Chapter 14 The Solution

A pair of eyes flickered over the crowd before it, a mob paralysed between shock, fear, and confusion. The eyes were familiar to too many of the people before them, eyes which had so often this day stared back at them with hunger. The eyes of a Titan. Carla hobbled on her crutches, nightmares seeping back into her mind as she felt her breathing grow short and panicked.

She saw those eyes every night when she tried to sleep, a twisted a smiling face over her, reaching out to her. Now those eyes were back, and they were the eyes of her son. A hand clasped around her arm and tried to pull her back, but she remained rigid, locked in a battle between her terror that demanded she flee, and the instincts that made her want to rush forwards and embrace whatever… thing her son had become.

"Eren…"

Tears welled in her eyes, only compounded by the thoughts of wondering where the rest of her children had gone. Mikasa, Armin, Gohan… She'd only heard of the commotion because of some soldiers searching for him, and her desire to find him had put her smack bang in front of her waking nightmare. And yet, she pushed forwards, the hand on her arm holding her back even as she began to struggle against it. She was terrified, scared to her core, but she needed to see her kids, to hold them and know they were okay.

"Back! Everyone back now!"

It was that garrison captain again, his terror having proved prophetic and the crowd now no longer as willing to fight against orders. Another hand grabbed her and helped pull her back as the mob began to retreat. She screamed a protest, but it was weak, as was her body which had so little strength to fight against the people around her. She felt old, and so very tired.

"It's ok Mrs Jaeger, it's ok."

She looked to her left, at the voice belonging to the second hand which had pulled her back to see a young female cadet, bandages wrapped around her head only lightly obscured by her hair and pigtails.

"Its ok, we'll find out what's going on. I trust Eren."

One of her sons' teammates then, that was good news at least. She could do nothing more than hope as the crowd pulled back completely, and the garrison soldiers resumed their positions, the MP's reloading their rifles as a light mist began to set in around the Titans body. The top half was fully formed, but the lower hadn't fully appeared instead being only soft bones and sinew, essentially only existing from the waist up as the lower half was crushed beneath it. The flesh was already beginning to fade away however, and the eyes began to lose their light, soon enough the Titan corpse would die completely and whatever was inside would be revealed. It was just a matter of waiting.

On top of the wall the garrison soldiers were locked in a fierce shouting match with each other. The blows had stopped, having been thrown very soon after Hannes and his men had arrived and begun demanding answers, fists flying once the cannon had been prepared to fire. Five against three would have made it a short fight had they not been stopped by the flash of lightning and crack of thunder, everything had stopped pretty quickly then. Briefly, anyway.

"Who the hell do you think you are!? I'll have your ass reported to Commander Pixis for insubordination!"

"Fuck you! You were set to fire onto our soldiers! Those are cadets down there!"

"I have my orders! That Titan is not human, and I am fulfilling my duty by destroying it! If you try and stop me in that duty, then you are a traitor!"

"We lead the evacuations that saved lives while you all hid in fear, and now you want to play the hero? You're worse than the MP's! I hope that medal you think you're getting around your neck makes you choke you bastard!"

"You fucki-"

A fist connected with the soldiers mouth before arms wrapped around the two men and quickly pulled them apart. Tensions were beyond the knife edge, but Hannes ignored it as he looked down at the creature by the wall.

That…was Eren? That little brat had gone and gotten involved in something way over his head. Typical of him really. And if he had seen right, Mikasa was down there too, as inseparable as ever even in the worst of situations. Now, he was there too, damn kids. He turned back to his men, moments away from throwing blows again even after what had happened.

"Alright listen up, pull back to the blockade and tell Brian about the shitshow that's developing here. Have him hold position but form a reserve in case we need it." He pointed to one of his men before turning to the three who had been manning the cannon. "You lot, pull the cannon back and get it onto the outer line, we need to be ready for the counterattack, not causing a mess in our own walls."

"What!?" The man who had been struck shook free of his face stormed forwards until he was virtually nose to nose with Hannes. "Who do you think you are? I have direct orders from Captain Woermann to be in this position and provide fire support for dealing with the Titan threat within our walls."

"As the ranking officer for the defence of the walls, I am giving you new orders. Woermann's authority as captain is down there on the ground, not here. For all intent and purposes I am your captain now, and as long as that cannon is out of position you weaken our defences. So move it!"

The man hesitated, and with good reason, since Hannes was talking out of his ass. Woermann really did have authority regarding the defence of the inner gate, and Hannes over this section of the wall as a whole, but Woermanns' authority didn't simply stop when he sent some of his troops up onto the wall. So long as they were out of the way, Hannes had no actual command over them, but he was counting that they didn't know that.

