"Let's put this all together. Basically, Rod Reiss was after the Founding Titan, the Titan power inside Eren. However, unless it's in someone with Reiss blood, you won't get its true potential. Though, even if a Reiss obtains the Founding Titan's power, they're controlled by the First King's will and refuse to liberate humanity from the Titans. Well, isn't that interesting."
Interesting indeed. Hearing Eren and Historia spill the details on what they've learned from Reiss, it makes sense why Reiss and the former government would want to keep this power secret. It seems Eren can't tap into it anymore due to being unable to control Reiss' Titan earlier. It makes me question whether or not Reiner and Bertholdt know about this power. Since Grisha Jaeger knew, he had to know about it from somewhere.
"According to the First King, this is true peace? Now that's a weird way to look at it."
"In other words," Eren says, "we still have an option. If that Titan eats me, Rod Reiss will return to a human. Which means it's still possible to have a true Founding Titan."
"You can't…"
"Seems that way," Levi interrupts Mikasa. "We could capture Rod Reiss once he becomes a human. Undo the First King's brainwashing. If we could do that, it might open a path to save humanity. Plus, Eren… Are you saying you're fully prepared to let that happen?"
Eren turns to Levi and with a soft voice says, "I am."
Our reactions varied, mine simply being a look of worry. Riding beside me is Mikasa, and as usual, she's against it. "Eren, you can't…"
"You're forgetting our other option," Historia states. "First of all, the current plan is full of flaws. One, there's no proof that you can undo Rod Reiss' brainwashing. No matter how you restrain him, if he alters humanity's memories, it's over. Basically, there are too many factors about the Founding Titan that we just don't know."
"True," Armin concurs. "Even if Rod Reiss eats Eren, we have no guarantee that he'll return to normal."
"Mmm. On the other hand, all we've ever known is destructive pacifists. But as it stands, the Founding Titan was taken from them. This is a once in a lifetime chance for humanity." She turns to Eren. "Yes, your father was trying to save us and humanity from the First King. He stole the Founding Titan from my sister, murdered all of the Reiss children because he had no other choice."
Eren slowly grabs his head. "Dad…"
"That's right! The Dr. Jaeger I know wouldn't do something like that for no reason at all."
"Right. Even without having Reiss blood, there must be a way to save humanity. That's why he left you the key to the basement."
"What basement?" Sasha inquires. "Oh, that whole thing? You mean it's actually important?"
"Uh, yeah..." Connie answers.
"We've finally got a way to plug up the wall," Jean says. "The way I see it, there's only one choice."
"Killing Rod Reiss..." I say softly, to not offend Historia.
"That makes life a little easier," Petra comments.
"If it means anything, I agree with that choice. Though, are you sure about this, Historia? We can't exactly have a Titan like that wandering around inside the walls. One that big, we can't restrain. Meaning… We'll have to kill your father and there's no way around it."
Historia says nothing for a moment before she looks to the field in front of her. "Eren. I'm sorry."
"Eh?"
"Underneath the Reiss chapel, I really considered becoming a Titan and killing you. What's more, not even to save humanity, only because I wanted to believe my father. I didn't want my father to hate me… But now, it's time to say goodbye."
"..."
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"
"Dude..."
"You..."
"Elijah..."
"Elijah?" Historia brings me back from my...thoughts. I didn't even realize how long I'd been staring at my hands...still somewhat stained with the blood of a blonde Interior Police officer. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine... There are more important things to worry about right now."
Inside Orvud District
"All right. My next duty is to be Queen, right? Understood. Thanks for your concern. But whether or not it's forced on me is up to me to decide, I think. However, Captain, I do have one condition. Since my fate is my own, I want to lay it all on the line."
Historia walks into the meeting room, placing herself between Mikasa and Eren behind Lieutenant Levi. I watch as Mikasa leans over, telling Historia something about when she's queen, "you can punch that runt in the face."
"We've determined the location of Rod Reiss' Titan," a soldier reports. "It's southwest, approaching Orvud. At this rate, it should reach Orvud District by dawn."
"Understood."
"Commander Erwin, we'd like to hear what your plan is," the captain of Orvud's Garrison Regiment asks our commander. "How do you intend to evacuate the citizens in time?"
"We won't evacuate."
"Wh-What?" Every Garrison soldier in the room has a mild heart attack while us Scouts, used to these wild ideas of our commander and for us of the 104th, our own insane plans stay calm.
"We'll have the citizens remain in Orvud District just as they are."
"Are you insane? What the hell are you thinking, Erwin? Keep the citizens in the city without evacuating? By the time it's dawn, that Titan will be all over us!"
"That Titan is an Abnormal," Hange states.
"What the hell does that even mean?"
"The target Titan is strangely attracted to high concentrations of people. Hence, Abnormal. It means the fellow will turn a blind eye to a small village, ignoring it in favor of reaching this fortified city. If right now, you were to evacuate the citizens within Wall Sina, it will be drawn towards them, destroying the wall and all in its path. In the end, it would reach Mitras, with the greatest density of people and deliver a devastating blow to humanity. On our way back, we attempted to use Eren Jaeger's power to control Titans, but Rod Reiss' Titan showed no reaction."
