AN.: Who's the biggest asshole in the fandom? *points to self* This guy! In all seriousness, I'm sorry this took so long everyone. Of course I wanted this out a lot earlier, we passed the story's two year anniversary back in January and I wanted it ready for then. Things happened though, I won't go into detail, that'd take like a page of text here. You know what they say, anyone can start and fic, it's finishing one that's the hard part. But enough of that, you all know I'll finish this. Now, let me say that I'm very happy with the manga right now. Like things are happening, but keeping true to the story's themes so far, it's not without cost; a very, very steep cost. Poor Marlo, I was seriously hoping he'd get hitched with Hitch. Also, to anyone who's interested, if you need another anime to hold you over until season two, I highly recommend watching Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. Same studio, similar themes, but god it's great. Seriously check it out. I need people to write fic for it. Anyways, enough of my ramblings, here's chapter 10.

Year 850, 2nd Day of the 57th Expedition, East by South-East Wall Maria District, Outskirts of the Forest of Giant Trees, Pre-Dawn Hours

Dead. They were all dead. He'd killed them all.

Eren's Titan form was breathing heavily from exertion; this power took a lot out of him. It made sense though. If he understood it right, it didn't come from his focus or his anger, but from his sheer force of will exerted over the Titans. It has only been in the most desperate circumstances, when he had most wanted to defeat those monsters, he could call upon it, channeling his desire into a cry the Titans had no choice but to obey.

Eren's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions on this revelation as his Titan body fell to its knees, before keeling over entirely.

'No… Not yet damnit… I Need… To get back…' He struggled to get his arms under his body, trying to push himself up to his feet again. He only managed to get one knee up before his flesh started to give way. His arms were torn from their sockets as the connecting tissue dissolved into hot air, sending him face first back into the dirt.

'Dammit… Why… Am I not… Strong enough…?' The rest of his Titan body followed, flesh evaporating into steam all around him. Eventually he was left alone in the skeleton of his former form, cold and on the verge of blacking out. A glance down his body saw that most of his clothes had dissolved, save his shirt and pants. Not even his boots survived the transformation this time.

Taking a minute to catch his breath, Eren had the chance organize his thoughts a bit. 'That took a lot out of me right there. It wasn't this bad last time. Maybe because there were so many?' Now in his human form, Eren managed to regain his feet, albeit just barely, leaning on one of his giant spinal columns to keep his footing. 'I'll think later on this later, gotta move now.'

Eren trudged his way back towards the forest, using the skeletal remains of various Titans for additional support when he could. He'd find shelter there, just long enough to ride out until morning, for him to get his energy back. He'd find his gear and get back to the safety of his platform.

He'd only covered a quarter of the distance from his corpse to the tree line when he'd stumbled to the ground and, just like in his Titan form, he struggled and failed to get up, his arms collapsing under his own weight.

"Come on you lazy bastard, get up," he berated himself, trying to fight the exhaustion. Since his body refused to return to his legs, Eren began the slow process of crawling the rest of the distance to the forest.

'Left, right, left, right,' was his internal monologue as he tried to find any additional purchase on the ground with which to pull himself along the ground. He was just starting to see the individual leaves on the trees when darkness began to encroach on the edge of his vision. 'No! I'm almost there.'

He tried grasping at the ground, drag himself forward just a bit more, but all his strength was gone. Despite his mental pleas, his last dregs of energy had finally left him as his limbs finally went slack. The sweet kiss of unconsciousness was almost upon him now. His last coherent thought, a hope, or maybe a prayer to the Goddesses, was, 'please, give me a chance to see the ocean.' And with that, Eren passed out in the field of corpses.

Year 850, 2nd Day of the 57th Expedition, East by South-East Wall Maria District, Camp of the Survey Corps, Night Hours

"Very well, we'll need to verify this immediately." Erwin looked up across the table towards the squad leader across from him, obvious bags forming under her eyes. "You are dismissed," Erwin finished curtly. 'Hopefully she'll get some rest. We'll need her and her squad in top shape come morning.'

There was a moment of hesitation before she responded "Yes Commander", bowing her head as she gave him the proper salute, which he returned in kind. Now excused, the squad leader made her way out of the tent.

