And the winner of surprise is Kohakuu on FF, and the prize is... A double upload!

I wasn't lying about the writer's block of the Reiner chapter, I got so sick of it in places that I just started writing the next chapter and started two others for a side project I'm planning.

This one is technically filler I guess since we all knew Eren wasn't in the chapel anyway but hopefully its still interesting as I covered a couple of different PoVs and mentalities.

Wall Rose - Far North

"Is this the place?" Erwin Smith asked, looking through a spyglass at the small chapel from a distant bluff.

The girl at his side nodded without hesitation, tuffs of her long blond hair slipping out from her hood. "Yes, sir. This is where he took me before handing me over to the cult."

"Very well." Erwin lowered the glass, his face a picture of calm. "Let's get to work."

Levi looked around, his hard eyes slowly tracing from person to person as they each prepared for what was coming.

Hanji's squad was gearing up, checking blades and gas canisters with grim resolve etched on their faces. They had been the 'easiest' to prepare for this, but even now he could still see the tremble in Rashad's hand or the occasional nervous twitch of Nifa's lips whenever she thought no one was looking.

The kids, however, were another story entirely. Kirstein and Bott looked half-dead already, their faces sickly pale and brows drenched with sweat. Springer's hands were shaking so badly he could barely do up the last strap of his gear, even with the eerily quiet Blaus helping him. Levi suspected she was focusing all her effort on that as to distract herself from what was coming.

Even that Ymir girl looked anxious, continually checking and rechecking her sword hilts, trying to play it off as mere boredom as she shuffled closer and closer to the corp's recently discovered cult baby, Historia Reiss, daughter of the piece of shit who had organised the attack on his squad.

None of them was ready for this, but they had run out of time. What little advice Levi had been able to drill into their heads since they left Ragako the other day would have to do.

"I have to admit Armin, I wasn't sure about this at first, but this is genius! They'll never see it coming!" Hanji's cheery voice as she gushed over Arlert's weird spinning smoke bomb was painfully out of place in the dour atmosphere of the assembled scouts. Like someone cheering at a funeral.

Had it been anyone else Levi might have written it off with their way of dealing with stress but with Hanji it was just as likely she was being her usual unthinking self. When Erwin also added his praise after looking over the hastily assembled explosive, Levi just rolled his eyes.

Those three had been in their own little world during the planning for this strike, seemingly oblivious to how quickly it would all fall apart after Kenny entered the field. They could bring all the smoke bombs, explosives and rifles they want, but ultimately this battle will come down to whether or not he was strong enough to beat Kenny. Everything else will just be window dressing.

Raising from the log he had been sitting on, Levi looked to the one person who actually appeared to be somewhat ready for this.

"Ackerman." He called to her, ignoring the looks he got from the others as he started to walk away from the camp. "Come with me. We need to talk."

He didn't bother checking if the girl was following him, as he maintained his steady gait through the undergrowth to a more private area. Incidentally, that happened to be the very bluff Erwin had spied the chapel from a while ago.

There were no footsteps behind him or the telltale thudding of 3DM gear bouncing against hips or thighs, but Levi knew she was there. She was good enough to not make a sound when walking, but he could feel her presence lingering behind him. With a few more years under her belt, she might become a halfway decent training partner, but Levi was getting ahead of himself. There was a reason he had brought her out here.

"You've killed before." It was a statement not a question, but Ackerman answered regardless.

"Yes, Captain." The girl replied, keeping her voice low but clear, allowing it to carry across the small clearing with ease. "They said at the trial-"

"I'm not talking about the one they mentioned at the trial." Levi cut her off, eyes firmly fixed on the distant church as he stewed in the knowledge that his squad was being held captive beneath it, soon to be sacrificed by those Wall cultists if he didn't rescue them soon. "That may have been your first kill, but it wasn't the last, was it?"

There was a long pause as Ackerman silently debated what she was going to say, before finally answering with some reluctance. "No, Sir… it wasn't."

