Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan or any characters within. This was an alternative universe made before the walls were even built, but the military branches were all at war and the main characters were added. Enjoy!

Chapter One: Where We Are Now

Armin was sent to keep watch for the night for his camp. He was alone in the dark, setting up a fire for himself to keep warm. The bitter night was brutal though honestly, he would much rather keep watch for his soldiers than to fight alongside them. He wasn't much of a fighter. He hadn't even killed another soldier, but instead, received a scar on the right side of his face, really close to his eye. He was lucky in that battle.

He was part of what was known as the Garrison. They were supposed to originally mediate between the Scouting Legion and the Military Knights to work their differences. Eventually though, they found their way inside the war, and no loophole to get out. Some say the Garrison was picking sides. Some said they didn't even need their help at all, and if they didn't help, the war would be over by now or that they wouldn't even be in this mess.

Eren was part of the Scouting Legion while Mikasa was part of the Military Knights; it was family tides that chose their destinies. His family being independent, Armin was placed in the Garrison, and for the last year, ever since the Garrison got involved, they all were fighting each other. Thankfully, they haven't yet looked at each other since.

Honestly, Armin wondered how the two were doing, especially Eren. Rumors in the Garrison spread about how the Scouting Legion had some kind of secret weapon that could end the war, if they were able to control it. What did that mean? What secret weapon were they talking about? What if it went out of control? What if it doomed everyone?

Armin barely even knew what this war was about. He gave up trying to figure it all out a month ago. He didn't even want to be in it any longer. One side was for the sake of humanity, while the other side was for the sake of the king. What did the king do that was so bad for one side to attack the other? What did the Garrison do that was so bad to be involved? They wanted to help end the war, but they seemed to have made it worse….

He had been sending letters to both Eren and Mikasa, using oblivious soldiers and fake names to conceal their identity. From them, he was getting information on where they were and if they were alright and if they knew anything. That last month was the last he heard of either of them. He wondered of the "mail carrier" was killed, captured, gotten lost, or if the letter was misplaced or missing. Or worse… They really were dead…

Thinking of the death of his two friends was the most depressing thing he could think about. He would feel all alone in the world, though he was already alone. He didn't have a friend to talk to in the first place, since everyone told him he was only useful for watch. He had gotten frostbit time and time again these past weeks. He wanted to do their bidding, but he did wonder when enough was going to be enough…

At last, the fire was finally burning after an hour of rubbing the two sticks together. Quickly, he placed the leaves he collected from a nearby forest in the tiny fire and it began to almost roar before him, matching his red coat with tens of buttons on it and the symbol of a shield and two roses on it on his shoulder and back.

The fire was starting to feel warm as he sat right next to it, looking into the light with sad eyes, but they started to drift off into the short distance where there was a small hut on the outskirts of the forest. He wondered if anyone lived there and if so, if he could house him until this damned war was over.

…But that would be treason, and treason was never unpunished. It always ended a person's life or, at the very merciful end, life in a prison. But who would even want to spend life in a box? If he was chosen for that, he would hang himself inside the jail before his life was over. Those jails were impossible to get out of…

But he decided to risk it. He didn't want to spend his life in this war, which to him was a prison. Besides, if his friends were on the other side, he would gladly meet them there. He turned his head to see if there were any people still up from their camps, which there was no one, so he began to sneak himself away in the pitch darkness, minus a torch he made in order to see where he was going.

It was not long for him to reach the tiny cabin and he turned his head to the camp, and then turned back, knocking on the door. There was no answer. He didn't want to speak in case someone was behind him and could recognize him. Still, he opened the door and he brought the torch with him, discovering what was inside.

Most of the cabin was raided, save a few cans of food and many articles of clothing. He looked around and saw a soldier of the Scouting Legion in bed - he could tell by the green cloak with the symbol of two wings, one white and the other blue. He blinked and bit his lip before advancing to him and patting him on the head, trying to get his attention, but nothing. Confused, he turned him over and he saw the boy, around his age, with a stab wound in his chest. His eyes widened and he looked to the boy with tears swelling.

It wasn't Eren, he knew, but what if it was Eren? What if he was killed right on this spot and he was too late to save him? What if he was still just barely alive and dying right there? The possibilities made him terribly upset and now, he couldn't stop crying. What was going on in this crazy world they lived in…?

He took the cloak off the body and he transferred him to the stone cold floor as he looked to the cloak. It was still attached and in good condition; a good item for his collection. But right now, he placed the torch in a place where it wouldn't set anything on fire and laid in the bed, placing the thin sheet and cloak over him as he continued to cry.