"So what're we doing Erwin?" Mike stepped from the side of the tent to take a seat at Erwin's left, leaning his chair back as he kicked his legs up onto the table. "Titans don't just up and kill themselves."

"No they don't, but then what do we know of Titan behavior? I'll send word to Hanji, send her squad to verify this and see what they could learn before we leave in the morning."

"You know she's probably going to want to set up her capture equipment? That'll be an issue this early into the expedition." Mike looked over at the Erwin, crossing his arms in front of him. It was a pain trying to catch one in the first place, luring one through that metal frame Hanji concocted; and then they had to walk them back to the Walls in a way it couldn't grab someone like a snack, which slowed down the entire formation. Mike had noted that expeditions where they failed to catch a Titan tended to have a definitive lower casualty rate.

"I do, and I understand your opinion on the subject Mike. However you and I both know how important her research is." Erwin spoke this with such certainty he could have been stating how water was wet, fire was hot, or the MP were corrupt.

Mike may not always agree with the Commander, but the conviction he had in his soldiers' capabilities was one of the reason he would follow Erwin to the ends of the Earth. Taking his feet off the table, he leaned in toward Erwin. "So what're you proposing then? I know it's not going to be to drag a Titan with us for the next week." They could barely handle one for a day.

"Send Levi and his squad with her. He'll keep her from taking things too far, keep her in balance so they all get back in time. He's probably getting his squad up for their rounds right now anyway," he said matter-of-factly.

"Shall I bring them here so for details?" Erwin closed his eyes and nodded, effectively dismissing Mike. He was up and out the tent flap before Erwin could open his eyes, his Titan-esque legs carrying him out in several large strides.

'I'm not going to get anymore rest, am I?' Erwin thought, taking a seat. Resting his head in his hands, he began to run the sleep from his eyes.

The sound of rapid footfalls alerted him not a minute later that one of the two parties was fast approaching, and he immediately composed himself for their entry. The front of his tent opened with a flutter and in stepped a disheveled Hanji Zoe, half in uniform and half out of breath. "Commander I-" she was quickly cut off by a raised hand by Erwin, making eye contact with her before gesturing to one of the seats across the table.

"Please have a seat Hanji, I'll explain everything once Levi arrives. I'd rather not explain twice."

"Right," she assented, taking the offered seat, though not entirely calming down if Erwin were to judge by her fidgeting. Still, Hanji restrained herself, allowing Erwin a bit more time to gather his thoughts.

It was another five minutes before his tent opened again, in stepping a fully dressed and groomed Levi with a tin of tea in each hand. He didn't need an invitation as he took the other empty seat next Hanji. He reached across the table and placed one of the tins in front of Erwin, to which he nodded his appreciation. "I'm sure Mike has made you both aware of the situation. One of our patrols claims to have observed several Titans attacking one another, tearing each other to pieces. In every likelihood the bodies have decomposed by now, but I have figured that if anyone, you," he looked pointedly at the Corps' head scientist, "would like to observe the site to gather whatever information you can find. We break camp at dawn, so I expect you to return by then. Understand that you have permission to do what you can in that time save any capturing operations. We do not have the time or resources to drag one with us at this stage of the expedition. Do I make myself clear?"

Hanji nodded, though slightly reluctantly at hearing the last part. "Understood…."

He then turned to Levi, who was leaning back in his chair with his cup of tea held in his fingertips. "I'm assigning you and your squad the escort Hanji's to the site in order for them to better focus on their task."

"So we're babysitting Four Eyes and her crew? Figures." He took a sip from his cup. "Understood Erwin. Anything else we should know?" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow.

Erwin shook his head. "Questions Hanji?" It had certainly seemed she was about to ask something, but then she glanced a Levi and shut her mouth.

"No sir," she said quite plainly.

"I see, then you are both dismissed." Like Mike they didn't bother with the formalities of the salute, they just gathered themselves and headed out to gather their squads. Erwin didn't mind; the salute was a simple propaganda technique used to instill discipline and loyalty into the regular soldiers. The four of them were well beyond such individuals; there wasn't such a need from them when conversing with each other when in every likelihood no other soldier was as devoted as they were.

