"Why does the past always wanna pop up…and slap me across the face?…Why not have it written down all nice, neat and tidy?…Did I piss off a God[dess] in a past life or something?"-Edith M. Brown Diary, 850
"The Walls stood for a century, a bastion of peace and security. Gone was the terror of living at their mercy, mankind had acclimated to living like cattle…then the Titans breached what we had long taken for granted and the fight for humanity's survival had begun.
Death reigned claiming soldiers and civilians alike, the casualties were staggering, staggering too was the hard-won knowledge that the Titans were hiding among our own…Five years after the first Wall fell, we successfully captured one of these creatures alive, a fellow solider, Annie Leonhart.
And yet even as the smoke of battle cleared, the next threat was already close at hand. Despite the forces who had hidden the knowledge from all, what the Scouts found would change the tides forever…"-Trials of a Rookie, Armin Arlert
Spring 850
Wall Rose, Stohess District
Mutterings of surprise rippled through the Scouts gathered at the base of Wall Rose as they stared up at the Wall with undisguised shock and horror. "Holy shit…" Edith breathed as she stared up at the cracked Wall, unable to move.
"Holy fuck! What is that?" Someone demanded pointing towards the portion of Wall that had fallen away to reveal a sleepy Titan within.
"It's a Titan!"
"In the Wall? Impossible!"
The mutterings of the stationary group had caught Hanji's attention and she ran over to see what was going on. It didn't take long for her to join her comrades in staring up at the Titan in the Wall with horrified eyes. "Captain, your orders?" Moblit asked.
"Uh, well, I'm not sure" She stammered. Is…is this just a coincidence? Or…oh no! Surely it doesn't mean…!
Hanji was broken from her thoughts by the hand landing on her shoulder. She jumped at the sudden contact, spinning around to face the Wallist who stood panting next to her. He looked as if he had just run a marathon, he was panting so hard. Pastor Nick? Hanji thought, recognising the man.
"Listen to me…whatever else you do, DON'T LET SUNLIGHT TOUCH IT!"
"The Titans within the Walls remain shrouded in mystery. They appear to have created the Walls from a substance resembling that of the Female Titan's crystal…The clergymen of the Church of Walls seem to know more, but remain steadfast in their refusal to disclose any more information…"-Declassified Information: Titan Crystal, Zoe Hanji.
Following the words of the Wallist, they had for the time being, covered the Wall exposing the Titan with a patchwork of sheets and cloth. Further measure were to be taken after sundown, but for now it would do. In turn, the Military Police (or at least, those who had survived) were set to work cleaning the streets of every last corpse. There was a lot to do and very little time to do it.
Up on the Wall top, Edith stood off to the side, staring out over Stohess and taking in the destruction Annie and Eren had caused. So many dead, so much damage, for what? Annie to crystallise herself and find out that Titans were hidden inside the Walls? Well, she supposed at least something came from it.
Her gaze returned to the two stood at the edge of the Wall, overlooking Stohess. Her eyes narrowed at the man who sat huddled near the lip, he looked ready to fall down and she was all too happy to give him a push. Edith's thoughts were filled with hatred for this man, sure she had never met him personally before, at least as far as she could remember, but it had been a Wallist in the same uniform who had killed her mother, so for all she knew it could've been him. And so she felt that her hatred was justified.
She could never remember the man's name, but she knew that the snivelling, grovelling man before her was part of the same crowd and therefore deserved the same punishment as all the rest. She gripped tight to her folded arms as her thoughts ran wild in their hatred, her lips pulled back in a slight snarl. How dare they withhold information from us? How dare they think themselves better than us! Snivelling bastard can't even face what he has done! All he needs is a little push, just one little push and let him fall down, down, down! Let him join the others, may his soul rot in Hell!
"Alright, you wanna tell me what's going on?" Hanji calmly demanded answers from the pastor, pulling Edith from her thoughts. "Why a Titan? What's the purpose? What on earth's the point of having one hidden inside the Wall? And you chose to keep it a secret! I need answers and I'm gonna need them right now!" Hanji waited for the priest to finish praying before he rose to his feet and turned on the Scout.
