𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 | 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭

Chapter Twenty-Three

After a while of us riding in the carriage Hange admits why the priest is here, it is because he knows the secrets of the walls and what is inside them. Titans, but he refuses to say anymore.

"Wait, wait, back up you're joking right? This guy knew he knew, and he kept quiet!" Eren shouts while leaning out of his seat, Hange nods looking at Levi.

"Uh-huh, afraid so. That just about sums up where we are with him, cats 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. Fate keeps him quiet first-hand experience though."

Eren stands up slamming his hands on a bench-like table in front of us, "to hell like that! No, we're doing this backwards if this son of a bitch knows something he needs to come out with it! Humanity is on the brink of extinction and all you care about is keeping your oath!"

He screams but stops suddenly and starts clutching his eye, Mikasa sees this and pushes me further from her to make space for Eren I now end up sitting shoulder to shoulder with Armin. I can feel my body heat up when I feel our knees touching, neither of us pulls away though.

"Hey, take it easy you're still not fully recovered," Mikasa tells Eren, lightly scolding him as he breathes heavily.

Levi pulls a gun from under his coat, my eye goes wide as I see him pointing it at the priest.

"There's more than one way to get us the truth, granted I may not be in tough 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."

Hange only raises their hands and sighs looking at Levi, "threatening him doesn't work Levi. Trust me on that, agree with him or not there is denying the priest here is a man of principle. Which of course leads me to wonder if he's so unwilling to talk, what in heavens name do you imagine he's putting above the fate of humanity."

As it all goes silent everyone strays away into their own world, Mikasa talking quietly to Eren while I look towards Armin. Wanting to start a conversation but I don't know how to, so instead I just stare at him.

He quickly turns to face me catching me staring at him, our eyes connect neither of us moving them away.

"Is something wrong Adelita?" He brings his hand to my eye touching my eyepatch, "is your eye hurting?"

"No... my eye feels fine, I just wanted to say that I hope you don't die. Fighting a titan." I say nervously to him making up a lie because I didn't want to say that I just wanted to talk to him.

He leans his head closer to mine now whispering quieter to me, "Adelita. Are you sure you're, okay? I mean you rested while you were in your cell, but do you think you're okay to fight?"

He then pulls his face away from mine causing me to let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, "I only ask because I'm scared I don't think I'm ready. I don't think I'll ever be."

He tells me quietly while looking down to his feet, I frown lifting my hand and placing it on his head.

"No one is ever ready; I don't even think Mikasa is. And if you aren't sure, you can completely do this, just come by me. People help each other, right?"

I can't see his face since it's still down, but I hope he is smiling, slowly his hand moves to lay on top of mine my eye widens at the contact.

I look up to everyone else in the carriage to make sure none of them are looking at us, but to my surprise, Levi and Hange have their eyes on both of us.

I quickly move my hand from his but then I see what Hange is holding, it's something from the female titan when Annie switched.

"It didn't evaporate, it didn't simply go poof. So, that got me thinking and when I compared it to a sliver of the wall its texture and composition, for all intents and purposes virtually identical. In other terms we're hemmed in by a barricade of enormous titans if my hypothesis is correct, the surface was constructed using consolidated titan skin."

Armin's eyes go wide at Hange saying this, while Mikasa begins to talk. "You're kidding me, that's what Armin was trying to say."

Armin gasps and tries to start talking only for Hange to launch at him, they cover his mouth while their body is all in my space.

"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 had to be just the right shape and size and we don't have specifics yet, but on the other hand where's there a whale there's a way. Picture Eren utilizing his hardening ability in titan form."

Hange then stops talking, they slowly pull their hand away from Armin's mouth as they return to their seat. Eren stares shocked not realizing he can solve this problem.

"I could patch the hole." He says quietly.

"The hardening won't dissolve once you return, this could be less than a long shot from how it sounds. Thoughts?"

"Well, anything worthwhile ensures a little bit of risk. If we can manage to close up Wall Rose, Wall Maria looks fairly promising." Armin says I look towards his eyes, it looks as if he has sparkles in them as he has stars in his eyes.

"Not too fast though, Leonhart you know anything of this?"

I start furiously shaking my head, lifting my finger to point towards Levi as I start speaking.

"No! I promise, I barely know how titans work like I said I was trained all day. Annie mostly knows the information."

I tell them, only lying a little bit. It's true I know none of the information for titans but not only Annie knows, Reiner and Bertholdt know too.

"All right, calm down I believe you." He tells me while flipping his head to look the other way, "me too!" Hange exclaims while pushing their face back into my space.

"But if we did this, we would have to carry out our plan in the dead of night." Armin starts saying still thinking about how we can go about this.

"Night?" Hange asks, confused as to why he said that.

"It'll be easier to carry out a plan when the titans are asleep, at night would be the best," I say expanding off of Armin's claim.

"That's not bad... in fact, it's genius. Particularly if the group is small enough to get by undetected."

Hange goes on about how it is a good idea, but then I remember it's not up to us it's up to Eren.

"It's if Eren can do this, Eren can you?" I ask turning my head towards him I can see the sweat beading off his head, he is nervous, I assume.

No one talks as we all sit and stare at Eren, his mouth is agape as he thinks. "What he thinks really isn't the issue. You either will, or you won't. That's the reality our comrades are breaking their backs, but without you, it's nothing. Failure isn't an option."

Levi says speaking up causing Eren's eyes to go wide, he looks towards Levi and nods his head. "Sir! I know! I'm prepared to do whatever it takes! Yes Adelita, I can do it! That's a promise."

Eren then lays his head down while clutching something on his chest, "my father's cellar. That's where the answers are if there's a grain of truth in what he told me, everything depends on us making it there."

He pulls out a key that is on a necklace line to wear, he holds it tightly as his eyes are shut roughly.

No one says anything except Hange as they look up to the walls, "here's Ehrmich."

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A/N

Guys life sucks rn, but it sucks even more bc for some reason grammaly keeps putting Hange as Hanga it's so annoying.

-Lei <3