The Grey Angel (Attack on Titan x OC)

Chapter 41

-Nora POV-

Armin was still unconscious and I sat down next to my father.
"Thank you" I whispered and he looked at me. "For bringing Armin back. I know you didn't do it for me. But still... thank you"

He wrapped his arm around me. "I know. Elly, what would you have done if I hadn't brought him back?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"When you said goodbye to Armin... it looked like you gave up" he said and I looked up.

"Maybe I did" I whispered. "Armin is my voice of reason. He was the very first friend I ever made. He's my reason for fighting. When... when I saw the Commander, I knew you would chose him. I knew I had to say goodbye to Armin, say goodbye to the promise we made... he promised me he'd show me the sea. That we'd see it together"

"You really love him, don't you?" asked dad and I smiled.
"With all my heart" I whispered.

After a few hours I saw the signal that Armin was awake.
I immeadiatly went on top of the wall, my eyes met his blue eyes.
My hands couldn't stop trembling.

"Nora? What's wrong?" he asked. I fell down on my knees in front of him and hugged him tightly.
"Nothing. Not anymore... not that you're here now" I whispered. He hugged me back, I smelled his scent, it was still the same...

I looked into his eyes and kissed him. He was surprised but he kissed me back.
That was until we heard my father coughing.
"Eren, tell him everything" said my father.

~

After Eren and Mikasa told him everything, he just stared out in front of him.
"Okay, are you up to speed now?" asked my dad.
"Yeah... we won... but of the Scout Regiment, there're only 10 soldiers left alive... the 10 of us" said Armin.

"That's what it looks like" said Jean. "The fighting ended 4 hours ago. We've been searching for survivors, but no luck"
"So, to be clear. We resealed Shiganshina's gates, securing Wall Maria, Reiner and the Beast Titan escaped, along with the quadruped. You managed to capture Berthold, and then... with both the Commander and me wounded you had to choose which one of us to give the injection to. And you did... I transformed into a Titan and I killed Berthold... I ate him..." said Armin, he began to puke.

I gave him some water and he quickly drank it. "Why though? Why did you pick me? No matter how you look at it, Commander Erwin is the one humanity needed the most. Captain, why did you give me the injection?" he asked.

"Tch" said dad and kicked Eren. "I thought I told you to tell him everything Yeager. There was a short debate, your friends argued that you were the one we needed to revive. And when I disagreed, they staged a little mutiny"
"It's true. Punish us as you will" said Eren.

"You'll certainly be disciplined for your insubordination. But getting punished isn't the same as making amends" said Hange.
I took Armin's hand and held it.
I knew that he was back, but still, I was afraid that one day I'd wake up and find out that he's gone...

"I know" said Eren.
"Thing is" said dad. "I was the one that chose to revive you in the end. Or no... it's more like I chose this to be the place where Erwin died"

"Sorry, I just don't understand. How can letting Erwin die be the right thing to do?" asked Armin. "What are the Scouts without him? If he's gone... then how will we go on?"

"You're right, Armin. I believe it should've been used on Erwin too" said Hange. "To be brutally honest... never mind. It was a shame we had to chose in the first place. It's over now, Erwin told Levi to use the syringe as he thought best. And Levi chose to use it on you. What's done is done. Erwin's life and the power of a Titan both rest on your shoulders. No matter what anyone says, that's the truth. It's part of who you are now. Accept it"

"Wait... so does this mean that I... need to become Erwin's replacement? There's no way... I can't" said Armin.
"Don't misunderstand us" said dad. "There's no chance in hell that you could replace Erwin. That said... your self-doubt aside, you have a strength within you that no one else can claim. Don't let any of us regret this. Not me, not any one of our mutineers here, nor anyone else. And especially don't regret it yourself. Consider that your new mission"

"Shut the hell up" said Sasha suddenly and we all started laughing.
"Yep, that's our Sasha. She's always been one to speak her mind" said Hange, and I kind of took that personally.

'I'm the one who always speaks her mind, you weirdo'
"You know, since Erwin appointed me to succeed him as Commander, I'm more or less in the same boat as you. We'll just have to grin and bear it while doing what we can" she said.
"I'll try" said Armin.

"Good, now that we know Armin is alright. Let's check out that cellar. Eren, Mikasa you two can guide me and Levi. The rest of you stay here and keep an eye out for hostiles on the wall" said Hange.

"Right" I said.
"Eren, do you still have the key?" asked Hange.
"I do, let's do this" said Eren.

~

When they were gone, Armin squeezed my hand.
I looked him in the eyes. "Don't ever lie to me again" I said and he looked confused. "You told me that you had no intention of dying. That we needed to see the sea together. Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw your body?"

I stood up and looked over the wall. Armin stood next to me and put a strand of lose hair behind my ear.
"It felt like my heart got ripped out, Armin. That's how much you mean to me, that's how much I love you" I said and he let his head rest against mine.

"I'm sorry, Eleanor" he whispered and touched my cheek. "I really am"
He dried the tear that rolled down. I grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes.
"Promise me, that you won't lie to me again. And don't try to leave me again" I whispered.
"I promise, I swear... I'll never leave you again" he whispered and kissed me. "I love you, so much"

Eren, Mikasa, Hange and my father came back with three books. Books written by Eren's father, of his history and his life before coming into the walls...

They locked Eren and Mikasa up for a few days because of their insubordination.
Armin and I slept against the cells, keeping them company.

Until... Eren woke up screaming and in tears.
"Hey! Just calm down. You're still in the cells. You and Mikasa because of your insubordination" said Armin.
"Where you having a nightmare?" asked Mikasa and I burst out laughing when I saw her hair.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself" I said and tried to stop.

"When you woke, you asked who you were" said Armin.
"It's true, it also looks like you're crying" said Mikasa.
"I feel strange... like I just woke up from the longest dream of my life. Hold on" said Eren. "That was no dream. It was real... just now, I was somehow reliving my dad's memories. The Titan... it was you... poor Dina" said Eren and he began to mumble again.