He made to speak to Hanji, but his gaze caught the furious scowl of Edith behind her. If looks could kill, he would have been six feet under. However, that's not what caught his attention. The sheerness of her shirt allowed for the hazy image of her branding to be seen through it, especially now since she had shed her cloak.
Nick grew pale-faced and took a step or two back before his face screwed up in anger and he began to shout, pointing at the rookie. "INFIDEL! HEATHEN! YOU DARE BESMIRCH THE HOLY GIFT OF THE WALLS?! HOW DARE YOU?!" He roared. Hanji turned in confusion towards the furious rookie at which he was pointing.
"Oi, Edith! Get over here!" she ordered and so it was the Edith reluctantly made her way over to the pair with Moblit on her heels. Hanji made to speak again, but Nick cut over her in his anger.
"HOW DARE YOU DISGRACE THE MIGHTY GIFT OF THE DIVINE ARCHITECT?! REMOVE YOURSELF AT ONCE, YOU DIRTY HEATHEN! RETURN TO THE HELL FROM WHICH YOU CRAWLED, HELL SPAWN!" Nick thundered with spit flying and gesturing to the brand now clearly seen though her shirt.
Like many of the Rookies, Edith had shed her tan jacket earlier in the day leaving her in a tan blouse and ODM gear, under the guise of answering the summons to the Capital and the possibility of being a witness at Eren's trial. The shirt she wore however, was made of a somewhat sheer material which meant her Faery brand could be seen through the hazy material. Not that that was intentional, it just happened to be one of Edith's only clean shirts left; it was one of her best shirts after all.
Edith merely crossed her arms tightly over her chest and pulled her lips back in a snarl. The growl that sounded from the back of her throat and peeled through her lips seemed to frighten the older man as he took a step back from the Scouts, trembling slightly as shuffled ever closer to the edge. The animalistic reply that Edith had given appeared to have surprised both Hanji and Moblit who jolted and stared open-mouthed at her respectively.
"I don't have time for this nonsense, I'm a busy man. My flock has been devastated, I demand restitution! Do you know who I am? Let me down from here this instant!" Pastor Nick demanded trying to regain control of the situation as teetered dangerously on the edge.
"Careful Pastor, it would be…terrible if something were to happen to you" Edith spat venomously. Hanji and Moblit shared a glance at the rookie's comment, before silently deciding to put a pin in it for now.
"If that's what you want" Hanji leapt forward, gripping tight to Nick's habit, dangling him out over the edge of the Wall. The only thing that kept him safe was Hanji's tight grip. "Will straight down do the trick?" Hanji tried to ignore the way that Edith's eyes lit up at the idea of dropping the Pastor over the edge of the Wall, there was some serious feud between those two and she was going to find out what.
"Captain!" Moblit protested, used to Hanji's eccentric nature but not to this extent. The other Scouts that occupied the Wall top all leapt to their feet, afraid of what Hanji might do. Sure the guy was a grade A asshole, but did he really need to be dropped from Wall?
"Hold!" Hanji ordered the Scouts, still holding Nick out over the precept "Let me ask you something, do you have any concept of how many Scouts have laid down their lives fighting these monsters? MORE THAN YOU CAN COUNT! THEY DIED FIGHTING FOR YOUR FREEDOM! I WAS WITH THEM, I WAS WILLING TO LAY DOWN MY OWN LIFE! Now you can explain or you can take the plunge, your choice. I can always move on to the next blowhard, matter of fact they probably know more than you anyway, why am I bothering?"
"Let…me go! Unhand me!"
"That's kinda what I had in mind"
"Do it!"
"Don't try to call my bluff"
"Please don't!" Moblit cried.
"YOU THINK I'M AFRAID TO DIE IN THE SERVICE, FOR MY BELIEF? WE FULFIL OUR DUTY WHATEVER THE COST! I DON'T CARE!" Nick let go of Hanji's wrist, spreading his arms wide, "THE LORD IS MY SHEPARD! LET HIS LOYAL SERVANT FALL!…God…grant release" Nick preached. Hanji didn't move for a moment, her eyes narrowed as she tightened her grip on the Pastor.