"If we are to stop that Titan, we must do so outside the walls of Orvud District. For that to happen, we must have the citizens act as bait. However, this does not change the fact that our first duty as soldiers is to protect the citizens. Supposing we're unable to halt the target, we'll take measures so that not a single citizen is killed. We'll announce an emergency evacuation drill for Orvud District so that if needed, the citizens will be ready to evacuate at once."
"It seems there's no other choice," the captain says.
"The body of our target is the largest we've seen. As such, it presents an easy target. Wall-mounted cannons should prove highly effective, but if that's not enough to bring it down, the Scout Regiment will throw everything we have at it.
All eyes look to Eren, putting the pressure on him.
The following morning
"You are one big...ugly...mother-fucker..."
"You can't even see his face."
"I stand by my statement." Ignoring Armin's comment, I cross my arms as we watch the approach of Reiss. By now, the cannons try their best to slow him down, but I'm sure the civilians can see the cloud of steam over the wall. On the other side, Reiss powers through the cannon fire, unaffected by our weaponry. I don't believe the cannons are ineffective, but the sweet spot of Reiss-his nape-is tucked between his head and his back. Even with the angle of the cannons on top of Wall Sina, they haven't been able to directly hit the nape.
After several successive rounds of fire, we're unable to see Reiss behind the mixture of smoke and steam. Most of the shots made contact with Reiss, so hopefully there's some damage, especially to his arms. "Well, how's that?" Reiss' arm breaks through the barrier, tossing a tree at the Garrison soldiers on the ground. I guess the commander now has the answer to his question. "The ground cannons seem even less effective."
"Of course they are. The wall cannons barely hit the nape, even with a better angle. What's the problem?"
"It's a mishmash of soldiers, cannons they scrapped together, superficial leadership… To top it off, this is a northern region. Unlike troops on the front lines, they have no battle experience. However, this is the best we're going to get, and that's a fact."
"Yeah, that much is painfully obvious. Yet again, your strategy for the Scouts boils down to another gamble. Just like everything else you conjure up." As Hange approaches with the artillery for Erwin's plan, I focus on the approaching Titan being peppered by cannon fire. All I can think about at this moment is how we'll take this one down. Erwin's plan is feasible and at this rate, we're going to have to enact it. I cut my eyes to the others, specifically Eren. The most pivotal point of our plan relies on him. If he fails, we die.
"Hey," he says to me and Armin. "The kids in this city remind me of us on that day."
"Yeah," Armin replies. "Nobody thinks today is the day a Titan bigger than the wall attacks. They might end up seeing the same sight as we did that day."
"But this time, there are soldiers standing to face the Titan." I look up to Eren, staring straight into his emerald irises. "And that's us. No Titan will destroy the outer gate, no Titan will consume one's mother, no Titan will charge through the inner gate. Here we are...and here is where it stops. Then soon, after today...we're going home. The four of us, together."
"Eren," Mikasa says from a stack of barrels. "there's no time to stop. Keep your hands busy." He does just that but to our surprise, and not the way Mikasa meant. Eren begins to punch himself until Mikasa restrains him.
"Eren! What the hell is with you?!"
"Making a wound? It's too early for that!"
"No..." He wipes his bloody nose. "just beating the shit out of a useless brat. I hope he's dead and gone for good."
I chuckle as Mikasa releases Eren. "About damn time."
Reiss makes it to Sina, thus exposing his nape to the cannons. On the Garrison captain's command, the cannons target the nape, but before they can fire, Reiss emits a powerful blast of steam, much like Bertholdt back at Wall Rose. We're throttled by the heat due to a sudden change of direction from the wind, as Levi puts it, but unable to do anything much about it except to prepare ourselves for the second phase of our plan. The Garrison fires anyway, but it is largely ineffective as a large crash is heard afterward. It is Reiss impacting his head near the top of the wall. Then comes his hands upon us, and much like that day, a Titan rises above the wall. Just to provide some perspective, Bertholdt's head came above the wall; Reiss is a fucking torso taller. The skin and bones of the anterior side of his body are gone, exposing the interior of his face and his guts. I don't think there's anything more terrifying than seeing intestines fall out of a large Titan.
"Sweet mother of God." We douse ourselves with water as us Scouts prepare our attack.
"Eren, we're up," Armin says.
"Right. Oh, Armin, Elijah, another thing's different from then. It might not be all they hoped for, but now, humanity has an ace up their sleeve." I give Eren a determined smile as we rush to join Mikasa by our explosive barrel as he transforms. Now in position, we wait for Erwin's signal. According to the plan, these barrels, one with us, one with Sasha and the others, will work like ODM gear. They'll hook to Reiss' hands, be reeled in, and explode on impact, but the most important aspect is timing. They must be fired simultaneously...or so it is said.