The man grunted, and relented. It seemed that Hannes was in the clear, at least until after all this was over anyway. When it was, he was going to be in a hell of a chewing out at the least. Well, being a captain was fun while it lasted.

"Nicky, get me a spyglass, I need to see what's going on down there."

"Yes captain!"

The woman gave a quick salute and ran off, leaving Hannes to simply wait and see.

Being inside of a Titan was an experience Armin was certain he would never forget. He found himself having flashbacks to the creature that had consumed Eren, the wet insides hinted at which were now all around him. The logical part of his mind figured this must have been a Titans stomach, given the liquid he found himself swimming in and the slime which coated the fleshy walls to his back. It gave him no comfort whatsoever as he let out a terrified wale.

"Armin!"

There was a splash as a figure moved towards the sound of his voice, not enough light for him to see who but he recognised the voice as Mikasa, even if it was confirmed for him by her hands grabbing a hold of him.

"M-mikasa? What's going on?"

She looked around, equally as disturbed as he but with her typical stoicism still in place. She too looked around, trying to find some sort of answer as she reflected on what had led up to the moment before they'd found themselves in this predicament. The guns had been fired, there was a flash of light, and then the outside world had disappeared, covered away by walls of flesh, muscle, and bone before plunging them into near darkness.

"Eren did this for us Armin, that's all we need to understand for now. Where's Gohan, have you seen him?"

As if on cue Armin promptly felt an arm wrap around his chest, a scream breaking free of the blonde boys lips as he instinctively struggled against it. The arm itself was flailing, allowing Armin to break away and turn around, freezing as he saw an arm swinging free against the stomach walls, the body hidden inside the Titans body. Armin flung himself forwards at the same time as Mikasa, both gripping tightly as they began to pull with all their strength. There was a wet slop as the drenched form of Gohan gradually began to appear, a deep gulp of air being taken when his head finally broke through.

"You should be thankful you could hold your breath as long as you did." Mikasa said as Gohan gulped in air on his hands and knees, broken intermittently by hacking coughs as fluid dribbled out of his mouth.

There was a loud hiss of steam breaking free above them, and the muscle overhead began to wriggle and twist. It slid against each other, steam and specks of light appearing against it before there was a tear down the centre, and Erens' flailing body fell through, splashing into the stomach with them. He landed flat on his ass in the water, but struggled to his feet in an instant, his eyes darting about in the darkness.

"Armin? Mikasa? Gohan? Hey are you guys alright?"

"Eren, how'd you…?"

"I don't know, but look! It's already starting to vaporise like the corpse of a Titan, let's get out of here!"

Eren grabbed a sword from Mikasa's hip and plunged it into the wall next to him, handing it back after he'd made a deep enough cut before sticking both hands in and beginning to push. He strained, his hands sinking deeper before he suddenly pulled back with a slight yelp and red marks from the heat.

"Eren."

Mikasa was by his side in an instant, taking his hands in hers to check them over. He snatched them away in annoyance, biting back an impulsive venom on his tongue before he quickly grabbed Gohan's cloak of his shoulders. With his hands wrapped in the tough fabric he grabbed hold tightly around a chunk of flesh and yanked, the meat not coming free but enough sinew snapping to keep it open and give them a view of the outside. Even through the smoke, Eren could still see the soldiers surrounding them, whatever crowd had come to their aid having backed off if not completely, at least enough as to not be relied on to be on their side.

"Hard to tell if they're watching and waiting, or just totally dazed. I suppose it doesn't matter much either way, I'm sure once the smoke clears they'll resume the attack."

"You don't know that." Gohan found himself back on his feet, peeking through the gap with the rest of them. "They're scared, but there's clearly something going on that's dividing them. I think we can find a peaceful resolution to this."

Eren stepped back to look at his friend. The strange mutant boy was always optimistic like that, and he owed so much to him for saving his mother's life, but he still couldn't find it within him to truly entertain the thought. He looked up above them, the hole he'd slipped through having grown wider as more and more of the corpse began to fade away.

"After seeing this, I think we've blown any hope of reasoning with them."

There was a quiet tink as Eren moved and he looked down to see the key still wrapped around his neck. There was a flash of images in his head as the words his father told him began to stream through his mind, and he gripped the metal tight in his hand.

"The cellar! I'm starting to remember. This key… our house in Shiganshina! My father said I'd have to go back there. Everything hinged on it. I think it's why he gave me the power to transform. If I can make it back to our cellar, I might learn the Titans secrets."

