Chapter 23
Plans
They been getting ready to go in Stohess District for awhile. Kara was helping load up wagons. Jean was joining the squad to help scout the walls while Kara, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were going to rescue their friends. Kara went to get in the wagon with Mikasa, Armin, and Eren. She looked for Jean and saw him near Erwin. She climbed into the wagon and sat across from Mikasa. Mikasa was wrapping her cape around Eren.
"Eren, you'll get cold. Wear it tight." Mikasa said.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Hange called. Kara looked to see Hange and Levi escorting Pastor Nick to the wagon. "Took longer to prepare than I thought." Levi sat next to Kara with Pastor Nick between him and Hange.
"He's, uh. He's a priest from the Order of the Walls." Armin said.
"I know. Old Nick and me are thick as thieves!" Hange said, throwing an arm around the Priest. Kara raised an eyebrow at her father.
"Don't ask." Levi said as Hange laughs.
"It's fine. Makes about as much sense for him to be here as the rest of us, don't'cha think? We're random." Hange said.
"No, on the Contrary. Erwin's thrown us together for a reason." Levi said. Kara and the Trio share looks.
"Open the gate!" A soldier shouts. The Gate opens. Erwin rides out and turns to face the Soldiers. Kara looked towards the gate.
"The status of Wall Rose is unclear, but everything up to Ehrmich is safe. That's the route we'll be taking. Let's move out!" Erwin called, turning his horse.
"Yes, sir!" Soldiers shout.
"You heard him." Levi said.
"Sir!" Moblit said from the driver's seat as soldiers follow Erwin out the gate. Kara watched out as they head out the gate and toward Ehrmich. They rode through the night. Hange starts explaining how the Priest had been hiding stuff from them like the Wall Titans. Kara still couldn't believe there were Titans protecting them from the other Titans.
"Wait! Wait! Hold on! This guy knew? He knew and he kept quiet?!" Eren said. Kara sat with her arms crossed as Eren, Mikasa, and Armin look at the Priest in shock.
"Uh huh. Afraid so." Hange said. Levi was glaring at the Pastor as Hange and Kara looked at him. "Just about sums up where we are with him." Eren gasps. "Cat's out of the bag now, of course. He's not willing to talk yet, but we'll see how he feels after a harsh dose of reality. Faith keeps him quiet. Firsthand experince, though?" Eren got into the Pastor's face.
"To hell with that!" Eren said as he stood up, glaring at the Pastor.
"Eren." Kara said.
"No! We're doing this backwards! If this son of a bitch knows something he needs to come out with it! Humanity's on the brink of extinction and all you care about is keeping your oath?!" Eren said. He grabs his face. Mikasa pulls him back in his seat.
"Hey. Take it easy." Mikasa said.
"You're still not fully recovered. Even though your right on that." Kara said. Levi pulled out a gun and pointed it at the pastor.
"There's more than one way to get at the truth. Granted I may not be in top form at the moment, but it doesn't take much strength to squeeze a trigger. That said. I'm genuinely hoping I won't have to blow a hole in you to settle this. How about you?" Levi asked. Kara rolled her eyes.
"Threatening him doesn't work, Levi. Trust me on that. Agree with him or not, there's no denying our priest here is a man of principle. Which of course leads me to wonder: if he's so unwilling to talk, what in heaven's name do you imagine he's putting above the fate of humanity?" Hange said. Kara couldn't help but wonder if she was right.
'If the cultists were willing to hide the Wall Titans from us? What other stuff are they hiding from us.' Kara thought. They all sat in a comfortable silence. Kara looked out into the forest as the rode by. The night was a bit chilly, but there was a nice warm breeze.
"Hey, Four-Eyes." Levi's voice pulled her back and she saw Hange holding a crystal in her hands. "Since when are you a geologist? Or are rocks just that fascinating? Looks like you're about to drool." Hange looked at Levi.
"What, this? It's not a rock. Not an ordinary one, anyway. It's a hardened piece of skin left behind by the Female Titan." Hange said.
"It didn't vanish?" Kara asked.
"No. This random fragment broke off when Annie reverted back to her human form. If it didn't evaporate. Didn't simply go Poof! So that got me thinking. And when I compared it with a slive of the wall, it's texture and composition were, for all intents and purposes, virtually identical." Hange said. Kara's eyes widen. "In laymen's terms we're hemmed in by a barricade of enormous Titans. If my hypothesis is correct, the surface was constructed using consolidated Titan skin." The Pastor closed his eyes and looked down.
