immensely satisfying and therapeutic. The simple act of bringing the blade down and cutting off another piece allowed her to take her mind off other things such as crazy MPs, traitorous Titans and secret identities.
When she brought down the knife again, rather than the slightly squishy resistance she had expected, it instead hit something hard and unyielding. Looking down, Sasha, to her mild disappointment, realised this one was done, and there was nothing less to carve up.
'Oh well, Sunny should be back soon. Then I'll have something else to cut up.' Sasha smiled as she put the knife down.
"Mrs Springer, I'm done with the celery." Sasha chirped, turning to present the chopping board of sliced up celery to Connie's mother, who was creating some sandwiches for them.
"Thank you, Sasha. Put them over there for now," Sala Springer replied, pointed to the windowsill without missing a beat. As a mother of three, she was an expert when it came to multitasking, especially during food preparation. "Sunny should be back with the carrots in a minute, and once those are cut up, we can make a quick salad. More filling than just bread."
The Springer matriarch had not been impressed to discover the standard cadet diet consisted of bread, more bread, a bit of soup, and finally some more bread. Sasha hadn't been bothered by it, but she wasn't going to complain about what food she was given. That famine several years ago had taught her not to be fussy.
"And call me Sala, dear." Sala Springer added on, sounding mildly amused at her young assistant's hesitation to use her given name.
"Sorry, Mrs- Sala." Sasha looked down with a light blush as she set out to fulfil Sala's request. It felt odd to be this familiar with Connie's mother despite only knowing her for a few hours. But, if Sasha was being honest with herself, it wasn't a bad feeling per se, just an unexpected one.
With nothing else to do until Connie's adorable sister returned with the carrots, Sasha idled in the kitchen, not really wanted to sit with Ymir and Kri- Historia right now. She was still trying to deal with the whole fake name and monstrous, murdering father thing. It was part of the reason she had jumped to help Sala with the food after the older woman had sent Connie and Marco to talk with the horse master of this village.
"You know he mentions you in almost every letter he sends home."
Sasha jumped slightly as Sala's soft voice yanked her attention away from the Historia 'issue'.
"Huh?" She blurted out lamely.
"Connie. Almost every letter mentions you in some way." Sala smiled as she finished off another sandwich and placed it in the wicker container. "'Sash and I got put on latrine duty again', 'I forgot to polish my boots again for the morning muster, but Sash managed to distract Shadis enough for me to spit polish them', 'Sash taught me how to set traps. I'm not that good at it though'." She listed off evenly as if merely informing her about the ingredients available in the kitchen.
"O-oh. I- er…" Sasha stammered, feeling distinctly put on the spot. Was Connie's mother angry at her for that?
"Sorry?" She ventured cautiously, deciding that in this case discretion was the better part of valour.
"I'm not upset dear, it's just an observation." Sala waved off the apology with a cryptic smile. "You must be very important to my Connie to get him to write home about you so often. He's never been a big fan of writing."
Sasha blew out a small breath, relieved Sala wasn't mad at her for taking up so much of Connie's letters. There was a strange tingling in her fingers that didn't go away, but Sasha dismissed that as lingering nerves from what happened at the ranch.
What else could it be?
The news that Connie frequently mentioned her in his letters wasn't really a surprise, and Sasha didn't mind at all. After all, bootcamp was pretty dull most of the time, and the times when it wasn't weren't exactly occasions parents should be told about, so what else was there to write about but friends? If she had written letters home during those years, Sasha was sure she would have mentioned Connie just as much.
She would have told Ma and Pa about how they met, and how terrible Connie had been at hunting before she had started to train him, or how he'd gotten tangled up in his own snare traps, or the time they had managed to trick Shades into letting the whole cadet corp go to lunch early, or even the time when-
Actually, on second thoughts, telling them about that time wouldn't be the best idea. She still didn't know where Connie had found all that wine.
Sasha banished that particular memory away when she noticed Sala was looking at her expectantly, awaiting a response with a smile.
Her blush returning somewhat, Sasha chewed her lip as she replied, "Connie is very important to me as well. He's my closest friend, and I don't think I would have got through training without him."
'Why am I so nervous all of a sudden? I'm just telling the truth.'
