FicWad

It was early evening when it happened.

The two of them were situated in the tiny room. Armin was seated at the table, brow furrowed slightly in a state of total concentration, jotting down notes in a tiny, year-worn book; Mikasa was pacing back and forth like a caged animal, feeling just as restless.

"Armin, is it?"

They looked up. A man stood there, clad in the traditional Regiment uniform. Armin nodded.

"Commander Erwin wanted to see you."

Armin froze, casting a troubled half-glance back at Mikasa.

"Er...now?"

"Yes. Care to accompany me?"

Armin had already sat up from the chair, hastily straightening out his shirt. "O-of course, sir!"

The two departed, and Mikasa was left alone with her thoughts. She tried counting seconds for a little while, but this lost its appeal quickly, and so she began to pace again, every once in a while chancing a restless glance at the setting sun outside the window, wondering when Armin would be back. Time seemed to slow to a crawl at the prospect of awaiting his return.

As Mikasa continued to reflect, another, disturbing thought occurred to her; why had Commander Erwin not called her in alongside Armin?

She recalled the 57th Expedition: the forest, the smell of pine and blood, the sight of Eren's form abducted by the Female Titan and the sense of utter helplessness that had overtaken her wits, then quickly given way to burning hatred. She scowled.

Perhaps my failure has forced them to reconsider?

Yes, that was more than possible. In her blind anger and resurging thirst for vengeance, she had ignored direct orders and caused Captain Levi to suffer ample injuries; Armin, meanwhile, had done nothing but continue to prove himself.

The thought brought forth a small surge of additional guilt and resentment, and with it, a fresh wave of shame in the wake of such childish emotion. Armin had committed no such wrong as she had. The presence of her emotional weakness vexed her.

The sound of footfalls interrupted her thoughts. Mikasa looked up to see Armin standing on the threshold, an expression of distinct unease upon his face. She regarded him furtively, hoping he could not read the leftover bitterness in her expression.

"Commander Erwin wanted a word." He clarified. She held his gaze for a moment, trying to discern what else he might be thinking, but upon gleaning little but his increased anxiety, she turned away.

"Is something the matter?" He asked, stepping into the room and taking a seat across from her.

"I think there's something wrong with Eren." If Armin had appeared uneasy before, he was all the more so upon hearing this statement.

"What do you mean?" He asked slowly, though he would not quite meet her eyes.

"He's been acting strange ever since yesterday."

"Maybe he's just worried about the mission tomorrow." He chuckled. "I know I am." Mikasa frowned.

"Maybe."
___________________________________________________________________________________________

But as the day of the mission came, it was clear that something was wrong with Eren. He had left at the break of dawn the morning before, returned several hours later with a strange air of exultation and without so much as a word to where he had been; even Jean's goading remarks failed to bring about an anticipated retort. Today he was pale, his eyes were dull with lack of sleep, and he was not prone to have words with anyone.

Was he simply nervous about the mission, as Armin had suggested?

No. There was a different fear in his eyes, more complex than simple concern over failure. Desperation. Absolute in its subsistence, far deeper than what could be put into words. Mikasa recognized this fear because she knew it well, after years of death and suffering. It was as if an old friend had resurfaced.

But what was he afraid of?

He couldn't possibly be having second thoughts about the mission. However unsure he had been, Eren had, after all, agreed to comply with their terms. She knew her brother, more than well enough after the years they had lived alongside each other. There was simply no way he would betray that which he had fought her tooth and nail for, and certainly not over some injudicious preconception over the enemy. Mikasa knew also by the occasional, furtive looks that Armin kept flashing her that she was not alone in thinking of ulterior reasons for the sudden change in her brother's demeanor.

Yet try as she might, Mikasa could not justify the reason for such emotion. Frustrated, she joined the crowd of soldiers exiting out into the bright morning sun.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Two hours later, the group of Scouts was well on its way in the midst of Stohess. The sun was blinding, so Mikasa moved into the shade of a nearby building to wait for Armin.

She was free to reflect as she saw fit, without the distraction of others. But there was little to think about, really. Her responsibility was to ensure the success of this mission. She had failed twice before on account of her arrogance, and it would be the last time she would repeat this mistake.

Reassured, she let her thoughts drift once again to Eren's unusual behavior.

He had returned the previous evening in high spirits; the happiest she had seen him in months. The more she thought about it, the more she realized happy was not the right word – giddy was a more suitable description. Today, he was anything but giddy.