"You're kidding me." Kara said.
"That's what Armin was trying to say." Mikasa said.
"So then..." Hange put her hand over Armin's face to shut him up.
"Easy it's rude to steal someone else's thunder. As it stands, we'd be hard pressed to find a rock big enough to plug Wall Rose. It'd have to be just the right shape and size, and we don't have specifics yet." Hange said. Armin mumbled in Hange's hand. "But, on the other hand, where there's a will there's a way. Picture Eren utilizing his hardening ability while in Titan form." Kara looked at Eren. His eyes were wide.
"I could... patch the hole." Eren whispered.
"The sealant should be composed of the same material. And the hardened bit won't dissolve once you've transformed back. This might be less of a long shot than it sounds. Thoughts?" Hange asked. She removed her hand from Armin's face.
"If it works, it's worth a risk." Kara said. Armin nodded in agreement.
"If we can manage to shore up Wall Rose, Wall Maria starts to look fairly promising. Vital as it is, the outpost infrastructure slows us down to a crawl. The Time and resources needed to transport materials are immense. But if supply wagons don't have to be accommodated, we can make our way to Shiganshina much faster. And what if we decided to carry out our plan in the dead of night?" Armin said.
"Night?" Kara asked.
"Yes. When the Titans are effectively motionless." Armin said. Kara looked at Hange.
"That's not bad. In fact it's genius. Particularly if the group is small enough to slip undetected." Hange said. Hange lifts up the crystal. "The straits we're in are as dire as they come. But there might just be the teeniest bit of slack."
"Yeah. Just bear in mind, though, the whole plan hinges on whether or not Eren can seal a hole, again." Kara said. Eren gasps. Hange looks at Eren.
"It's, uh, probably unfair of me to even ask. But do you think you can?" Hange asked. Everyone looks at Eren. Eren looks at his friends and Commanding Officers. Eren looks down.
"What he thinks really isn't the issue." Levi said. Eren looks at Levi. "You either will, or you won't." Levi looked at Eren. "That's the reality. Our comrades are breaking their backs, but without you, it's nothing. Failure isn't an option."
"Sir! I know! I'm prepared to do whatever it takes! That's a promise." Eren said. Kara smiled at Eren. Eren gritted his teeth. "My father's cellar. that's where the answers are." Eren pulled out the key that hung around his neck. "If there's a grain of truth in what he told me, everything depends on us making it there." Everyone looked at Eren with understandment. Hange looked up.
"Here's Ehrmich." Hange said. They entered through the gate. Kara jumped off the wagon. Levi and the Pastor disappear. Jean hurried over.
"Be careful out there." Jean said, pulling Kara into a hug. She returned the hug.
"You as well." Kara said. Jean pressed a kiss to her lips and she returned it. Kara pulled away to head in. Jean turned and nearly ran into the Captain.
"Sorry Captain." Jean gulped. Levi glared at him.
"Better get to your horse. Your squad is about to leave." Levi said. Jean nearly tripped running to get to his horse. Levi turned and saw Kara standing at the door. Kara shook her head at her father.
"You terrified him, father." Kara said.
"Tch. He needs to watch where he going." Levi said. Kara rolled her eyes. "Don't do that brat. I just worry about you. Especially after what that pig did to you and your mother." Kara smiled.
"Jean and I might get on each others nerves, father, but he would never do that to me. He's a good man. Trust him more." Kara said. Levi sighed.
Kara walked ahead of Levi and the Pastor as they enter the Headquarters. Hange and Moblit were talking to Eren. Hange saw Levi and Nick approaching.
"Kara. Your horse is ready for you." Moblit said.
"Thank you Moblit." Kara said as she joined Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, but stopped when Hange headed for Nick and Levi.
"So? Seen the light yet, by any chance?" Hange asked. The Pastor looked down. Hange got up in his face. "Oh, goddamn it! Make up your mind! This isn't some spiritual test! Lives are on the line!"
"Alas, I have no choice. Neither myself nor the others who believe are at liberty to divulge the truth." Pastor Nick said.
"Fat lot a help you are! Thanks for keeping us company! It's been fun!" Hange said. She turned her back on the Pastor.