As Hanji and Levi left the tent, Erwin did notice that Hanji had suddenly become a bit dourer halfway through their brief meeting. If he had to guess it had something to do with Levi, but so far it didn't seem to harm her ability to fight or think, so he would allow them sort it out.

Now to enjoy the hot drink Levi had been kind enough to bring him.

Year 850, 2nd Day of the 57th Expedition, East by South-East Wall Maria District, Outside the Camp of the Survey Corps, Pre-Dawn Hours

"Look, I'm just saying what can we learn from a bunch of rotting skeletons? It seems kind of- mph!" Oluo cut himself off, catching his tongue between his teeth. The pain and taste of blood in his mouth kept him from continuing his thought.

Both Gunther and Petra rolled their eyes at this all too regular occurrence. One would think Oluo would have learned not to run his mouth like that, but apparently it would take a bit more to get through to him.

"Orders are orders Oluo. We were about to go on patrol anyway," Petra replied slightly annoyed at his unfinished question. She caught a yawn in her hand before returning it to the stirrup of her saddle.

Both Squad Levi and Squad Hanji had just left the camp, still somewhat tired from the day's travel but ready for action nonetheless. The cart they had taken with some of Hanji's science equipment had been held lanterns at the corners, helping with the visibility for the squads in the dark, cloudy night as they formed a perimeter around it.

Scanning the horizon, Petra's gaze stopped when it came upon her newest squadmate. "Hey Oluo, you see Mikasa over there," Petra pointed to the man, who had just gotten over the self-inflicted pain in his mouth.

"Hmm, yeah, with the blonde shrimp from Hanji's squad, right?" his face taking a slightly curious look. It seemed the two were talking and, was that laughing?

"You know who he is?" Petra's voice matched the curiosity he displayed. The blonde mushroom cut was ringing bells, he'd made some waves with getting into Hanji's squad so quickly. What was the kid's name though…?

"Arlert. The kid's name is 'something that sounds like Erwin' Arlert." He shrugged when he couldn't get the first name. "I believe he's supposed to be from Shiganshina, same as Mikasa." 'Poor kid, having to go through that at such a young age.'

"You think they knew each other before the fall?"

Again Oluo shrugged. "Possibly. If the outer districts were anything like the interior ones, they probably knew everyone in passing at the very least." He paused. "Wouldn't that be a story to tell: two childhood friends, surviving tragedy and instead of crumbling, deciding together to stand up and fight back, risking life, limb, and maybe even love?" Oluo gave Petra a weird grin he probably thought was dashing while waggling his eyebrows up and down.

"Ugh, grow up Oluo. You need to stop reading those trashy penny romances," she scoffed, looking away from her friend in slight disgust. On second thought though, it was a bit of a cute concept, but as a concept. This was one of her squadmates, she shouldn't be thinking things like that.

"Hey, it's better than what some of the other soldiers use their paychecks on. Let me have my fun," he pouted. She'd be so insufferable if she wasn't so kind most of the time. 'And cute,' he thought, pondering whether or not he'd have the courage to ask her out after this expedition. Show her what he learned from those "trashy penny romances". For the time being he turned his gaze back to their watch, keeping an eye out for any Titans that happened to still be active.

Petra decided to let the situation rest and followed suit.

It wasn't more than fifteen minutes later when they encountered the first corpse. As expected, the flesh of the deceased Titans had already evaporated. The skeletons still held firm, and would likely last several more hours before they began to shatter.

Surprisingly they didn't stop there. Hanji had pushed forwards, leading the rest to follow after her. They began passing more and more Titans skeletons as they pushed onwards, until they came to what they concluded was the center of some sort of Titan graveyard. There had to be at least several dozen skeletons strewn all over each other, many with numerous breaks all about their bodies, the most noticeable of which were along the upper vertebras.

"Alright, my squad listen up," Levi commanded with barely above a normal speaking voice. "Our job is to make sure Hanji's team can work without interruption before the main body saddles up. We're going to split up, Gunther with me, Petra with Oluo and Mikasa. We'll start half a kilometer from here and ride in concentric circles going outwards. You see a Titan, take it down. Understood?"

"Yes Captain!" the four said, saluting in unison.

"Good."

As they split up, Hanji's squad began dismounting, removing weird pieces of metal from under the tarp on the horse-drawn cart. Each group was handed an extra oil lantern by the scientists to guide them in their patrols. Levi gave Hanji a solemn nod which she returned in kind, and they were off.

