'So, he's still alive' Dina thought as she quickly raised her titan form up.
The jaw titan was approaching from behind and she didn't have any idea on how to stop it.
All of a sudden, Hange appeared. She launched a thunder spear right towards their opponent. It proved to be effective, as one of Marcel's limbs was hit and blown away. However, instead of retaliating, it changed directions and started running towards the wall. Why was he retreating?
"Dina!" Hange cried out as she landed on the female titan's shoulder "are you okay?"
Said woman crouched her form on the ground and exited the giant body, accompanied by a cloud of steam.
"I'm alright!" She shouted back "what's with the armoured?!"
"The kids are…"
Suddenly, the cart titan ran past them. It seemed to be carrying Reiner's unconscious body in its mouth but what shocked Dina even more, was the person sitting on top of the titan.
A quick glance of surprise, grief, hurt and regret has been exchanged between a mother and a son.
"Damn it!" Hange cursed as the titan ran past the wall "we let them go!"
Then, the officer saw that Dina was staring emptily towards the spot the warriors were in, just a moment ago.
"Dina?" She asked slowly "are you okay?"
"What…?!"
"I was asking if you're feeling okay" Yann repeated as he sterilized the needle over a small fire from a gas burner.
She was laying on a firm bed in the laboratory created with the medical engineer's guidance. Today was finally the day they would extract some of her spinal fluid in order to create the much-needed serum. With the substantial help of the Reeves company, the scouts managed to provide the man with all necessary equipment.
"I'm good" she exclaimed.
Upon that Yann nodded and motioned for her to lie on the side.
"Is this safe?" Erwin asked just as the engineer was about to plunge the needle into her spine.
"I'm driving it between the third and fourth vertebrae in the lumbar region" he explained "worst case scenario for a normal person would be paralysis from the waist down."
Dina suddenly got a lot more anxious. Seeing the look on her face, Yann just smiled.
"Relax" he said reassuringly "you're a shifter, so any tear to the spine like that would heal pretty fast. And besides, I've done it so many times that I doubt anything dire would happen. You can experience dizziness, though…"
"Alright" the blonde exclaimed "just do it…"
The slight twinge sent shivers over her body as the needle was driven into her spine.
"Okay, I'm in" Yann exclaimed as he brought a little bottle towards the other end of the needle.
In the blink of an eye, the fluid started to drip slowly into the bottle.
"How long is this going to take?" Erwin asked after a few seconds.
"Well, I can't drain the whole spinal cord" Yann responded, focusing on the volume of the fluid within the bottle "so not that long. After I fill this bottle, we shall repeat the procedure tomorrow and we'll keep that routine for as long as we need."
That seemed to abash the commander as he looked down.
"Back in Shiganshina we used a whole bottle of serum…" he slowly said.
The medical engineer just chuckled.
"If you want to turn someone into a titan instantly, then you would probably need this a lot" he explained "for this purpose, not much is required. Believe me, I was the one who'd make serum for Zeke, and all it usually took was a single drop."
Dina felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Her eyes started to close.
"Okay, I think that's enough" Yann exclaimed, seeing her reaction.
She smiled as he took out the needle and put on a small bandage.
"You can rest now" he said as he helped her lie on her back.
As she was waiting for the effects of the procedure to subside, she got some weird thoughts in her head.
"Why the spinal fluid?" She asked, suddenly.
Yann looked at the blonde female with raised eyebrows.
"Well," he started "no one knows for sure. The Marleyan researchers are having quite the debate over that. What we know, is that spinal cord is the only body part that stays intact after a transformation into a pure titan."
"The weak spot…" Erwin said.
"Yes" Yann admitted "this is the cause of that as well. As for why exactly, we don't know. But I can tell you, whatever makes Eldians change into oversized nudists, resides within their spinal cord."
He carefully closed the bottle with Dina's spinal fluid and put a label with a date on it.
"Okay" the medical engineer exclaimed "that's it for today. I'm going to my room. Don't stand up if you feel too dizzy…"
Having said that, he left. As the door closed behind Yann, Erwin turned to look Dina in the eyes.
"They hate me" she said in a weak tone.
"Who are you talking about right now?" Erwin asked slowly.
"My sons" the blonde female responded hazily "either of them…"
The commander sighed at that. Eren still wouldn't talk to Dina, even after his own child was born. Upon hearing that the young shifter was actually the queen's consort, the blonde woman was overjoyed, yet the name of Historia's child kept reminding the Yeager matron of everything that had happened in Shiganshina.
"And now, one of them is a dad" the blonde female exclaimed "I thought everything would turn fine…"
The development regarding the young attack titan was not unexpected. Most of the military already suspected him of being the father, but something didn't sit quite right with Erwin. Especially, he didn't like how the queen always seemed to have a very distinct opinion on everything that came up. Her active role in the government seemed like a normal thing, but deep down, the commander knew, the royal couple was brewing something.
"He'll come around" Erwin reassured her "soon, the port will be finished and maybe, you'll go and see it together as one big family…"
"Yeah…" Dina responded closing her eyes tiredly "that'd be nice…"
