"No, on the contrary." All attention goes to the injured, although he doesn't act like it, Captain "Erwin's thrown us together for a reason."

As the gate opens your attention is drawn to Erwin as he rallies his troops "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!" And as always, Erwin goes first. His white horse being like a beacon to the rest of the soldiers.

And out of the pan and into the fire you all go.

"...Wait wait! Back up!" Eren speaks up "You're joking, right? This guy knew!? He knew and he kept quiet?!" Hange had been filling Eren in about the titans and the walls and such due to him being passed out when the discoveries were made.

"Uh-huh. Afraid so." Hange nods as she side eyes Nick "Just about sums up where we are with him. Cat's 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. His faith keeps him quiet. First hand experience, though?"

"To hell with that!" Eren stands up, easily shaking the blanket he had around his shoulder off he slams his hands down on the small table in the cart. "If this son of a bitch knows something he needs to come out with it! Humanity's on the brink of extinction and all you care about is keeping your oath?" Eren pauses as he grimaces in pain. You boredly watch as Mikasa coddles the boy.

Levi cocks a gun and aims it at the priest through his suit jacket "There's more than just one way to get at the truth. Granted I may not be in top form at the moment, but it doesn't take much strength to squeeze a trigger. That said, i'm genuinely hoping I won't have to blow a hole in you to settle this. How about you," Levi glances at you "Y/N?"

A dark grin comes over your face as you take out a folding knife you stole from someone in Sina's home. "Well I like to make my deaths slow," You flick open the knife and inspect it "I don't like using guns unless it's to blow a hole in the kneecaps." You twirl the knife in your hand as you look up at Levi "Torture's more my style." Armin quietly scoots away from you.

"Oh come on you two," Hange only laughs "Threatening him doesn't work!" Her tone turns dark "Trust me on that." A shiver goes down your spine. "Agree with him or not. There's no denying our priest here is a man of principle. Which of course leads me to wonder:" Hange's gaze shifts over to the priest once more "If he's so unwilling to talk, what in heaven's name do you imagine he's putting above the fate of humanity?"

You all lapse into silence and not too long later Hange takes out a strange looking... something. After her staring at it for a long time Levi speaks up "Hey four eyes. Since when are you a geologist? Or are rocks just that fascinating? Looks like your about to drool."

"What, this?" Hange looks away from the rock and towards Levi "It's not a rock. Not an ordinary one, anyway. It's a hardened piece of skin left behind by the female titan."

Armin gasp as his eyes lock onto the piece of skin "It didn't vanish?"

"No. This random fragment broke off when Annie reverted back into her human form. It didn't evaporate or simply go 'poof'! So that got me thinking And when I compared it to the sliver of the wall, it's texture and composition were, for all intents and purposes virtually the identical. In layman's terms we're hemmed in by a barricade of enormous titans. If my hypothesis is correct, the surface was constructed using consolidated titan skin."

"You're kidding me." Everyone turns to Mikasa, her eyes wide and face paling almost as if she can't believe it "That's what Armin and Y/N were saying."

You shrug "Eh, it was more of Armin."

Armin gasp shooting up in his seat "So that--"

"Easy!" A grin splits Hange's face as she presses her hand to Armin's face to keep him from talking "It's rude to steal someone else's thunder. As it stands, we'd be hard pressed to find a rock big enough to plug wall rose. It'd have to be just the right shape and size, and we don't have specifics yet."

"But on the other hand?" Armin's voice comes out muffled but Hange seems to hear him none the less.

"Where there's a will there's a way. Picture Eren using his hardening ability while in titan form."

"I could..." Eren looks down at his lap as he process what Hange just said "..Patch the hole."

"The sealant should be composed of the same material and the hardened bit won't evaporate once you've transformed back. This might be a less of a long shot than it sounds. Thoughts?"

"Well, anything worthwhile incurs a little risk. If we can manage to shore up wall rose, wall Maria stands to look very promising. Vital as it is, the outpost infrastructure slows us 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."

"If I may jump in, what if we decided to carry out the plan in the dead of night?" All eyes in the cart turn to you.

"Night?" Hange questions.

"Yes!" Armin agrees

"That is when the titans are effectively motionless, less risk that way." You further explain.

Hange brings a hand to her chin as she ponders what the two of you have said "That's not bad. In fact it's genius. Particularly if the group is small enough to slip by undetected." Hange inspects the hardened skin once more "The straight we're in are as dire as they come. But their might just be the teeniest bit of slack."

"Yeah, just bear in mind, though, the whole plan hinges on whether or not Eren can seal a hole, again." (Armin)

It's silent for a few seconds "It's uh, probably unfair for me to even ask." You all look at Hange "But do you think you can?" And now the eyes are on Eren. Eren goes quiet.

"What he thinks really isn't the issue." Levi looks away from the lantern he was staring out at and right towards Eren, staring him in the eye "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."

That prompts Eren to speak up and answer "Sir! I know! I'm prepared to do whatever it takes! That's a promise." Eren goes quiet for a little bit again "My father's cellar. That's where the answers are." Eren takes out the key he keeps under his shirt "If there's a grain of truth in what he told me, everything depends on us making it there."

Hange looks away from Eren and to the large wall "Here's Ehrmich."

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A/N:
I didn't think i'd have to say this but for the love of- PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT SPOILERS ON THIS STORY!!! Your comment will be deleted but if someone has already seen it the damage has already been delt. Once again DO NOT comment spoilers.

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