"I'd offer help if I could, but a duty as great as this one is beyond me. The Order of the Walls abides by the sacred will our faith commands us to obey." Pastor Nick said.
"Whose sacred will?" Hange asked, looking at the Pastor. "You mean like God, or something?"
"I can't answer that. But what I can do is provide you with a name. An individual the sacred will in its divine wisdom instructed us to monitor." Pastor Nick said.
"Monitor?" Kara asked. Pastor Nick looked at Kara. Pastor Nick looked back at Hange.
"It's a person you know. Someone who enlisted with the Scout Regiment as of this year." Pastor Nick said. Levi watched as Kara, Eren, Armin, and Mikasa's eyes widen.
"A chld by the name of Christa Lenz." Pastor Nick said. A door bursts open and Sasha walks in.
"Important message! I'm with the 104th Cadet Corps! Oh, and my name is Sasha Braus!" Sasha said. Silence fills the room. Armin gasps.
"No way." Eren said.
"Are you kidding me?" Kara asked. Hange looked at Kara and her friends as Sasha approached.
"Who?" Hange asked.
"Sorry. This is for you, Section Commander." Sasha said, approaching Hange.
"You must find her with all haste. She is the key. She may know things we understand but poorly. And with that, we come to the end of what I'm free to share." Pastor Nick said. He inhales. "The rest I leave in your capable hands." Hange gasps.
"But if, if she's in the 104th Cadet Corps, she's at the front lines by now!" Hange said.
"Then let's go! Come on! There's no time to lose!" Eren said. Eren turns around and collides with Sasha who falls to the ground.
"Watch where you're going!" Hange said.
"Sasha? What are you doing here?" Kara asked.
"Just where did you come from all of the sudden?" Mikasa asked. Sasha gasped and grabbed a rolled up paper. She turned to Hange.
"I was sent to give a message to Commander Erwin. Who, then, entrusted me to deliver this to you, Section Commander!" Sasha said. She bowed, holding out the paper to Hange.
"Oh, uh. Okay then. Excellent work." Hange said. She took the paper and put a potato in Sasha's hand. Kara and her friends hurry into a room and start strapping the ODM gear onto them. "So, who is Nick talking about?"
"She's the smallest one in our class." Kara said as she was strapping her gear on, looking at Hange.
"Golden hair. Blue eyes." Eren said.
"In fact, she's, uh, kinda cute." Armin said. Mikasa was helping Eren with getting his gear on.
"The girl who's always hanging around Ymir." Mikasa said. Hange gasped. Levi didn't look to thrilled.
"Excuse me?" Hange said.
They all gathered in a meeting room. Kara pulled her Scouting cape on. Hange filled them out with the plan. Kara stood next to Mikasa.
"That's the plan. Are we clear?" Hange asked.
"Yes, clear!" Everyone said.
"Right. We have to go! Now!" Eren said as he walked to the door.
"Calm down, Eren." Levi said. Eren froze as everyone looked at Levi. "I need you all to listen. We're going our separate ways. Thta's how it has to be. Erwin has his reasons for throwing this ragtag squad together, but right now this is all riding on you. Armin, you and Hange are the brain trust. Use your combined knowledge to cook up some kind of solution."
"Right. Yes, sir!" Armin said.
"Mikasa. I don't think I'll ever get why you're so attached to the guy, but, you and Kara work well together. Both of you put your skills to good use. Protect Eren at all costs. Both of you."
"Sir! I intend to!" Mikasa said.
"Yes sir." Kara said. Levi looked at Eren.
"And you. Don't screw this up." Levi said. Eren nodded. "Check your emotions, Eren. Learn the meaning of word restraint. If you let yourself succumb to blind rage, all hope is lost. We can't affor another mistake."
"Sir!" Eren said. Everyone started leaving.
"Kara." Levi called. Kara looked at her father. "Survive. That's an order."
"Yes, father." Kara said with a smirk. Kara mounted her horse as everyone got ready to leave. She took one of the fire torches from a scout.
"Move out." Hange called. Kara kicked the sides of her horse and they rode out of the gate. Kara rode with Mikasa and Sasha. "There's a tower nearby that'll give us access to the wall. Part of an abandoned fortification to the wouthwest. We ride with all haste for Utgard Castle!" The Scouts picked up speed as they head for Utgard Castle. Kara hoped they made it in time to save their friends.
AN: New chapter up. We are officially in Season 2. Till next time