"One can only take so much before they break…like when younger siblings do 'the almost touch' to you, eventually you're gonna snap and hit them 'round the head…course then, you're in trouble for it"-Edith M. Brown Diary, 850
Spring 850
Rose Courthouse, Stohess District
Down in the main courtyard, Edith helped to hitch up the two horses to the wooden cart, securing the two in their place as Eren, Armin and Mikasa readied the supplies within. Night had fallen by the time they had finally been given the go ahead to set out and assist in the fight against the Titans within Wall Rose.
She gripped tight to one of the leather straps of the horse's harness as a jolt of pain laced through her head. Thankfully the nap beforehand had helped with the migraine, reducing it down to a small annoying headache that was easily ignored with other things on her mind.
And things there were; memories of times long passed now took root in her mind. At first she had thought she had just been dreaming, a nightmare. But the more she thought about it, the more things started to make sense. First off there was the odd brand on her chest, then there was the fact that there hadn't been images of her as a child between the ages of 2 and 8 in her home in Shiganshina; like she had never been there to begin with.
There was also the familiarity in which she had fought the Spriggan and how she had known that that is what he was. So many little instances that had seemed out of place before, ones that she had just chalked down to muscle memory or coincidence were now fitting into place.
Then there were the newer discoveries. Whilst she had cleaned herself up and redressed in her uniform earlier in the evening, she noticed her hair had grown redder in its tone and she could've sworn her eyes had also taken a red hue at one point; but when she had blinked it was gone.
The most alarming thing that had happened was when she went to wrapped her bruised and scabbing knuckles, hurt from her earlier ministrations in the courtyard. Only when she looked down, there were no scabs, no bruises instead the skin was perfectly healed and her veins seemed to glow an ethereally red as she inspected them. Edith hadn't had time to examine any further.
The sound of Eren's complaints soon broke her out of her thoughts. "Great, is somebody explain to me what this means?" Eren sat down next to Mikasa on the left-hand side of the wagon.
"I don't know" Armin answered coming to stand at the back of the wagon "But they're Titans, right? They'd break a Wall with Titans in it?"
"Wouldn't be the first time. It's how they got into Shiganshina"
"That was a gate"
"Armin, what exactly are you getting at?" Mikasa asked looking around Eren towards the blonde.
"The Walls are different, there are no signs of stress, cracks, no crevices in the rocks. We can't really tell how they were constructed. Suppose they're built with the same stuff Annie incased herself in, must be versatile material and we know it's virtually indestructible"
"So the Walls…are made of Titans? Eren breathed.
Some time later, when all the remaining Scouts had gathered and the last of the soldiers were just trickling in, finding their spots in the formation. Most of the rookies were mounted on their horses, surrounding the wagon in which Mikasa, Eren and Armin sat. In turn, Edith stood waiting with her arms crossed at the back of the wagon, so that she could latch the back panel when the last of the passengers arrived, before taking her place at the reins.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Took longer to prepare than I thought" Hanji chirped as she, Levi and Pastor Nick finally arrived.
"He's a…he's a priest from the Order of the Walls!" Armin stammered as the trio approached.
"I know! Ole Nick and me are thick as thieves" Hanji laughed, "Makes about as much sense for him to be here as much as the rest of us. We're…random"
"No on the contrary, Erwin's thrown us together for a reason" Levi corrected getting into the wagon.
"Whose driving this thing?" Hanij asked, looking around when she saw that the space up front was empty.
"I am" Edith replied, making the Wallist flinch slightly when she announced herself.
"No! I refuse to board a vessel of the heathen! Begone, vile demon! Let the Lord take me, before I step into the den of the beast!" the Pastor cried gesturing wildly, almost hitting Levi in the face (who was trying to board the wagon) as he did so.
"Would you let me do the honours then, Pastor? I would gladly send you to your Lord myself" Edith smirked, her tone turning sickly sweet as her gaze narrowed on the tall man before her. Behind her, Levi raised an eyebrow at the response while Hanji merely ran a hand down her face in exasperation.
