~Elias POV~

On the rooftop, Armin and I are still trying to cope with Eren being gone, but Conny wasn't any better. He was asking Armin questions the most.

I did try to tell Conny to knock it off, but he didn't listen.

Conny: Hey! Hey! What's wrong, Armin?! Pull yourself together! Hey! Armin! Hey, Armin! Hey! You with me?! You okay?! Are you alright? Where's Eren and Samuel? Oh, man. Pull yourselves together. Why are you all by yourselves? Armin, you're all wet and slimy. What the hell happened?

Armin: You're so useless! Why don't you just die!

Elias: Whoa! Calm down, Armin!

Conny: Damn it! Where is everyone?!

Ymir: Give it a rest, Conny. A loser of his squad had been wiped out.

Conny: Shut up! Armin hasn't said anything!

Ymir: Just look around. It's obvious. We don't got any more time to waste on them.

Conny: Why are they the only ones okay?!

Ymir: Beats me. Maybe they thought he was a corpse? It sucks that they ran into multiple Titans and that only these underachievers made it out alive. Eren and the others worked hard for nothing.

Conny: You bitch! Want me to make it so you never talk again?!

I raised my hand before yelling...

Elias: HEY, WHEN MY HAND GOES UP YOUR MOUTHS GO SHUT!

Then, they all went quiet as I had to turn my attention to Ymir who decided to shit on everyone's sacrifice, especially when I saved a bunch of lives in the form of Mina, Milieus, and Nack.

Elias: And you, Ymir, you better work on that attitude, because I promise, if I hear one more insult out of you, I'll throw you off this roof and feed you to the titans! Understand me?

Ymir: Yeah yeah. Hold your horses.

Elias: Yeah, she is clowning around more than usual. Anyways, we can't stay here. Can you stand, Armin?! I'll rendezvous with the rearguard. Hey Armin!

Armin: Let's go, Elias! We've been ordered to advance!

Armin and decided to try our luck and fly towards the supply depot.

From what I know, this has been hell from the very start. The strong prey on the weak. It's such a simple, straightforward world. It's just, our friends. They tried to be strong in this world. They helped us, someone who was weak. I couldn't bear it. They saw everyone like us as someone who needed to be protected. We wanted to live in this world like them. We wanted to be strong and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them and this is the result. Because of us, Eren wound up dead.

Then, in the corner of my eye, we see someone giving CPR to a corpse. Armin and I decided to fly over and see what we could do to help.

Elias: Hanna! What are you doing?

Hanna: Armin! Elias! Help! Franz isn't breathing! I've tried resuscitating him over and over and over but it's not working!

Armin: It's dangerous down here, Hanna. You need to get on a roof.

Hanna: I can't just leave Franz like this!

Armin: You don't understand, Hanna.

Elias: Franz is-. Please stop this.

Armin: We can't take this anymore. We can't.

~Mikasa POV~

As I was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, I started to think back on how it all came about, in the form of a flashback.

Mikasa: Why am I reminded of it at a time like this?

~Young Mikasa POV~

Young Mikasa: Finished! Look, Mom!

Mother: Oh, you did a great job, Mikasa! It's very nice! This style of embroidery has been passed down in our clan from generation to generation. When you have a child, it'll be your turn to pass it on too!

Young Mikasa: How can I have a child?

Mother(embarrassed): Err, why don't you ask your father that?

Young Mikasa: Well, Dad?

Father: Oh, uhh, I don't really know, either. Oh, I know! Dr. Jaeger will be here any minute! Why don't we ask him? Oh, that must be him! Coming! Dr. Jaeger! We've been expecting-.

Just like that, a knife was plunged into my father's chest and when he fell, blood was spilled, and at the door were three people.

Person 2: Hello. Pardon the intrusion. Just take it nice and easy, unless you want your head split open with this.

I saw that my mom tried to hold off against the three men, but I was confused. I didn't know what was going on.

Person 2: This broad's crazy!

Mom: Mikasa! Run!

Mikasa: Huh? M-Mom?

Mom: Hurry, Mikasa!

Mikasa: Uhh Dad?

Person 2: Damn it! I've had enough of your crap!

The second person then swung an axe and killed my mother, but the other people were pissed.

I didn't know what to do. I was so scared.

Person 1: Why the hell would you do that!

Person 2: Don't look at me! She's the one who-!

Person 3: Save your excuses! Go get the kid!

Person 2: Hey. You better behave yourself. Or else this!

He knocked me out, but I was gagged and laying on the floor, listening to them about what they plan to do with me.

Person 2: Hey. Are you sure she'll actually sell? We even went and killed her parents before running off with her.

Person 1: Take a look at her face.

The first person flipped me over to look at my face, but I really was scared.