Petra took the lead of their trio, lighting the way with her lantern in hand, with Mikasa and Oluo riding side to side at her 4 and 8 o'clock. They made several increasingly large circles around Hanji's squad, catching sight of Levi and Gunter every so often as they rode in the other direction. No Titans sighted though, and the lack of any noise of conflict from the circle's center implied that none snuck past them either; as expected at this hour, but out here there was no such thing as paranoia.

At one point Oluo was about to go into talking to Mikasa about the Arlert boy, get in some good-natured teasing to alleviate the tedium and exhaustion he was feeling. He didn't get out more than half a dozen words before Petra shot him down with a glare, as though she knew exactly what he was going to start, and instead muttered a never mind before looking away from the others.

"So how likely is it we're going to run into anything out here?" Mikasa broke the silence. Both Oluo and Petra turned their heads in slight surprise at hearing Mikasa speak unprompted.

"Not very, considering the hour," Petra piped up from the front. "Most run out of energy shortly after sundown; at this point it's mostly Deviants up and about. Considering the frequency with which they've shown up in the past though, I'd say we're pretty safe."

"Doesn't mean you should start slacking off now," Oluo butted in. "I don't want to have to save your lazy ass if a Titan catches us while you're asleep on your horse."

"Oluo!" Petra cut in sharply with another glare at him.

"What? I don't really mean it, I just want her to keep up with us. You understand, right Mikasa? All in good humor?" He turned to the woman in question, hoping for an answer that'd save his ass from a verbal beating by their resident redhead.

"Yeah, all in good humor," she replied with a small nod. "By the way Oluo, your fly's down" Mikasa pointed at the poor man's crotch, which grabbed hastily with both hands to cover up his embarrassment. It took him a moment trying to fix it to see that it was already set in place.

Looking up he saw Mikasa and Petra sharing a small laugh at his expense. He just gave a frustrated harrumph, though he was happy to see his comrade doing well now. There was definitely been improvement in the way Mikasa interacted with them.

He was stopped from any further musings when his horse suddenly stopped, rearing up onto its back legs with a loud whinny. "Woah Faeva, what's gotten into you girl?" He shouted as he tried to reign in his steed while not falling off. Mikasa and Petra took notice and stopped their own to make sure he would be alright. "It's okay girl, it's okay," he whispered, rubbing her snout once she stopped trying to knock him off

Of the two women, Petra looked most concerned. "What happened Oluo?"

"I don't know, something must have spooked her."

"Wolves maybe?" It certainly wasn't Titans from what she could judge. They would have certainly noticed by now.

"Could be; Hanji's warned us they might move into the territory without humanity present." Titans may be the biggest threat to the Corps, but there have been fools in the past that had underestimated the dangers of native wildlife and paid for it dearly. 'Poor Jenkins.'

"Let's get going then, we'll give Gunther and the Captain a heads up next time we run into them." To which Oluo and Mikasa hummed their assented. A third hum, coming out more like a moan, turned heads, as the three began looking at each other to see what just made that noise.

Hearing it again, a series of alarm bells went off in Mikasa's head; there was something familiar about that noise. A glance out of the corner of her eye saw a matte of brown hair above a familiar bit of red fabric that immediately caughtg her attention.

Leaping off her horse, despite the protests of her squadmates, Mikasa ran in front of Faeva to find a prone body before the steed. 'It can't be, there's no way it can be him.' She didn't dare believe, not after the pain she'd been through the past couple of months.

Petra's adjusted her lantern to illuminate the area, and two small gasps escaped from the veterans. "It's a kid? What the hell is a kid doing all the way out here," Oluo almost shouted in complete surprise.

"Has he been living out here since the fall?" Petra couldn't imagine the horrors the person must have gone through.

Grabbing the sleeve of the white shirt he was wearing, Mikasa turned the body over to see the scarred face of someone she thought was gone forever.

