The Same Night.
"Please have your Squad on standby on the hall now. They're almost ready to begin the meeting,"
"We'll be right there,"
Levi nodded at the man and he turned and looked around trying to spot his squad. The kids were all around and Nathalie was tending to his horse. They had finally arrived in Orvud District and they had settled in the Garrison HQ. A large building that stood in the midst of Orvud, and all Garrison officers were there to help execute Erwin's plan.
Levi approached Nathalie. She had a smile on her face as she caressed and talked to his horse. He wouldn't blame her. He talked to his horse too, but the animals were always preferring her over him. Still, she looked cute even in her white long-sleeved shirt that had a few bloodstains from the fighting, and her black pants that were tight around her thin waist.
Her glasses rested neatly on top of her nose, but they were pushed slightly aside as the horse licked the entire one side of her face. Levi groaned as he took out his handkerchief ready to hand it to her. How could she just sit by and laugh with the disgusting horse saliva on her face? He was going to force her into a thorough shower after this. Levi tried not to grin on the thought.
"Here," He said as he handed her the handkerchief and she turned at him giving him a smile.
"Aw, thanks!" Nathalie wiped her cheek. "I'll wash your handkerchief afterwards, I promise,"
"No need to worry about that right now. We have to gather the brats," Levi said and Nathalie nodded. She set off and she brought the kids around him much faster that he could ever hope to do it. "Historia, I forgot to tell you," Levi said, drawing the young girl's attention. "There's something we need you to do,"
He had forgot to tell Nathalie as well. Nathalie wasn't going to like it. She was now tying the ODM around Historia's body, but she stopped halfway, and she turned to see what her beloved husband-to-be was trying to say.
"This is an order from Erwin. Once we finish off this titan, seeing as you're the true successor to the throne, you'll become queen," Levi said and everybody's eyes widened.
"What?!" Nathalie exclaimed and she grabbed her hands around the girl protectively. "She's too young for that. At least, let her live her life before locking her in the stupid life of snobbery and luxury!"
Levi sighed. It was exactly what he expected to come from Nathalie. He couldn't say he liked it either. "I'm afraid it's out of my hands. The coup was successful, but the people won't follow military rule forever. We need to give them a heart-warming story, one where the rightful heir retakes her crown from the pretender,"
Historia was shocked, and so was everybody else. She let her head rest back on Nathalie's shoulder and she sighed deeply. She wasn't happy about this. "Oh, I see," She just said. Her hands found Nathalie's that were still around her and she just snuggled in the hug. Nathalie rested her cheek on top of the little girl's hair and she hugged her a little bit tighter from behind.
"I'm so sorry, kiddo," Nathalie said.
"It's alright,"
"Hey… uh…" Connie raised his hand catching their attention. "…you heard what Historia was saying earlier, didn't you? Cause well… it sounded to me like maybe… arising against her dad, she finally broke from that part of her life, you know? It's just like…"
"Like what? If you have something to say then say it," Levi said and Nathalie's hand found Connie's shoulder.
"What Connie's trying to say, is that Historia should be the one to choose her own fate. We can't choose for her," Nathalie said.
"Historia finally broke free from the Reiss family," Jean took a step forward and Levi turned and looked at him. "And she decided she's more than just a bloodline. So, for us to force her into another wall for that reason I- …I just don't think it's fair, sir!"
"It's fine," Historia said as she took a step forward, escaping Nathalie's hug. "If my next duty is to become a queen, then that's what I'll do,"
"But… Historia…" Armin said surprised. They all were surprised.
Nathalie walked in front of her, catching her attention. "Are you sure, sweetie?"
"I do appreciate your concern," Historia gave Nathalie a smile before she turned at the others. "Whether this is forced on me… it's really up to me to decide, and… I've decided," She turned at Levi. "Captain, before that, I have condition for you,"
Levi raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
"While my fate is still my own, I want to put everything I have on the line,"
There was no way that Erwin was going to allow that. Historia was too important and they couldn't allow anything happen to her. But still, it was one final mission that she could fight in. There was no way Nathalie was going to let him keep that from her. Levi opened his mouth to object but Nathalie cut him.