Levi nodded to himself, his suspicions confirmed. "I thought so. You were a refugee after the fall, correct? Same as Yeager and Arlert?"

Even without looking at her, Levi could tell Ackerman was uncomfortable at this line of questioning. Everyone had heard the rumours about what the Marian refugees had to endure after the fall. The lack of decent food, sanitation and shelter. The diseases which frequently tore through the camps, and almost every crime imaginable from petty theft to assaults, rapes and murders.

It wasn't a pretty picture, and for a young girl like Ackerman with her 'exotic' and unusual features to be living in a camp like that with minimal protection or supervision, Levi wasn't surprised to hear she had killed more than once.

He could have asked for details; about how many and if it had been in self-defence or not, but he didn't. All that mattered was that she had been willing and able to kill multiple times before, and thus could be relied on to do so again.

Turning his head, Levi spotted her inclining her head in a curt nod out the corner of his eye, before turning back to face the church. "The people in that chapel are not some run of the mill, back alley thugs or a drug addict with a kitchen knife. These are professionally trained killers, and they will not hesitate to kill you or your friends. If you want to protect them and get Yeager back, you can't afford to show any mercy once we're down there. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I do. And I won't."

"Good," Levi nodded to himself, content that his point had been made and understood. "Then you'll be joining me on the first wave after Arlert's little toy goes off. We hit them hard and cut a hole through them for the others to exploit." Then, despite himself, Levi hesitates for a moment, picking his next words carefully. He's never liked talking about his past to anyone, let alone to some kid he's known for less than a month, but not warning her about him would be a mistake.

"Listen carefully, Ackerman. There's probably a man down there called Kenny. Tall, old, likely wearing a hat and grinning like a madman. He'll be the one calling the shots. If you see him, or even hear his name being called, you come find me, and then you run. Under no circumstances are you to fight him. Is that clear?"

A flock of birds flew overhead, chirping to each other in the evening sun. Their cawing was the only sound which made it to his ears, instead of the sharp 'yes, sir.' he had been expecting.

"Ackerman," Levi repeats, his voice now hard as stone and cold as ice. "Is. That. Clear?"

"...crystal, Captain." Ackerman finally grinds out, clearly not happy with the restrictions he has put in place. Frankly, Levi didn't give two shits if she was upset. At least this way she might survive.

Believing the discussion to be over, Ackerman turned to walk away, probably so she can go brood over how unfair he is for trying to save her life. Unfortunately for her, he had one last question.

"Arlert's killed as well, hasn't he?" Levi asks, finally breaking eye contact with the church and turning to face the teenager. The way she froze on the spot with that stunned expression on her face is mildly amusing, but it only lasts for a split second before it's wiped away and replaced with a hard, blank mask.

The girl's silence was deafening as she stared at him with those dark grey eyes. He can see her fingers twitch at her side, and he narrows his eyes at her in response. She was trying to work out if she could beat him to the draw.

'Don't try it, Ackerman. You're not that good yet.'

Evidently, Arlert's own killings had been a well-kept secret within the trio from Shiganshina, as to his knowledge, it wasn't mentioned in any file or report like Yeager's and her own first time was, but it didn't need to be. Levi could see it in the boy's eyes.

Armin Arlert had definitely killed before.

"When you get back, tell him he'll be in the second wave with Hanji's squad. The kids will follow them. That should give them the highest chance of survival if we do our job right." Folding his arms over his chest, Levi informed his soon-to-be wing-woman before waving her away with a simple gesture.

If their situation wasn't so desperate, it would almost be laughable. To save his squad Levi had to rely on two underaged killers; one a girl young enough and anti-social enough to be his daughter, and a boy with a baby face so intense that made actual infants look old.

What a wonderful mess this was.

"Ackerman. Come with me. We need to talk."

