Armin’s Plan to Defeat Eren

Lara couldn't handle it.

The words that came out of Armin's mouth hit her like lightning. It was a lot of information. So she just fell to the ground, passed out, in the middle of the road.

Lara woke up a few seconds later, lying in her fiancé's arms, with him patting her face lightly, while he called her name quite anxiously.

When her vision finally came back to normal and she saw him in front of her, it looked like Lara hadn't even passed out seconds ago. In a sudden movement, she was back on her knees again and gripped Armin's face, her eyes extremely wide, white as paper.

"Are you telling me th-that you're not gonna d-die anymore?!" her jaw trembled.

Armin took her face gently and smiled at her.

"That's right, my love," he replied, running his hand over her face, brushing the messy hair away from her eyes, and wiping her tears. "The nightmare is over. Now, we can be together, forever."

A sound came out of Lara's throat, a mixture of laughter and crying. Armin pinched her nose lightly.

"You're gonna have to put up with me till I'm very old," he chuckled.

Lara's heart was racing wildly. Her eyes started to burn. Then, in a jump, she gripped onto Armin's neck with all her strength. She began to cry a lot, exclaiming to the skies:

"GOD!" sobbed Lara, with a choked-up voice, rocking her fiancé back and forth, who now hugged her back with the same intensity and also cried a lot, "GOD! THANK YOU SO MUCH! THANK YOU!"

The biggest reason that Lara and Armin haven't been together since they fell in love in Shiganshina had been wiped out.

It was like their hearts were going to explode, such happiness they were feeling. They allowed themselves to forget, at least for that moment, all the other things Armin had said. But let's cut them some slack, after all, they deserve it.

All those years of pain, suffering, and sadness over Armin's imminent death were erased in that embrace they were giving in the middle of that dirt road.

Every tear they let fall from their eyes was like crystal waters, cleansing their hearts, taking away all the weight of the uncertainty and hopelessness that they both felt for so long.

Now, nothing could separate them anymore.

I can't say how long they hugged each other, crying. When they drew apart, one gazed at the other and saw how blown they were, with puffy eyes and dirty and red faces.

They began to laugh.

Gradually, one went on cleaning the other. Armin took a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed it over Lara's face and then cleaned himself, too. Then, at the same time, they leaned in and touched their lips, moving their mouths.

It was a slow, but very intense kiss. In their opinion, it was the best they had given so far (besides the first one, on the airship), because it was a kiss full of longing and a lot, a lot of happiness, in addition to them now being much better in the art of kissing. Their chests seemed to burn, with their hearts swelled. They held and squeezed each other passionately. Armin stroked her back with one hand, while the other held her face with care. Lara took off her fiancé's cap, stroking his hair affectionately.

Once more, they allowed themselves to kiss at will, ignoring time. When they were done, Armin helped Lara to her feet, picking up his cap off the ground, and together they walked to the horse to take it to the stables. He held the reins in one hand and entwined his fingers with Lara's with the other. They looked like two silly children in love, smiling at each other.

When they reached the stables, Armin took something from the horse's saddle bag and handed it to Lara.

It was the teddy bear that he had given as a present to Tiny-Human-Bean.

"It ended up staying in the bedroom where you, me, and Hange were sleeping in the Headquarters," said Armin with a little smile. "I thought you'd like to have it back."

Lara looked at the teddy bear, smiling, and wrapped her arms around Armin's neck, thanking him. Then, now remembering all the other information he had told her a few minutes ago, she began to show a behavior of total concern towards her fiancé, turning him and inspecting every inch to check if he had any injuries.

Armin replied that, now that he no longer had the Titans' powers and didn't regenerate anymore, he was experiencing a lot of muscle pain, and Lara promptly said that as soon as she had the opportunity, she would give him a nice back and foot massage, just like she used to do to her mother.

"How are Levi and Hange doing?" asked Armin, worried.

Lara explained how her parents' health was still a bit complicated, that despite Levi's fever having gone down, he still had severe pain, especially in his right leg, and that Hange was still bleeding a little and feeling twinges in her belly.

Armin tried to sound optimistic, saying he was sure that Levi and Hange would soon be fully recovered. But now that the intense emotions of his "non-death" had cooled down a bit, he got an expression of sadness. Instantly, Lara realized that it was the look of a person in mourning.

