Chapter 1

"Wouldn't it be great if, one day, we could go explore the outside world, too?"

Eren reminisced as he looked at the unconscious body lying in his arms. He didn't notice how limp Armin's arms have gotten, how pale his skin was. The blood of his friend splattered on the ground reminded him of the traumatizing images from the attack five years ago at Zhiganshina.

"With my final breath before my death, I shall wish for humanity's glory, and try to persuade you of his strategic value!"

He remembered that day when Mikasa and Armin did so much for him when he was so vulnerable during those trainee years. Armin was always there for him, but he couldn't be there for Armin at the most crucial time. He felt like a useless piece of shit. He looked at Armin's unconscious face and noticed that he let the titans hurt another member of his family. He felt useless, ashamed, disappointed, and pathetic. He had the ability to save mankind and yet he couldn't save his own best friend?

"Eren!" Mikasa was making her way to them. She saw the look on Eren's face, and it was the same one he made when he witnessed his mother's death. "This can't be good," Mikasa thought as she made her way but was suddenly interrupted by an Aberrant. It was heading for Eren and Armin and she had to quickly stop it. She started using her 3D maneuver gear and headed towards it. She quickly prepared her blades as she hooked the cord onto the nape of the titan. She felt the sudden adrenaline rush and worked her way faster. She raised her blades as she got closer and sliced the titan. The titan collapsed and she ran towards Eren and Armin.

Eren was in tears when she made got closer to them. "What—"
"I couldn't do anything!" Eren yelled at Mikasa while clinging onto Armin. "He got attacked and what did I do? Nothing! I stood there like an idiot, seeing my best friend unconscious on the ground and look at him! He's barely alive and I, and—"
They suddenly heard a soft raspy voice. "Eren…"
Eren was snapped out of his daze and looked at Armin's face. "Armin?" he whispered softly, as if the chaos around them was non-existent. Armin smiled and held Eren's hand. Their fingers intertwined, like that day when Eren erupted from the titan's corpse. "You're going to be okay, alright?" Eren said as another member from the squad came to the three of them.

"We must evacuate quickly while there are no titans in sight!" he told them. "Commander's orders. We must leave immediately." He continued, eyeing Armin.

Mikasa picked Armin up, seeing that Eren didn't like what his comrade was implying. Their bickering would get them killed if she didn't intervene. "C'mon, we have to go."

They started running towards the horses standing by, waiting for their riders. They quickly mounted the horses and rode back to the headquarters.

"Armin… Armin..." was all Eren could think about. He didn't know if Armin would wake up again. "Oh god, please be alive. We're almost there." He started to feel tears streak down his face again. "What about that promise about when we get to explore the outside world together? How about the things that you talked about like the sea? How about the flaming water, the frozen earth, the plains of sand, as white as snow? I want to be able to fulfil that dream of yours, to be able to see the whole world with you." He was hit by the fact that if Armin died, what would happen then? Not only would he lose his best friend, he would lose the strategic side of the team, the one that was able to keep them alive all this time. He still had Mikasa by his side, but wouldn't she be just as sad as him? Wouldn't they both feel the same grief for the loss of his friend?
Eren was thinking too much about this. "No," he thought to himself. "He's going to survive, he will."

Mikasa noticed the look on Eren's face. She knew that he was thinking about Armin, she always knew. Although she had feelings towards Eren, she always knew that he thought of her as a sister. She noticed the way he would look at Armin with softer eyes, but didn't look at her the same way. It pained her whenever she realized that he would never see her rather than another family member. Her mind always tells her that instead of being like that, she should support him in every way that if he was happy, she'd be happy as well, but her heart wouldn't agree…

They arrived at the headquarters of the Survey Corps, quickly heading to the room where all the injured were attended to.

"Maybe we aren't ready for the outside world, Armin." Eren said softly, gazing at Armin. "No…" Armin said with his soft voice. "I'm the one who's not ready." Eren leaned in closer. "Armin…" he said in disbelief. "Eren… you can see the outside world. You're ready for it. Maybe, some people just weren't meant to…maybe I'm just too weak to—" Eren grabbed Armin's shoulders. "Armin, you were never weak! Armin, mankind is just going to get stronger and stronger! You, me and Mikasa! We make each other stronger and we're just as strong as the other! Armin, we can do this. Just have faith."

The doors suddenly burst open, and the sound of heels clacking against the floor filled the room. It was Levi and Erwin. They made their way to Armin's bed, Levi staring down at Eren.
"We are fully aware of the situation with your friend." Levi looked at Armin and glared at Eren. "Although this wouldn't have happened if you acted fast enough," He murmured, and then looked directly at Eren. "We need to get back to your training. We are having another expedition soon so we need to be prepared." Eren was about to protest but Armin interrupted him.
"Just go Eren, I'll be fine." He smiled at him and Eren averted his eyes, not wanting to show his vulnerability.
"Well?" Levi started to get a bit impatient, tapping his foot on the floor.
"Yeah, I'm going." Eren stood up, glanced at Armin and left.