"I'll be keeping an eye on her at all times,"
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"Alright, Mobby. Hang in there, we're close," Hange cupped the man's face. His body was still resting in her lap comfortably.
His head was resting against her thigh. Eyes, slightly closed. It worried her. Touching his face, she could tell he was having a fever. Nifa was guiding the cart with the two horses on the front, taking them fast towards a hospital. It was late in the night and she was sure they were already having a meeting on how to deal with the titan and she was supposed to be there, but fuck them, she couldn't think knowing that Moblit's life was at stake. Even worse, it was at stake because of her.
"You… need to get back to… HQ… Nifa can handle it," Moblit said weakly but Hange shook her head.
"Shut up," She snapped. "I'll make sure you're okay first, then I'll leave,"
"Hange-"
"I said no!" Hange insisted.
She was worried. No matter how much this man drove her insane, he had always been there. He was always on her side, to make sure she wouldn't do something stupid. He was always there to have her back. She couldn't leave him. She needed to know he was going to make it out of this. Moblit sighed. If anybody knew how stubborn she was, it was him. There was nothing he could say to change her mind. He couldn't deny that he didn't want her to leave either.
Her hand found his own. Warm fingers caught his own and she pressed her cheek against his burning forehead. "Just hang on,"
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"Once you're queen, you can punch that smug rat right in the face,"
Nathalie could have sworn, that was Mikasa's voice. The kids were standing right behind them and there was no way Levi hadn't heard her. Nathalie turned a laugh into a discreet cough and Levi shot her a glare. But they had more urgent matters at hand. They had gathered around a large table where all the Captains and Squad Leaders of the Garrison were all around to listen to Erwin's plan.
"Sirs! We have determined the Reiss Titan's location. It's southwest approaching Orvud. It's fast. At this rate, it'll reach the walls before dawn,"
"Commander Erwin, I'm sure everyone here would like to hear your plan. How can we evacuate the people in such a short time?"
"That's not part of the plan," Erwin said, in his authoritative thick voice. Nathalie had been trying her best to forget what had happened before between them. "The people of Orvud District will need to stay exactly where they are,"
"What the hell are you thinking, Erwin!" The Garrison Section Commander grabbed Erwin by the shirt. "If we don't get the civilians out of the City, they're all gonna die! That walking monstrosity will have reached the wall by the morning!"
"That titan is an abnormal," Nathalie crossed her hands against her chest and the man turned and looked at her.
"Right! And what the hell does that even mean?!"
"It behaves strangely," Nathalie started. "Unlike most titans we encounter, it's only attracted to large groups of people, hence it's called abnormal. Put simply, given a choice between a large group soldiers riding next to it and a distant but densely populated City, it'll choose the city. So, if we move Orvud's populace into the interior of Wall Sina, the titan will just change its course, and it's going to destroy the wall, and anything else on its path. If it attacked the Capital Mitras, the losses would be devastating,"
Hange walked in and she placed her goggles back in place. "We tried to use Eren Yeager's scream to stop Reiss's titan, but it didn't respond to it at all,"
Nathalie's eyes widened. That's right. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about the scream. But of course, it didn't work. The scream was the Founding Titan's ability to use other titans and order them to do what it wants. But Eren would have to come in contact with a human of royal blood should he had to use it. But the thing is: Historia, being related to Rod Reiss, even having Eren touching her hand to order Rod Reiss around, it still wasn't going to work. Ordering Rod Reiss around it was the same as trying to alter his memories, but the Reiss and a few other noble families were immune to that.
That said, the Reiss and the other Noble Families, had something that made them immune. Nathalie wanted to figure what that was. It would give them the upper hand somehow. She didn't know how, but something told her it was essential to make everybody immune to the Founder's scream. Other titan-shifters could use the scream too, and as far as she knew, the enemy possessed most of the titan shifters at the moment.
Nathalie sighed. She had lots of work to do, and lots of headaches to deal with.
