Inside the Titan, Eren slowly started to open his eyes. He gasped in shock as he struggled to break free. He tried to rip his left arm out after hanging and soon he was able to disconnect himself from the body. His eyes slowly traveled up and noticed what was before him
"What is this?" he asked, looking in utter shock at the back of the giant head
"I-I remember hearing the cannon go off. After that came a tremendous crash, shock and heat! Now we're inside a giant skeleton-" Armin says before being interrupted
"Eren protected us. That's all we need to understand for now" Mikasa calmly said after interrupting the blonde
Jason and Tim on the other hand both locked eyes as they communicated silently like only people trained by Batman could
Were you expecting that?
No. But the fact that Eren was able to do something like this on his own must mean he has some level of control
I doubt that. You saw his whole demeaner when it was revealed he appeared out of a Titan's body...
True, but how do you explain the fact that he was able to produce half a Titan body?
By now both Mikasa and Armin were looking at the duo with confusion as they kept shrugging or rolling their eyes. Armin almost thought it looked as if they were actually communicating
"Did you two know he was able to do this?" Tim suddenly asked out of nowhere. This shocked the two slightly as they noticed Tim beside the Titan skeleton, his hands stopping before slowly grasping the steaming bone, letting go right after due to the burning sensation he'd felt
"He never once displayed something like this growing up... whatever caused this has to be recently" Armin said after a moment to think about it and soon noticed the flowers near Mikasa's feet. Seems Jason also did as Armin's eyes met the raven-haired teens eyes before looking at something else
"Hey. You guys ok?" Eren exclaimed as he came up to his friends. Mikasa turned to look at him, her mind still not able to grasp the whole situation
"Eren, what is this?" Armin questioned
Stepping out of the steam, Eren said "I don't know! But it's already starting to vaporize, just like a Titan's corpse! Let's get away from it! Whether they're watching and waiting or if they're in a daze, the Garrisons aren't showing any signs of activity for now" at this, he turned his attention to the cannons mounted on the wall
Mikasa stood up as Eren turned to her "But I'm sure they'll start attacking again soon enough"
"I doubt there's any chance of reasoning with them now, after seeing this. But there is one thing I remember now. The basement. The basement of my house." Eren said as he grabbed the key around his neck as Armin and Mikasa stood there listening, while Tim and Jason wondered what could be so important in that basement
"My dad said it'd all make sense if I go there!" Eren said, clutched the key and staring at it "He's also the reason this has happened to me. If I go to the basement, I might figure out what the Titans are too!" at this a few images of his father injecting him came to him
Eren punched a bone of the Titan skeleton in frustration, making Jason wonder if the Titan was hot to touch or not for the teen... he remembered the steam was hot for him during the battle with the Colossal when he appeared with Eren "Damn it! Why did he keep it a secret?! Thousands of Scouts have died trying to get that information! It's the only hope humanity has!"
"And he just kept it tucked away in our basement all this time?! What the hell was he thinking?!" Eren exclaimed "And where the hell has he been these last five years?"
"Eren, we have other things to attend to right now" Mikasa said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, making him stop his thoughts
"Yeah"
At this the trio moved, while Jason looked towards Tim, who was in turn looking at the Titan skeleton with an unreadable expression. When the two former Robins met each others eyes, Jason could tell something was going on in that brain of Tim's
With the soldiers
"The smoke's clearing!"
"Attack on sight!"
"Let's finish it off quick!"
