All of the groups got closer. We made our way more towards the center to get Hassam as far in as we could so he could speak. We would have to go about this differently than last time. My power needed to be present strong enough to rip a bullet out of the air and stop it from hitting it but not enough to affect anyone else. It was going to be hard to pull off, but it was one of our only shots. Levi and Pixis were also on standby in case my power failed. They were our backup plan which is why we were all in a group with Hassam. We had planned that if my power failed Levi would try and catch the bullet with his power, but in case he couldn't Pixis was going to put a shield around Hassam.

We have never done anything like this before. It's one thing to stop a bullet you know is coming, but one that might never come? If it does we don't know when or where it will be coming from. Our backup plan only works if the person shooting doesn't have a silencer on their gun. Hassam knew the risks and still offered to stand up and speak.

My power had a slight backup plan. If I couldn't make a strong enough one to stop the bullet completely then I would make one that would change the trajectory towards the sky, but even that wasn't a guarantee.

We did have more than one backup plan, but nothing that was guaranteed to work. While Hassam was talking the other groups are to get closer to us and be as close to him as possible so if any of them need to step in they can.

Hanji to heal if needed, Mikasa, Annie, and Sasha's double to jump in front of him if needed. Connie, if he noticed the gunshot in time to pluck the bullet out of the air or move Hassam to safety before anyone knows what happened. Erwin in case we needed to make a quick escape. Hitch in case she needs to blind the crowd from our powers for a moment. Hanna and Shadis if they see someone near us that might be dangerous to Hassam.

This is just assuming that they use a gun if they use something else then we might be a little unprepared. Hassam had mentioned that if someone recognized him beforehand they could inject him with a syringe while hiding in the crowd. This is why we are keeping a lookout for anything suspicious. There were so many other ways they could probably get to him that we couldn't predict, but that's why we have to be ready for anything.

When we got far enough in I tapped Hassam twice on the shoulder letting him know we were far enough in that he could lead us to where he needed to go. He nodded and found where some familiar faces were and pointed them out. "There, we need to head that way."

Of course dead center standing on the car in front of all of the crowd I should have guessed. I nodded and Pixis sent a quick text to the other group's burners telling them where to move. We started making our way and when we got close enough the person on the car jumped down and quickly ran over to us. "Hassam! You're here! We haven't heard from you in a few days and we thought something had happened." When the man pulled him in for a hug my body tensed up and I was about to try and separate them when I saw Hassam's and behind his back giving us a thumbs up. This was someone he trusted.

"No, I'm okay, but I need to speak if you could help," Hassam said and the person instantly let him go.

"Right, here," he said, grabbing his hand and leading him through the few people and over to the dented and damaged car they were using as a stage. We kept up with him despite bumping into a few people. We gave quick apologizes and tried to keep our heads low trying to avoid causing a scene or drawing too much attention.

His friend helped him into the car before addressing the crowd, "everyone listen up and get your phones out. This is my good friend Hassam, and he has been getting information straight from some exiles and the stories he's brought back with him is the raw truth that the government has been hiding from everyone," he said introducing him and getting everyone's eyes on Hassam. Great I mean we need that, but at the same time, we don't need it. The second he finished he backed up a little, letting him have some space to speak.

Looking around it was a sea of cameras pointed directly at Hassam. That's the fastest way to get our message out there and spread around. The problem is that is also the quickest way to get Hassam moved up on the hit list.

I took a breath and tried to put my power into place. The first plan wasn't going as expected. The gravity field was definitely affecting the surrounding areas. I noticed it as Hassam stumbled on the car in the direction of the gravity field. I dropped it knowing it wasn't going to work. Well plan B, change the trajectory. I know this one will work, but directing it will be hard. I have to make sure it's not going to send a rogue bullet into the crowd, but rather in the air angled towards the left of Hassam where there was a building rather than people. The only problem is if the bullet comes from that side then it won't change the trajectory instead it will send the bullet into the crowd behind us.

"Maybe we should just have Pixis put a shield around him and see if Hitch can block it from everyone's views," Levi whispered quietly into my ear. I could barely hear him over the crowd.

No, Hitch has used her powers too much and an illusion that big will fail rather quickly. I answered him mentally. Maybe if I just make a second gravity field further over in case of that possibility I could get the bullet to redirect through the second one.

"But you don't know where it would come out from," Levi whispered again.

I know, but it's our best shot at the moment. I took a breath and tried to do the mental math of how a bullet would react to the gravity field already set up and put another gravity field in the direction I assumed the bullet would travel.

"Now we wait," Levi whispered. I could feel the anxiety he was feeling from this and I can't say that I didn't feel it too. I mean this was risky. Hassam was putting his life in our hands and he knew the risks, but still. If we let him die here today I will never forgive myself.

"I mean we don't even know if something will happen," Levi tried to calm me down and get me out of my head.

I can feel it, something is definitely going to happen. It's not an if it's a when. I kept my eyes bouncing around scanning the crowd, the nearby buildings, everything.

Hassam had started speaking. If I wasn't too focused on his safety I would have probably cried hearing him talk about Ilsa.