Instead of a quick and witty response like Edith was expecting, the Pastor turned around and started spouting verses from the Order of the Walls to support his argument. "…Why do you boast in evil, O mighty one? The goodness of our God endures continually…Your tongue devises destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, speaking lies rather than righteousness…devour words with your deceitful tongue. The almighty God shall likewise destroy you forever more; he shall pick you out of your dwelling place and uproot you from the land of the living"[Psalm 51:02-05]
"Is this guy for real?" Eren muttered behind her as Edith took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check before she replied in turn, preaching her own verses from the Order of Ymir.
"…Abstain from the useless wrangling of men with their corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that Godliness is a means of gain. From such, withdraw yourself" [Sina 06:06]
What followed next was a battle of wills and faiths as each of them spouted a verse, trying to top the other in their show of faith."…In the beginning there was the Wall and the Wall was with God and the Wall was God…all things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made. In Him was life and the light of blessed men…"[Eld 1:1,3-4] Pastor Nick retorted, pulling himself up to his full height as he towered over her.
"…In his desperation the man fell prey to the lies of the False God…he named them divine creatures, those wantonly bastards…how typical that he shall place himself atop the pyre, least he be the last to burn"[Psalm 66:06] Edith puffed out her chest as she replied, her voice turning from its sickly sweet tone to a purr as she watched a look of panic pass through the Pastor's eyes.
He didn't get a time to stutter out an answer as Hanji seemed to have reached her wits end. "Alright, that's enough jabber outta you two. Nick, get in" Hanji shoved the taller man into the wagon, sitting him down next to Levi before following after him. Edith then turned to push the back panel up with a grunt and latched it shut before make her way round to the front, all the while muttering under her breath about 'the damn pissy Wallist'.
"Uh, what was that?" Eren asked as the trio settled themselves in their seats, Hanji and the Pastor across from them and Edith at the reins. The others seemed to wondering the same thing as their confusion remained plastered to their faces.
"…Everyone has their own faiths, Eren" Hanji sighed when Edith made no attempt to reply as the call for the gate to be opened rang out.
"The status of Wall Rose is unclear. But everything up to Ehrmich is safe, that's the route we'll be taking. Let's move out!" Erwin commanded, taking the lead.
"Yes, sir!" the Scouts chorused.
"You heard 'em" Levi commented.
"Sir!" Edith replied, flicking the reins and setting the horses in motion.
"This whole time Titans had been protecting us from other Titans…even now, it's still surreal"-Trials of a Rookie, Armin Arlert
"Wait, wait. Back up, you're joking right? You mean this guy knew this whole time? He knew and kept quiet?" Eren demanded, unable to believe what he had just heard.
"Uh huh, afraid so. Just about sums are where we are with him" Hanji replied "Cats out of the bag now of course. He's not willing to talk yet but we'll see how he feels after a harsh dose of reality. Faith keeps him quiet, firsthand experience though?"
"To hell with that!" Eren cried leaping to his feet, "We're doing this backwards, if there's something this bastard knows, he needs to come out with it! Humanity's on the brink of extinction and all you care about is keeping your oath?"
"Hey! Take it easy, you're still not fully recovered" Mikasa scolded as Eren fell back with a hand clutched to his pounding head.
"There's more than one way to get at the truth" Levi stated, cocking the gun within his blazer and digging it into Nick's ribs. "Granted, I may not be in top form at the moment but it doesn't take much strength to squeeze the trigger. That said, I'm genuinely hoping I won't have to blow a hole in you to settle this. How about you?"
"Threatening him won't work, Levi. Trust me on that" Hanji interjected dispassionately.
"You could always throw him off the Wall again" Edith smirked from up the front, her tone oozing smugness.
"What?" Eren squawked at the comment.
"Agree with him or not, there's no denying our priest here is a man of principle" Hanji continued, ignoring Edith's comment though her cheeks coloured slightly. "Which of course leads me to wonder, if he's so unwilling to talk what in heaven's name do you imagine could he be putting above the fate of humanity?"