"Eren," she whispered. Immediately her head dropped to his chest, ear pressed against it in hopes of hearing a heartbeat.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump

"You're alive," she whispered. Mikasa's breath went unsteady as, in that moment, all the pain and heartache she had kept bottled up inside, that at times she thought was finally starting to ease with the support of her squad, came to the fore. This was only for a brief moment however, as soon afterwards even more powerful, positive emotions took over, as she had found what she had thought was lost forever. The tears and crying that came were of relief and joy as she pulled her best friend up into her chest, holding on for dear life for fear that if she let go he would be snatched away from her yet again.

Mikasa had her home again.

There was nothing that Petra and Oluo could say as they watched Mikasa clutched this unconscious kid, crying into his chest; they could only watch in stunned silence at her sudden display of emotions.

A shared look between them conveyed the same question without any answers, 'What do we do?' There was little time to try to figure that out as Mikasa picked up the mysterious person, mounting her steed with him in her arms, and took off in the direction of the main camp of the Corps.

"Mikasa wait!" Oluo shouted out to the fleeing woman, but to no avail. "Dammit, what the hell was that?"

Petra just shook her head. "I don't know. What I do know though is that I need to follow Mikasa. Oluo, you need to find the Captain, tell him what's happened, Okay? We'll regroup with Hanji's squad as soon as possible."

He simply nodded, turning to resume their route in hopes of crossing paths with the Captain as soon as possible. Petra watched for a moment before spurring her horse after Mikasa, frustrated at the sudden shift in the situation.

Mikasa rode like a woman possessed back towards camp. It was the safest place to bring Eren right now, and if there was anything wrong with him, then the medics there could take care of him. The fact that he was passed out in the middle of Titan territory with scars on the sides of his face certainly did not speak well of his health.

"I'm sorry Eren. I couldn't keep you from the military, so I thought I could protect you by following you. I thought I would be strong enough for the both of us. I was wrong, I was so, so wrong." Tears were still streaming down her face as she pushed forward. Why didn't she press harder to follow him in Trost? He wouldn't have left them if she'd been there to protect him, keep him from getting eaten as Armin said.

She didn't understand how this could be; she didn't doubt her friend believed what he saw, but that Eren was hear before her said otherwise to his story. This all could very well be another dream that she might wake up from any second. It wouldn't be unusual. Yet every so often she would look down at Eren, slumped into her chest; she could feel the slight rising and falling of his torso as he breathed, the scruff of his hair against her neck, and the heat radiating off his body. It all felt too real to be a dream this time. It just couldn't be.

"Hmm… Oo's there…"

She felt Eren shifting from his slumped position against her, turning his head back to meet her gaze. When his half lidded eyes met hers they went wide and his jaw went slack.

"Mi-Mikasa?" he uttered with a breathless whisper, unable to believe what his eyes were seeing. This had to be a dream, or maybe another nightmare and this was where things took a horrible turn. But nothing happened.

Mikasa just looked at him, almost frozen in place as she stopped spurring the horse forward and it slowly came to a stop. Walls, she looked like she was about to break down; strong, stoic Mikasa breaking down, this had to be a figment of energy deprived imagination. Yet the strength of her arms around his torso as she pulled him into hers, the tickling touch of her hair against his face as she leaned forward, and the sound of her voice as she said "Eren", it all felt to real.

"Am I dreaming?"

Mikasa shook her head, her chin now resting on his shoulder as she leaned her head against his as she tried to keep her emotions in check. "Am I?"

He could hear the tears in her voice before he felt them on his cheek. What changed since he'd been gone? "This is real Mikasa," he stated, in a way that left no room for doubt, even if he still held some deep down.

Turning back around to look at her, a bit of an awkward effort still being seated in the saddle and all, he was greeted by an ever rare Mikasa smile. Small as it was, Eren was probably the one person alive who knew it best. He was taken completely off guard when Mikasa then threw herself at him, grabbing him into a tight hug that inadvertently knocked them both onto the ground, Eren landing on top her and thankfully neither cracking their sides against Mikasa's 3DMG.

Eren was about to shout at her for being reckless, but was cut off by the sound of muffled sobs as Mikasa buried her face in his chest, which at this point was only his tunic and their scarf. Not knowing what he should do, he sat up onto his knees, pulling Mikasa up with him as she refused to let go; her head was still buried in his chest, her tears beginning to soak through. He supported her with one hand on her back, holding her up, while the other stroked her hair in an attempt to soothe her. He felt a warm feeling in his chest, caring for her like this. Everything just felt a bit more right now, holding Mikasa close like this. Walls he had missed her so much.