Person 2: Looks nice, but she's still just a kid. She ain't for me.

Person 1: I'm not asking about your tastes. She's Asian. There used to be different types of humans, you see. Long ago, some people fled a place called the Asian and sought refuge inside the walls. She's the last descendant of that clan. We're gonna take her to the underground market in the capital and auction her off to those old perverts.

Person 2: All the other Asians have died out, so she'll go for a pretty hefty price.

Person 1: Her old man didn't look like an Asian to me.

Person 2: She ain't pureblooded.

Person 1: That's right! The mom was the really valuable one! But you had to freak out and kill her!

Person 2: I-I couldn't help it! She put up a fight!

Person 1:

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Then, I heard some knocking on the cottage door. I couldn't see because of the darkness, but I overheard another conversation.

Young Eren: Excuse me?

Person 1: Hold it, kid! How did you find this place?!

Young Eren: Err, uhh I got lost in the forest, and then, umm, I saw a cabin, so-.

Then, I felt a hand on my mouth as I looked around, and I saw this blonde haired boy, shushing me and taking the gag off me and untying my hands.

Young Elias: You're Mikasa, right? My brother Eren and I are gonna get you outta here. Just follow our lead.

Person 1: You know kids shouldn't wander around the forest all alone. Scary wolves live in the forest, you know. But there's nothing to worry about now. We'll be happy to take you-

The other kid stabs the first person in the neck and he dies from blood loss.

Young Eren: Thanks, Mister, but I already know the score. So die, you asshole!

Person 2: Huh?! What the hell?! G-Get back here, kid! You damn animal!

The kid closed the door on the third person, but after the third person opened the door, he gets stabbed with the same knife, only on a broomstick.

After taking the knife off of the stick, the brown haired kid continues on a rampage.

Young Eren: Die! Die! This is what you get! This is what you deserve! Never get up again!

After killing the third person, he turns his attention to me on the floor, but Elias untied me and everything.

Young Eren: You're safe now You can relax. I take it you're Mikasa? I'm Eren. He's Elias. We're Dr. Jaeger's sons. I'm sure you've met my dad before and now you met Elias too. We was tagging along when he visited your house for a checkup.

But then were three of them.

The second person came in to see his buddies were killed, but then he was enraged.

Person 2: Was it you? Was it you who killed 'em?! Was it?!

The second person grabbed Eren and chokes him above his head as Elias tried to fight back, but he was dazed.

Person 2: I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna kill you!

Young Eren: F-Fight! Fight! Fight or die! Win and live!

Person 2: What the hell are you thinking, brat?!

Young Eren: The only way to win is to fight! No I can't do it!

Just then I remembered. I had seen this same thing over and over all my life. I'd seen it everywhere I went But I always looked the other way. That's right. We live in a cruel world. At that moment, my body stopped shaking. I was in full control of myself after that. I thought I could do anything.

Eren: Fight. Fight! Fight!

I grabbed the knife and stabbed the person in the back, into his aorta, right below the heart.

After a while, the MPs looked in the cabin and saw the others' corpses as we were being looked at by Mr. Yeager.

MP: Those kids did this?

Grisha: Eren. Elias. I told you two to wait at the foot of the mountain. Do you have any idea what you've done?!

Young Eren: We got rid of some dangerous animals! They just happened to look like people!

Grisha: Eren!

Young Elias: They would've been long gone by the time the Military Police arrived! It would've been too late!

Grisha: Even so, you were just lucky, boys! The way you casually threw your life away is what I'm angry about!

Young Eren: But we wanted to save her as fast as we could!

Grisha: Mikasa.

Then, Mr. Yeager got down on one knee to my height with a smile.

Grisha: Do you remember me? We've met several times before, when you were little.

Young Mikasa: Dr. Jaeger. How do I get home from here? I'm cold I have nowhere to go now.

Young Eren: You can keep this.

Eren wrapped his red scarf around me as I now felt...

Young Mikasa: Warm, isn't it?

Young Eren: It is Mikasa. Come live with us.

Young Mikasa: Huh?

Grisha: You've been through a lot. You need plenty of rest.

Young Elias: What is it? C'mon. Let's go already. To our home.

Young Mikasa(shocked): Yeah. Let's go.

~Mikasa (older) POV~

A cruel world in which only the victors are allowed to live, but Elias made me feel something after that day, even more so than Eren.

Officer: Time to withdraw, Ackerman! Let's scale the wall! I'll go assist the vanguard's retreat!

I ignored the officer and flew away as I had to know where Elias was.

Officer: H-Hey, Ackerman!

I do have a place to call home in this world now.

Elias, as long as I have you, I can do anything.

(A/N: I get this all the time: Freedom, why do you like Mikasa so much? NOW YOU KNOW!)