"I'm deeply sorry for your loss, babe..." she said, caressing his face. She sighed with melancholy, "Let's go inside, then you can explain how it all happened."

Holding the teddy bear in one hand and the other entwined in Armin's, the couple entered the house. He took off his cap and was helped by Lara to also take off his overcoat, unable to avoid a few grimaces of pain as he moved his arms.

They both went to Hange and Levi's bedroom, who, at the moment they spotted Armin standing behind their daughter, got such a fright, Hange even squealed.

"ARMIN!!!" she exclaimed, ready to get up, "Y-You're back!!!"

"No, please!" he replied, making her lie down again, "Don't force yourself because of me," Armin gave her a kind smile.

Since they wouldn't let her get up, Hange then pulled him into a big bear hug. Tears of emotion welled up in her eyes (she wasn't wearing the eye patch) and she was squeezing Armin so tight that he let out a few groans of pain, although he tried to reply to his mother-in-law's burst of affection. Hange was surprised by her son-in-law's reaction and drew apart.

"Huh? What's wrong?!" just like her daughter had done before, Hange also began to inspect him, "Are you hurt, my dear?!"

Armin ran a hand behind his neck shyly.

"I-It's a long story... But first, tell me, how are you guys doing? I was very worried about you."

He walked around the bed and went over to Levi to greet him, squeezing his shoulder, who reciprocated, squeezing Armin's arm with his good hand.

"Oh, we cannot complain so far," replied Hange, looking at her belly and at Levi with concern. "At least, Tiny-Human-Bean seems well."

Armin looked at his father-in-law, who by now was able to pronounce a few words.

"We... Glad... You... Back..." Levi tried to speak, but Lara told him not to force the stitches in his mouth.

Armin gave Hange and Levi a comforting smile. Lara then handed the teddy bear to her mother.

"Look what Armin brought back," Lara smiled kindly.

Hange gasped, reaching out to take the teddy bear, and instantly, tears shed from her eyes. She told the baby, who seemed to really enjoy having its toy back, kicking lightly. She thanked her son-in-law, holding the teddy bear against her chest, with a crying expression. Lara left the bedroom in a hurry.

"But sit down, Armin!" said Hange, wiping her tears and pointing for him to sit at Levi's feet. "Please, tell us what happened! We're so distressed for not having heard anything from you!" She widened her eyes, "You look way too calm, s-so that means that... You guys managed to save humanity?! Did you stop Eren?! I-Is he... Dead?!" she said that last word with a certain caution.

Before Armin could answer, Lara returned with a glass of water and handed a painkiller to her fiancé, who seemed surprised and thanked her. Lara sat at Hange's feet.

"Yes, we did... Eren is dead..." Armin felt a big lump in his throat, now downcast, "Mikasa herself killed him…"

Lara gripped her hair, mouth agape. Hange exclaimed in surprise, covering her mouth. Levi widened his good eye, straightening his back.

The three of them could not say a single word. They just stared at Armin, completely stunned.

"M-Mikasa... K-Killed him?" asked Lara, almost in a whisper. "H-How was that possible?"

Armin took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened it, he had a firmer expression.

"I'll tell you everything that happened," said Armin, looking from one to the other. He paused and continued, "What made us manage to defeat Eren before he could exterminate humanity, was the matter of the time."

"Time?" asked Hange, confused.

"Exactly," replied Armin. "Everything had to be done as quickly as possible," he turned to Lara, placing his hand over hers, trying to give her a kind smile, "And if it weren't for the fact that I had talked with you there in the Forest of Giant Trees, I don't think we would have made it, baby..."

Lara's eyes widened in surprise. Armin squeezed her hand affectionately.

"You were right. Eren needed to be killed. There was no way out for him anymore. There wasn't any argument that could make him stop that genocide, and even if there was, I doubt he would've listened to us..." Armin pressed his lips together, "The fact that I already went to Shiganshina with a goal in mind helped me a lot to come up with a plan. Because if we were to just wait and see, and only then think of something, it would be too late." He looked at the three of them, "Besides, now, as the Commander, I felt I needed to act, and fast, with a smart and efficient plan."

Lara gave him a heartwarming smile.

"You've always been very good at making up with plans in difficult situations, haven't you?"

Armin blushed shyly, but had to agree. Lara, Hange, and Levi leaned in to listen with concentration.

