From Now Until Forever (S1) || Attack On Titan (Boys) x Reader

⚡️ Chapter Sixteen ⚡️

"You think so?" Armin asks.

Eren nods. "I do. Either way, we've got a whole other problem to address before we can get the plan off the ground and my gut tells me that the Commander's keenly aware of it."

"And what's that?" Mikasa questions.

"Titans aren't our only foe." Eren answers, making both Armin and I gasp softly. I mean, he's not wrong, but it's hard to think about.

"Look sharp." The Commander commands. "The fate of mankind rests on your shoulders."

That's not pressuring at all. I'm glad I'm not in Eren's shoes right now, although, this is mine and Armin's plan. So, the Commander could've easily been talking to us as well.

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"What do you mean we don't actually need to fight them?" A man named Gustav, a man of the Garrison regiment, asks.

Armin and I, mainly Armin, have been briefly explaining to Gustav and Anka, a woman of the Garrison regiment, our plan. I say mainly Armin, because I'm interested in what the Commander is saying about Eren right now.

"There's an easier way." Armin replies. "I'm sorry. I know it's not my place to interrupt and I mean no disrespect-"

"It's alright." Gustav assures. "Just go on with that you were saying."

"Right. Thank you, sir." Armin thanks. "See, whatever else is going on around them, Titans are generally drawn to large groups of people."

"That's a known fact, cadet." Anka remarks. "You need to hurry and get to your point."

I quickly circle around the crates and point at a certain spot on the map. "If enough of us are collected here in the corner away from the breach, we can lure the Titans out of Eren's path. He doesn't even have to be discrete about moving this boulder, since the Titans will be trying to get to everyone else."

"He also won't have to slow his pace while we fight the others off of him and since the Titans will all be in one area, we can pick them off via cannon fire without incurring casualties of our own." Armin adds.

Gustav firmly puts a hand down on the crate. "Wouldn't that leave your friend defenseless?"

I wave my hands out in front of me. "No, no, no. That's not what we're suggesting at all. That'd be too risky. The best we could do for him is form a modest group of Elites to act as his bodyguards."

"Exactly." Armin agrees. "There's no way of knowing how many Titans might come through the hole while he's trying to patch it up. His security detail will need to be able to handle them."

Gustav looks between the both of us. "Easy enough, I think. We can retool the plan around that."

"But that's the thing." I start fumbling my fingers. "We're only making a huge assumption here. We don't even know if Eren, in Titan form, will be strong enough to move the boulder..."

"To be perfectly honest, there's very little reason for us to just assume he can." Armin continues. "We have our doubts. Serious ones."

"As do I." Gustav informs. "Sending people to their doom on a whim isn't a tactic I'm fond of. Uncertainty has killed too many of us already, but the Commander's right. We must do this."

"Agreed." Anka remarks, now looking at us. "We're working against the clock here. Titans are still lumbering into Trost as we speak. There already may be more than we can handle. The longer we wait, the worse our chances of success become."

"It goes without saying, the better our chances they'll bust through Wall Rose and wreak untold havoc." Gustav adds.

"There's something else, too." Anka continues. "Even the bravest of us can't indefinitely bottle our fear. Not before something gives."