"Fine, have it your way" she spoke calmly, releasing her hold on him. He fell parallel down the Wall, his cries of terror filling the air despite his earlier words.
"Captain!" Moblit practically wailed running to the edge of the Wall and looked down to see the Pastor falling end over end as passed the cloth-covered Titan.
There he goes! Edith thought happily, Good riddance!
"Edith, fetch" Hanji ordered with her arms crossed as she stared down at the falling man after having waited for a few moments. The somewhat disturbing look of pure joy that had inhabited Edith's face soon gave way to the scowl she had worn before. The rookie bit her lip as she ignored the order, a tenseness forming in her shoulders as she watched the Wallist fall towards his death.
"Brown, go" Hanji repeated much to Edith's disgust. She balled her hands into white-knuckled fists as she fought to keep the snarl off of her lips. Let the bastard die, there's plenty more. She thought venomously, trying to ignore the heated gaze directed at her. Eventually, she gave way under Hanji's stare and stepped off of the Wall with a low growl.
She didn't bother to use her ODM gear as she fell. Just as she passed the cloth-covered Titan, Edith pushed off of the Wall and flipped herself over so that she was falling head first, hatred-filled thoughts of just letting the Wallist fall crossed her mind, but she knew that she would probably be charged with treason or severely punished for disobeying a direct order.
Eventually coming within reach of the flailing man, she gripped tight to the collar of his habit despite his struggling protests. "Let me go, you heathen! You uncultured swine! The Lord has opened his arms to me!" he cried.
"Careful Pastor, a fall from this height wouldn't kill you. But it would cause severe pain, one so agonising that you're practically begging for death" Edith threatened, her voice sickly sweet. Thankfully the Pastor seemed to take the hint and kept blissfully quiet.
By this point, the pair had come level with the rooftops of the remaining bell towers and thinking quickly, Edith turned so that she now faced the Wall. Trusting her aim, Edith shot her wires as far as they would go, latching them into the lip of the Wall. She tightened her grip on Nick's collar as her wires pulled taut, launching the two back up the Wall. Edith tried to fight the smirk that grew on her lips at the startled yelp that escaped from Nick's mouth as they were yanked back upwards, using the recoil of the wires to return to others.
Once they had reached the top of the Wall once more, Edith ever so gracefully shoved Pastor Nick to the floor at Hanji's feet, where he lay with ashen face in a shaking, panting mess. It seemed all his screams of terror had worn him out. "Come on Pastor Nick, spill it" Hanji ordered, her tone going dark as she stood over the once proud man. "Are all the Walls made of Titans? Please tell me that much"
When she received no reply, Hanji turned with a sigh and sat down with her legs hanging over the edge of the Wall.
"Captain?" Moblit asked softly.
"Ugh! When was the last time I felt like this?" she questioned, talking more to herself than Moblit, "Wow, it must've been when I stepped outside the Walls for the first time. Talk about terrifying" Moblit went to say something, what he wasn't sure, something comforting perhaps? Instead, the sound of the bells tolling rang throughout the deserted city. But there were no Scouts on an expedition at that moment, which left only one option behind. It could only mean one thing, Titans were inside Wall Rose.
Spring 850
Rose Courthouse, Stohess District
Edith stood in the Rose courthouse courtyard absentmindedly swinging her ODM blade around as she took out her frustrations on the invisible targets around her. Thankfully, the courtyard (that was formed by the spare space between the adjoining buildings) was free, leaving her to do as she pleased. Someone would pass along the passageways above her from time to time, but she paid them no notice.
After the Titan alarm had sounded not too long ago, Edith had been escorted by Neil Williams back to the courthouse to give her report and receive her debrief. But now that that was done, she had plenty of time to fill and so much anger and frustration to get rid of. There was already a couple of holes here and there in the stone pillars that lined the courtyard from where she had just been so angry that she had landed a punch on the concrete, looking for some sort of release.
And did it help, kinda. But tearing apart imaginary Wallists? What wonders that did for the mind! With sweat on her brow and chest heaving, she swung harder, thrusting the blade deep in the belly of the imaginary opponent, narrowly missing the pillar next to her. Despite what she hoped, she knew that Hanji would want to know what her deal with the Wallist was; she just wasn't sure if she wanted to open that can of worms just yet. However, it looked like she might have to.
