The 5th Ackermann

47- The Secret Vessel

"It's really...exactly as Armin said..." Mikasa commented.

Armin was staring in deep thought. "Ah!" He said. "Then!"

Hanji smacked a hand on Armin's mouth. "Hold it!" She cried. "Let me say it, Armin! As things stand, it's going to be very difficult to seal the destroyed section of Wall Rose... As long as there isn't a conveniently-sized boulder to stop up the hole, that is... But...What if... Eren transformed into a titan... And used the titans' hardening abilities to seal the hole in the wall?"

Eren flinched. "Use me...to seal the wall?"

"The material it's made of should be the same... If you can leave behind your petrified titan's body without it evaporating after you turn human, then just maybe... Of course, that's only if something like this is even possible."

"That's what I've been thinking about..." Armin spoke. "I think it's a definite gamble worth taking...and if he can do it more than once... Then there's hope for retaking Wall Maria, too."

Hanji put a hand to her chin. "Until now, repairing a wall has always meant transporting huge amounts of building materials. When you consider the personnel and logistics needed to support that kind of a mission... we had no choice but to establish supply sites outside the walls... Not only that, the numbers that it would take around twenty years to complete repairs. But take away the need for wagon escorts...and I think we could even head straight for Shiganshina at top speed! I see... with just a small squad, we might be able to get straight to Wall Maria."

"How about executing a night operation outside the walls?" Armin suggested.

"At night?" Y/n asked.

"Yes!" Armin replied. "Night, when the titans can't move! We can't get there at full speed on horses by torchlight alone, but...even at a slower pace, with a smaller group, we might make it to Maria at dawn!"

Hanji sadly looked at the stone in her hands. "Even in the moments of the deepest despair...I guess we can still find hope, huh?"

"Yes, but..." Armin continued. "All of this...depends on whether or not Eren can seal the hole."

"I know that coming up with an answer for this is hard,  but..." Hanji looked at Eren. "Do you think you can do it?"

Eren's eyes widened slightly. He looked at all the faces in the cart. Mikasa was staring blankly at him. Levi was, as usual, glaring at him. Armin and Hanji were eagerly staring at him. Y/n was keenly looking at him. He quietly gasped as he looked away, a blush on his cheeks. Levi scoffed.

"The question's not whether he thinks he can do it..." Levi said. "Do it...You have to do it. Look t us. There's nothing the military can do but flail desperately...so you have to succeed."

"Yes, sir!" Eren replied. "I will seal that hole! I have to..." That ability Annie used...There's no reason I can't use it too... If she could do it... "Ugh, I'm sick of not knowing what's going on...First, we'll go plug Wall Rose...And once we've repaired Wall Maria...we'll go to the basement." Eren said as he held up his key necklace. "If everything he said was there is really there...maybe it'll even tell me where he went... All the answers should be down there. And then I'll know...I'll know exactly who to point all this anger at."

Hanji looked up. "Ah. We're almost to Ehrmich district." And it was true. The group of scouts were approaching the large gate.

"So this is it for the minister and me...I'll leave the rest to you." Levi said. "Erwin has decided all of you will make up an improvised team. Understand, Armin? Just keep wracking your brain together with Hanji." Armin nervously replied. "Mikasa...use all of your skills to protect Eren!"