"That's that. So, visiting this cellar should clear everything up?" Commander Pyxis asks once we, mostly Eren, explain everything to him.
We're not having this conversation down in front of everyone. Instead, he brought the four of us up onto the wall to have this chat.
Eren nods, even though the Commander has his back faced toward us. "Yes, sir. Well, at least I think so."
"For the moment, there is no way to validate all of the claims you've made." He looks back at us and taps the side of his head. "For now, I'll just catalog them in here. With that said, I can usually tell the difference between the unctuous and the sincere, which is why I personally guarantee your safety."
We all let out our held in breaths. What a relief! I'm glad that there's at least someone that will believe us.
The Commander turns around, looking directly at me and Armin. "You're cadets Armin and Y/n Arlert, is that correct?"
We both salute with a nod. "Yes, sir!"
He continues. "You two mentioned a plan to harness this so-called 'Titan Ability' and then utilize your friend's power to retake the city. Do either of you believe it could work or were you just grasping at straws to try and save your hides?
Armin and I share a glance, before looking back at the Commander. "To be honest...both, Commander." I answer solemnly.
"Eventually, one of us were 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." Armin explains.
I hang my head. "That's the best we could come up with. In all honesty, we were thinking as we talked, since we didn't really have time to strategize. All we wanted to do was to get them to see that Eren's ability might provide a solution to the problem we all face."
The Commander only turns his back to us once again.
"Granted!" Armin exclaims. "We were pretty desperate to survive as well!"
"Desperate to survive, huh?" The Commander questions. "That's as credible a reason as any, cadets." He then pulls out a flask and takes a long sip from it, before walking back to us.
He crouches down in front of Eren. "What do you say, Jaeger?"
"Say, sir?" Eren questions.
"That hole." The Commander starts. "Do you think that you could plug it up, son?"
"Well, I-" Eren stammers. "I don't know. I mean, 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 really know."
"Ah, yes. Of course. My apologies." The Commander apologizes. "I asked you the wrong question. Are you willing to, Jaeger, or not?"
Eren starts visibly sweating, as he looks the Commander straight in the eyes, who looks pointedly over his shoulder.
Eren looks back over his shoulder, then clenches his teeth and looks back at the Commander. "I'll do it. I don't know if I can seal that hole, but...I'll do it! I swear!"
The Commander grabs him by his shoulders. "Excellently said. You have the heart of a lion." He stands up and walks over to the edge of the wall. "Staff officers, hup! We have a plan to flesh out!"
I gasp softly. "Surely we're not moving forward with this as our linchpin strategy, right? Honestly, it was just something we tossed out there. We didn't have time to think it all through."
"I was thinking the same thing." Eren remarks, making Mikasa, Armin, and I turn to look at him. "Except, he seems like a guy who knows what he's doing. He has it all under control, like we can't see the forest for the trees, but he's got a bird's eye view."
"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.
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
"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."
The more they talk, the less confident I get in our plan. Oh how I wish we had the time to think it all through, but we unfortunately don't.
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
Operation: Seal Up Wall Rose is now a go. The cannons are being set into place and the Commander is forming the group of Elites.
We've been allowed to talk to Eren before this whole thing starts, so that's what Mikasa, Armin, and I are doing right now.
"Eren..." I look down. "I'm so sorry..."
"Huh? What are you apologizing for?" He asks confused.
"I'm sorry too." Armin adds. "We were just talking out of our heads. It wasn't our intention for you to be pulled into all this."
"Stop apologizing." Eren replies. "The fact is that you two have a gift for strategy and you know it." He tightly grips our shoulders. Well, he gripped my shoulder tightly anyways. "I believe in you both."
"Eren." Mikasa starts. "I really think I should-"
Eren immediately lets go of our shoulders and turns to her. "You're not coming with me. You're on the decoy squad. Period."
Mikasa gasps softly. "No way! I'm not leaving you alone!"
"Mikasa, he won't be-" I start.
"I won't take another chance!" She continues, ignoring me altogether.
Eren lunges toward her. "Knock it the hell off! Get it through your head that I'm not your responsibility! You're not my mother!" This causes Mikasa to look down. Eren didn't have to go so hard on her.
"Ackerman." Someone calls out, so we all look that way to see a man that the Commander was talking to. "I want you on the squad that'll be providing Jaeger with backup. We'll need your skill. Hop to. Let's get this started."
Sir, I think you just made Mikasa's day, but probably pissed Eren off even more.
Before running off, Eren looks back at Armin and I. "We'll see you two later. Don't die on us, ok?"
We both nod, simultaneously. "Yeah. You two either."
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
I propel myself back up onto the wall from trying to lure in more Titans and land directly on my knees, panting. I just had way too many near death experiences, since there were so many Titans in this corner swinging at me and grabbing for me.
Armin and I practically just got here and I decided to go back out a short distance to lure in a few more Titans, which leads to where I am now. Armin is now hanging on the side of the wall, keeping the Titans distracted.
"Y/n! Are you okay?" I hear Marco ask.
I slowly look up at him and immediately jump up, despite the pain I'm in right now, and hug him tightly. I hadn't seen him since we were at HQ. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
He lets out a soft chuckle, as he returns the hug. "I could say the same for you, but you had a rough landing. How are you now?"