"Let the attack commence!" Erwin fires a red signal, and the barrels' hooks are fired. Once they prick the Titan's hands, they are reeled in, exploding on impact.
"Take this!" Sasha shouts.
"Bet you'll feel this!" I add.
With a pained roar, Reiss topples over, losing his balance. Once Reiss' face is low enough, Erwin calls for Eren, and our Titan rushes towards the enemy with the barrels full of gunpowder. That's my contribution to this plan.
"So you're saying in order to defeat that Titan, we'll stuff gunpowder into its throat and hope it's enough to blow up its nape?"
"Correct. I believe Elijah when it says it'll work."
"If I was able to cut through a Titan's nape from the inside just using my blades, then surely enough explosives should do the trick as well," I add. "With the amount of heat it's producing, I imagine it will ignite without a detonator. So as long as its mouth is wide open for us."
"An explosion against its nape won't have the desired effect. Which is why the explosion must go off from the inside. But the target may be protecting itself by dragging its face along the ground. For all we know, it may not even have a mouth to open. That's the gamble this time."
A gamble that paid off. With an open target, Eren manages to throw the barrels into Reiss' half-destroyed mouth. With a tense delay, the barrels ignite, causing multiple explosions on the upper third of Reiss' body. Fragments of his body fly out in the direction of the city, most likely including his nape. "All troops! Finish it off with ODM gear!"
"It may be gigantic, but its vitals are still one meter high and ten centimeters across. Unless we destroy the main body, it will regenerate and form another shield of heat. We only got one shot."
"Come on...where is it?!" Fragment after fragment, I fail to take out the actual nape. That's until I catch sight of a bulky mass dropping down into the city, and a golden streak giving chase. That's the nape...and Historia.
"I understand your reasons, but...I can't approve you entering combat."
"Commander, please! I've finally grasped the duty I was meant to fulfill! That's why I'm here right now! Let me deal the killing blow to the Titan! That way, we can unite the Walls as one and stabilize the situation!"
"Well, In any case... With my body as it is, I can't exactly stop you, can I?"
With one swift strike, she cuts through her father, but is caught in a huge explosion afterward. "HISTORIA!" I chase after her falling body, catching her right before we land on a cart. Groaning in pain, we lie in place for a minute. Shifting my head, I accidentally get a little too close a look of Historia's face. A very...criminalizing closeness, but to avoid it being an awkward encounter, I decide to speak. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah...but I think you took the brunt of the fall."
"Maybe...ow. Nice job." She really killed him, I'm so fucking proud of her right now. We resume in silence, but after a few seconds, I turn away, breathing heavily and just so happen to realize we have an audience. Of course, we have an audience. Historia rises up, most likely thinking of other things rather than our compromising position. She stands up to the crowd.
"I am... I am Historia Reiss. The true ruler of the Walls." The people, now knowing their savior is also their ruler, begin to clap and cheer for Historia. She looks down to me, so I smile as I clap along with the crowd, seeing my friends on the rooftop above.
We did it... We fucking did it!
Days later...
Historia's coronation was quite the event. Seeing her in royal robes instead of our uniform is quite...different, but something we'll have to get used to. Something…I'll have to get used to now. Ymir, I wonder...did she imagine this happening one day?
"Hold on… You're seriously doing it, Historia?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Mikasa was just joking about it! Right, Mikasa?"
"After you smack him, tell him this, 'I dare you to hit me back.'"
"Elijah! Make her see sense!"
"Ha! No way, man. Historia is on a warpath." I ignore Eren's pleas as we of the 104th search for Lieutenant Levi to fulfill Mikasa's earlier advice to Historia.
"Damn you… If it's not a real grudge, just forget it."
"If I can't do this, how can I call myself Queen?"
"Hell yeah, Historia," Jean shouts. "That's the spirit!" We spot the lieutenant standing by a window, so he steps out the light to confront us. Expecting Historia's punch, he stands silently while the queen begins to nervously quake.
"...AAAAAAHHHHHH!" With that shout, she runs over and punches Levi's arm without retaliation.
Us cadets minus a smirking Mikasa shout in surprise that our new Queen actually pulled it off.
"How you like that? I'm the Queen! If you got a problem-"
To the shock of all of us, Levi chuckles. "Thank you...all of you."
Wall Maria
"Reiner!" Bertholdt runs to a beaten and battered Armored Titan, helping its shifter out of the decaying body. He turns to the looming Beast Titan that sits in place.
"I won. Saving Annie can come later. Retrieving the Coordinate is our top priority, as it should be." The shifter of the Beast Titan exposes himself, standing on the Titan's shoulder. A tall, blonde, topless muscular man who's glasses shine in the setting sun. "If we just wait here, it'll come to us."
The shifter takes off his glasses, wiping them off with a piece of cloth. Looking back on the other shifters, he lets out an exhaustive and slightly annoyed sigh.