A Second Chance (Marco x Fem Reader)

Chapter 43

Historia's condition turned out to be a wish for her to be a part of the action that was about to take place. Nothing short of a noble and selfless desire. She now stood geared up and ready, placed between yourself and Mikasa in the strategy-room.

"When you're Queen, you can punch that runt in the face". Mikasa had a playful glint in her eyes that you'd rarely ever see from her. Historia looked shocked to hear that coming from her, but with further evaluation, it isn't really out of her character either. You snickered quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the others in the room your way.

"Yeah, I like him and all, but he needs to be humbled every now and then I think", you winked at Historia. She looked back and forth between the two of you before smiling the most genuine smile you've seen from her ever since Ymir left.

Heavy footsteps caught your attention, and you turned your gaze to face a soldier preparing to speak.

"We've determined the location of Rod Reiss' titan. It's southwest, approaching Orvud. At this rate it should reach us by dawn"

'Dawn... That's gives us quite little time to prepare...'

"Understood. Commander Erwin, we'd all like to hear what your plan is", another high-ranked Garrison soldier asked him. "How do you intend to evacuate the citizens in time?"

"We won't evacuate"

"W-what?"

"We'll have the citizens remain in Orvud District just as they are". Confused noises spread across the room. Indeed it did not make sense to leave unarmed civilians at the scene of an attack... Or did it? Remembering how abnormal titans work, you already had Erwin's motives figured out.

"Are you insane? What the hell are you thinking Erwin?!". The Garrison soldier was clinging to Erwin's collar, getting all up in his face. "Keep the citizens here without evacuating?! By the time it's dawn, that titan will be all over us-"

"That titan is an abnormal", Hange tried to explain.

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

'Great... Another highly ranked military official who doesn't know shit about titans. Didn't we all go through the same training?!'

"It means the titan is strangely attracted to high concentrations of people; Hence, Abnormal. It will turn a blind eye to small villages, ignoring it in favour of reaching this fortified city. If you were to right now, evacuate the citizens past the main wall of Wall Sina, the titan will shift its main target over to the main wall instead of the one surrounding Orvud. We can therefor avoid it breaking straight into our last wall of defence, by letting its target remain as is; leaving the civilians there being a crucial step". The officials seemed to listen to her, a layer of stress-sweat visibly appearing by their hairline. "On our way back, we attempted to use Eren Yaeger's power to control titans, but it did not prove to be successful".

"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 are 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, they will be ready to evacuate at once". Erwin's explanation seemed to be enough for the officers to agree to his plan, this really being the only logical plan available.

"Considering the titan's size, it's an easy target. Wall-mounted cannons should prove highly affective, but if that's not enough to bring it down... The scout Regiment will throw everything we have at it", Erwin looked your way, the rest of the officers eyeing your squad.