"Hey Four-Eyes, since when are you a geologist? Or are rocks just that fascinating? Looks like you're about to drool" Levi commented as they passed through the darkening woods, their way lit by the flicker torches and lanterns that each rider held.
"What? This?" Hanji questioned, gesturing to the blue Titan crystal in her hands. "It's not a rock, not an ordinary one anyway. It's a hardened piece of skin left behind by the Female Titan"
"Huh? It didn't vanish?" Armin exclaimed.
"No, this random fragment broke off when Annie reverted back to her human form. It didn't evaporate and simply go poof! So that got me thinking and when I compared it to a sliver of the Wall, it's texture and composition were, for all intents and purposes, virtually identical. In plain terms, we're hemmed in by a barrier of enormous Titans. If my hypothesis is correct, the surface was constructed using consolidated Titan skin"
"You're kidding me, that's what Armin was trying to say" Mikasa breathed.
"…So then-"Armin began to say, realisation dawning on his face as Hanji leapt forth and slapped a hand over his mouth, preventing any words from coming out, much to his surprise.
"Easy now, it's rude to steal someone else's thunder" She laughed "As it stands, we'd be hard pressed to find a rock to plug Wall Rose; it'd have to be just the right shape in size and we don't even have the specifics yet. But on the other hand, where there's a will, there's a way. Picture Eren, utilising his hardening ability while in Titan form"
"I could…patch the hole" Eren muttered, eyes wide.
"Well, the sealing should be composed of the same material and the harden crystal won't dissolve once he changes back, it'll be less of a long shot than it sounds. Thoughts?"
"I hate to be the negative Nancy" Edith interjected over her shoulder, "But do we even know if Eren can crystallise? I mean, he's never done it before, nor has he shown any signs of doing so"
"Well, anything worthwhile incurs a little risk. If we can manage to patch up Wall Rose, Wall Maria starts to look fairly promising" Armin replied.
"Vital as it is, the outpost infrastructure slows us down to a crawl, the time and resources needed to transport materials are immense. But if supply wagons don't have to be accommodated, we can make our way to Shiganshina much faster…and what if we decided to carry out our plan in the dead of night?" Armin continued, thinking aloud as he went.
"Night?" Hanji questioned.
"Yes, when the Titans are effectively motionless"
"…That's not bad, in fact it's genius particularly if the group is small enough to slip by undetected" Hanji glanced down at the crystal once more, "The straits we're in are as dire as they come, but there might just be the tiniest bit of slack"
"Yeah, just bare in mind though, the whole plan hinges on whether or not Eren can seal a hole again"
"It's probably unfair of me to even ask, but do you think you can?"
"What he thinks isn't really the issue" Levi interjected as Eren thought over the question, "You either will or you won't. That's the reality, our comrades are breaking their backs, but without you it's nothing. Failure isn't an option"
"Sir! I know, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes, that's a promise. My father's cellar, that's where the answers are; if there's a grain of truth in anything he told me, everything depends on us making it there" Eren replied as the Scouts crossed the border into Ehrmich.
Spring 850
Main Road, Ehrmich District
Absentmindedly, Edith began to sing the 'Queen Ymir' hymn under her breath; the very one that was sung during her inducement as a Herald all those years ago. Levi tried his best to ignore the rookie and Nick's shoulders tensed at the song or the view, he wasn't sure. Probably a combination of both.
Take the hunger inside you
Banish it in the cold
Your flesh to eat
Your soul to keep
The Dark Lord shall behold
Queen Ymir we extol
She stood shrouded in the dark tunnel as she watched Levi introduce Pastor Nick to the 'horrors' of reality. "No one said stop" Levi kicked the Pastor as he paused in the entranceway of the tunnel leading from the courtyard to the main road. "A rolling stone gathers no moss"
Why do I even have to be here? Edith thought as she crossed her arms and watched Levi force the Pastor to take in the reality of the situation. Why couldn't it have been Armin or Jean? Or even Mikasa, if they wanted someone scary.