"While I was riding on the way to Shiganshina, I came up with a plan to defeat Eren: we would need to stop him before he got too far from the island. That was it." He looked at his fiancées and in-laws, "The four of us here know very well that the bigger the Titan, the slower it is. Eren's Titan was no different. It was so big, it walked extremely slowly." Armin widened his eyes, staring at a fixed point, "But it was still terrifying..."

Hange and Lara looked at each other, remembering the agony they went through by passing through two lines of Colossal Titans to get home.

"And the fact that Eren and the Colossal Titans were heading towards the ocean, that would slow them down even more. So I wanted to use this slowness to our advantage. As soon as I arrived in Shiganshina, the chaos was worse than before." Armin raised his hands in indignation, "All, I repeat, all the soldiers who had drunk the wine with Zeke's fluid had been turned into Titans, and were attacking everyone, both Eldians and Marleyans. I got there just in time to be able to help a little at the end…" he lowered his head sadly, "And unfortunately, I had to kill Commander Pixis. It was already too late for him..."

At the same moment, Hange, Levi, and Lara got an expression of deep sadness, as Pixis was a dear friend of theirs. Hange shed a tear and Lara squeezed her fiancé's hand, pressing her lips together. Armin sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"The more I gazed at that hell that surrounded us, the more I realized how much we had to stop Eren." He turned to Lara, "It was exactly as you said, baby. He released the Colossal Titans from inside the Walls, which just stomped on everything! They didn't set apart Eldians from Marleyans! There was a moment when I found myself thinking about how many of our fellow soldiers from the other Districts must've died from the Rumbling, in addition to the civilians. Even in Shiganshina, which, despite being evacuated, Eren fully knew that we were there. What if one of us died because of a Colossal Titan?" Armin huffed, slightly irritated, "I wonder if Eren thought about the possibility of a Colossal Titan accidentally stepping on Mikasa, Sasha, Connie, Jean, or me..."

Lara looked at her fiancé, apprehensive. Hange and Levi also had the same expression. Slowly, the three of them nodded with sadness.

"Since I already had something in mind, as soon as we got rid of the Titans transformed by Zeke's wine, I tried my best to try to join forces with the Marleyans," Armin let out a tired sigh, "Look... At first, it was pretty hard..." He turned to Lara, "Do you remember those two kids who got on our airship in Liberio?"

"Yes..." Lara was thoughtful, "The girl who almost killed Sasha." She widened her eyes, remembering the feeling of dread she felt at that moment when she almost lost her friend.

"Gabi. And the boy, Falco."

"The very ones!" exclaimed Lara, snapping her fingers.

"So, this Gabi... What a stubborn girl!" Armin pouted with impatience, "If it wasn't for Falco, it would've been much more difficult to talk to the Marleyans. That girl needed to live here on the island for a while, to learn once and for all that we didn't mean her any harm. Thankfully, when it all ended, she seemed to change her mind a bit and became more friendly. She even managed to get along with Sasha, can you believe it?" He shrugged, "But, anyways... With great difficulty, we managed to join a good group of Marleyan soldiers, and here I have to congratulate Niccolo, who helped me a lot to convince them to work together, for him having already lived here for a long time with us and already knowing who we were, helping with good arguments that they could trust in us. We managed to join with Marley's Commander, called Magath, with Pieck, who is the Cart Titan, with Galliard, who is the Jaw Titan, and also with Reiner, who honestly, it was even a pity to see his deplorable condition... Oh, Onyankopon also managed to meet with us. He found a way to escape from Yelena."

"Wow," said Hange, with an eyebrow raised, "so you guys had... Four of the Original Titans, counting with your Colossal one?"

"That's right."

"And they all agreed with your plan, just like that, without complaining?" asked Lara anxiously.

"Well, look..." Armin pressed his lips together, "To be honest, we kinda had no other choice..." He chuckled nervously, "My plan wasn't perfect and flawless, but it was the only one we had..."

Lara nodded in comprehension.

"So what I had in mind?" Armin settled himself on the bed, "Kiyomi Azumabito was staying there at the port, right? Do you guys remember that she brought here one of those super modern airplanes?" The three of them nodded in agreement. Armin went on, "Well, we would urgently need to use it to reach Eren. However, the airplane takes too long to be put into use, so we would need to get there as soon as possible! Besides that, at the port, we could use the radio to communicate to the other nations about Eren's attack and ask them for Air and Marine reinforcements. Since Commander Magath has a good reputation in Marley, he could communicate with his country and other nations about the possible attack by the Colossal Titans, and we could also inform them about the possible tsunamis that the battle could cause, and evacuate the population that lives on the coast in time."