"If we're to stop this thing, it'll have to be outside the Walls of Orvud District," Erwin said. "For that to happen, we require the citizens here to act as bait. However, that doesn't change the fact that our first and foremost duty as soldiers, is to protect the people. In the event that we're unable to halt the target, we'll take measures to minimise civilian losses. We'll announce a District-wide evacuation drill tonight. The people will be gathered away from the outer wall, ready to escape if the battle is lost,"
The Garrison Section Commander sighed heavily. "It seems there's no other choice,"
"The body of this titan seems to be the largest we've seen yet. As such, it presents an easy target. Our wall-mounted cannons should prove highly effective, but if we can't bring it down with artillery, the Scout Regiment we'll throw everything we have at it," Erwin turned and looked at Levi, Nathalie, Hange and their squad behind them. He had a plan.
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"So, you're saying, that to take this titan down, we're gonna stuff gunpowder down its throat, and hope that's enough to destroy the nape of the neck?" Levi asked turning at Erwin as he finished explaining his plan.
"That's correct," Erwin nodded.
The Levi Squad was gathered all around a small table where Erwin had spread out a map of Orvud District.
"With all the heat that Rod's titan is emitting, it should be able react with the gunpowder, and hopefully it's going to ignite it without a detonator," Nathalie said.
"Although all of this is dependent on whether the titan's mouth is hanging wide open," Levi said.
"With the way it's dragging itself, I'd say that at least half of its body is being smashed and destroyed, which means that half of its face is also missing," Nathalie pointed on the map. "So, when it reaches here and it stands up, the mouth will be an easy target, and the nape will be close. In order to keep its massive body moving, it's burning its own cells to create energy, which means there's fire on the inside. That thing alone is a ticking timebomb,"
"Exactly," Erwin stepped beside her and pressed both hands on the table. "The cannon fire from the outside may not breach the nape but the flesh inside its mouth is softer. More vulnerable. And like Nathalie said, it's most likely it doesn't even have a mouth to open,"
"Still, we'll need to blow off its hands. It's taller than the wall," Nathalie turned at Hange. "Can you make something go boom?" That was Hange's specialty, honestly, that's why Nathalie never wanted her to join when she was working in the labs. Hange would always find something to set on fire.
Hange smirked. "You don't even have to ask,"
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"FIRE!"
The cannonballs dropped like rain on the massive creature that was only a few metres away from the wall. The Garrison was filled with incompetent soldiers and Nathalie wouldn't be surprised. They were in the Northern side of Wall Sina, and if anything, the military in Wall Sina was filled with soldiers with almost no experience at all. It was Hange's squad that was preparing the explosives. Of course, Moblit was in the hospital for now and Hange had informed Nathalie that he was alright.
They were now all in their ODM on top of the wall looking at the Garrison as they fired on the titan. Erwin was right. This wasn't going to work. They couldn't get a clear shot of the nape. Once all the cannons were finished firing, halting the titan slightly Levi crossed his hands against his chest and Erwin finally joined them.
"Well, how did that do?" Erwin asked. His question was answered when the titan resumed approaching towards them. Of course, it would. Erwin was right. The cannons wouldn't be able to breach its skin. The Garrison kept firing to no avail whatsoever. "Looks like the field cannons are even less effective,"
"Makes sense," Levi said. "The cannons on the wall have way better angle, but they don't do shit to it either. What's the problem?"
"Unprepared soldiers," Erwin answered. "Scraped together cannons, and shallow leadership. The titans have always attacked from the south. Not only this is a northern Garrison, it's also from the Interior. Therefore, I can tell you for a fact this is the best we'll get,"
"Yeah, that much is painfully clear. And of course, your strategy for getting us through this battle, comes down to a gamble, just like every other plan that you've come up with," Levi said, and even though he still had that dead look on his face, Nathalie raised an eyebrow.
She was absolutely certain that Levi wasn't done talking. She was reminded how well she knew him when he turned around and punched Erwin harshly across the face. Erwin winced and took a step back, but did nothing to dodge it. His nose slightly bled and Levi took out a handkerchief to wipe his knuckles from his Commander's blood. Everybody gasped, their eyes widened. Had he actually just punched the Commander right in the face?
"That's for your stupid gambles that took the life of my child," Levi growled. He had been keeping this in for lots of hours, but he had realised it was neither his fault nor Nathalie's. It was Erwin's. It was his plan to overthrow the government and therefore his fault that Nathalie got involved, chased, caught and tortured. It was all that bastard's fault.