We both pull away from the hug. I lightly dust my knees off. "My knees really hurt, but I'd rather my knees hurt than being dead right now. You don't know how many times I was swatted at. I almost died multiple times."
"It's a good thing you had the reflexes to move out of the way then." He compliments.
I shrug, as we start heading to where most of the other people are at, looking in the direction where Eren, Mikasa, and the others are at right now. "Eh...I don't know. I think I only managed to get up here with pure luck."
"Just accept that you have skill." He replies. "You've trained three long years for this. You've improved greatly."
"Thank you..." I mumble, a little flustered.
He nods. "You're welcome."
We make it to the others and join them in looking out at where Eren, Mikasa, and the others are. I look around for any other friends, but couldn't see any. So, I just assumed they were out killing Titans right now, at least, I hope so.
My heart is racing because of how nervous I am. What if they fail? It'd partially be mine and Armin's fault, since it's our plan.
Suddenly, a flare is shot up way off in the distance, but...it's a red flare, meaning that they've failed their mission. I guess Eren couldn't pick the boulder up. Armin joined my side just as this happened.
"They failed..." Marco notes.
"But...how?" Armin asks no one in particular. Then, he drops his extra gas tanks on the ground and starts to run away from us.
I start to run after him. "Armin! Hold on! Wait!"
Marco grabs me by my wrist, holding me back. "He's just going to see what's going on over there. He'll be back."
I sigh as I watch his retreating form, then look back at Marco. "Ok..."
"Hey! You guys!" Connie's familiar voice yells, as he runs toward us. He stops in front of Marco. "What's going on?"
"Connie!" I exclaim. "I'm glad you're still here too!"
"Oh, uhm..." He starts rubbing the back of his neck. "You too."
Jean suddenly lands on top of the wall and runs up to the three of us. "What the hell is up with the red smoke? What happened to him?"
"I don't know." Marco answers honestly. "Armin's gone to see, though."
Jean looks directly at me. "I figured you'd go with him, since you're both so protective of one another."
"He'll be okay." I reply. "Everything's okay...I think."
Jean raises an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." I nod firmly. "I-I mean, Mikasa's there and this is Eren we're talking about. So, everything's fine..."
"Right..." Jean replies, unsurely.
"I don't want to be that guy, but this whole plan feels kind of pointless." Connie admits, chipping more off my confidence in the plan. It seems like it's failed already, so why do I still have any confidence at all?
"When's the last time a fight against the Titans didn't feel like that, huh?" Jean asks. "The best thing now? We do the best we can without losing any more manpower."
Connie abruptly turns around and walks a short distance away from us. "I don't like the idea of so many of us being dead for nothing."
"None of us do, Connie..." I reply.
"We have to pick our battles." Jean remarks. "If we want to wage an all-out war someday, we have to conserve all the manpower we can. This was the right call. Just be patient."
"Was it the right call, though?" Connie asks, making Jean, Marco, and I gasp. He's just really tearing my confidence down.
"Yes!" Marco exclaims. "Of course it was!" He doesn't even know that this is mine and Armin's plan, and yet, he's still supporting me without knowing it. Jean is too.
"Live to fight another day, is that it?" Connie asks, before turning around with a grin on his face. "Alright. I'm in."
"Good. Now we can get off the topic of this plan the Commander's gone with." I remark.
"Why'd you want to get off of it, Shortie?" Jean asks.
I let out a weak chuckle, as I fumble my fingers. "Well, you see...uhm, this whole plan is sort of...mine and Armin's idea..."
"What?!" All three of the guys exclaim.
I nod. "Yeah. I didn't really have much confidence in this assumption of plan, but now I feel worse about it..."
"I'm sorry about what I said about it." Connie apologizes, bowing his head slightly. "I'm sure what I said didn't make you feel any better."
I wave a hand at him. "You're fine. I mean, it's not the best. It's probably the worst thing we've ever come up with."
"It still caught the Commander's attention though." Marco reassures.
"Yeah, but isn't he known for being...you know?" Connie points to the side of his head and makes circles, signifying 'crazy.'
"Connie!" Marco exclaims, scoldingly.
"What?" Connie questions. "I'm just saying what I've heard."
I cover my mouth to hide the quiet laugh, because of the interaction between the two.
Out of no where, Jean had reached over to start ruffling the top of my head. "Well, I'll be damned. You're not even a Scout yet and you're already doing big things."
"She is the smartest one out of the four of us." Connie replies, before looking between Marco and Jean. "No offense to either of you."
Marco puts his hands up. "It's okay. You're right."
Jean takes his hand off my head. "None taken..." He crosses his arms and looks at Connie. "At least I'm smarter than you though." Boom! Instant argument.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes and just look up at Marco, who looks down at me right after I looked at him. I smile softly in which he returns.
Now, it's just a long waiting game until we're needed or some of us are needed anyway. I really hope Armin, Eren, and Mikasa are okay...
A/N: Hey, cadets! I think...this is sadly going to be the last time Y/n sees Marco. So, have your tissues ready soon, ok? I'm not emotionally ready to write what's coming up, but...it sadly has to be done...
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the interactions with Marco, Connie, and Jean towards the end of it. Have a wonderful rest of your day/evening/night and remember to have tissues at hand. Bye, cadets!