"Tsu-what?" asked Levi, confused.

"Tsunamis," repeated Armin. "I confess that even I didn't know what that word meant. It's a natural disaster. In short, they're huge waves that form in the sea, devastating everything ahead. And, with the big and strong steps of the Colossal Titans, when they managed to touch the bottom of the ocean, they could cause tsunamis on the beaches of the nations that were on the edge of the continents.

"My my..." said Hange, holding her belly, "I didn't even know about that..."

"Yeah... Since we've never had one here on the island, we didn't even know it existed," replied Armin. "It was Onyankopon who warned us about it. And since we would probably have to fight Eren in the ocean, tsunamis could very well happen. At least here on the island, the waves would not reach any District. So, as Reiner and Galliard were exhausted in their Titan form for having fought Eren, we all climbed onto the Cart Titan and she ran as fast as possible to the port. When we got there, we saw in the distance that Eren was almost reaching the beach, too."

Lara and Hange were shaking their hands in anxiety.

"Fortunately, Kiyomi agreed to help us right away, 'cause her own nation would end up being Eren's victim as well, which made her a little terrified," he looked down, sadly. "Although Mikasa was still very sad and a bit reluctant with Eren's possible fate, she helped us talk to Kiyomi, who, you guys know, is obsessed with Mikasa." Armin sighed, "Well, while her team was setting up the airplane, we ate a little and got some rest." He gazed at them, "Listen, good thing we joined forces with Commander Magath, 'cause that man managed to ask for reinforcements from the Air Forces of several countries, in addition to reinforcements from the Navy too, with several submarines, as I asked. There was a certain moment when I heard him shouting on the radio, seeming quite angry with some nations that were refusing to help people from Paradis. But at Magath's threatening that they would have their lands and families destroyed by the Colossal Titan's steps, they all seemed to finally shut up, and, a little reluctantly, they agreed to send help. Later, we learn that Marley itself has contacted them, confirming what Magath had said. Besides, the soldiers of the ships of those nations that were in the port and that previously were going to attack us, also ended up accepting to fight by our side, thanks to Magath's help, and also because they had no other choice..."

Armin turned to Lara.

"Baby, can I drink more water?"

"S-Sure!" Lara practically jumped out of bed, heading to the kitchen. While their daughter didn't return, Hange and Levi gazed at each other, trying to absorb all that information. Even Tiny-Human-Bean was pretty quiet, seeming to listen carefully to everything.

"Sweetheart!" called Hange, "Could you please bring me another blood pressure medicine? I guess it's also better to bring another painkiller to your father, too." She had noticed Levi grimacing, looking uncomfortable, and massaging his leg as Armin talked.

"Sure!" Lara replied from the kitchen.

"You... Good?" Levi squeezed his wife's hand, concerned. Armin leaned forward a little, also apprehensive.

"Do you need anything, Hange?" he asked.

"No, no," she fanned herself, her face a little red. "Don't worry... I'm just a bit anxious about this story... It's just too much to assimilate..."

Armin and Levi nodded in understanding. Lara returned with the glass of water for her fiancé and the medicines for Hange and Levi, who thanked her.

"Well," continued Armin, giving back the empty glass to Lara, "Now comes the hardest part… How we really defeated Eren."

Levi, Hange, and Lara held their breaths in apprehension. Armin took a deep breath and clasped his hands against his chest, choosing carefully the words he was going to say.

"The point was that..." he began, slowly, "It was no use trying to strike down the Colossal Titans, because, in addition to being controlled by Eren, they could regenerate, or worse, use that incandescent steam to kill anyone who came closer," Armin's eyes suddenly widened, staring at a fixed point, remembering when he himself was burned alive by Bertholdt's Colossal Titan. He was silent for a few moments, leaving Hange, Levi, and Lara confused.

"Babe?" asked Lara, shaking him lightly, "A-Are you okay?"

Armin didn't answer right away, but then he blinked quickly and shook his head.

"S-Sorry," he replied, gazing at his fiancée, "I was just remembering what happened to me in Shiganshina…" Armin lowered his head.