"I'm thrilled to hear that," Sala's smile seemed to grow even wider as she placed the last sandwich in the container and stepped toward her. Surprised, Sasha took a half step back as the older woman brought a hand to her face and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You have lovely hair, dear."
Sasha blinked, lost for words at the abrupt change of topic. 'What the... My hair? Why's she talking about that, I thought she wanted to talk about Connie?'
Shyly, Sasha reached for the tip of her messy ponytail which was hanging over her shoulder and curled it her finger. The young huntress wished she had taken a minute to redo it on the walk to Ragako just picturing the state the rest of her hair must be in thanks to that wild sprint through the forest. And say nothing of the mud-splattered trousers and rumpled, dirty shirt she had on.
'Arrgh! I should have asked someone to check before we arrived! Wait, why am I getting so worked up about this? My hair is always messy, and I'm a damn soldier! Getting covered in dirt is part of the job.'
The question of why still bounced around her head, even as Sasha found her voice again.
"Thank you," She squeaked out before adding on in a fit of unrivalled genius, "Your is nice too!"
Sala stopped, raised an eye, then let out a small chirping laugh. "You are far too kind, Sasha. Perhaps it was when I was younger, but after two decades of marriage and three kids…" The mother's voice dropped into a stage whisper as she ran a hand across her own hair, revealing the roots to Sasha's gaze. "I'm starting to go grey."
The overly dramatic confession caused Sasha to break out in a giggle. "It must have been really nice before then."
"It's a price we pay for a long marriage and children, my dear."
"Doesn't sound like a bad deal for what you get," Sasha replied truthfully, thinking about the three Springer siblings.
"No. No, it's not." Sala said with a wistful smile. "Do you think it's a price you might want to pay someday, Sasha?"
Sasha's blush returned at full force at the question, and she quickly stared down at her feet. That sort of thing was something Sasha had given very little thought to, after all, she was little older than a child herself right now. And frankly, when she'd signed up to the scouts Sasha had resigned herself to the possibility of dying within a year or two like the Commander had told them in the enrollment ceremony. Hence, the likelihood of ever having her own family seemed laughable.
But, as a purely hypothetical question? Well… If she was older and no longer a soldier, oh and if Humanity's lost lands had been recovered, so the lack of food and living space would become a thing of the past again...
If all of those things happened...
"Errm… Maybe? I-I've never thought about it much." Sasha mumbled, almost too softly for Sala to hear. But hear her the mother did, and she rested a hand on Sasha's shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, Sasha, there's plenty of time for you to make up your mind when you're older. But whatever you choose, make sure you don't rush into it. Deciding when and how to settle down is one of the important decisions you'll ever make." Sala soothed the blushing scout with a genial smile. She gave a last comforting squeeze before turning away to pick up the wicker container.
But before Sasha could even begin to process this whirlwind conversation which had gone from preparing food to talking about Connie and her hair, and finally to marriage and children, Sala called over her shoulder.
"That being said though," Mrs Springer said in a tone so airily that Sasha was immediately on edge. Connie used that exact same tone when he was about to mess with someone. "If you do end up settling down, I hope any future grandkids will inherit your hair instead of my son's. Connie's was always a little too short for my liking."
Across Ragako in the village stables, two boys were in the middle of preparing some horses for a long journey when one of them went very, very still, as if he had just been turned to stone.
The other boy, who was just about to throw a saddle onto the back of a large brown stallion, saw this and raised an inquisitive eye. "You alright, Connie?" He asked, noting how strangely pale his friend had become.
With the stiffness of a grindstone, the seemingly frozen boy shook his head. "Nah, man." He answered in a tense whisper, "I'm pretty sure someone just walked over my grave."
There was a storm coming - a big one. Erwin could feel it in his blood.
Maybe it was the tangy taste of ozone in the air that gave it away, or the small hairs on his arms and back of his neck which stood on end. Or perhaps it was that mass of dark grey clouds slowly rumbling their way up from the south.
It was probably the latter observation if he was honest, but whatever the cause Erwin knew a storm was coming, and it would be on them soon.
'All the more reason to find Reiss now. I don't want our only possible lead dying of exposure in the wilderness.'
A part of Erwin wished he had brought Mike along with them, knowing full well how good that human bloodhound was at tracking people down. But with the injuries both he most of his squad had sustained Erwin had no choice but to send them all with Hannes to Trost for proper treatment. In fact, with how badly broken Mike's nose had been, Erwin doubted his old friend would've been able to find Reiss.