There had to be more to this. They were all nervous about the mission. But the mere existence of her brother's uncharacteristic diffidence was more than enough to convince her of something more. If he was truly set on seeing the mission through to the end, then he would not hesitate for a moment. He had never once displayed such constraint when it came to furthering mankind's progress.

But Eren was hesitant. Given the most undeniable of suggestions to the enemy's identity, he had looked to them all through the eyes of a boy with everything to lose. She knew his foolish sense of loyalty, but this was profound.

And of course, it begged the question: what made Annie Leonhardt so unique?

Mikasa silently dreaded that answer. She would not dwell on the matter now. No, she thought, she would hear it from her brother's words, and his alone.

Thus, her resolve became a silent mantra.

I will not fail again.

Armin reappeared after a few minutes.

"She's agreed to help us."
___________________________________________________________________________________________

They met up with Annie in the span of half an hour and made their way to the designated checkpoint in a decent amount of time. Jean was already there, looking resigned to the worst. They watched the procession pass by them. The minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness, and still there was no sign of Eren.

Her hand fiddled with the hilt of her sword beneath her cloak to discourage the beginnings of anxiousness.

Any minute now.

One of the carriages stopped in front of them. Eren jumped from the rear compartment as Jean quickly moved to take his place and, with a last nervous glance back at the retreating carriage, joined them.

It hit her almost immediately that there was something very different now in the air amidst the four of them. The fear from that morning remained, yet alongside it was something entirely new. Dangerous. This feeling was not only reserved to her brother, no; both he and the target shared this unspoken sentiment.

Their situation was worse than she had predicted, then. It would have been bad enough if her brother was the only one to exhibit this sense. Now the target was returning that very same vibe.

They shared a connection.

Mikasa knew by Armin's half-glance around at the pair that he could sense it, too, though perhaps not as distinctly as she. He looked discreetly to her in silent communication, and she read the question in his eyes: What do we do?

For answer, she turned her gaze back to Eren.

We see the mission through to the end.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

The plan fell apart once they reached the Under City. It was clear to Mikasa that Annie was more than aware of what they intended to do. How? Commander Erwin had gone to considerable lengths to ensure that this plan would go off without a hitch. There was no time to think. There was never a good time to reminisce, she thought irritably.

That aside, she was going to have to take matters into her own hands if they were ever to succeed. So she stepped ahead of her faltering comrades, cast her cloak aside and withdrew her sword without hesitation.

"Enough."

She would finish what Captain Levi had started. There would be no next time, no second thought.

"This is pointless. I'll defeat you again, Female Titan."

Mikasa could not fail to acknowledge the horror etched upon Armin's face as he looked at their companion, the flash of a warning in the target's eyes. The silent imploration in her brother's posture was almost pitiful. But the enemy did not deserve pity.

And she would receive none from her.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

"I have a plan." Armin used a blade to indicate his endeavor, motioning towards at opposite ends of the tunnel. "Mikasa and I will run down this passageway to each entrance. Annie will have to choose to deal with one of us." He looked at Eren. "While that happens, you have to get out of here! The soldiers will deal with her somehow."

"What!? One of you is going to die!" Eren protested.

"And all three of us are dead if we stay here. Mikasa, get in position!"

Mikasa released his arm and was halfway down to the end of the tunnel when she heard Eren cry out:

"How are you able to fight?"

She stopped, turned. He was only a few feet away, and even at a distance she could read the expression upon his features; guilt-ridden, hurt and unsure, like a small child separated from its parents.

There were a number of things she would have liked very much to say, but now was not the time. So she looked him dead in the eyes and uttered the phrase that she knew he would understand.

"What else can we do? This world is a cruel place."

Leaving him to ponder her statement, she continued down the tunnel. Yes, she thought, he would understand her words, better, perhaps, than anyone could. Absolute freedom had been their ultimate goal.

Now she could not help but to question the validity of her brother's motives. She had seen the terror in Armin's eyes. Eren could not have simply cast aside his lifelong dream for the sake of this girl, who was their enemy.

But there was little else that could explain his actions. She supposed Armin had simply chosen to ignore the signs, no matter how obvious they became. They all had.

The irony of this situation was almost ridiculous.

The sun was blinding after the long minutes spent in near-total darkness, and she quickly turned to look back at Eren. He was still on his knees, still clutching his hand. As she watched, he slowly raised his head and looked to where she was. His eyes found hers. The emotion within was intricate; terror, anguish, resentment, guilt, all were there.

But above all else, there was acceptance. And Mikasa knew, without a doubt, that he understood her words perfectly.