In the winter of misery
Hail Ymir blessed be, tied by the sword
Praise our Dark Lord
And saved our sovereignty
Queen Ymir let us bleed
"This is…" Nick trailed as he watched the refugees trudge down the road, their only possessions strapped to their person and crying children clutched close by.
"Maybe you expected it to be something quaint" Levi taunted over his shoulder, "This is what happens when the Walls give" Nick made to move back into the tunnel, away from the people when Levi placed a hand on his shoulder, locking him in place.
We rejoice in the feast
In the name of the beast
And honour Ymir the mother
Who paid the price through sacrifice
And saved the Titan Nine
"Take it in, Holy man. These are the faces of the human beings who have lost everything they ever had, human beings you and your kind have abandoned incidentally. Hard to look at, I imagine, but if the Church had its way, this would be all of us. Titans would come in and make a feast of us, consuming man, woman and child; all humanity digested as one"
Praise Mother Ymir for our sacred feast
Praise Holy Ymir your soul now released
Praise Goddess Ymir!
Reside, reside, reside
Reside with the beast!
The faint singing of the hymn sounded eerie in the quiet against the backdrop of the refugees. Nick couldn't help the fear that enveloped him as he turned to face the two Scouts that had accompanied him, there was Levi who stood with a dark expression on his face as he watched the procession of refugees move down the street.
Then there was the Faery, Edith, who stood blanketed by the darkness of the tunnel, leaving only her bright eyes staring at him as they shined in the torchlight. Combined with the ghostly singing of the hymn, it gave off the feeling of a demonic beast; one that did nothing to suppress the years of tales about those creatures.
Back in the main courtyard, the trio met up with Hanji and the other rookies in tow. "So? Seen the light then, by any chance?" Hanji asked. Nick merely looked down at his feet with a sad expression upon his face, but his lips were firmly sealed shut. "OH GOD DAMMIT! MAKE UP YOUR MIND! THIS ISN'T SOME SPIRITUAL TEST, THERE ARE LIVES ON THE LINE!"
"Alas, I have no choice. Neither myself, nor the others who believe are at liberty to divulge the truth"
"FAT LOT OF HELP YOU ARE! THANKS FOR KEEPING US COMPANY, IT'S BEEN FUN!" Hanji roared in response.
"I'd offer my help if I could, but a duty as great as this one if beyond me. The Order of the Walls abides by the sacred will out faith commands us to obey"
"Whose sacred will? You mean like God's or something?"
"I can't answer that. But what I can do, is provide you with a name, an individual that the sacred will and its divine mist instructed us to watch over and monitor"
"Monitor?"
"It's a person you know, someone who enlisted with the Scout regiment as of this year. A child by the name of Krista Lenz"
"Huh?" the rookies gasped.
"And with that, we come to the end of what I am free to share with you. I leave the rest in your capable hands"
"But…but if she's in the 104th cadet corps, that means she's on the frontlines by now" Hanji breathed at the realisation.
"Then let's go! There's no time to lose!" Eren declared as he turned from the group and made to go dress himself in the spare ODM gear by the door. Only he ended up in a tangled pile on the floor with Sasha who had appeared rather suddenly.
"Sasha?" Eren asked as he untangled himself from the girl.
"Where did you come from?" Mikasa asked, peering over Eren's shoulder.
"I was sent…to give a message to Commander Erwin, who in turn entrusted me to deliver it to you, Captain!" Sasha panted, clutching to a sealed scroll in her hands which she held out to Hanji.
"Oh, uh, okay then. Excellent work" Hanji murmured as she took the scroll from the tired girl and replaced it with a steaming potato.
Nick latched a hand onto Hanji's elbow, catching her from moving to dress herself in the spare ODM gear like the rookies were currently doing. "What?" Hanji asked, searching his blank face for any clue.
"I cannot divulge anymore information, least I invoke the wrath of the divine" Nick stated, Hanji rolled her eyes at the repeated information, "But if you want more answers, ask the Faery" Hanji and Levi glanced over to where Nick had nodded at Edith who was checking her gas canisters, unaware of their stares.