Determination flashed into rage as Eren slammed a fist against a piece of rib which had begun to be exposed, a slight crack appearing to show just how quickly the bone was deteriorating.

"Why did he keep this a secret? How many thousands of scouts have died because my father didn't share this information? It could be the last chance humanity has! And the answers been hidden away under our house the entire time? Is he insane? Damn him! And… mom…"

Mikasa gasped as she realised what Eren just had.

"Did mom know? Does mom know what's down there? She must have seen it right, there's no way he could have kept the whole cellar hidden from her without her prying in some way right!?"

He moved to the gap in the Titans stomach, looking out for some kind of sign of her. He'd heard her voice, knew she was out there, but wherever she was he couldn't see her from this angle. Damn it, she could have the answers and she was so close, but… if she did have answers, if she knew and kept it from him for so many years…

No. He shoved that idea out his mind with fury. His mom wasn't that kind of person, and while he would ask about it, he already knew that she wouldn't be able to solve the mystery already.

"Get ready, the smokes clearing. As soon as you see it, blast it."

"Kill it before it gets us!"

"Hold your fire!" Captain Woermanns voice rose over the soldiers beginning to panic once more, his own decisions still as panicked as ever but having at least been granted enough of a respite to choose a course of action and be firm on it. He may have felt the same terror as his men, but he at least needed to seem in control.

A loud crack was heard as the head of the titan suddenly jerked, the spinal cord snapping as the weight of its head began to roll forwards, flesh tearing with a sickening squelch as blood oozed out, before a mighty crash was heard as it hit the ground. The damn thing was close to complete death now.

"All troops remain in position, and standby for my signal!"

From inside the Titan, Gohan looked on with worry. They needed some sort of plan to deescalate the situation before things turned bad again. He stretched out his Ki senses, trying to spot any possible ambush nearby. He could feel the soldiers immediately surrounding them, the captains Ki fluctuating rapidly with fear, not a good sign at all. Just beyond him, a crowd of dozens of people of varying Ki levels, a mix of soldiers and civilians. He could pick out a few particulars, like Mina who he was glad to know was still ok, though she did seem to be tired or still injured, either way she wasn't at 100%. Just next to her was Carla, the poor woman was worried, but calmed by a sense of trust in her son. She wasn't going to do anything rash which was reassuring, but he could feel other Ki levels moving towards them already, one of which was vaguely familiar.

He stretched out further to try and identify the familiar Ki, and was surprised to feel Hannes all the way up on the wall surrounded by a handful of other Ki's. Gohan supposed he at least knew why the cannon hadn't fired, he'd have to say thank you later for that, but he pushed the distraction away. That Ki… Commander Pixis! He remembered that feeling from the day before when he'd been requested by the man, if he was coming here personally, then maybe he would help release them?

Unless, was he coming to have them executed? To order the soldiers to stop hesitating and attack? He didn't know the man well enough to tell, and his Ki was steady, resolute in whatever decision he had made. But if he was firm on the latter… then perhaps there was still a chance to change his mind.

"Maybe we can go over the wall? Head to the cellar ourselves?"

"No, I won't leave mom here like that Mikasa. We need to turn this situation around ourselves. If things go bad, I'll turn into a Titan again, but that's just in case."

Gohan moved over to where the other three had formed a small circle as ideas were batted around. "Guys, whatever we're going to do, we have to do it soon. Commander Pixis is on his way."

"What!? How do you know?"

Urk. "Uh, I heard one of the soldiers mention it." He really should have taken the time to explain more about Ki during their time in training, but all he'd really had the chance for was to demonstrate the solar flare. Oh how he wished he'd had the chance to truly train all of his comrades in Ki, but that was all retrospective thinking, he had to focus on the here and now. "A-Anyway, what's the plan?"

Eren focused, his face tensing as he seemed to ready to deliver something important. "We need to de-escalate the situation outside now, and we can't just leave that to time. Someone needs to talk to them, and the best person for that is you Armin."

"W-What?"

"You're smart Armin, you've always been able to see a solution when Mikasa or I couldn't. They'll shoot me on sight, and neither Mikasa or Gohan are great speakers, it has to be you Armin." He clasped an arm on the shoulder of his best friend, the nervous boy looking to the others for their thoughts.

Mikasa nodded in affirmation, complete trust in the boy, and after a moment Gohan did as well. He hadn't known Armin for nearly as long as Eren or Mikasa had, but he'd gone through years of training with him, and the boy had a keen eye for seeing solutions no-one else could, Gohan included. They needed someone able to go out there, and give the men a new way of thinking, to refocus them, and there was none better than Armin for that.