'Yet another asset snatched away when we need it most.'
Erwin shifted in his saddle, trying to expel his frustrations from his body through physical movement. It didn't work, but it did at least relieve some of the tension in his hips from this short but hard ride to Ragako which was now coming fully into sight.
'I hope you're right about this Ackerman.' Erwin thought to himself, surveying the small village from afar. If Reiss wasn't here, then they would only have a few more hours to continue the search before sunset, at which point they would be forced to halt the search til morning.
"This looks like the sort of place where your uncle and your father is the same guy." Levi snarked, pursing his lips at the sight of the isolated and underdeveloped village. He had cooled down a bit now they were beginning the search for Reiss, which in turn would hopefully start the hunt for Eren and Petra, but he was still being more abrasive than usual.
Fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, the Commander of the Survey corp just ignored his unruly Captain, having no desire to get involved in this new-found sub-division of Levi's 'humour'. The endless shit jokes were bad enough as it is, so he sure as hell wasn't going to encourage jokes about inbreeding by dignifying one with a reaction.
Unfortunately, however, Hanji didn't have the same qualms about reacting to the remark and happily spoke in the village's defence.
"Ah don't be like that, Levi. It looks like a lovely place. All clean and welcoming. Like your room after you've finished cleaning it for the fourth time."
Whether that rebuttal came from a genuine affection for the village, a way to defuse the thick tension that had settled over the group during the mostly silent ride, or just a desire to rub Levi the wrong way, Erwin did not know. But with Hanji, it could easily be all three.
"Settle down," Erwin quietly commanded, quelling the exchange before it could start in earnest. "Hanji, have your squad move to encircle the village before we enter. They will make sure no one attempts to slip away as we search. And you three…" Looking at the three top 10 recruits they had with them, Erwin couldn't help but notice the stark difference between the first and second-placed trainees and the sixth.
While Kirstein looked nervous and unsure, Arlert and Ackerman looked unmistakably relaxed… well, as relaxed as one could be in their situation Erwin supposed. It was clear they were both worried about Eren but not this possible meeting with Reiss.
Erwin wondered if they were either far more naive than he first thought or that they were excellent judges of character. He hoped it was the latter.
"You three will come with us. Seeing some familiar faces should make this easier."
With his orders given, Hanji quickly relayed them to her squad who set off to surround Ragako, before she rejoined the command squad. Erwin didn't expect too much trouble here, but he had already been caught off-guard one too many times today, and that ended now.
Together the six scouts rode down the main path into Ragako to a frosty welcome. Children who spotted their approach quickly dropped the ball they had been kicking about and darted inside houses, slamming the doors behind them. Adults gave the group dirty looks as they drew closer, before hastily making themselves scarce from the already quiet market square, and the stall owners stared at them the whole way with critical eyes.
"Still think it's lovely, shitty glasses?" Levi grumbled, subtly resting his hand over his sword hilt. "All that's missing is the pitchforks and torches."
Hanji let out an uncomfortable laugh as her own hands tightening around the reins.
Erwin continued on, riding up to a market stall and the man who stood behind it. He was an older man, potbellied and balding with tanned and wrinkled skin from a lifetime of working the fields.
The wizened man looked up at him, appearing distinctly unimpressed. "Wha' you want?" He snapped, swiping a handful of coins off the table into a lockbox.
Erwin kept his head high. "We're looking for someone. A girl. She's around 14 years of age, with blond hair and blue eyes, and about yay high. Likely in the company of at least three others at a similar age. We have reason to believe she may be residing here."
The man sneered and spat on the ground. "Back in my day, you lot were content takin' away our hard-earned coin. Now you're trying to take people's kids! You MPs grow more sick every passin' year."
Erwin contained a grimace at the contempt in the man's voice and the implication of what he was suggesting. Worst still, he couldn't even hold it against the old man, having heard similar horror stories about some of the most corrupt MPs.
'Damn it all, Nile. If your division continues on like this it won't be the Titans we have to worry about. It'll be a damn rebellion.'
"We're not MPs." Erwin attempted to placate the man, twisting slightly to reveal the wings of freedom emblem on his jacket arm. "I am Erwin Smith, Commander of the survey corp. The girl and the others we are looking for are part of my regiment."
