Now you four were on the wall as Commander Pyxis looked at the city. You all were taken up as everyone stared at you. Training cadets with the commander of the garrisons was something, especially when one of those cadets is able to turn into a titan.
"Nope. Not any of you. Being eaten by a titan wouldn't be so bad, if it was a sexy lady one" Commander Pyxis says as he looked down. Even if he sounds like a pervert he is know for being a genius.
Eren then proceeds to explain his recent memory to Commander Pyxis. That the cellar in Eren's home contains the answers about everything in this world. About the titans.
"That's that. So, visiting this cellar should clear everything up?"
"Yes, sir. Well, at least I think so"
"For the moment, there is no way to validate all of the claims you've made. For now, I'll just catalogue them in my head. But I can tell the difference between the unctuous and the sincere, which is why I personally guarantee your safety"
You sigh in relief as they won't kill any of you for treason.
"You're cadet Armin Arlelt. Is that correct?"
"Yes, sir"
"You mentioned a plan to her was this so-called 'Titan ability' and then utilize your friend's power to retake the city. Do you believe it could work? Or were you grasping at straws to try and save your hides?"
"Um,well...it's both, commander. I was going to suggest that Eren, using his strength as a titan, could lift that giant boulder. We could use it to block off the wrecked gate. That was the best idea I was able to come up with on the spot. I-I just wanted to make everyone see how Eren's ability might provide a solution to the problem we all face. Granted, I was pretty desperate to survive"
"Desperate to survive, huh? That's as credible a reason as any, son" Pyxis says as he turned around "what do you say, cadet Jaeger?"
"Say, sir?"
"That hole. Do you think that you can plug it up, son?"
"Well, I... I don't know. It's possible. But at the moment, I don't understand my power any more than you do. It's just, I sort of feel irresponsible giving you an answer. Because I don't know really know"
"Ah, yes. Of course, my apologies. I asked you the wrong question. Are you willing to, cadet Jaeger, or not?"
You saw Pyxis eyes turn back as you turned. If you all didn't close up the wall, wall Rose was next. With that humanity as you know will be gone forever.
"I'll do it. I'll do it! I don't know if I can seal that hole. But I'll do it!" Eren says.
Pyxis just nodded "Well said. You have the heart of a lion" he gets up as he walked over to the edge "Senior officers, come gather! We have a strategy to establish!"
"What? It's just a wild idea. I didn't think it would actually be executed" Armin says.
"I was thinking the same thing. There's I point in wondering with his judgment. Pyxis probably sees something that we obviously can't" Eren says.
"Something we can't see?"
"Either way, before we execute this strategy, we have a fundamental issue. The commander clearly understands the situation"
"Which would be?"
"Our enemies are not just the titans" Eren says.
'Humans now are as well' you think as Pyxis calls you all.
"The time is nigh. I will have you actively participate, my young soldiers"
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You could hear Commander Pyxis giving a speech to the soldiers below while the rest of you were planning things out.
"We don't actually need to fight them?" A soldier asked as you all stood in front of a map of the city.
"Sorry, I know it's not my place to interject"
"It's all right. Just go on with what you were saying"
"Right. Titans are generally drawn to large groups of people. If enough of us collected in the corner away from the hole, we could lure the titans away from Eren's path. The titans will be grouped together, so we can use our cannons and avoid casualties. Of course, we can't leave Eren defenseless. We'll need a modest bad of elites to act as his bodyguards. Also, there may be titans that enter through the hole. He will depend on the competencies of his bodyguards" Armin explains.
"Okay, got it. We can alter the plan around that"
"This strategy depends on Eren being able to move that boulder. But there is nothing to assure us that he is able to do it" Armin tells them.
"Of course. I worry, too. Sending people to their death is no laughing matter. But I can understand what the Commander is thinking"
"Yes. Time is an issue. Titans are still lumbering into Trost as we speak. The longer we wait, the more titans fill the town and our chance to succeed decreases" The female says.
"With that, the chances of wall Rosa being breached increase as well" the male soldiers says.
"There's something else, too. There's a limit to how we can suppress our fear" the female says.
'She right. Not all of us have the guts to do this plan. Everything is on Eren who barely even knows what his powers are. We're betting everything on this one plan' you turned back to Eren.
You could hear screams from those down as it was very vague but it was about the plan.
"Anyone wishing to leave will be given by my orders not be charged with treason! Those who have seen a titan firsthand will not be expected to relive it again! Anyone that knows the horrors of a titan, leave us! Additionally, whoever knows the horror of a titan but wants their own family to experience the same horror, leave us!" Pyxis yells out.