What was humanity without their king? What was a king without humanity? Nothing. Then why were they having this war? To overthrow the king so humanity could rule themselves? They needed guidance, and no one was listening to each other. Seeing the dead body and the nonsense of the war, he came to the conclusion that all three sides decided that humanity was just one big joke. Nothing meant anything to anyone and they were all going to fight until the last ones stand.

This wasn't humanity prospering. It was humanity failing to do its part and falling apart. And it was a terrible joke.

"Alright maggots, listen up!"

Mikasa immediately stood in a saluting formation with the rest of the soldiers. In front of her was a woman whose satin green jacket with the black buttons and the white neat collar would outbeat the other girl's green cotton coat without any collar whatsoever. The woman, as far as Mikasa could remember, never had such a nice coat before. At least both of their coats had the Military Brigade emblem on them. Something Mikasa didn't want…

Mikasa was worried about her brother. He was all alone with an unfamiliar and broken military and he had no guidance, no friends, nothing to keep him safe. What's worse was that she had the letters from Armin and Eren, but nothing has come in as of recently. She had figured that perhaps General Hitch, the woman barking the commands, got a whiff of what was going on and decided to burn any letters. It was the only thing Mikasa thought of. How dare the general…

That excuse of a general had only gotten the title from Lord Balto, the King himself, out of pure loyalty and ties. If she wasn't kissing his ass all the time then perhaps the war would've been over, or at least a bit tamer than it was now. She was hard to move when it came to power, and the more they controlled then the more authority she and the King had, and there was nothing Mikasa would do about it.

Mikasa was beginning to think that Eren and the Scouting Legion was right about the King taking over. As it said in the previous letters, "If Balto wins this thing then the whole fucking continent will be forced to be slaves to him." And with Hitch's behavior, to the men at least, it looked as if it was going to happen. The higher class would have all of the comfort while the middle and low class would have to find a way to survive as they farmed, funded, and hunted for the King. There was nothing good that was going to come out of this, especially since the Garrison had given up peaceful treaties.

Oh Armin… Mikasa even knew that the poor boy couldn't survive all of this violence. He could only take so much as a child, she knew; she along with Eren had protected Armin from bullies that always tried to find a way to keep him down. It was because they were fearful to discover the world while Armin wasn't. They were cowards that wanted to make the weaker one stay and be tortured along with them.

In the end, Armin was the one who won, but the prize wasn't what he had in mind, as the letters said: "I only wish for peace in the land, but with the war going in full swing and the Garrison joining in on a neutral side, I don't see this happening at all." Knowing he was weak, Mikasa feared for him the most. Eren could take care of himself, for a period she supposed, but Armin's strength and willpower was quite weak, so much so that she was afraid that he would be the first one dead.

Mikasa watched as Hitch marched up and down the line, a bit less formal than what she would make the others march and looked at all the soldiers. She glared at the men while she smirked at the women. Mikasa knew Hitch was a lesbian. She would always hit on the younger girl, but she always shot her down. This war was supposed to be about the King and not about having sex with girls, or so she would think that thought would be shoved in the general's head. Still, she had a booming voice that echoed through the camp.

"We have a mission within the next few days. It's huge, big! If we succeed, we would have taken the tide of the war and end our stalemate with the damn commoners that call themselves the Legion! Trost is currently their territory, and it's a fifteen mile journey East to get there. If we attack during the night then I am sure we will gain an easy victory and reclaim Trost as ours once again!"

Some of the crowd cheered while the others, the men notably, stayed silent and just stared at Hitch, fearing what would happen if they made even a peep. Some were known to be beaten or even die by the general's hands, and either way, the story would be Mikasa believed that some of the men had more scars from her than they did in battle. If they won would their scars all be in vain?

One man stood out in particular to the woman. She wasn't fond of this Jean Kirstein person, but he sure was fond of her as he flirted with her on an almost constant basis, almost as much as Hitch did, but not quite. She figured she could never catch a break when it came to others going gaga over her. But today, he was the one being pointed out by Hitch, his bi-toned hair seeming as if it was standing on edge as his name was called in a very mean tone.

"Kirstein! Why don't you be useful for once and go fetch us these canteens of water? We need it for our soldiers!"

Oh, this was Hitch's favorite way to get rid of the men in her control. She would send them on a mission to do something, whether it be difficult or not, and they would go and do as she asked them to do, only to find that she moved the camp away from them so that they would be forever lost. It was saddening to be honest, but unknowing of this and due to the fact that she was his general, he saluted and nodded.