Edith spun around again, her blade held in front of her defensively as someone cleared their throat behind her. It was only when she realised that it was a withered old lady that she dropped her blade. For some reason had this feeling that she knew this old woman, or her face at least. Maybe she had seen her at the bazaar or something? Was she a merchant, maybe?
The woman before her wore her greying hair in loose bun atop her head, and her sharp eyes pierced out from underneath bushy brows. Taking in her appearance, she seemed to be drowning in her clothes; the long deep blue skirt she wore dragged against the ground as she moved and the brown leather vest she wore atop a pale blouse, paired with the tattered leather satchel slung over her shoulder depicted her as an interior civilian. But what was she doing in the courthouse?
"Oh, sorry Ma'am" Edith apologised, well aware that she probably looked a right mess.
"You're a medic, dear?" the old woman croaked, gesturing to the red cloth still tied around her upper arm.
"Uh, yes Ma'am"
"Could you help me, please? My shoulder's been giving me trouble lately, and I was hoping you could do something"
"Uh, sure. Let me see what I can do" She led the old woman over to a bench that sat underneath one of the many torches within an alcove. Here, they were out of the way and allowed Edith to proceed without any worry for being seen, should she need to have the old woman remove an item of clothing.
Whilst the old woman perched on one end of the bench, Edith practically straddled the other, trying to get as close to the old woman as possible so she could tend to her shoulder without the old woman feeling uncomfortable. "Just here?" Edith asked tilting her own head as she prodded the space between the shoulder and neck.
"A little lower" the old woman replied, slowly pulling her hand out of the bag at her hip.
"Here?" Edith tilted her own head a little more, unknowingly baring more of her neck to the woman who sat poised like a snake, waiting to strike.
"Perfect" the old woman purred, quickly slamming the syringe in her hand down on Edith's neck and injecting her with the glittery red substance that lay within.
Edith fell away from the woman with a yelp, clutching to the side of her neck where the syringe had been injected. "W-what did you do to me?" Edith demanded, her words slurring as she toppled to the side. The woman was quicker than she appeared, as she caught Edith before she hit the ground and laid her down on the bench. Whatever had been in the syringe had hit her quickly, Edith's vision grew fuzzy, her limbs weak and her tongue heavy; there was nothing she could do as the wily old woman continued in her ministrations.
The top buttons of her shirt were undone and a small folded piece of paper was tucked into the top of her bra, where it sat nestled between her breasts waiting to be read. Buttoning the shirt back up, the old woman knelt down so that her mouth was brushing Edith's ear, "Find the path and find your truth. Praise Ymir" she spoke, her voice turning sickly sweet with the smugness that filled her tone. It was through a darkening gaze that Edith watched the old woman rise and retreat from the courtyard, leaving Edith to slip into unconsciousness as if she had never been there at all.
When Edith next woke it was to a blinding migraine and foggy memories. Hauling herself upright with a groan, she held her aching head in her hands for a moment, taking deep breaths to ease the tension in her head. She stared unblinking down at her chest, feeling something uncomfortable hidden there; reaching down her shirt and between her breasts, she pulled out a small folded piece of paper. Unfolding the crips white piece of paper, she saw that it only held a single message, printed there in neat handwriting.
Prove Yourself
-S.H.
A jolt of pain ran through her head, making her clutch at it and grit her teeth in pain as she screwed her eyes shut. When she felt like her head and stomach had settled enough for her to move, she glanced around at her surroundings to see that she was hidden away in one of the alcoves that lines the courtyard at the Rose courthouse. She could tell it was Rose by all the ornamental roses and roses bushes that lined the place, lit up by the setting sun. Tacky much?
Taking a deep breath, Edith stood with a groan and after collecting her ODM gear, slowly made her way back to the room where she had been told the Armin, Eren, Mikasa and Jean were waiting for the time being.
Thankfully when she found the room, the only occupants were fast asleep. Mikasa had taken the bench next to the bed and was clasping tightly to the old red scarf in her hands, whilst Eren was laid out in the bed in the right-hand corner. The blue chaise that sat against the far wall was blissfully free, which Edith happily claimed.