When Mikasa finally calmed down enough, she pulled her head back and looked up at Eren, reaching up to touch the side of his face in a final confirmation. When he didn't fade or pop or turn into a Titan like her nightmares, she smiled with a sigh of relief.

Eren returned her smile with boyish one on his own, taking Mikasa's hand from his face and holding it in his hand. Looking at her more closely, he saw her neck was completely bare, and remembered he had had the scarf on.

Grabbing his neck quickly, afraid it may have been lost in his most recent transformation, he felt the familiar piece of red cloth still around his neck and let out a breath of relied. Without any preamble, he began to undo it with his free hand. "I believe this is yours," he said, and then began to lazily loop it around her neck.

A few stray tears leaked from the corner of Mikasa's eyes, as this all too familiar gesture played out once again. "I thought… I thought you were dead?" she said shakily.

Eren shook his head, then pulled Mikasa's hand from his cheek to hold in his lap. "I'm sorry Mikasa," he said, looking down. He really had no other way to reply to that. If only things had been different.

Mikasa didn't know she needed to hear that until he said it. Just those few words seemed to make a huge difference as Mikasa was able to recompose herself. "Armin… Armin said he saw you get eaten trying to save him. What happened?"

Eren froze. He never thought he'd see anyone he knew for a long, long time, if ever, let alone someone who knew how he had died; he had no idea what to say without giving up his secret. "I… its complicated Mikasa. If I told you what happened, you wouldn't believe me." 'Walls, why did he have to lie to her?' "Why are you out here Mikasa? Why didn't you join the Military Police?" he asked, looking up at her as he quickly tried to change the topic.

"Armin was still intent on joining the Survey Corps after Trost, possibly even more so than before after... certain events happened." 'Would he believe me if I said a Titan inspired us and helped save Trost? Never, even I still can't believe that.' "I couldn't let him go by himself. That and… I felt if I didn't I'd be disrespecting your memory," she said, now her turn to look away from him at the ground, a slight blush on her face.

Eren felt himself becoming frustrated at her saying that. Walls, even when he was "dead" she still chose to follow him instead of leading her own life; yet a part of him was touched by this thought on her part. Before he had a chance to say anything, Mikasa continued.

"You didn't answer my question Eren."

So much for changing topics.

"Why didn't you come back and join the Survey Corps Erem? Why did you leave?" 'me', the last word of her question left only a thought as her stoic visage slowly set itself back into place despite the turmoil of emotions she was still feeling.
She wasn't the only one filled with internal turmoil following her spoken words. Eren's heart picked up the pace as he tried to think of a half-plausible lie to tell Mikasa. She couldn't know the truth; if anyone wasn't to find out what he was, it was Mikasa.

In the next moment, Eren thought if the Goddesses of the Walls existed, they were either smiling down on him or preparing to smite him, as the sound of a horse approaching caught their attention with someone shouting "Mikasa!" Turning to the source of the noise, Eren saw what had to be another member of the Survey Corps approaching on horseback.

"What was that Mikasa?" the figure asked as she came to a stop near them, dismounting her steed to approach them with a cross look on her face.

'Who is she?' Eren wondered as he looked from the unknown soldier to Mikasa, who now wore a very cowed expression as she jumped away from him to her feet.

"Not only did you break formation, but you ran away from your comrades with an unknown individual. Had you been attacked by the Titans, or worse by him, you would have had no back up to save you! Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she finished with crossed arms and a clenched jaw, cutting an imposing figure despite her shorter stature as she glared at Mikasa, taking note of Eren to the side no longer passed out.

Hesitating in her response, Mikasa took a deep breath before replying, her voice calm and cool, but tinged with defiance, something he'd been on the receiving end of many times as they grew up. "Eren would never do such a thing to me; we're family family."

The woman now identified to Eren as Petra was slightly taken aback by this statement, but made no other reaction other than to look over at Eren. 'Isn't he supposed to be dead?'

She sized him up, and for a moment Eren thought she had discovered his secret and was figuring out how to kill him, only for her to then turn back to Mikasa.