He turned his attention to the ceiling and raised a hand to his mouth. Sensing what he was about to do, she shot out towards the light of day, just as the flash of light filled the tunnel.

A great roar of sound and was all she could hear for a moment; wincing at the harshness of the sunlight, she turned as someone called her name.

"Mikasa!" She whirled around to see Armin running towards her. It was a miracle he could make himself heard over the battle raging behind them.

"What's happened?"

"Eren's decided to fight!" Armin reported breathlessly. "At least, I think he has." Together they turned just in time to see the Rogue Titan take off, in hot pursuit of the Female Titan.

"We've got to cover him!" Mikasa shouted.

They took off across the rooftops. Armin quickly fell behind her, but that was not unexpected. He would catch up, eventually. The Titans, meanwhile, were quickly advancing the fight to a more open street. Mikasa grit her teeth and sped across a few more buildings, landing just in time to watch as Eren hurled the Female Titan into a building.

With a feeble lurch of her gut, she recognized the building to be the Church. The target recovered quickly, making a mad dash back into the streets. The other Scouts moved to detain the creature. The Titan swung its arm into one of the many buildings, showering chunks of debris upon its pursuers. Cries of shock rang out among the team as they scattered to avoid this offensive maneuver. Mikasa sped up, far ahead of all the chaos, cut sharply to the left and leapt off the top of the nearest building at the incoming creature. In midair, her blades flashed white in the sun, and she swung up, using the target's momentum to her advantage. Her timing came too early, leaving two deep gouges across its face next to its eye. A spray of crimson stained her uniform, skin stinging with the abnormal heat.

She landed with a thud upon the nearest roof. Armin touched down soon after.

"Good work, Mikasa!" He called. "Now go from outside her field of vision!"

I missed, she thought bitterly, but responded: "Understood!" She turned as he kicked off, hunched in preparation to launch once more.

I have to take full responsibility for my actions.

Mikasa tensed. The target was moving away.

And I'll start with you.

But as her fingers twitched upon her gas triggers, the Female Titan veered suddenly into the left street. Eren was right behind her. She followed their progress and gave a start.

A clearing!

Her fellow squad-mates had noticed too; four or five gathered on the rooftop she inhabited.

"We can't follow them!" One man shouted. "We'll have to go around!"

A second rounded on him. "She'll get away if we wait! We have to act now!"

"Split into two groups!" Hange barked. The group of Scouts spread out around the streets, forming a loose ring around the two Titans. Mikasa looked over to where Armin had finally caught up with her, wheezing.

"He seems to be in better control of himself this time, at any rate." Hange observed. Recovering, Armin glanced at her.

"What do we do?"

Hange turned to the scene before them, readjusting her glasses.

"We wait."

As they surveyed the battle, Sasha's frenzied tangent about "cornered animals" and "underestimating the forest" came back to her. She wanted to intervene somehow, but knew that it would be suicidal to do so. So she watched. Eren seemed to be holding his own; however, the Female Titan soon overtook him. But this was only for a moment, because when the dust settled, they could all see as it struggled violently against his grip, but Eren did not falter.

Relief made its presence known within the back of Mikasa's mind.

"Cut her off! NOW!"

They all rushed in, moving towards the target. The Female Titan was now attempting to pry its leg free of Eren's jaws. They were halfway to the pair when she succeeded in freeing herself.

The assembled Scouts could only pursue their target as it fled, startlingly fast despite its wounded leg. The distinct cracking of its flesh sounded before it leapt up and dug hardened fingers into the surface of Wall Sina. And as they watched in horror, it began to scale the structure with surprising speed.

"She's fast!" Armin cried, despair fueling his voice. "At this rate she's going to get away!"

Something clicked. A wave of calm overtook her anger.

I can't let her escape.

"No, she isn't." Her voice was low.

I won't let her escape.

And she flew.

"Wait, Mikasa! You won't make it!"

Mikasa ignored him. Her attention was fixed upon her target as she ascended with breakneck speed, the wind stinging her face. She screwed up her eyes against the pain and with a cry, slashed through the fingers of its right hand. She felt the right blade give, and realized she had dulled the left with the force of the blow.

Damn!

The Titan's arm fell, hanging limply at its side. Precious seconds were all she had. She discarded her right blade, doubled back, and with another expert flash of her blade, the Titan was falling. She landed atop the creature's forehead, discerned the emotion in its eyes and felt a rush, indescribable and incomparable.

"Annie," Mikasa said softly, "fall."

The Female Titan had already begun the descent.