You looked over the wall to see soldiers stopping as they then walked back. You sat on the side as you didn't want to interrupt the commander but you still want to see and hear.
"I want to tell you a story that happened four years ago. Namely, the operation to retake wall Maria. I'm sure all of you know this already. Officially, we labeled it reconnaissance. But in fact, it was little more than an exercise in population control" Pyxis says as you realized what he was saying. They knew they would die and they didn't care about throwing those lives away.
"We let ourselves believe a lie because the deaths of our fellow human beings allowed us to survive. The guilt is ours. We have a debt to pay back to humanity. The citizens of wall Maria survived due to many casualties. But what about this time? If wall Rosa succumbs, the repercussions will be immeasurable. The resources within wall Sina cannot support half of those who live there now. Humanity will be wiped out not by titans but through killing each other. We can't kill each other at this wall. If we must die, let us die here in battle!" Pyxis says.
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You sat on the side as you waited. Supplies were being brought up as soldiers moved all the cannons to the corner of the wall.
"Why do you always wander off m/n?" You turned around to see Eren walking over.
"Just clearing my mind if death happens to come" you say as you stared at the town.
"Stop thinking you'll die. I'll make sure you survive idiot. " Eren holds his hand out as you just grabbed it, him pulling you up.
"Just because I didn't score in the top 10 doesn't mean I'm weak, dumbass" you say as you just smile while he smiled back.
You both walked over as Armin and Mikasa walked over. You saw commander Pyxis talking with three other soldiers.
"I'm so sorry, Eren. You ended up shouldering all the responsibility" Armin says to him.
"I told you before, you have a gift for strategy. I believe in you, Armin" Eren says.
"Eren. I really think I should..." Mikasa was cut off by Eren.
"Don't say you're coming with me. You're part of the decoy team"
"I can't leave you alone! By yourself, you..."
"Enough! I'm not your little brother or your child! I've told you before" Eren yells at her as you just patted his shoulder, trying to calm him down.
Mikasa looked down as someone walked over "Ackerman! M/n! I want you on the squad that'll provide Jaeger with backup"
Mikasa seem to like that as you sigh. She'll definitely do everything to protect Eren while the others may be hesitant to do so.
"We'll need your skills. Let's go. Execute the strategy!" He walked way as you three followed while Armin went the other way. He was part of the decoy team.
Your team ran across the wall towards where the bolder was located. The team leader was Ian Dietrich.
"They said you're some 'human weapon'. I don't care. Just seal that hole. We'll protect you on both sides. We're counting on you!" Ian says.
"Right!"
"Eren, how is your body doing?" Mikasa speeds up towards Eren.
"Fine"
"Eren"
"Like I said, I'm okay. I feel much better than when we were surrounded"
"We're not playing with dolls here, Jaeger" Rico speeds up and was now in between Eren and Mikasa.
"I don't mean to"
"To think that the fate of him depends on a brat like you" Mitabi says.
Mikasa glared at him as you sigh. If you all weren't in a hurry and had a mission, she would almost kill him before kicking him off the wall.
"Cut it out, all of you! We're almost in range of the giant boulder. I'm not seeing any titans nearby. The decoy strategy must be working" Ian says.
"There's something I want to say, Jaeger" Rico says as Eren turned to her " With this strategy, many soldiers will probably die. All for you. These are our seniors, comrades and subordinate soldiers. Aside from being soldiers, death is above all of them. Remember that they are not just pieces in a game. Every one of them has a name. They all have hopes and fears. Alyosha. Dominic. Fin. Isabel. Ludwig. Martina. Guido. Hans. They are all flesh-and-blood humans. There are some that I've known since cadet training. They, too, will probably die for you today. You have the responsibility to make sure their deaths weren't pointless. No matter what happens. Carve that fact into your bratty heart. And then fulfill your responsibility as through your life depends on it"
"Yes!"
As you all continue to run you saw the boulder coming into view.
"This is the place! Let's do it!" Ian says as you all then jumped off the wall.
Immediately you started to fall as you sent one of your grapple hooks towards a tower before pulling yourself into the air. You continue to as you would run on the roofs before sending your grapple hooks to another tower.
A flash of light shined as you stood on top of a roof next to Mikasa. Eren transformed into a titan as he seem to fall back. Dust covered the air as you waited.
Eren gets up as he roared out. You smile as it seem that he was able to transform.