Armin hesitated for a moment, then nodded to himself with determination before standing and making his way to the hole in the Titan. It was much bigger now as more and more of it evaporated away, allowing Armin to stride confidently out of the body, pause, then sprint through the smoke.

"Halt halt!" Guns suddenly locked onto Armin as he broke from the cloud and skidded to a stop before the soldiers, hands raised in a sign of peace. "Is this supposed to be your true form monster!? I don't buy it! I'll give the signal to fire I mean it!"

"Eren is not a foe of humanity. We're willing to cooperate with military command and share everything we've learned about his powers." Armin set his foundation first, straight to the point that Eren was not a threat in any way. There were a couple of eyes darting between their fellows, no-one was convinced but he'd done enough of a job to get their attention. First step done.

"Your pleas fall on deaf ears, he revealed his true form and because of that he cannot leave here alive! If you insist he's not an enemy of ours then show me proof! Otherwise we'll blast him back to whatever nightmare he crawled out of."

Proof, here's where things got tricky. He had some options, but he had to be careful not to get bogged down with minor evidence. Go for the big one from the start, build on it later if he got the chance.

"Eren is one of us, he always has been. His mother is right behind you, crippled on the day the Titans broke through Shiganshina!" The captain and several others turned to the crowd behind him in surprise, Carla breaking apart from the crowd to show herself, crutches clear and visible. There was a moment of hesitation in the captains breathing, and Armin struck. "Eren has suffered just like we all have, and joined to fight the Titans to get justice for his mother, and for all the loves lost every day that we've fought the Titans. The monsters he's already helped to fight! The reports say hundreds of soldiers saw him and those who were there say they saw him fighting other Titans! And that means they saw him get swarmed by the Titans as well. To put it plainly, the Titans saw him the same way they saw each and every human being, as their prey! And it doesn't matter how else you may look at it, that is an irrefutable fact!"

"Kids got a point." One of the soldiers mumbled, tensed arms relaxing as more and more of the troops began to consider Armins words. The soldiers with rifles by the captain didn't ease, but they did glance at him, waiting for the order to stand down.

'Could it be true?' Woermann wondered, a million possibilities floating through his head. 'I enlisted to do my part, to protect humanity from all threats inside and out. This kid, he's a threat, he must be, look at that creature. But… his mother…' He glanced back at her, the tears welling in her eyes even as her determination was unwavering. She was here to protect her child… if that's what he indeed was.

"How do we know!? The Titans behaviour has always been beyond our comprehension. He could have infiltrated us pretending to be human! How do we know that this isn't some long planned deception to get us to lower our guard so that he can stab us all in the back!?"

'He's panicked, but… it isn't hopeless. He called Eren a he, he's thinking Eren could be a human even if he doesn't realise it. But he's still afraid, he won't lower his guard unless he thinks it's safe to do so.'

Armin saluted, fist slamming over his heart as he puffed up his chest. "I am a soldier, and I have dedicated my heart to the restoration of humanity sir! Nothing can make me prouder than dying for such a noble cause! If we were to use his Titan ability, and combine it with the manpower we have left I believe we can do it! We can retake this city! For humanity's glory, and what little time I have left, I will advocate his strategic value!"

Woermann was stunned in place. For a moment, Armin couldn't breathe, his whole body so tense with worry as he waited for the verdict. One by one, the garrison soldiers turned to their commanding officer, their grips having temporarily tightened after his last outburst. There was dead silence in the air, before Woermann finally hung his head.

"So be it. Stand down."

"Excellent choice Captain Woermann."

"C-Commander Pixis."

Armin felt his body almost turn to jelly as he felt relief flood into him as he heard the bald mans praise. He'd arrived with two other soldiers only, but seemed perfectly at ease.

"I see you too can see this soldier's heartfelt salute. I've only just arrived but I'm quite aware of our situation. Gather our reinforcements, I think we can at least do these young soldiers the favour of hearing them out in detail. Also, I think their mother would like a word with them now."

At that, Carla broke forwards, hobbling as fast as she could towards the Titan corpse. There was a quick scuffling as Eren and Mikasa finally cleared the smoke and rand to meet her, carefully slowing only enough so as to not take her off her feet. The tears were flowing quickly as Mother, Son, and surrogate daughter embraced each other tightly. Had there been any soldiers still on the fence before, they were quickly turned sympathetic. Even the grey haired woman by Woermann's side who had been just as on edge as he found herself turning away with not disgust, more something more akin to embarrassment at seeing the private moment.