"Wait… what?!" Eren asked surprised. Historia's eyes widened as well but Sasha leaned at both from behind and started explaining.
Levi was about to punch Erwin again, but Nathalie caught his hand just in time. "Can we focus here?!" Nathalie scolded him and Levi shot her a glare, but she returned an equally intimidating glare. They had more important matters to deal with right now. There was a massive titan that was about to attack a goddamn District dammit! "We'll punch him together afterwards, I promise," Nathalie reassured him and Levi sighed, pulling his hand down.
"No, it's alright, Nathalie," Erwin said as he took out a handkerchief and pressed it against his bleeding nose. "You two have every right to be upset. We'll speak about this afterwards," He promised them, but then Hange's voice caught everyone's attention.
"ERWIIIINNN! I BROUGHT THE GOODIESSS!" Hange was way too excited. "All the gunpowder, ropes and net that I could find,"
She had two barrels that would go off and explode after they'd launch them on the titan's hands at both sides. The net was huge enough to trap lots off barrels filled with gunpowder that Eren was going to grab in his titan form and force them down the throat of the titan. This plan was convenient enough.
"Did they do any damage?" Hange turned at Nathalie and Levi.
Levi frowned. "Imagine a swarm of birds shitting on it,"
"Which means no damage at all," Nathalie added.
Hange turned and looked down at the barrels of gunpowder that her squad had been settling in the net. "Then we'll actually get to use those babies. How exciting!" she squealed.
"How's Moblit?" Nathalie asked.
"The doctor administered him enough blood to cover what he missed. He'll be up in no time," Hange said with a smile on her face. She was relieved he was okay. Nathalie and Levi were relieved as well.
"Captain Levi, Jean, Sasha, Connie, you handle the other side," Erwin said. "Lieutenant Nathalie, Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Historia, you handle this side,"
"Yes, sir!"
"Nat! Help out will ya?"
Nathalie turned and approached Hange. "Of course!" She knelt beside her friend and she reached for gathering the ropes of the net that they were preparing.
"How should we approach this, lemme see…" Hange hand found her chin, rubbing thoughtfully. "…think of it as wrapping a gift for someone special!"
Nathalie raised an eyebrow. "Or wrapping a bag to go grocery shopping,"
"That sounds good too!"
"I believe you heard from Captain Levi. After this is over, we'll crown you queen, so naturally, I cannot let you fight on the front line," Erwin said as he approached Historia who was also helping to wrap the net.
Historia sighed and she stood up. "Right,"
Once Nathalie made sure Erwin was nowhere nearby, she approached Historia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, how about we talk to Erwin about this?"
Historia turned and looked at her. "I- I don't know if I can…" she sighed heavily. "The Commander's right,"
"No, the Commander is a human being and some times can be wrong," Nathalie said as she looked over at Erwin whilst he gave orders to Hange's squad. "I know you want to fight. Your fate is all yours, and it's all up to you to decide," She placed two hands on Historia's shoulders, making sure he had her attention. "You have to live a life you won't regret. One that you're proud of. Or at least, I'm sure that's what Ymir would've wanted,"
Historia's eyes widened. "Yes… yes, you're right," She gave Nathalie a smile before she pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face in Nathalie's shoulder. "Thank you,"
Nathalie caressed the girl's golden hair, before she pulled back and returned the smile. "Go speak to our Commander. No worries, he doesn't bite," Historia chuckled before she went off, more confident than ever. Nathalie grabbed the ropes and continued tying and preparing the net around the explosives.
"It's amazing how strong she's become," Eren's voice caught Nathalie's attention and Nathalie chuckled. It was true. "At first, I thought she was the weakest of us, but no… I was the weak one. Somewhere along the line, I decided I was special, and cause of that, so many soldiers died for my sake. I accepted it as natural, and the same goes for my titan powers. I hated titans more than anything. But when I became one, I thought nothing of it, because I wanted to believe that strength was my own. That's the thinking of a weakling,"
"So, what if you're weak?" Nathalie asked as she knelt beside Eren. "We all are, I mean, look at us. Any moment now we can die. It's okay to be weak, Eren. If you know how being weak feels like, then you can better sympathise with other people," Nathalie explained and she realised Eren was staring at her, listening to all that she was saying.