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

With that, Jean picked up the empty canteens and began to make his way in a random direction, unable to pinpoint where the water actually was. Everyone could see the smirk Hitch made and some didn't even know why she was smirking, but Mikasa knew all too well that it was one less man she was going to have to deal with. Sooner or later he would find himself with another sector or meet his untimely fate at the hands of the other two branches. In the meantime, Hitch turned around to the others.

"The rest of you are dismissed. We head for Trost in the morning!"

The group disbanded, everyone running into their respective tents; they didn't want to be bothered by Hitch at slowly walked to her own, just praying to the gods, if there were any gods up there, that the general wouldn't catch her. But upon opening her tent, she felt a cold hand go upon her shoulder and she looked to sandy blonde locks that glowed with the fire behind them, her green eyes filled with lust, in need for a partner.

"Mikasa, I've seen you quite upset lately. In fact, I can see it in your dark eyes that you need someone to comfort you. Let me be that person to do so for you Mikasa. I will give you everything you need. Everything."

Even if Hitch was telling the truth and not letting those words slide off to every girl in the camp like the swinger she was, she wouldn't be able to let her in. She had no feelings for her at all whatsoever and she just couldn't allow it. Her problems were her own, and Eren and Armin were family to her, not to be taken lightly. She didn't turn her head at all, but she spoke softly before retiring.

"I would rather keep my feelings to myself and not share them, no offence."

And with that, she left the general outside and cold. She didn't care. She just wanted to be left alone to her own devices; her gun, her supplies, and her secret box that she would always carry along with everything. Mikasa leaned her ear on the thin fabric of her tent and listened for any sign that Hitch was gone. She could hear a whine and a few curse words and with that, she was gone, probably prying around for another girl.

Once she was sure that she was gone, Mikasa rushed to her box and opened it, a stack of papers inside. She unfolded one that was a bit dirty and torn and she read the contents, over and over, the first time not bothering her too much while the second time made her tear up and the third time making her bawl like a baby. It was the last letter she received from Eren and she was afraid that something terrible happened to him and Armin. She held the letter, still crying.

"Eren… Please be alright…"

"This is insane sir! I'm tired of being a ward to you! Why can't I just go off and scout myself to make sure the enemy isn't close!?"

"Because, idiot, you have a power similar to mine. Reveal it and you'll be a 'ward' to someone else and our goal of liberating ourselves from the King will be a failure."

Eren growled at himself as he just glared at his superior, General Levi, and turned back to look around at the trees. For days it was all that he could see. Levi had made a diversion of soldiers who were weak to be in the open while the more stronger soldiers hid in the forest, trying to keep themselves unseen. The idea was that if the weaker solders were attacked then the stronger ones could come out of hiding and slaughter the enemy. It was the best plan Levi had for now, and without it, they may as well give up their dreams of breaking from the King.

In fact, Levi used to be a thug himself, stealing all he could from the rich and giving it to the less fortunate. He wasn't the fondest to the homeless (mostly because they were filthier than a dog,) but he wanted to give them a second chance at life, to give them something no other person dared to give. That was what caused this all to happen; stealing from the high class and royalty sure was a heavy crime.

But now the Garrison wanted a piece of winning all so suddenly. Pixis, the Head Commander, attempted to issue tens to hundreds of treaties at first, but now, he started to send so many inexperienced soldiers to fight for that peace. But wait, how could there be any peace if they fought? What was Pixis going to gain if he won? He assumed he would set a new form of government and divide the land, but the real intention was unknown to Levi.

His eyes continued to glare at Eren, who looked back at him with worried eyes. He didn't want to run off, but he did however want to be free, free from any supervision whatsoever. This past year, Levi had paid close attention to him and issued for his trusted partner, Hanji, to figure out what was going on with him. She had told him about her amazing discovery about how at one time she had brought a small pot of flowers into his tent, only to have them die within just three hours and she continued to brag about it as she dragged Eren along to their General, only for him to say it was a "Big deal" and how "flowers could die if you just planted them in a cup with dirt."

Nevertheless, Levi still kept him under heavy supervision and it made Eren very uncomfortable. He just wanted to run away for a while, just to be alone. He hadn't had any alone time since before the war. Before the war when his sister and his best friend were always there for him and he was there for them. His eyes gently looked down at the ground and he relived the fond memories of what he had of his childhood.

His father, Grisha, was a doctor for the town of Shinganshira while his mother, Carla, was a housewife and a mother to Eren and Mikasa. Mikasa was found in the streets by her on one of her errands and took her in, Grisha making sure she was alright. Once that was done she was welcomed into the household by the family, all with open arms, although she never fully revealed her true background.