"Ah, so you're the suicide cult then," The weathered man sniffed derisively, moving from his disgust at the MPs to his mockery of the scouts. "Well, wherever they are, good on those kids for leavin', I say. They're too young to be throwin' away their lives for nothin'."
This time Erwin couldn't stop the sigh from leaving his lips. While the MPs might hold a near-monopoly on public resentment, his regiment held the dubious honour of being the most openly ridiculed wing of the military. They might not be disliked for any criminal activity or corruption, but they were largely derided as being a complete waste of taxpayer money, a stance held by many across the walls, from the wealthiest aristocrats to the most impoverished farmers.
It was clear playing the military card wasn't going to work here, so Erwin decided to implore on the man's personal connections to the Springer boy who he had likely known since infancy.
"Connie Springer is among this group. We have been informed they were attacked by several dangerous individuals and may have been injured." Erwin offered up the bait and was immediately rewarded when the man stiffened up and clutched the edge of his stall with his large hands. For a split second his sunken green eyes briefly darted towards what looked like a small stable across the square, but that was all Erwin needed.
'Almost too easy.' Erwin took no joy in manipulating innocent civilians, but he wasn't in the mood for further delays today. Turning back to his scouts, Erwin pointed toward the stables and ordered Hanji and Kirstein to check it out.
"H-hey! You can't just-" The stall owner shouted, moving with surprising swiftness for a man his age to block their way when another, younger voice called out.
"Commander!" All heads turned toward the two boys who had just left the stables and were staring at them, mouths agape. The tall, freckled boy who had called them seemed to sag in relief at their appearance. "Oh thank the Walls."
"Marco!" Jean shouted, practically leaping off his horse as he ran to his friend.
'Well, that's Bott and Springer found. Now just for Blaus and Reiss…'
"What good fortune." Erwin quipped to the stall keeper, ignoring the rude gesture he received as he rode past the sour-looking man toward two of his missing soldiers.
"Private Bott, Springer," He called out, interrupting what was assuredly a touching reunion between them and Kirstein. There would be time for that later. "We have been looking for you. Are you unharmed?"
Both boys snapped to attention and gave a sharp salute. "Yes, Sir." They answered in well-trained unison.
"Good. Is Historia Reiss with you?" His knowledge of Miss Reiss' identity clearly took the two boys by surprise, as they shared a quick look before giving an uncertain nod.
"She's at my house, Sir," Springer explained, restlessly toeing the dirt with his boots. "Sasha and Ymir as well."
'Excellent. Good call Ackerman.' "Show me," Erwin commanded.
The boys shared another look, this time glancing at Jean, Armin and Mikasa in quick succession before Springer looked at him with a pained expression. "Aye, Commander. But there's something you should know first… I know it sounds insane, but at the ranch, we found out that Reiner is the-"
"The Armoured Titan." Erwin finished for the shorter boy, fixing him with a knowing look. "We are aware of this development, as well as several others which we believe are connected to Miss Reiss."
"O-oh okay then…" Springer swallowed audibly. "I- I'll go get her for you."
Giving the signal to dismount, Erwin followed the boys as they led them to a small house nearer the outskirts of the village. As they drew near, Erwin could have sworn he saw a tiny face in the top window peeking down at them, but it was gone in the time it took him to blink.
Deciding to ignore the young lookout for now, Erwin waited patiently as Springer walked up to the door and knocked on it with an odd rhythmic pattern. 'A password.' Erwin realised with a surge of approval. 'Smart.'
That assumption was proven correct as after waiting a few seconds, the door was pulled halfway open and a freckled face poked out with a frown.
"About time cue ball, we've been-" The girl at the door started to say, before stopping dead when she saw them over Springer's shoulder.
"The Commander wants to talk to her, Ymir," Connie mumbled.
Erwin saw Ymir's eyes widening, and he could practically hear the wheels turning in her head about what to do. However, whatever decision she came to was rendered pointless when the door was pulled fully open, and two more figures revealed themselves, completing his missing person list.
'Is that a bow?' Erwin wondered, bewildered at the odd sight before. Standing protectively in front of Miss Reiss with a hunting bow in hand was a somewhat frazzled looking Sasha Blaus, her face a shade of red so incandescent that Erwin thought she might be ill.