"Yes… yes, you're right," Eren's fingers tightened around the ropes that he was tying. "But I'm still not about to save mankind. I'm not special. I'm nobody. But really, it's humanity that got the short end of the stick here, cause they're stuck with me as their tramp card," He stood up and stared down at the houses that spread beneath. He felt the weight of Nathalie's hand passing around his shoulders as she joined him.
"And what's so wrong about that?" Nathalie asked and he turned and looked at her.
"I'm-"
"Weak?" Nathalie raised an eyebrow and he sighed. "Look how far you've come. A few months back, you didn't even know how to transform. Heck, you didn't even know you could harden your skin, but then you saved us back in that cavern. And look how far we've all come thanks to you. How about you stop doubting yourself for a second?"
Eren sighed heavily. "You're probably right,"
Nathalie messed his hair and he cringed, but he couldn't help chuckling. "That's my boy,"
"Heads up! Our baby is here!"
That was Hange's voice, of course. Nathalie and Eren turned only to see the large titan's hands pressing against the wall, trying to lift its body up. The soldiers of the Garrison panicked and started retreating right away. Nathalie was more than glad to see that she was right. Half of its face was missing due to the friction it created to come here.
Perfect. "Eren, you know what to do," Nathalie said and he nodded. She turned at Mikasa, Armin and Historia "You three come with me,"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Nat! Help me out with this!" Hange cried out. She was holding a barrel that was tied on ODM.
They were going to send it over the hands to blow them off. Lightning shot in the Eren as Eren transformed and grabbed the net with the explosives. Nathalie hurried over at Hange and she grabbed the barrel from one side whilst Nathalie grabbed the other side. Nathalie could see as Levi and Jean were the ones to throw the barrel in the other hand opposite of them. All they had to do now was wait for the Commander's signal.
"On my mark!" Erwin cried out as he loaded the red smoke signal in the pistol. He fired the signal. "Now!"
Hange and Nathalie sent off the explosives, blowing up the hands efficiently. The titan went stumbling down on the wall, and before it had the chance to do anything else, Eren stuffed the net with the barrels filled with gunpowder down its throat. Nathalie was right. There was fire inside that thing. The explosives were ignited almost immediately and its entire body was made into pieces that flied down into the city.
But it wasn't over yet. Somewhere between those pieces there was the nape, and it wasn't over until they'd slice it. "GO! Deploy your ODM gear and finish it off!" Erwin cried out and they followed his orders right away.
Nathalie, Hange, Erwin, Mikasa, Armin and Historia jumped over the one side, whilst Levi, Jean, Connie and Sasha too over the other. The pieces were many, but it was nothing that they couldn't handle. Nathalie hooked herself over a large one. She sliced it in half. So did Armin and Mikasa with their own different pieces. The same happened with Jean, Connie, Sasha and Levi. Hange and Erwin too. It was indeed nothing that this team couldn't handle.
Nathalie saw a large piece. Larger than the rest. It looked like it had a person inside. "Historia!" She cried out, catching the girl's attention. If someone should do it, it had to be Historia. She was the only one who had the right to do this. Nathalie flew over the girl on her ODM. She grabbed Historia's hand and she gave the girl the necessary push to fly towards that piece. Historia let out a cry as she sliced the nape in half, finally putting an end to this. Nathalie was proven correct. That was indeed the nape, because after slicing it, it brought a massive explosion.
"She did it," Erwin said surprised, wide-eyed he stared at the girl who was now falling. He turned at Nathalie who was flying nearby. "Nathalie! Go get her!"
Nathalie nodded. "Yes, sir!"
She hooked herself on a nearby building beneath them and she grabbed Historia, tossing the girl into a nearby cart that was filled with hay. It should be enough to ease her impact. Nathalie focused on her own landing, but turned out she didn't have to. Someone else caught her. Nathalie let out a yelp as they landed on the roof of a building and she realised she was on top of him. Her face crashed against his chest and she lifted her head up only to see Levi. Nathalie sighed in relief.
He cupped her cheek. "You okay?"
Nathalie gave him a smile, before she buried her face back in his neck and his hands slipped around her. She closed her eyes. Her body relaxed. It was over. He was there. "I am now,"