"Hold your positions!" Weilman shouted at the group
Everyone flinched when they heard and saw a part of the Titan's body fall. Bones were seen shattered and turning into dust once hitting the ground. This in turn forced the soldiers to cover their faces as a dust, steam, and crushed bone particles flew past them
Inside the Titan
The group was currently on the ground thinking of a way out of this situation
"I'm getting out of here," Eren said, making his childhood friends gasp
"Why did I have a feeling you were already going to say that?" Tim asked no one in particular
"You're just as self sacrificial as baby bird here is" Jason said with a sigh as Tim rolled his eyes
"Where to? How?" Armin questioned, not at all happy with what Eren just said
"Anywhere will do for now. Then I'll go over the Wall and make for the basement. After I've changed into a Titan again"
"What's to stop them from taking aim and firing? As soon as your try to climb the Wall, chances are they'll shoot you down" Tim said with crossed arms
"Doing that would literally make you vulnerable to attack. Didn't you ever hear the saying 'never turn your back on the enemy?' They'll literally use that to their advantage" Jason added
"Can you really do that?" Armin instead decided to ask. Though he agreed with both Tim and Jason, he wanted to know if Eren actually could do as he says he can
"I'm not too sure how to do it myself, but I think I can. It's just like how people can't really explain how they move their arms. Just now, my mind unconsciously focused on stopping the cannonball. That's why it decayed. It only had the capabilities and endurance for that. This time, I'm gonna be an even stronger one. I'm gonna be a 15-meter high one that can slaughter other Titans, like before!" he said, his breathing sounding as if he had just run a marathon and was out of breath
"Eren, your nose is bleeding" Mikasa said in a worried tone as Jason's eyes widen
'Don't tell me using these abilities will cost him his life!'
Looking shocked, Eren wiped his nose. He soon stared at the red blood on his fingers
"You look really pale and your breathing is rough. It's taking a toll on your body. You're not well!" Armin added after looking closer at Eren's condition
"My health doesn't matter right now. I have two ideas in mind. You guys can get through this alive if you stop trying to protect me. I've already caused you enough trouble as it is, so I'm gonna go at it alone from here on out" Eren explains, wiping the blood from his face in the process
Armin looks shocked at this, clearly not wishing for Eren to go with that idea
"Eren, I'm coming with you" Mikasa suddenly spoke
'Of course, wouldn't have imagined another response from that girl after his little speech' Jason thought with a sigh as he wondered what his other idea could be since this one spelled out trouble with a capital T
"You can't" Eren argued
"If I can't keep up, you can abandon me. But I won't have to do what you say either"
"I'm serious here! Just forget about it! I'm not your little brother or your kid!"
Tim rolled his eyes at this familiar argument of there's again "Time out! No one is abandoning anyone! Eren, Mikasa, you both need to stop arguing like a married couple and think of a better idea that doesn't involve screaming at one another"
Both Mikasa and Eren look embarrassed and if this were a life or death situation, Jason would be teasing them both. Instead he sighs and turns his full attention on the brunette "Eren, what's your second idea. You said you have two right?"
"What? Oh right! I said I had two ideas. Armin, I leave the decision to you"
Armin wasn't expecting that as he sees everyone looking at him
"I know how unrealistic this plan is. The best option would be to use this Titan ability in a systemic way, under the military's direction" Eren started saying as Tim could see where his line of thinking was going... but convincing the ones who want to kill them might be easier said than done "I know this sounds crazy, but if you think you can convince the Garrison I'm not a threat, I'll trust you and go with that option. That's my second idea. If you don't think you can do it, I'll go with my other idea as a last resort"
"We clearly need to train you in strategic planning. You're ideas are both risky. In each scenario there's a chance you're killed or captured" Jason spoke as Eren turned towards him
"You have any better options?"
Jason didn't have. He wasn't even sure there was getting through to the Garrison. He turned to his adopted brother and could see the gears turning in his head... hopefully he'd think of something better than negotiating. Worst case scenario, he goes down fighting instead of being killed by a bomb this time around
"Decide in fifteen seconds. Can you do it or not? I'll respect your opinion, whichever it is"
"Fifteen seconds is not enough to prepare a speech. At most he'd need at least more time, gathering facts and ways to counter their arguments... otherwise he'd be going in blind" Tim mumbled as Mikasa shot him a look, suddenly being very quiet
"Eren, why are you entrusting me with such a decision as important as this?" Armin asked with disbelief written all over his face
"Even when things get ugly, you always make the right call, you know? I figure that's worth relying on" Eren told him with what looked like a tense smile on his face
"When did I ever do that?" questioned Armin. He wasn't sure something like this should be left to him. Sure his ideas have worked before... but this was the life of his best friend on the line!
"Armin, I'll do it. I know that look in your face and while I don't doubt your abilities, I have more experience in this area" Tim said, getting up and walking ahead of the shocked and thankful blonde while Eren and Mikasa stood their with confusion
Jason grabbed Tim's arm "Do you actually thing this is the best course of action. You saw how those soldiers acted. Can you be sure that you'll actually reach them?"