She was barely conscious as she toed off her boots and grabbed the spare blanket that lay on the end of the bed; turning to the chaise, she practically fell face-first as she tucked herself underneath the woollen blanket and hoped that the darkness created by hiding under the blanket and the nap would allow her to be rid of this terrible migraine.
Blue skies soared high above the district as a Summer's breeze blew lazily through the streets. "Ugh, Eren! Another fight? Really?" his mother scolded as she went about hanging the washing on the line. A young Eren sat off to the side with a dark bruise forming on his cheek and a pout stuck on his face as he turned away from his mother.
"Yeah, well, I'm not the one who started it this time! Those jerks were making fun of me!" Eren defended as a young Mikasa joined the pair.
"Of course, did Mikasa come to your rescue again?" his mother drawled as Mikasa offered her help. "Thank you, dear"
"Eren, we don't throw punches at everyone whose mean to us" his mother scolded, scrubbing at the dirt that sat on his cheeks, "Being an adult means learning how to pick your battles. You want them to think that you're strong? Exercise restraint, try protecting Mikasa once and a while"
When Eren next woke, it was to a breeze drifting in through the open window. Righting himself with a groan, Eren glanced over to the side where he saw Mikasa hunched over on the bench next to him as she dozed. The red scarf that he had given her all those years ago, sat clutched in her lap, keeping her warm.
As he watched over her, he couldn't help but think about his mother's words from the dream. "Exercise restraint, try protecting Mikasa for once" Eren's gaze then drifted to the chaise behind her, where Edith now lay fast asleep with the spare blanket falling off of her and onto the ground.
Without thinking too much about it, he rose from the bed, stretching out his limbs as he did so and tip-toed over to where Edith lay, intending to pull the blanket back up over her. When he saw that her face twisted and scrunched up in pain as if she were having a nightmare, he instinctively pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, tucking her in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Memories of his mother doing the same for him and Mikasa when they were younger flitted through his mind as he stood once more. Eren watched as her face smoothed out, whatever she had been dreaming about seemingly gone as she snuggled deeper into the blanket tucked under her chin. Eren's thoughts drifted as he watched Edith sleep, and as creepy as it sounded, was completely innocent in its intentions. He couldn't help but fall back into the moments where he had interacted with Edith.
They hadn't known each other well in the beginning, barely interacting with each other at Bootcamp, aside from his almost constant trips to the infirmary. But slowly over time, they had developed a sort of sibling relationship, one that he now relished. She's almost like the older sister I never wanted. He thought as he remembered the days after the fall of Trost where they would make sure the other ate their meals; she had gone so far as to shove a roll in his mouth at one point, much like Mikasa had done when they had first arrived as refugees. Even to this day he would adamantly refuse to acknowledge that he had teared up at the action and the memory behind it.
There had also been the time where Edith had joined Squad Levi on a patrol, under the impression of collecting some medicinal herbs when they stopped for a break. And he in turn, was supposed to be practising control over his Titan. In the end, all that ended up happening was both he and Edith falling asleep underneath one of the large trees that had lined the area. Levi had been so irritated, it had almost been funny.
But the memory that stood out the most to him was the time he had been seated on one of the beds in the infirmary at the Old Scout HQ.
Spring 850
Infirmary, Old Scout HQ
Eren's hands were healing slowly after the latest experiment with his Titan, but he was still waiting for his hands to be bandaged. The other medics were all down in the mess hall for lunch, leaving Edith to man the station. He could only watched through gritted teeth as the irate Scout who had called her away, ridiculed her treatment of him.
"…This is absolute bullshit! You said that these stitches would hold!" the Scout exclaimed loudly gesturing wildly to the bloody shirt he wore; it was clear that the previous stitches he was referring to had split open. Thankfully, Edith had been able to patch the man up when he had come hurrying in, but now he was just being an ass.
Edith breathed though her nose as she tried to keep her temper in check. Pissy patients would drive anyone up the wall. "I said that the stitches would hold, BUT you shouldn't perform any strenuous activities in the mean time, while you healed" she explained with a fake smile plastered to her face.