Armin couldn't help but turn his head at Levi's voice, momentarily ignoring what Hanji was saying as he caught Mikasa's eye as the short Captain started to move away. They looked at each over the heads of their terrified friends for a moment, before Mikasa lightly rested a hand on her hip box and turned to follow Levi, showing she had received his silent plea to be careful.

"Is everything alright, Armin?" Armin suppresses a shiver as he turns back, struggling to meet Erwin's piercing gaze.

"Yes, sir," He answers, looking back at the spinning smoke bomb he had reinvented. "J-just a bit nervous."

Erwin's eyes lingered on him for a moment, briefly flickering towards Mikasa's retreating form before snapping back to him. Armin dare not look again, focusing his entire being on the portable smoke screen.

When he was younger Armin had dreamed of moments like this; Hanji, Erwin and himself all working on some plan, debating tactics and strategies like equals despite their differing ranks and ages, but right now Armin was terrified, and not just because Eren's fate depended on this mission.

Back at the tower where they had waited out the storm, Historia had told them what Erwin had asked her back at Ragako, and it had nearly sent Armin into a coughing fit. Erwin was looking for the Female Titan, and while Armin knew that he would after Mikasa's debut during the expedition, he didn't expect him to start narrowing it down so quickly.

It had only been a handful of days since the mission, and Mikasa had been incredibly careful not to be spotted shifting or exiting her Titan. Except for Lieutenant Ral, the scouts who had seen Mikasa's Titan only had a few seconds to witness her before she fled.

If that was all Erwin had to go on how the hell had he made this much progress already? He may have been wrong with Historia, but she was still part of their group, and that meant he was far too close for comfort.

Armin let out a breath, wondering how everything had gotten so messed up, so quickly?

Annie was gone, and Bertholdt had joined her without a single casualty, and they had been mere hours away from dealing with Reiner. Their victory over the infiltrators had been within reach. Practically at their fingertips.

But now Eren had been kidnapped by Rod and Kenny again, Reiner had fled beyond Wall Rose, Historia's identity had been partially compromised (thankfully her status as royalty was still under wraps), and now he was stuck under the Commander's scrutinising eyes as they set out a plan to rescue Eren.

Armin knew they would have to come clean with Erwin eventually but that moment seemed to be getting closer by the hour. A moment which felt more and more outside of their control and that was a feeling Armin did not enjoy.

Once they got Eren back, maybe it would be time to tell him, even if they lacked any evidence of the claims, but they couldn't risk the distraction that confession would cause right now. Not when Eren depended on them.

'Hang on, Eren… we're coming for you…'

"That's to be expected. This isn't the sort of operation any of you have been trained for." Erwin nodded, scratching another arrow into the dirt as an alternative line of attack. Thanks to Historia's inventive storytelling, the Commander had been given a good understanding of what to expect down there in the crystal cave, with its singular entranceway and subsequent kill box.

It had been Hanji's mumblings about this opening and how to stop them getting massacred at the door which allowed Armin to mention creating a smoke bomb from the supplies they had picked up in Yarckel.

"Still, as Hanji said, this bomb of yours is most ingenious. If it works as expected this could save the lives of many of our comrades." Erwin added on, evenly.

"See! I told you he was good, Erwin. My little genius is already making plans and high explosives. I'm so proud." Hanji smiled, an excited glint in her eyes as she ran a hand over one of the bomb's wheels. "He's a mini-you in the making."

Armin tried not to react at that, knowing full well that he was no Erwin, (another questionable advantage of his situation was first-hand knowledge that no one could ever replace Erwin, and certainly not him. He had already failed at that.) but he blushed nonetheless.

'Stop that. You're acting like a kid again.' Armin chided himself, before quietly pointing out a possible flaw in the Commander's newest addition to the plan as he tried to get his blush under control.

Armin was so focused on this effort that he missed the curious gaze Erwin gave him as he considered Hanji's words.

Jean felt sick to his stomach. The meagre breakfast he managed to eat this morning now felt like lumps of lead in his belly, threatening to come hurtling up at a moments notice.