Levi and Hange looked at each other, also feeling a tightness in their chests as they remembered that terrible day when Erwin died. Lara stroked Armin's hand, with an anguished expression. He gave her a sad smile in thanks for her affection.

"Well, continuing," Armin pointed to Lara and Hange, "According to the experiences you both did with some Titans, they pretty much can survive underwater, 'cause apparently, they do not have lungs, am I right?"

Hange and Lara agreed.

"Right then. So our target would be Eren, and nothing else. If we could defeat him, we would end all this terror that was surrounding us. That was a fact. With that idea in mind, we saw that our combat was going to be totally… Aquatic. The entire battle against him would have to be done in the water, literally, in the middle of the ocean, before he could reach any of the lands on the Continent, which in this case, the closest would be Marley."

Armin took a deep breath.

"I thought the following: in the airplane would go me, Galliard, Pieck, Reiner, Mikasa, and Onyankopon, who would fly the airplane. We called ourselves the Elite Squad. And Magath, Sasha, Connie, Jean, Niccolo, Gabi, Falco, and his brother would stay at the port, with Kiyomi and her team, which we called the Back-Up Squad, you guys got it?"

The three of them agreed.

"Okay. It was done as I said and we, from the Elite Squad, went after Eren with the airplane, not forgetting to bring Thunder Spears with us, 'cause their explosions could be very useful. It was not difficult to track him down, as it was just a matter of following the immense line of Colossal Titans. By then, Eren was almost halfway to Marley, right in the middle of the ocean, and the Colossal Titans were swimming underwater. That's why I had asked Magath to request Air and Marine reinforcements, because since we were gonna fight in the water, we would need support to rescue us, in case something happened. Besides that they could also help with their weapons, shooting at Eren, especially the submarines, which were of great help, slowing him down a lot."

Lara rubbed her hands nervously. They all were paying close attention.

"When we got right above Eren, I ordered Galliard, Reiner, and Pieck to jump out of the airplane, one by one, transforming into their Titans, trying with all their strength to destroy that huge Eren skeleton."

"You... Did... Not... Transform?" asked Levi, leaning forward.

"I was going to, but when talking to my Squad, we thought it was very dangerous, because my transformation explosion could end up killing all of us, except me, of course, and then our plan would completely go down the drain! The Armored and Jaw Titans were really useful at that time, for their strength managed to slow Eren down pretty well, while the Cart Titan played a sort of role in making him kinda dizzy. The good thing is that they were all very fast, especially the Jaw Titan, I was impressed! The submarines also dropped bombs at Eren's feet and at some of the Colossal Titans that swam underwater. Unfortunately, we ended up losing some of the submarines..."

Armin let out a big weary sigh and clenched his hands.

"What happened next was very fast, I can't even say how long it took exactly. Since Eren's Titan didn't technically have a nape to be cut, we thought the most obvious was that he would be inside somewhere in his skull. So we needed to get in there somehow. It was when Mikasa and I got into action. While the three Titans battled Eren's skeleton, we supplied ourselves with Thunder Spears. With the help of the ODM gear, I got as close as possible to his head and shot some Thunder Spears into his face. One of them managed to hit him right between his teeth, opening a hole. I barely had time to look, and Mikasa slipped into that hole."

Armin then lowered his head, covering his face and swallowing hard. At the same time, Lara realized he was not feeling well and got closer, stroking her fiancé's arm with affection. He gave a small sob, still crestfallen.

"It was instantaneous. All the Colossal Titans began to evaporate, even the Titans of Reiner, Galliard, and Pieck. I felt something change inside me right away," Armin gazed deeply at Lara, "I felt that Bertholdt was gone forever..." He wet his lips, "Then, when I got into the hole," Armin couldn't help but shed a tear, "I-I found Mikasa, holding the decapitated h-head of what once was Eren, d-dead..."

Complete silence.

Armin looked exhausted. He was even paler. He leaned over his own body, squeezing himself. Instantly, Lara knelt on the bed, to make herself more comfortable and hugged him, tight.

With his head buried in her neck, Armin began to cry.

Slowly, Hange walked over to him and hugged him too.

Limping, Levi managed to get up and walked over to him as well.

The four of them stood there, embraced, comforting Armin over the death of his best friend and brother.

None of them said anything. But the love Armin felt from what he now called "his family" was enough to help him through this time.

Armin thought about how Mikasa was also in need of a hug like that.