Levi's Daughter

18

"He knew?" Eren repeated once everyone was filled in on the information. "This man knew there were Titans within the walls?"

"Yeah, but he kept his mouth shut about it all the time." Hanji confirmed. "We're gonna take him with us and show him the situation firsthand. He said he wanted to see firsthand and then decide whether or not to talk."

"No way, that's just wrong!" Eren exploded, standing up. "If you know something, you have to say so! What could possibly be more important than preventing our extinction?"

"Eren, calm down." Mikasa pulled him down, so he was sitting again. "You're still recovering from your transformation."

"You seriously suck." Sakura glared at the priest.

"There's more than one way to ask a question." Levi pointed his hand-gun at Nick. "I may be too injured to fight right now, but I can at least keep an eye on our friend here. Let's both be real careful, or someone will get a hole in them."

"Threats don't work on him, Levi." Hanji warned. "I've already tried. The Minister comes off as a man of decent judgment to me. This is just my guess, but he might be keeping quiet for a reason that's worth risking humanity's extinction."

"Oh, it better be a damn good reason." Sakura snapped.

Levi smirked at her words.

Hanji noticed the smirk, shaking her head, before cooing as Sakura decided to lean her head on her father's shoulder.

□□□

"Pardon the wait!" Hanji waved at the young teens who were sitting in the wagon. "Sorry it took me a while to get ready."

"Pastor Nick!" Sakura's eyes widened as she groaned in disappointment at the sight of the man.

Levi sat next to Sakura, with Pastor Nick sitting in between him and Hanji.

"Um, what is a Wallist priest doing here?" Armin spoke up.

"Oh, Nick and I are best buds!" Hanji answered, wrapping her arm around his neck. "Ain't we? Don't worry about him. You know how we roll with info distribution in this squad. Right, Levi?"

"No, there's a specific reason." Levi told the group. "Erwin chose him."

"Gate opening!"

"We know nothing about the situation in Wall Rose, so I can only guarantee our safety up until Ehrmich District!" Erwin shouted. "We'll buy time there. Let's move out!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Move it." Levi ordered.

Moblit nodded, and the wagon was moving, following the path that Erwin set for them.

□□□

"Hanji." Levi spoke up after a while, breaking the silence. "Hey, Shitty Four-Eyes. Since when have you had a thing for playing with rocks?"

Sakura's head slipped off of Levi's shoulder as he moved forward to look at Hanji, scaring her awake.

"Ah, you noticed." Hanji looked at him. "This isn't an ordinary rock. This is a remnant of the Female Titan's hardened skin."

"And it's still here?" Armin gasped.

"Yeah!" Hanji excitedly said. "Even after Annie cut off the transformation and left the Titan, it stayed like this! It didn't disintegrate, and it didn't disappear. I had a crazy idea, so I compared it to a piece of rubble from the wall, and they had scarily similar compositions. So I think it's safe to assume that the walls were made with Colossal Titans as the framework and hardened Titan skin as the surface." 

As Hanji spoke, Sakura noticed Minister Nick close his eyes. 

"So Armin was right." Mikasa's eyes widened at Hanji's words. 

"Th-Then -" 

"Hold your horses, Armin." Hanji slapped her hand on Armin's face, pushing him back so he was sitting. "I wanna say it. So far, we don't have a way to plug the hole in Wall Rose, right? We need a rock that'll fit it just right."

Something in Sakura's brain clicked, and she brightened up.

"Aunt Hanji, you're a genius!" Sakura exclaimed.

Hanji smiled at her niece's words. "So what if Eren could turn into his Titan form and use the hardening power to seal the hole?"

"Me, plug the hole?" Eren repeated.

"The materials are the same." Hanji continued. "And the hardened Titan skin might just stay there without disintegrating after undoing the transformation. But if it doesn't..." 

"I think it's definitely worth a try." Armin smiled slightly. "If it proves to be successful, we may also stand a chance at recapturing Wall Maria. Until now, our only option was to transport large quantities of materials, so we could only proceed if we already had supply points outside the wall. But if we don't have any wagons to escort, we can head for Shiganshina at a much faster speed. And how about doing that at night?"

"Night?" Hanji questioned.

"Yes, the time when the Titans can't move!" Armin confirmed.

"I see." Hanji thought through Armin's words. "With small numbers, we might be able to reach Wall Maria in one sprint. The situation couldn't be any less depressing, but it looks like we still have a ray of hope."

"Yes." Armin agreed. "But it all depends on whether Eren can seal the hole or not."

"This probably isn't an easy question to answer, but do you think you can do it?" Hanji questioned Eren.

Eren looked around at all the eyes staring at him, opening his mouth to answer Hanji's question.

"There's no 'can' about it." Levi interrupted. "Do it. That's your only choice. In this situation, all you can do is give your damnedest for the sake of the Corps. Make it happen."

"Dad!" Sakura protested. "At least make your words nicer so that he'll actually want to do the job and not feel forced to do it."

"Yes, sir!" Eren sat up straighter, eyes burning with determination. "I will seal the hole, no matter what! The basement...My house's basement. If my dad was telling the truth, that's where all the answers are. "

Everyone was silent, letting the news sink in. From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Hanji sit up straighter.

"We've reached Ehrmich District."

__________________________________________________________________________________

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to vote and comment, and remember to take care of yourself. Have a great rest of your day!