'Is this really happening?' He asked himself, fiddling with the straps crisscrossing his thighs.

It all felt too surreal, like some sick practical joke being played at his expense. Why was this happening? How was it happening?!

Him and all the rest of the 104th, a bunch of fourteen and fifteen years olds fresh out of bootcamp eight months before they should be, had been assigned under the legendary Captain Levi, to take part in some insane, half-baked mission to rescue Yeager and some other scout he didn't know, from Kri- Historia's apparent religious lunatic of a father.

And the first two things their newly minted Captain had said to them?

"Make sure you clean this shitty tower floor before you sleep, brats." And then, "The vital spots on the human body are here, here and here, understand? Cut deep enough at any of these spots and your opponent won't be getting up again. Just picture each one like the nape of some dumbshit Titan."

He had told them how to kill people! And it was only later when Commander Erwin explained why Captain Levi had said to them that.

That queasy feeling returned at full force. By the fucking Walls, they were genuinely expecting them to kill people to save Yeager.

"Jean…" Marco was staring at the dirt between his feet, perhaps hoping it would swallow him whole and save him from what was about to happen. Resting across his lap was one of the rifles they had acquired from the Garrison, and for a moment Jean was taken back to bootcamp and the immensely proud smile Marco had worn when Shadis had proclaimed him one of the best shots in the 104th. At the time such an achievement had seemed to herald the start of his successful future as an MPs, but now Jean was sure Marco wished he had never held a firearm before.

That way he wouldn't be expected to lay down fire support with Sasha and Historia once the attack began.

"I-I… I'm scared."

Jean's trembling hands curled into fists, as he tried to keep his erratic breathing under control. He wondered if this was finally the time to employ his family's secret technique? If he was fast and quiet enough maybe he could sneak over to the horses and flee before he was sent off to either kill or be killed.

'No. I'm not some damn coward like Reiner and Bertholdt. I'm not going to run away and betray everyone as well.'

"...me too." Jean finally confessed in a soft whisper. He didn't want to die.

Connie was terrified. He didn't think he had ever been this scared before, not even at Trost. Back then he had been so focused on their desperate battle for survival, that he hadn't had the time to be frightened. Now, however, his fears had been festering for hours on end, as the enviable battle drew closer and closer, hanging over them like last night's storm. Slow, relentless and unavoidable.

"I-I don't know if I can do this, Sash," He choked out, that strange tension between them from yesterday long gone in the face of what Captain Levi and Commander Erwin had told them. "Even if it's to save Eren... killing people… it's not… I'm not..."

Sasha kept her head down as she helped check the straps around his waist. "I know… I know… I-I don't like it either, but if we don't get Eren back and they return…" The young woman shivered, shoulders trembling beneath her pale green cloak. "Just- just try to think of them like Titans. That's what Captain Levi said to do. They won't hesitate to kill us, just like those MPs at the ranch."

"How can we just pretend they're not human?!" Connie choked out before looking away, trying to hide his pained expression. "Oh God, what the hell are we doing..."

"Hey," Sasha looked up, revealing her pale face and red eyes. She lightly poked him in the kidney, drawing his attention back to her as she offered a watery smile. "J-just stay with me, okay? We got through Trost, so we can get through this as well. You watch my back, and I'll watch yours, just like then."

Sasha tried to sound confident and reassuring, but neither of them had forgotten just how many close calls they had experienced at Trost, nor how breathtakingly lucky they had been.

She also didn't mention how she had settled on picturing their foes as just slightly bigger (and more dangerous) game which she usually hunted. Sasha reckoned that confession wouldn't go down well.

Historia picked at the bandages covering her hand, scratching at it like a scab. Such an overt nervous tick would have never been acceptable as Queen, for she needed to be the unwavering stoic pillar which held up the junta, but now her old habits had started to come back with a vengeance.

She never thought she'd be returning to this place, especially not as a rescuer rather than the rescuee. But life had a funny way of subverting her expectations when it came to these things.