"That still doesn't excuse your actions Mikasa. We'll have to talk about this with the Captain once we regroup," she stated, not as harsh as her earlier, but still frowning quite visibly at Mikasa.

"I understand Petra," Mikasa said resignedly, knowing that there would likely be consequences from her actions made in the heat of the moment. She didn't regret it though. Rash as her actions had been, they had been with the best of intentions, and she had faith that Captain Levi would show leniency in that regard once the full story was told.

Eren wasn't nearly as cool with the situation however, his desire to speak up for his friend boiling as he stepped in for her defense. "Hey, layoff will you!" he shouted at Petra, quickly earning her attention. "I don't know what kind of stick was shoved up your ass, but there's no way anyone would have handled this any better!"

Taken back by Eren's words, Petra's frowned. "Maybe, but regardless that doesn't excuse her actions. Disregard of standard operation procedures has killed too many soldiers in the past. What is to be done is to ensure she isn't one of them."

Eren couldn't find a response to Petra, and slowly the angry tension that built up within him uncoiled.

Taking a deep breath, Petra's face softened, appearing to calm down from earlier. "I sorry that I came off harsh Mikasa. I hope you understand I say this because I care about you."

"I do." Mikasa nodded at her squadmate's words, though her attention was still split as she continued to glance over at Eren.

'This is such mess' Petra thought with a sigh. "Come on, we need to return to camp now that we've gone off the patrol route. Are you okay to ride Eren?"

No, no he was not okay to ride back with them. As much as he might still want to see Armin again and continue their dream together, going back with the Corps meant it was only a matter of time before his secret was found out. There was no way he'd ever be accepted by the military or the people, and would most likely sent to the firing squad by the King himself.

Outside the Walls though, with his power, he could still do good for humanity. It was not as he had wanted to originally, but was profressing more in exterminating the Titans than he ever thought possible, which was certainly a lot better than dying at the hands of those he wished to help.

He couldn't go back.

Eren slowly began stepping away from Petra and Mikasa. He could feel the tension his actions were causing between them and was trying not to provoke either woman into any hasty reactions.

"Eren?" Mikasa called to him, her voice almost cracked as she saw him pull away from them. He was leaving her again. Why?

"I'm sorry, I can't," he said, shaking his head slightly.

"You can't? I don't understand Eren? You would be much safer with us than on your own. We can take you behind the Walls," Petra said diplomatically, trying to comprehend why anyone wouldn't want to come with them. "Out here, it's only a matter of time before a Titan catches you."

Eren just continued shaking his head. "Please, just forget you saw me." He could see Mikasa beginning to tear up as he said that. He wanted to walk over and tell her everything would be alright, but that would be a lie. He wanted to take her away with him to his place in the forest, but it wouldn't be safe for her. He wanted to share his secret with her, but he feared she might hate him for it. He had to hurt her to save her, to save them both.

"I'm sorry Eren, but I must insist you come with us." Though her voice gave nothing away, both Mikasa and Eren could see Petra's muscles tensing, her hands shifting down to her grips.

"Just let me go dammit! I don't want any trouble." Eren was panicking now. He could get away easily, but Petra and Mikasa were too close; if he tried to get clear Petra would surely close the distance, and his transformation would surely cause some damage. He did not fear for his life, but he did fear for theirs.

"You've been supposed KIA since Trost, eaten by a Titan according to reports. The fact that you're here and alive leaves a lot of questions that only you can answer. For humanity's sake Eren, please come with us." Petra did not want to fight Eren. He seemed like a good kid from what she heard from Mikasa, but if the story she had been told was true and this was really him, then this kid might know something that could change the tide of the war. If she did attack him though, which side would Mikasa stand on?

Eren's clenched his jaw, wanting to say something defiant, to run as far as he could, to fight, but he just couldn't see himself coming out on top. Unless…

"Okay,' he acquiesced quietly, head bowed slightly, defeated as he stepped towards Petra and her steed.

Petra's hands fell from her grips as she felt a wave of relief wash over her, thankful that Eren hadn't forced her hand. Never did she want to raise a blade against another human.

Mikasa would have been relieved Eren had conceded to Petra's demands had she not been so surprised that his defiance faded so swiftly. Never had she seen him give up so easily. He was coming back with them though; Eren was coming back with them.