She was also trying very hard to not look at Springer despite the boy standing pretty much directly in front of her.
'Ah, right... teenagers…' That sort of thing was something Erwin wanted to deal with even less than incest jokes. 'Moving on then.'
Looking behind the crimson faced archer, Erwin directly addressed the person they had come all this way to find. "Historia Reiss," He nodded to the girl, taking a flicker of amusement at how her eyes widened on hearing her real name. "I believe we need to talk. In private."
Reiss's eyes darted across the assembled group outside the Springer residence, lingering briefly on Arlert's for a moment before stepping forward, out of the house and into the street.
Or at least she tried to.
Before Reiss had even finished her step forth, a pair of hands shot out and clamped onto her shoulders, holding her firmly in place. "Hell no!" Ymir blurted out. "The last person who wanted to take her away tried to kill us!"
Erwin cocked an eye at that, and he could hear Levi snorting at his back. It looked like Ackerman wasn't the only one with an aversion to authority today.
But even as he waved Levi down, and opened his mouth to reply, Erwin found himself being beaten to the punch. With a reassuring smile, Reiss rested a hand on top of the white-knuckled grip on her right shoulder.
"It's alright, Ymir, I'll be fine. This- This is the best way. Trust me." With a reassuring smile, Reiss gave the hand a squeeze before deftly slipping from her friend's grasp.
'No, not just a friend.' Erwin looked closely at the two, and how they were was definitely more there than just friendship there. 'A partner. Interesting...'
That nugget of information could be of great benefit to the corp should Reiss prove to be... difficult.
Ymir's expression was a medley of doubt, reluctance, and frustration as she looked back and forth between himself and Reiss, hands flexing at her sides. It was clear the girl was torn about what to do. Eventually, the girl forcefully exhaled and pursed her lips.
"Fine," she grumbled, not even trying to hide her true feelings about the matter. "But if you need me just shout and I'll come running."
'Will you now?' Erwin thought, turning his head and giving Levi a minuscule nod even as he started to walk towards a barn-like structure down the street, signalling that in no uncertain terms that the girl must not approach if Reiss did call for help. In response, Levi simply tightened his grip around his sword hilt, ready to tear the blade free at a moments notice.
With this contingency plan in place, Erwin afforded himself a tiny smile before Reiss hurried to his side and silently walked beside him towards their destination. Thanks to this uneasy silence Erwin could hear the remaining seven recruits starting to converse, and judging from the shocked gasps and a loud shriek of "what?!" it was clear they were swapping stories about what happened with Hoover & Braun, and likely Eren as well.
'So much for keeping it secret…' He thought before stepping into the fortunately empty barn, cutting off the rest of the world as he turned to scrutinise the mysterious Reiss girl that had caused so much strife and confusion this day.
'Now Miss Reiss who, or what, are you?'
Of course, despite the name change, she looked no different from when he had last seen her; almost comically short, lithe and objectively attractive (as uncomfortable as that observation was), Erwin understood how she had become a central point of the 104th's friendship network.
It was an understanding further supported by Shadis's reports. According to his old Commander turned Instructor, Reiss (or Lenz as he had known her) was a friendly and harmonious child, who worked well with others and was always trying to help her friends when she could.
However, Shadis did record a handful of oddities about the girl.
The biggest one was that halfway through her second year of training, Reiss's overall scoring within the 104th took an unexplainable nosedive, and she plummeted down the rankings, failing numerous exercises that she had passed only weeks before.
Refusing to believe the girl had managed to cheat her way through an entire year and a half of training, Shadis had at first marked this lacklustre performance down as some sickness or injury she had not disclosed. Wanting to rectify this unacceptable downturn as quickly as possible, he had ordered Reiss to the infirmary for a check-up, only for the doctor to release her back to active duty the next day with a clean bill of health.
Shadis had made some choice remarks regarding the camp doctor competency and sanity in that section...
But without a medical reason to explain it, Shadis was forced to deem it a personal issue with the girl and decided that he would give her a few weeks to sort out whatever it was she was dealing with, before making his mind up whether to boot her out of the 104th or not.
Fortunately for Erwin, Reiss hadn't been kicked out, for after several remedial training exercises and assistance from her fellow cadets; mainly Ackerman, Arlert and Ymir, Reiss had made great strides and started climbing back up the ranks. By the time the battle of Trost occurred, Shadis had noted that she was already well on her way to the top ten and that her exemplary actions during the struggle ensured her ascent to eighth place.