But a few years later, the war broke out and before the Legion could do anything, Lord Balto had Shinganshira in his hands. Mikasa was taken away by the Military Knights and in the process of protecting her, Carla got killed in the process. Afraid to be killed as well, Grisha submitted into being a doctor for the town, healing any soldiers that were loyal to the king and killing any soldiers that weren't on sight. As far as currently, Eren knew that the town was taken over by the Garrison, but was the situation any better? Where was his father? Mikasa? Armin? Those things he didn't know.

But he did know the request his father made when he last seen him. He told him to join the Legion, to win the war with them so that he could get revenge for his wife, Eren's mother. And that's what Eren did. He passed his background check, Mr. Grisha Yaeger being loyal to the Legion, and was able to join the ranks as a soldier. But the recent discoveries now made him trapped and unable to push his limits. Gods, did he just want to fight, and maybe, just maybe, find Armin and Mikasa…

In fact, where the hell was that letter that he promised to deliver? He hadn't received a parchment from either of them in a month and now he was fearing the worst. This was something angering to him and now, he was willing to destroy every branch that wasn't his in revenge for his friend and sister. But wait. Was that the reason why Levi made him a ward? So that he didn't do anything stupid? Perhaps it was. If that was the case, in his right mind, he would understand.

It soon began to rain and Levi told everyone that they couldn't advance any longer tonight, so they had to camp where they stood. The soldiers made their way to make their tents and he helped out anyone that was having too much difficulty. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, the rain getting heavier and harder to see through and the soldiers having to struggle a bit more, Eren got off of his horse and ran off into a different direction, placing his cloak over himself, avoiding the rain.

He wasn't afraid of anyone who may or may not catch him. He had something that they didn't; Three Dimensional Maneuvering Gear. A few months into the war, Hanji had invented them and helped a few older soldiers to make them. They began to be manufactured for soldier use only in the city of Trost (it was the village of Chlorba until the Legion gained liberation for Trost) and every soldier had one. Some of them malfunctioned and it costed the Legion quite a few battles, but Eren was lucky enough to not have a defective one; Levi saw to it. If anything did happen, the gods forbid, he could zoom himself to the trees and seemingly fly into the darkness. But for now, he had to walk away, making sure Levi didn't hear him.

He felt so amazingly free as he walked westward, away from the Legion, just to clear his thoughts. He told himself that he wasn't going to be gone for long, that he was going to maybe walk a thousand paces and turn back, following his footsteps. Although it was raining and the ground was muddy, Eren had a wonderful time walking in the forest, collecting all of his thoughts and maybe thinking that the General was right for once.

But about 900 paces in, he saw something in the distance that ruined his thoughts. It was a cabin and not only that, he saw someone from the Garrison go inside. Who exactly was it that was inside? He couldn't see the details very well, but the top of the figure was a blonde color. He was then reminded of a certain blonde that was also forced to join the Garrison, which raised his spirits only slightly. He had to know for sure.

Eren began to make his way to the cabin, ceasing to count his paces any longer. He figured that he would go and check the cabin, and if it was Armin he was going to have a long conversation with him and then go back to camp, and if it wasn't, he would kill the soldier and quickly make his way back to report to Levi that the Garrison was close by and they needed to be ready for battle. He whispered softly in his thoughts, believing that no one would hear him.

"Worst case scenario, someone else is there and I kill them. Simple. The damn Garrison…"

Eren had finally made his way to the cabin and he looked into the window. It was very dark inside, but there was a faint light and he saw a dead body inside, which he widened his eyes. Thomas… Was that Thomas…? When did he get killed? How did he get killed? His heart raced as he bit his lip. This wasn't good. Someone could be in here and could be waiting for their next victim. It didn't matter if it was one of the Knights, the Garrison, or a rogue. He was terrified.

But through the thin glass window Eren could hear sobbing. He blinked as he listened closer, but he couldn't identify the voice. All he could see was a lump under the cloak that bore the Legion's symbol as it quickly rose and fell with the sobs and he bit his lip. What was going on? Who was crying? Why? What were they even doing there? He had to find out more, so he got away from the window and opened the door and he shouted.

"Hey! Who the fuck do you think you are, killing a soldier of mine! I'm going to make sure you- Huh…?"

He stopped when he realized who it was. The light from a torch and the flip of the cloak that was over the lump made Eren recognize the cause of the sobbing. The blonde hair, the blue eyes, and the terrified face… He knew all these so well and though he knew there was a chance that it could be him, he was still surprised. He couldn't believe it was him, one of the two people he was searching for for all these months.

"...Armin…? Is that you!?"