At least, that's what she thought until, Eren heaved the redhead woman from the saddle and threw her to the ground, grabbing the stirrups of her steed and spurring the horse away from them.

Mikasa just stood there in disbelief as Eren rode into the distance towards the tree line mounting her own steed to take off after him, not taking a second to think about her squadmate sprawled out on the ground. All she could focus on was making sure she didn't lose her best friend again.

For a moment, Eren had thought he'd made a clean get away. Without her horse, Petra would need to take a minute to mount up on Mikasa's, giving him the head start he'd need to lose them in the forest.

That ended all too quickly when he heard a second pair of hooves not far away. Looking over his shoulder he saw Mikasa, just Mikasa, pushing her steed after him. Neither of them seemed to be gaining ground over one another, but she was close enough that she'd be able to keep track of him.

"Mikasa, you need turn back!" he yelled, waving at her to go away.

"You can't really expect that Eren!" she shouted back defiantly.

'Why did she have to be so hard headed?' "I'm not asking Mikasa! You can't follow me!"

"No, I'm not losing you! It was hard enough the first time, I can't do that again!" The tears were now freely flowing down the sides of her cheeks again, pushed back by the wind whipping at her face.

Eren hated himself for this, for what he was about to do; he felt even more a monster than ever before for hurting Mikasa. "I've told you Mikasa, I'm not your damn kid brother for you to protect! Get a fucking life that doesn't center on following me all the Wall damned time! I'm sick of you!" Oh Walls, he felt like he was about to vomit saying that, but he couldn't let it show. He held a hard look of anger directed at the one of the last bits of family he had left in this world, trying to convince her of what he said.

It seemed to work. The harsh words sent Mikasa into shock; she just stared at him with a lost look as she slowly trailed behind. But then all too quickly her look of loss morphed into one of fear. "Eren, look out!"

Eren felt a lump sink in his stomach at this scream. Turning forwards to see what had Mikasa so scared, time seemed to slow down as Eren saw a Titan, one that couldn't be more than six meters tall, leaping at him with its mouth wide open. There was no dodging this monster, not on a horse like this, not without his gear.

Glancing back he saw Mikasa jumping from her horse, swords at the ready to jump into battle, but falling back as she did it was obvious she wouldn't reach him in time.

As the Titan seemed to come closer and closer to eating him, Eren's mind came to one thought, one conclusion on how to deal with this. Transform. Transform! Transform!
When time picked up again, he kicked off his horse's saddle, making a beeline straight into the Titan's maw with one hand outstretched in a defiant fist while the other was brought to his mouth. He could hear Mikasa screaming over the whirring of the fans.

All noise was then quickly drowned out by the sound of the air around them exploding, accompanying the lightning coming down from the sky. For a brief moment the area was bathed in a blinding white light, out of which came a much larger figure.

Eren's senses once again began to spread beyond his human body, and a familiar feeling of power flowed through him. Opening his eyes, the now miniscule monster that tried to eat him had its mouth wrapped around his fist, unable to pull it out or bite it off. Had it been human, its face would have been filled with regret, but its blank look only served to prove how devoid these things were of anything human.

In one fluid motion, he drove his fist into the ground, pulverizing the Titan's skull into paste. He the punched its neck again several times for good measure, not wanting to risk it regenerating to come back after him.

With that dealt with, Eren hesitated with what came next. Carefully he turned around, looking down at the ground.

There he saw a dumbfounded Mikasa sitting on her knees, staring up at him with what he couldn't discern between fear and awe, though he was sure it was the former. For a moment, she had thought she was going to lose him again, only this time permanently, but now…

There was a minute where they just stared at each other. The world was silent as the slightest glow of the dawn's sun began to peak over the horizon. Then, in a voice she hadn't used since she'd been lost all those years, Mikasa spoke.

"Eren?"

A.N.: Well here you go, Eren and Mikasa finally meet again, as promised. Let me tell you, I had a million different ways for the second half of this chapter to go. I wasn't sure how much drama I should write and how mean I wanted to be. What do you guys think? I won't say anything about next chapter because I always end up being wrong, save for the fact that it will come As always, please keep reading and reviewing, your support is what drives me as a writer. My PM box is also always open for anyone who wants to chat. Until next time, peace out.