Dina was looking down from atop the wall. Swarmed around the inner gate was a living barricade of titans. The technical crew set out a net with harpoon heads, and the idea of titans covering the entrance seemed to be working. If the armoured titan appeared now, the garrison would have a lot more time for an appropriate reaction.
She had to watch it closely. If the warriors decided to bring the gate down, she would have to make a quick decision. There was no room for a mistake. In these five long years, she had managed to learn to harden her titan's skin, especially shins and fists. However, she wasn't sure if she was able to cover the whole gate with hardened crystals. That was the reason she had to pay close attention.
Dina knew all that and was sure of her fighting abilities. But right now, she couldn't really focus on anything. She was looking down, pointlessly. For a split second she even considered jumping off right into the titan's mouths. Dina closed her eyes.
She was weak but she didn't tremble. As they led her to her death, Dina strode bravely to her doom.
"Oh, a woman next?" She heard a voice "what a waste. If only she wasn't one of the devils…"
She really wished she was the devil. If she were, she would just kill all of her perpetrators. But she wasn't. Right now, she was just a tired, starving woman.
"Dina…?" She heard her husband. Someone took off her blindfold.
Dina looked to the side.
"Grisha…?" She asked weakly.
Her husband's eyes were full of rage.
"Why… is she here?!" Grisha said angrily "…I told you all about her! She's valuable, she has…"
"Shut up!" Her husband was knocked down by the interrogator.
"What's the matter?" The head officer asked his fellow.
"I couldn't stand his nonsense. Continue your work" replied the man.
"Honestly" spoke the head officer as he filled a syringe "just turn him into a titan already."
As Grisha was laying on the ground letting out a muffled scream, Dina looked him in the eyes.
"Grisha…" She spoke "…no matter what I become…"
Dina felt the syringe pierce her neck.
"…Don't worry. I'll find you."
"Sounds good" said the head officer "have a nice life as a titan couple."
As the man pushed her off the wall, Dina closed her eyes.
She suddenly jolted awake.
It wasn't the time to give up. Right now, she was the only one who could put a stop to this. For Grisha, for Eren and for everyone else. She turned around and jumped down the other side of the wall.
As she was walking towards Krista, she noticed the cadets previously trapped within Trost have arrived.
"…so that's how we managed to get our hands on the gas." Dina heard Connie finish.
"Th-then everyone who isn't right here is…"
"Yeah…"
"What about Mikasa and Armin?" Dina asked Connie.
"No… I think they got back late with Jean and others" the boy replied.
Dina felt relief. At least the two were alive.
"Jean" she turned to the boy "was Mikasa injured in some way?"
Jean put away the bottle he was hastily drinking from.
"I can't say anything… We were forced to swear an oath of secrecy."
An oath of secrecy? That was weird. Did the cadets see something in Trost?
"Although, I don't know how effective it's gonna be…" Ended Jean.
"You were ordered not to tell?" Connie cried out.
"It's not the kind of thing you can keep covered up…" Jean silently said, "I'm sure everyone will know, soon enough."
"That is, if the human race still exists by then…"
All of that cryptic talk was really bothering Dina. What was he talking about? Could they possibly capture one of the warriors?
BOOM!
A sound of a shooting cannon ripped through the air.
"Cannon fire?!"
"Just one shot…"
"Hey!"
"That came from inside the wall!"
Dina looked to the point the sound came from. It was the fortified area just outside the gate. She needed to investigate it right away.
She fired her gear and swished to the roof. She noticed a few of her fellow cadets jumped on the roof as well. After a few leaps, Dina could finally see what happened.
"What the hell is going on right here?" She heard Reiner say.
In a cloud of smoke stood an underdeveloped titan. Well, half a titan to be exact. Its arm was extended in a weird way. Dina looked up and saw that the giant hand stopped a projectile.
'I have to be wary now'
It was possibly one of the warriors. Dina walked to the edge of the roof to see better.
From the fumes surrounding the titan, Armin walked out.
'How did he get there?'
Dina had known Armin for a long time, and she was sure he wasn't one of the warriors. Something was wrong.
"YOU!" Yelled the commander in chief "STOP RIGHT THERE!"
"HE ISN'T AN ENEMY OF THE HUMAN RACE" Armin yelled back "WE WISH TO DISCLOSE ALL OF THE KNOWLEDGE WE ACQUIRED ABOUT THE TITANS!"
"IT'S MEANINGLESS TO BEG FOR YOUR LIVES! HE REVEALED HIS TRUE FORM BEFORE OUR EYES! THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO BE SAID!"
Who were they talking about? Could that really be one of the warriors?
"IF YOU CLAIM HE'S NOT A TITAN, SHOW ME PROOF! IF YOU CAN'T DO THAT, I WILL ELIMINATE THE THREAT!"
"THERE'S NO NEED FOR PROOF!" Yelled Armin "YOU SAID EVERYONE SAW HIM! IN THAT CASE THEY MUST'VE SEEN HIM FIGHTING THE TITANS!"
"AND THEY MUST'VE SEEN THE TITANS IN THE AREA GANGING UP ON HIM!"
"IN OTHER WORDS, THE TITANS SAW HIM AS PREY, JUST LIKE US! NO MATTER HOW LONG WE THINK ABOUT THIS, THAT TRUTH STILL STANDS!"
The soldiers seemed flustered upon hearing that. The commander, however, was trembling in fear. He raised his hand up to order the attack.
"DON'T BE TAKEN IN BY THIS CLEVER TRAP!" He yelled "THEIR BEHAVIOUR HAS ALWAYS BEEN BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING! I'M SAYING THEY COULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO TURN INTO HUMANS! BUT WE CAN'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT ANY LONGER!"
Armin stood his ground and continued his speech.
"AS A SOLDIER, I VOWED LONG AGO TO DEDICATE MY HEART TO THE RECOVERY OF THE HUMAN RACE! IF MY LIFE ENDS WHILE KEEPING THAT VOW, I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS!"
"BUT IF YOU COMBINE HIS 'TITAN POWER' WITH OUR REMAINING MILITARY FORCE IT MIGHT EVEN BE POSSIBLE TO RECAPTURE THIS TOWN!"
The commanders hand started descending. Armin continued, nonetheless.
"FOR THE GLORY OF THE HUMAN RACE, I BEG YOU! IN THE MOMENTS I HAVE LEFT BEFORE I DIE! LET ME EXPLAIN HIS STRATEGIC VALUE!"
"Stand down!" Yelled a newcomer stopping the commander's hand mid-air.
Dina watched as the man talked to the commander.
'Probably a higher up' she thought.
But she didn't listen to what they were saying. As the smoke descended, she could make out a familiar figure standing in the middle along with Mikasa.
'Eren'.
