"Annie? What are you doing? Stop it Annie! Help me!"

Marco's voice echoed through Annie's ears, terrified and afraid.

"Annie, please!"

Marco, I'm sorry. She didn't know how many times she had screamed those words inside of her mind, but no matter how much she apologised, it never came close to being enough.

After all, it was because of her that he was dead. Plain and simple.

Annie had watched, after stealing his gear, as a titan picked him up and ate him. Half of his body gone, and she was the reason why. The terrified image of his face as she tore through the straps of his gear was still fresh in her mind. It never really went away. Of all the people she had killed, his death was the most harrowing; it had stayed with her, a black cloud of regret and sorrow. Was it because she had trained with him, talked with him, fought with him? Or was it because of his pure innocence and unadulterated optimism? He was too kind to have been killed in such a way.

Though, Annie supposed, she deserved these feelings. It wasn't like she hadn't committed all of those atrocities, those murders. She had, and she had of her own free will. That was what made it the hardest.

Annie remembered that night, two days after Marco had died. Her sobs had reverberated through the dormitories. She was racked with guilt; it was still fresh in her mind, and worsened by the knowledge that she wasn't the only one crying. She could hear Sasha's quiet sobs from the next room, the angry thuds of Jean punching the wall, and the gentle sounds of Ymir trying to sooth Krista and stop her from crying.

Bertholdt had come to her room that night, and muttered hushed words of comfort. Remember the mission. He had known how it had felt all too well. She wondered where they were now. Were they even alive? She couldn't know.

It was lonely inside of her crystal, and it was cold. When she had trapped herself inside, she hadn't expected that she would be awake. Actually, she had been looking forward to the silence of endless sleep. But it hadn't come; she was conscious, and the memories were relentless and unforgiving. She had never wanted to hurt anyone. She had never wanted to kill.

Bertholdt… Reiner… please come for me soon. I can't do this for much longer.

Marco… I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.