Tim smirked "If not, I'm sure some aggressive negotiations are in order"
"So not the time for a Star Wars reference" Jason mumbled
With that Tim slowly made his way out of the safety of the Titan and was soon met by the scene of many armed Garrison soldiers with guns ready and aimed at him 'Are they seriously thinking that'll be enough to stop Eren if things go bad? Titans literally heal!'
"Stop where you are! Hands out where we can see them" the same soldier that Tim had been joking about with Jason called out as Tim rolled his eyes at how he needed to deal with the worse person to talk reason with now
Tim decided to for now humor the terrified soldier and raised his hands to reveal nothing in them. He turned around for good measure and even dropped his swords onto the floor "Is this enough or would you like me to strip as well?"
Weilman said nothing as Tim took this as his moment to start speaking before he could say anything else "Hey Weilman, since you seem to think killing Eren is the only solution, what do you expect will happen? You shoot Eren, threaten his friends, drop a bomb on him, you seriously think that's the answer to this?" Tim says gesturing to the area and could make out Jason from the corner of his eyes "The curriculum here must suck if violence is the answer to everything. Eren has demonstrated his resolve time and time again, heck he's always going around talking about slaughtering the Titans. Is that the type of person who's a threat to you? Alright so he said I'll kill you, but anyone with eyes could see he wasn't lucid or fully there. The guy watched his mother die in front of him, has a burning hatred for Titans that many of us wouldn't begin to understand. Many of the people who signed up go into the Military Police or just want to get into the interior and live safely"
By now everyone was quiet and listening to Tim talk. Weilman wasn't sure what to do. Every chance he had to talk, the teen wouldn't allow a single word out of him as he didn't stop his argument until his point has been considered or heard
"Eren, he isn't like that. Since I've known him, he's wanted nothing than to join the scouts, help humanity against the Titan threat and make his dream a reality. Can you say the same in your case? You're nothing more than a shaking mess. Using others to do dirty work that you seemingly can't do so yourself. If you want to kill Eren, why not pull the trigger yourself? I'll tell you why, you're nothing but a coward and a chicken! Eren has done nothing but fight, even as a Titan, who was he fighting? The humans or the Titans? Anyone?! No. Well it was the Titans and there are multiple witnesses who will surely back the story up"
Armin looked at Tim in awe, he had a slight idea of what he would've said in Tim's place, but the teen is literally throwing facts in their faces. Maybe he should take notes or something!
"Eren is just as much a human being as the rest of us. He didn't even seem to realize he could become a Titan until whatever caused him to happened. If you had been back their with the rest of us, you'd have seen the shock and frustration in him for not having any knowledge of this. It seems no matter where one goes, adults always seem to come to the wrong conclusion. Never gaining the facts needed and only see what they want to see. Eren is literally not the enemy! Heck he offered to use his abilities for the good of humanity! He could have run, taken off and left us all, but that isn't who he is. I mean he was thinking it and who wouldn't after being threaten to be blown up by a freaking cannon!"
"Captain, I believe his words speak a great level of truth" said a soldier beside Weilman as the shaking man was about to respond, only for Tim to continue his case
"His Titan ability could be the key to helping you retake the Wall you lost! He could seal up the gigantic hole letting in the Titans in... unless you have something on hand that seal it up in time. So please, do tell what your brilliant idea is? What could you possible do that hasn't already been considered when you have the answer right in front of you! Go on now, shoot me if you believe this will get you anywhere, I have no doubt that you wouldn't live long to-"
"That's enough young man. I believe you've made your point very clear" said a new voice as Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Jason and Tim see a new arrival beside Weilman
"Commander Pixis?"
"Quite the speech you had their cadet. I've only just arrival and gotten filled in, but seems to me you needed no help at all. Can't you see when one has you beat Weilman? You would never have won the argument against one as skilled as he. Should you have shot him or the rest, we would have lost someone who would have helped a great cause"
Ok, I have no idea where all that came from! I swear at first I had no clue what to write to replace Armin's speech and suddenly boom! All that came out of nowhere from my head! I swear this is the longest chapter in the crossover so far! Next up, the plan to retake Wall Rose!