"Ilsa was just a young girl, all she wanted was to be a journalist, she just wanted to help people learn the truth, and in a way she is doing that, sadly it's through her death. She never made it because one night the government broke into her house and kidnapped her-." I had to tune out what he was saying. The tightening in my chest hurt too much to listen to any more of it. I didn't need to listen, I know what comes next, I lived it. I don't need to relive the pain.

I took a calming breath and turned back towards the crowd. Making my focus anywhere but on what he was saying.

The longer he spoke the more anxious I got. Something was coming, something had to be coming, right? I mean all this anxiety, the extreme guard presence, something was off. This isn't just paranoia, this isn't just paranoia, this isn't jus- is it? Could we have been wrong?

The longer he spoke the more unsure I felt. I mean nothing has happened yet, he just brought up the camps. You think if they wanted to stop him they would have done so already, right?

"You're overthinking this," Levi said, giving me a quick nudge with his elbow. "Clear your mind and focus. Panic, scrambled thoughts, that's not going to help anything."

I nodded and took another calming breath. He's right. If something is coming I need to be clear-headed, and if nothing happens then that would be great. Sure enough the second I thought that a bullet whizzed past Hassam. It got caught in the fields and surprisingly they worked, but not exactly how I would have wanted. It came from the right side for the first field I placed, but because I placed the second one instead of getting embedded in the concrete pillar of the building higher up it ended up lower towards the ground, narrowly missing some protesters. It hit the building just above their heads.

Everyone froze not knowing what had happened. There was no gunshot, just the flash of the bullet passing. I assumed there would be mass panic, but there wasn't. People were still trying to figure out what had happened. From where the bullet was from it was definitely from a sniper.

I expected us all to get the hell out of here, Hassam had said plenty, but now things were getting dangerous, but it seemed he had other plans.

"Everyone get down!" Hassam yelled out, "The government is trying to silence me, they don't want you knowing about the camps and the horrible things they did. Too bad for them, I'm not afraid of some bullets, I'm going to keep talking but all of you should take cover. They are aiming at me, not you. Whatever you do, don't panic, that will just trample people." he said informing the crowd making sure everyone knew what was going on.

Instantly everyone ducked, some people started to head out as quickly but as carefully as they could. I was surprised to see so many people stand their ground and stay exactly where they were. Some people didn't even bother ducking the look on their faces saying that they weren't afraid. It shocked me to see how dedicated some of these people were. Now that I knew where the bullets were coming from I removed the other gravity field hoping that a second shooter wouldn't appear.

I saw Hassam's eyes go towards the direction of where the bullet came from, "You missed!" he declared proudly before continuing on. "As I was saying, the camps were out in the middle of nowhere. They were filled with people young and old, some were as young as 10 years old. They had children in these camps. They barely fed these people, and they tortured them until they died. They had a morgue in them. Some of these morgues were so filled with bodies that they were just stacked in the corners like they were trash."

Another bullet came from the same direction and he didn't seem phased as he kept talking. This time the bullet hit higher up on the building as I had initially planned. He kept explaining the way the camps were before bringing it back to Ilsa. "When they found their friend, she wasn't the same. They knew a girl so filled with life and a smile that was so radiant it was contagious. What they got was a shriveled broken shell of a girl who barely looked familiar to them. They had said that if she didn't show them where she was with her telepathy they might not have recognized her."

I had to hold back my tears as they stung at my eyes. Now wasn't the time for waterworks, right now we had to protect Hassam who was hellbent on getting this story out there. Even in death Ilsa still has a way to get people attached to her. Talking with Molbit probably didn't help Hassam. I mean Molbit knew Ilsa so well, he probably poured all his emotions into everything he was telling Hassam. It's hard to hear those raw emotions and not care about her story.

Another bullet this time from a slightly different angle. The sniper changed positions, they are getting frustrated. They must be confused as to why their shots keep missing.

A thought popped into my head that made my stomach flip. We have to tell everyone why the shots keep missing, if not they can try and convince them that this was all a stunt to get more people to believe us. I felt a hand on my shoulder and Levi looked at me with uncertainty.

He turned and whispered to Pixis what I was thinking, asking for his opinion. Pixis froze and just stared at me for a moment. Finally, he gave me a nod.

I stared down Hassam and he slightly nodded before pulling out the burner phone as he continued talking. I sent him the message and he nodded. Never breaking from his story even as another bullet whizzed passed.

The second Hasssam was done, he made sure to add. "I want the record to show that they aren't missing their shots on purpose in case people were wondering. The cursed, the exiles, they aren't our enemies. They are just normal people who want their rights. They just want to be able to live their lives without being killed. Here they are trying their best to protect me, to protect everyone here, and what is the government doing? Shooting at an unarmed innocent man for exercising his right to freedom of speech."

I froze when I heard a gunshot, then another, then another. There hadn't been any until now just the sound of bullets flying passed. I turned around and saw some of the guards from the front had started shooting. I thought they were shooting at Hassam at first until I realized that some people on the ground were no longer crouching.

"They are shooting into the crowd!" I yelled before I could stop myself.