For Gohan, his moment wasn't with Carla, though he was sure he would embrace her once she realised he wasn't wrapped up in her arms too. No, his came as he headed up the steps towards the crowd and found Mina stepping forth.

"Mina, hey. It's good to see you're ok. Thanks for uh, saving our lives haha." He awkwardly rubbed at the back of his head as she stood before him. She smirked, before giving him a solid punch across the shoulder.

"Well dummy, someone had to be there to return the favour. What, you think you get to play the hero and save my life and not expect me to be there to pull your ass out of the fire too? Really though, you could have at least let me save you from the Titans instead of starting a fight with the Garrison."

Her eyes were mischievous, and Gohan found his laughter switching from nervous to genuine. "Well alright, next time I'll make it Titans."

"Next time then." She nodded in affirmation, before stepping forwards and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He returned it, and saw the other survivors from her squad step forwards and surround them.

"Mina? Nack? Milieus? You guys are ok!" They turned to see Eren move over to them, eyes red from tears and almost threatening to weep again from joy. "What happened? I didn't see you guys after… after Thomas."

A wave of mourning swept over them. Despite all that had happened, it was hard to fathom that it had only really been a few hours since their friend had been eaten in front of them. It was Mina who recovered first.

"After you were… caught. Gohan found us, got us all out, even if just barely."

Eren looked to the boy, mixing emotions from guilt to joy, even to envy as he heard yet another story of the boy being a hero. But it was joy that was the strongest, and he nodded a thanks that the monkey tailed boy returned before Eren looked back at his squad.

"I-… I got him, when I was transformed. The Titan that killed Thomas. He-… He was avenged."

"…thank you." Mina whispered, before she noticed the Garrison Commander walking over.

"Apologies for the interruption, but you do bring up an important point that we should discuss." The kindly looking old man locked eyes with Eren, his true expression unreadable behind his mask of friendliness. "Your powers. Perhaps we should discuss them somewhere private?"

"That's that. So reaching this cellar should clear everything up?" Atop the wall, Commander Pixis stood with his back to the four cadets, taking in the view of Trost as he pondered the young man's story.

"Yes sir. Well at least, I think so." Despite having not been asked to, Eren found himself stood at attention even as he spoke to the back of the man, desperate to gain the mans' favour as he awaited judgement. Mikasa, Armin, and Gohan stood likewise by his side.

The man spun on his heel and approached them, stopping further away than someone truly friendly might have stood, but his posture was as welcoming as always. "For the moment there is no way to validate all of the claims you have made. For now I'll just catalogue them in here. With that said, I can usually tell the difference between the presumptuous and the sincere. Which is why I personally guarantee your safety."

Sighs of relief were breathed by the cadets all, and the commander finally crossed the rest of the distance, stopping just in front of Armin.

"You're cadet Armin Arlert, is that correct?"

"Yes sir."

"You mentioned a plan to harness this so-called Titan ability, and then utilise your friends' power to retake the city. Do you believe it can work, or were you grasping at straws to try and save your hides?"

Like always, Armin found himself struggling to decipher the angle the man was coming from. Should he pretend to be certain? Maybe back down and give them the opening to create a plan themselves. In the end, he decided honesty was the best bet. "Uh well… both commander. I was going to suggest that Eren using his strength as a Titan could lift that giant boulder." He pointed down the wall at a stone which had crushed half a dozen buildings in the North Western part of Trost with its size and mass. "We could use it to block off the wrecked gate. That was the best idea I could come up with on the spot, I just wanted everyone to see how Erens ability might provide a solution to the problem we all face."

"Hmmm."

"Granted, I was pretty desperate to survive."

"Desperate to survive huh? That's as credible a reason as any son." He reached into his jacket inside pocket and pulled out a flask, taking a long drink before moving in front of Eren. "Ah. What do you say cadet Jaeger?"

"Say sir?"

"That hole, do you think you can plug it up son?"

"Well I-… I don't know. It's possible, but at the moment I don't understand my power any more than you do. It's just I sort of feel responsible giving you an answer. 'Cause I don't really know." Erens confidence wavered, and he found himself looking away awkwardly.

"Ah yes, of course my apologies. I asked you the wrong question. Are you willing to cadet Jaeger, or not?"

Eren looked up in surprise. So that was it, he wanted to know how Eren felt rather than what he thought. Well, Eren knew how he felt in that regard.

"I'll do it. I'll do it! I don't know if I can seal that hole, but I'll do it."