The weird thing was that Eren stood their facing the boulder before turning to face you two. He was going to punch you two as you kicked Mikasa out of the way before getting away but you got hurt by his punch.
Your leg was damaged severely as you barley moved out of the way. Blood ran down as it then fell into the roof. Your eyes widen as you stared at Eren's green eyes while he stared at you.
"M/n! Look out!" Ian ran over as Eren was about to punch you again as you rolled down the roof before using your grapple to the nearest tower or roof.
"Fuck!" Your landing caused your more pain as had blood falling down on your face. Ian landed next to you as he helped you get to higher ground while Mikasa now stood in front of Eren.
You took off your jacket as you then tied it around your leg tying to stop the bleeding. Ian then turn back as he went to Mikasa.
'He lost control!' You turned back as you try to get up but immediately fell back down.
"Eren..." you looked as a gun shot was heard. You saw red flare as your eyes widen.
Mikasa jumped off from Eren's face as he punched him self, trying to get Mikasa. That caused him to fall back, onto the boulder as his hands were damaged by trying to kill you both.
"Captain! We've got two titans bearing down on us from the front. A 10-meter and a 6-meter! Heads up! There's a 12-meter closing in on us from the rear!"
You stood up, leading against the wall as you stared out. You smile as you didn't realize the smoke coming off your leg as you took out your blades.
'This may be my last battle. Please survive you guys' you jumped off as you sent your grapple hooks off. You landed with trouble towards the group as they were arguing about leaving.
"Give the order! Conserve all the manpower we can. This was the right call. Hey, it's not like this is your fault! Come on! Look, this plan was doomed from the start! We all get that. Was it worth a shot? Sure, whatever! We did the best with what we had! But all we've got left now is going over the wall" Mitabi says as he walked off.
Mikasa was about to kill him as Ian stopped her "Stop. Easy. Now's not the time. Team Rico, take out the 12-meter approaching from behind. Team Mitabi and I will handle the two front-runners"
"Are you insane?!"
"In case you've forgotten, I'm the one in charge! Now, do as you're ordered, soldier! We are not leaving Jaeger defenseless, period. Change of plans. Our job now is to keep the others off him until he can be recovered. Whether we like it or not, he's still our last best chance. We won't abandon him easily. We're expendable, he isn't. He can't just be replaced" Ian says.
"He's a failure who's caused countless soldiers to die. Just look at him, Ian! Are you saying you want more of us to die saving that?" Rico points to Eren.
"That's right. Down to the last man! If that's what it takes, so be it!"
You looked out as you moved your weight to your left leg as you looked out for the titans. Your bloody leg continued to bleed as your face was covered with your blood.
"Ian, you can't be serious!" Rico says.
"What other hope against the titans do we have? You know something I don't?This is all we got and you damn well know it! I am making a judgment call here. If you have a better plan, speak up! How else are we going to get out from under their feet?"
"If you're asking me how else we'll defeat the titans, obviously I have no idea"
"See? That's why we can't afford to beat a retreat. Not just yet. We may not know what else is in there but there's hope. And as long as that's the case, we're going to fight to the bitter end. Look at us. Always scraping by. Always on the run. Don't you... don't you want it to be over? Don't you want to make a stand? Well, this is how it's done!" Ian says.
"This is just... This is madness" Rico walked away.
"Hey!"
"I'll follow your strategy. I think you're right. If we're to stand, this is the only way. Just this once, let's fight a fight that's not just a battle of attrition. Let the bastards taste humanity's wrath. Right. My team will address the 12-meter titan coming from the rear" Rico says before she leaves.
Mitabi walked away "Well? Have we got the two in front or don't we?"
"Right"
Mikasa then walked towards Ian "Thank you, Captain. That was brave"
"No, it wasn't. There's no thanks needed. Fact of the matter is I was petrified of the mess you were about to get into. But you're free now. So do your thing. Make good use of that inborn skill. M/n get to the wall. You need treatment" Ian says as he unsheathe his swords.
"Sir"
"Go save the man you love" was the last thing he said as he ran off.
"It's not like that" Mikasa mumbles as you laugh. She showed her love to Eren so many times.
"M/n you'll die out here like that" Mikasa turns to you as you shrug.
"Can't leave Eren like that while I'm getting treated. Don't worry, I won't die because of this" you smile as Mikasa just stared before turning to Eren's titan.
She then ran off as there were a few titans in her view. You just stared at Eren as his titan sat there. His limbs weren't growing back but his corpse wasn't turning into ash as well.
'Let hope I can still have my leg once this is over' you then jumped off the roof, towards the incoming titans.