"What are you trying to say? Huh? That I did this to myself? Maybe you're just shit at your job!" The man seemed to pick up steam, cutting over any attempts Edith made to reply, "Enjoy it while it lasts, I'm gonna make sure you never so much as touch a needle again!" he declared before turning on his heel and leaving the room.
Edith let out a harsh breath before returning to Eren with a roll of gauze in her hands and began bandaging his own. She worked in silence for a few moments, the previous situation clearly taking its toll on her by the way her shoulders remained tensed as she worked.
Eren felt this overwhelming need to protect Edith, to track that Scout down and teach him what it meant to insult a medic, his big sister. That thought made him pause, Wait, when did he start thinking of her as his sister? It wasn't that he minded of course, it was just unexpected.
"Hey, Edith?" Eren asked softly staring down at their hands as she worked.
"Hm?" she questioned.
"Are you okay? That guy…" Her hands paused in their movements as she heaved a sigh.
"…It's fine, all part of the job, y'know"
"But he yelled at you…"
"Yeah, I know" Her hands resumed tying off the ends of the gauze, tucking them away, "I suppose their are some days when you're taking their blood pressure and you want to keep squeezing and squeezing until their step eyes pop out of their stupid heads!"
She had picked up steam as she ranted, ending with a glint in her eye that she usually only got when she talked about alchemy or during training. The morbid comment had startled a laugh out of him at the thought, as he pictured the Scout's eyes popping like tiny balloons.
A soft thump sounded behind Eren, making him turn. The scarf that Mikasa had held had slipped onto the floor when she shifted. He bent to retrieve it as he remembered the first time he had given her that scarf. "Oh" Mikasa breathed when she turned and saw Eren standing in the middle of the room.
"It fell. Here" he stated, holding out the scarf to her which she thankfully took from him. "Get some sleep, you've gotta be tired"
"No, I'm okay" she replied softly, folding the scarf back up.
"That thing's seen better days"
"Mm"
"I'll grab you a new one, if I can find any with the supplies"
Images flashed in front of Edith's eyes too fast to see, but she was still able to catch glimpses of things here and there as they passed. A nun in front of a blackboard, rows upon rows of girls in varying colours of brown, green and red skirts, large fish tanks hidden beneath a secret trap door, an image of a red glittering stone, a cavern completely engulfed in glistening blue crystal; even the bazaars of Shiganshina.
There was a particular emphasis on the images containing the crystal catacombs, the red stone and the Shiganshina bazaars. Those memories seemed to be set on repeat, looping over and over again.
The odd thing was that despite these looping memories, there was no noise. Nothing from the chirping birds that nested in the gutters along the Shiganshina bazaars, nor the echoing of her footsteps in the large catacombs. Not even the sound of bubbles escaping her mouth as she sat floating in the large tank at the end of the row, shrouded slightly in darkness.
No, wait. That was a lie. There was a noise, just two words that had been stuck on repeat. "Prove yourself" It almost seemed like the words were merging together, making them sound unreal and alien.
Suddenly everything stopped. No more flashing images, no more looping mantras. All was quiet in the black. Edith let out a breath of relief at the sudden peace, intending to slip further into sleep. However her plans were thwarted when a small white figure appeared across from her. In the darkness, it stood out like a sore thumb, the whiteness of their figure illuminating everything around them.
Slowly the figure raised its head, seemingly staring at her despite the featureless face it wore. A creepy grin spread from ear to ear, giving her the chills. Without warning, the figure launched themselves at Edith, jumping across the large space in a matter of seconds, and wrapped their one flesh-coloured hand and one blinding white hand around her head.
"REMEMBER YOUR TRUTH!" the figure cried, gripping tight as a blinding pain lit up Edith's head. It felt like she was on fire and drowning in ice all at once. A guttural scream ripped itself out of her throat as a wall she didn't know she had inside her head, broke. And then all at once, she remembered.
Edith jolted upright with a heaving chest and sweat on her brow as the door to the room burst open, revealing Armin. "EREN! MIKASA! EDITH! THEY'VE BROKEN THROUGH WALL ROSE! THE TITANS THEY'RE COMING!"