Dina was dreaming. She was in her family house with her son and her husband. Suddenly her husband turned towards her and said:
"Dina…"
"Grisha…"
He walked over to her. He seemed more real than everything else.
'This is a dream' she thought to herself 'but I'll enjoy it nonetheless.'
"Dina!" She heard Grisha cry out. He embraced her small form.
She suddenly realized she wasn't dreaming anymore. She was still in the giant hall converted into a refugee camp. And her husband was hugging her surprised form.
"What… Is going on?" Dina exclaimed weakly with tears in her eyes.
"You're here…" Grisha said sobbing "…everything's alright. You're alright…"
"Grisha…" Dina started "we are within the walls. How exactly did you get here?"
"There's no time to explain…" Her husband replied "beside you, is a boy you saved in Shiganshina. Is that correct?"
"Yes…" Dina said, "how did you know?"
"He is my son" Grisha replied "I need to take him somewhere and let him take over my power."
"Wait…" The woman cried out "what do you mean by that?"
"I have to do it right now" he looked her in the eyes "I'm so happy I got to spend my last moments with you Dina…"
"Last moments…?" The woman asked with a trembling voice.
"If you're here, that means you must've inherited one of the nine" Grisha said.
"After you inherit this power, you can live for no longer than thirteen years."
"This is how it's always been, ever since the great mother Ymir."
Dina was trying hard to process the information he was giving her.
"I have to go now" Grisha exclaimed.
"Wait!" Dina cried out "Why does it have to be now? Now that I've finally found you?!"
Her husband looked at her and smiled.
"Oh, Dina" he said with affection "we'll meet again, sooner than you think."
He kissed the top of her head.
"You won't remember this memory until Eren's secret is revealed."
"I love you Dina" he said as her eyes began to close, and she once again fell to sleep.
"Please take care of Eren."
Dina was standing in the crowd. The revelation she had was truly ground-breaking. Eren was the second son of her husband. She thought about the implications of that knowledge.
Grisha somehow managed to get the power of a titan thirteen years before her. This could only mean he received this power on the day she was transformed. Did the Owl plan this in advance? Of course, he was the only one with inside knowledge of the government. But how did he manage to give her husband this power.
Dina didn't exactly know who the Owl was. They've only ever exchanged letters. She never saw his face, nor did she know how he always swept under the government's radar. Dina was sure he must've been the one to give Grisha the power of a titan.
"A plan to take back Trost?"
"Now?!"
"You gotta be kidding!"
Indeed, a plan to take back Trost seemed suicidal at first glance. The soldiers, however, didn't know about Eren's newfound titan power. Dot Pixis, the person high in command who saved Eren, has been known for his eccentric ways as well as his tactical brilliancy. If anyone would want to use a new unknown power to fight the titans, he was probably the man to do so.
Dina looked at the mass of soldiers that stood before the wall. This didn't look good. The morale was low and some of them already seemed to be thinking about mutiny. If nothing was done, they would lose this battle before it even started.
"ATTENTION!" A yell could be heard coming from up the wall.
All the soldiers looked at the commander Pixis.
"I WILL NOW EXPLAIN OUR STRATEGY TO RECAPTURE TROST DISTRICT!"
"THE GOAL OF THE OPERATION WILL BE TO PLUG THE HOLE IN THE BROKEN GATE!"
The soldiers seemed distressed.
"Plug the hole?"
"How do they even…"
"WE HAVE A WAY TO SEAL THE HOLE, BUT FIRST I WANT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO EREN YEAGER OF THE TRAINING CORPS!"
"WE'VE BEEN CONDUCTING TOP SECRET EXPERIMENTS ON TITAN TRANSFORMATION, AND THIS SOLDIER IS OUR FIRST SUCCESS!"
"HE IS ABLE TO PURIFY THE BODY OF A TITAN AND CONTROL IT!"
However ridiculous did that sound, Dina knew that the soldiers needed to know that everything was under control. If Pixis could deliver a believable story about Eren's power, the soldiers would get much needed morale to fight.
Dina looked at her friends from the training corps. They all seemed confused about this.
"Hey… I must've misheard the commander just now" said Connie "or am I just an idiot?"
"Keep it down, will you" Krista silenced the boy.
The commander continued with his explanation.
"HE WILL TURN INTO TITAN, PICK UP THE BOULDER NEAR THE GATE, CARRY IT OVER, AND USE IT TO BLOCK THE HOLE!"
"YOUR TASK IS TO PROTECT HIM FROM THE OTHER TITANS WHILE HE'S CARRYING THE ROCK!"
Dina thought about the plan. Even though it was simple, this could actually work. However, the rest of the soldiers didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm.
"Lift that enormous stone?"
"Is that possible?"
"It's a lie!"
"They probably figured most of us would believe that crap… How dumb do they think we are?"
The mutiny was on the rise. Soldiers were leaving left and right. Something was needed to be done quick.
"UPON MY ORDER!" Yelled the old commander "ANYONE WHO LEAVES RIGHT NOW WILL GO UNPUNISHED!"
"IF YOU HAVE GIVEN IN TO YOUR FEAR OF TITANS, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THEM AGAIN! ANYONE WHO HAS SUCCUMBED TO TERROR OF THE TITANS SHOULD LEAVE HERE!"
"ANYONE WHO WANTS THEIR PARENTS, SIBLINGS AND LOVED ONES TO FEEL THE SAME TERROR FOR THEMSELVES SHOULD LEAVE AS WELL!"
This speech seemed to have boosted the morale, as the leaving soldiers began returning to their positions.
"LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED FOUR YEARS AGO! ABOUT OPERATION TO RECLAIM WALL MARIA!"
"I DON'T THINK I NEED TO REMIND YOU OF IT! 'OPERATION TO RECLAIM' SOUNDS GOOD. DOESN'T IT?! BUT IT WAS REALLY JUST A WAY FOR AN OVERBURDENED GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED THEY HAD TO FEED!"
"WHAT NO ONE DARES TO SAY IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SURVIVE, ONLY BECAUSE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ARMS WERE FORCED TO GO OUTSIDE! THAT SIN BELONGS TO ALL OF HUMANITY, INCLUDING ME!"
"THE RESIDENTS OF WALL MARIA WERE A MINORITY, SO OPEN WAR NEVER BROKE OUT! BUT IF THE WALL ROSE IS BREACHED, IT WON'T BE NEARLY ENOUGH TO SACRIFICE TWENTY PERCENT OF THE POPULATION!"
"BEHIND OUR FINAL BARRIER, WE COULD ONLY AFFORD TO FEED HALF THE WORLD'S SURVIVING HUMAN BEINGS! IF HUMANITY DIES OUT, IT WON'T BE BECAUSE THE TITANS DEVOURED US!"
"IT WILL BE BECAUSE WE ANNIHILATED EACH OTHER! WE CANNOT DIE INSIDE YET ANOTHER WALL! GIVEN THE CHOICE…"
"DIE HERE!"
As his words reached the soldiers' ears, a wave of war cries could be heard among the crowd. Dina had to supervise everything really closely. She couldn't let the warriors make another move. She couldn't let Eren die yet again.