"It will start bleeding again if you keep doing that." Ymir mumbled, leaning back against the tree. Her eyes were closed, and hands folded in her lap. To anyone else it might have looked like Ymir was bored, or indifferent about what they were about to do, but Historia knew her better than that.

Ymir was just as worried as everyone else, but she was keeping it hidden behind her aloof mask.

"Sorry," Historia replied softly, resting her bandaged hand on her knee. It didn't hurt that much anymore, but if she had to use her 3DM gear her cut would probably re-open gripping the handles. She wondered if that was part of the reason why she'd been given a rifle instead and told to hang back with Marco and Sasha. That or Erwin didn't want to risk his bargaining chip by having her in the thick of the fighting.

"You sure you don't want me to kick his arse for that? Commander or not, he'd deserve it."

"It's just a cut, Ymir. I don't want to see you imprisoned for something that'll be gone in a week." Historia leaned over, resting her head on Ymir's shoulder. "Please be careful down there."

Ymir's grey eyes flickered open as she twisted her head to plant a kiss against Historia's hair. "I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about. If those Wall fuckers are after you then you shouldn't be anywhere near here. I don't like it."

"Ymir, I'm not made of porcelain. I'm a soldier, same as you and everyone else. I owe it to Eren to help rescue him."

"Tsk. You'd think Mr 'Too angry to die' would have freed himself by now and saved us the trouble of trekking all the way here." Ymir grumbled under her breath. "Is his Titan having performance issues or something?"

"Behave," Historia said, lightly slapping her girlfriend's arm. "And Ymir… it's okay to be nervous. I'm frightened too."

While Ymir didn't reply to that remark, she did allow her head to rest on top of Historia's, the two lovers now leaning against each other as their hands reached out and their fingers intertwined.

There may have been no words said, but Historia knew a 'thank you' when she saw one.

Mikasa crouched beside Levi by the door, hands wrapped tight around her swords. Armin and Hanji were carefully rolling the bomb down towards them, ready to shove it down the stairs once their attack began. It was slightly unnerving to be so close to a makeshift explosive like this, or at least it would have been had Armin not been the one to make it. She trusted him implicitly, and if he said it was safe, then she'd happily sit next to it for as long as it took.

Behind the bomb the rest of Hanji's squad was waiting alongside Erwin and behind them were the rest of her friends, all silently waiting for Levi's signal. With a steely look of determination, Sasha tied an alcohol-soaked rag around one of her arrows, securing it with a tight knot, preparing herself to ignite the bomb once it had finished rolling to the cavern floor. Much like Armin's bomb, Mikasa had complete trust in Sasha's ability when it came to a bow and didn't doubt her dear friend for a second (even if she hadn't seen Sasha do it perfectly last time, Mikasa had seen her nail a bullseye at hundred yards on a windy day).

"Ready?" Levi asked, keeping his voice as low as possible as he looked at Armin and Hanji then Sasha in quick succession. All three nodded back, as Sasha put the arrow to a torch, setting the tip aflame.

"Then we go in 3… 2… 1…"

The door into the cavern was thrown open, and after opening the two gas canisters strapped to its wheels, Armin and Hanji pushed the bomb with all their might, sending it hurtling down the stairs like an angry bull. Clattering down the smooth crystal stairs to the ground, Sasha was already surging forward and taking aim before it even stopped spinning, expertly predicted where the barrel would finally land.

The arrow was loosed, fired from the drawn bow with a twang. It soared through the air like a shooting star and landed on its target with pinpoint accuracy. The arrow and the burning rag it mounted was forced through the wooden barrel, piercing through the planks with ease and igniting the gunpowder stored within. Less than a second later the bomb detonated with a thunderous boom, filling the area with a cloud of acrid, pitch-black smoke.

Sasha had played her part perfectly. Now it was their turn; her and Captain Levi, two of the strongest people on earth.