The whole episode had certainly caught Erwin's eye the first time he read it because it was eerily similar to Arlert's change, except in reverse. For where he had undergone a sudden and drastic improvement, she had nearly washed out.
Something told there was a connection between the two events, but try as he might, Erwin simply could not explain away the half-year gap that separated them.
However, that was not the only thing that caught his eye in Reiss's personnel file. Located in the margins of her sparsely populated disciplinary section, was a hastily scribbled note. One that only someone as familiar as he was with Shadis's handwriting and style could possibly decipher.
"Lenz has an annoying habit of saying a lot without saying a damn thing, and getting a simple yes/no answer from her is like getting blood from a stone. If being a soldier doesn't work out, she'd take to politics like a pig to shit!"
It was somewhat unprofessional to be sure, but seeing as Reiss had successfully lied about her own name for several years, Erwin could see where Shadis was coming from. Evasive, serial liars always made the 'best' politicians, and that's precisely what Reiss appeared to be.
"You wanted to talk to me, Sir?" The girl calmly asked, unfazed by his intense searching gaze. She must have known that her fate depended entirely on him and that with a simple command he could have her dragged back headquarters, thrown in a cell and interrogated for information if he so wanted, yet Reiss did not grovel or plead. She did not beg or cower. She just stood firm and looked him in the eye, safe in the knowledge that whatever information she held was far too time-sensitive for him to waste on an interrogation.
Unfortunately for her, however, Erwin had plenty of experience dealing with politicians and liars. After all, there were few better liars within the walls than himself, and he knew that the best way to approach this situation was to blindside the girl and knock her off guard.
So, without breaking eye contact, Erwin asked a single question with all the considerable gravitas and authority he could muster to achieve just that.
"Miss Reiss, are you the Female Titan?"
Close Erwin but no cigar!
And did you really think I would have Sasha meet Connie's family without making Mrs Springer do the most stereotypical "my son has brought a girl home!" thing? pfft of course not!
Review answers:
xxXMr. DarknessXxx: I'm sorry you feel that way, or if that how it comes across in the text. AM do absolutely care for Eren, but what I've been trying to establish is that their relationship with Eren is fundamentally different from what it was in canon. The last time they saw their Eren, he broke both their hearts, verbally and physically assaulted them then tossed them in a cell. Then when they got dropped back in time their new Eren is 14 while they are 21 with not as many shared experiences as canon. So while they care about him greatly and want to keep him safe, subconsciously I think AM have started to see Eren more as a younger brother rather than best friends, since they feel so out of place/disconnected from him. Hopefully, that makes sense.
Isil'zha BLZ: Thanks for commenting and glad you enjoyed it! As we talked about in PM I've decided to hold off on explaining how AM returned until I have more of a full picture of Eren's intentions, however, I do have something of a plan starting to take hold in my head but that will likely be a good few chapters away before I even start teasing at how it happened.
AM certainly have done better than canon, but they developed a bit of tunnel vision in that chapter and could only see that their actions got Eren kidnapped again (and will be beating themselves up quite a lot when they realise what Eren (and petra) went through once they've rescued them.)
Traitor of All Traitors: Well I can't say much since spoilers and all but I will say that someone might get something... but that's for much later.
B4Reality: Glad you are enjoying it! I always found it strange myself how few do-over fics there are for snk (shout out to Isil'zha BLZ's fics ofc) and I thought it would be a nice twist to have the other main characters come back instead of Eren.
There was a brief time back when I was panning this fic that it would become an EMA ot3 fic but I eventually scrapped that, and decided to have Eren just be a supportive friend to them (as I mentioned in the last chapter I find relationship drama in fics to be a bit eye-rolly sometimes, so I stayed well away from Eren being jealous and stuck to him being partially clueless and a bit embarrassed about the whole thing. except maybe teasing Jean some more idk)
And as for your questions, all I can say is spoilers! But the chapter when Armin gets revealed will come (eventually) and hopefully I will be able to capture all the different reactions and responses from everyone when that goes down!
As always, a big thank you to everyone who reads and reviews this fic. It means the world to me that people are enjoying this so much!