If they hadn't taken Eren from them again, Mikasa might have felt pity for the interior squad.

Levi beat her through the door, slipping past Sasha and leaping forward into the air. Mikasa would never admit it aloud, but despite how annoying and abrasive he could be, the speed and agility at which Levi could move with his gear never ceased to amaze her. She knew others thought the same about her, (Armin and the others had repeatedly said as much to her both lifetimes) but when Captain Levi was truly giving it his all, he was in a completely separate category. Every movement was inhumanly fast and fluid, all carefully considered and planned out yet appearing as instinctual as breathing.

Maybe he had come out of the womb with his gear on like the rumours said.

Mid-leap Levi fired his anchors through the smoke and he vanished, darted forward at breakneck speed before circling round the cloud and pillars to spot their enemies.

However, despite his speed and skill, Mikasa wasn't going to let Levi do all the work. Moments after he took off, she did the same, leaping straight off the stairs, and after allowing herself to free fall for a bit, also firing off her hooks so she could swing round in the opposite direction, to catch the unprepared MPs in a perfect pincer attack.

But as she shot round the smoke like a speeding bullet, blades ready to cut through her foes like she had done so many times before, Mikasa felt a pit starting to grow in his stomach and one unrelated to g-forces being inflicted on her body.

Despite being ahead of her, Levi still hadn't shouted out how many MPs there were like he was supposed to, and as far as Mikasa was concerned, there were only two possible reasons for that. One was that the stubborn gremlin of Captain had been killed before he even had the chance (which was about as likely as a baby beating him in a fistfight, and she would have the gunshots anyway) or... or there were no MPs to report.

Mikasa reeled herself in, landing hard on one of the pillars. She could hear the rest of the group filling through the door and the telltale hisses and thuds of 3DM gear being activated, but her gaze was firmly fixed a few columns over where Levi had come to a stop. Even from this distance, Mikasa could see the look of confusion on his face as his eyes darted around trying to spot opponents that just weren't there.

"Clear!" He shouted out after a second's hesitation, before catching her eye and pointing deeper into the cavern. "Ackerman, keep moving! Search and clear!"

She nodded and took off even as her stomach plummeted further down to her feet. The two of them flew past pillar after pillar, seeing nothing but shining blue stone, as they pushed further unknowingly heading (for Levi anyway) towards the altar where the founder had been passed down the Reiss line for generations.

But before that outcrop even came into view, Mikasa knew that anymore searching was pointless. Deep down she had known the truth from the moment Levi hadn't called out numbers.

The interior squad wasn't here.

That meant Kenny wasn't here.

That meant Rod wasn't here.

And that meant Eren wasn't here.

It was only them in this cave, and for perhaps the first time since she returned to the past, Mikasa had no idea what came next.

And yes that is a reference to a certain show, and I feel no shame for doing it.

Also since its been a while might as well mention some of my thoughts regarding snk atm. Firstly I guess big F in the chat for Hanji. Secondly, does anyone else just find this whole thing to be bizarre rn?
Like Eren's reasonings seem to be contradictory, on one hand, he is saying "I won't leave paradise to fate", then the very next line is basically "I'm leaving it up to you lot to decide." and on top of that, we have the nonsense "I won't take your freedom away." remark.
Now I understand the whole thing is on some level Yams just saying 'look we all want a big fight to happen even though Eren has pretty much god-like power and this is the reason why they can fight' but it still doesn't make sense. Eren happily took away their freedom and stopped them from fighting when he threw them in jail before activating the rumbling. And why would Eren allow Pieck, Reiner and Falco to shift? They are hardly his friends, so why is he giving them the option to fight? The only thing I can think of is that for whatever reason Eren wants all the nine titans to converge in one place.
Feel free to say I'm in denial or something but it just seems really weird to me.

Can I just say thank you all for the feedback for the last chapter. Its only been a few hours but so far all the comments and reviews have been positive and supportive, and its certainly remotivated me after the nervous wreck I was in before lol.