Notes: Some stories about how Rivaille met Eren when he was still a small child. I couldn't really figure out the age difference, and the events probably don't follow the logic of the manga, and there might be other inconsistencies as well, and it's not very well written, but I wanted to share nevertheless. It was part of a fic I just can't seem to be able to continue writing anymore... Sorry for any bad grammar or language mistakes.

Back story: Rivaille received a fatal wound and he is dying on the battlefield. He remembers back his earlier life. As a child, he was taken away from his family to be a subject in human experiments to create the perfect soldier. Later, he managed to escape with the help of Eren's father.

My Hope

Long-forgotten images were sweeping through his mind. Was he remembering them because he was dying? A time long ago, when he was a child…

He wanted to bury those memories, never to remember them again. Yet, somehow it was important to recall that time when he had first stared death in the face. Both his body and mind were about to give up the struggle of clinging onto the thin thread of life – a life between cold walls, the life of a caged animal. He was said to be the strongest, yet he was nothing more than a mere toy – an automaton programmed to kill on command. He was about to give up on his human heart as well.

However, a voice spoke to him. A voice told him to remember who he was. His vision blurred and his mind numbed by medication, he could never take a good look at the face of the man who came to treat him. But his voice was always there with him, coming in a low whisper, talking to him. Sometimes, he could hear his own voice reply, although it took a tremendous effort.

"What is your name?" the doctor asked.

"I don't know…" he replied uncertainly.

He couldn't remember the last time he was called by his name.

"What did your Mama call you?" the doctor persisted.

"Mama?"

It was difficult, but the memories of his earlier life slowly but eventually crept back to his mind.

"Rivaille." he replied

"Rivaille." the doctor repeated. "Good. You must remember your name. You must remember who you are, Rivaille. As long as you do, they won't be able to take everything away from you."

"They?"

"I'm sorry." the doctor said, his voice always kind and gentle. "What they make me do is unforgivable. I vowed to save lives as a doctor, not to lend a hand to such torture…"

"Then why…?" he managed to ask feebly.

He was suffering. He wanted it to end at last – to be free. If only he could sprout wings and escape these confines. Death was more welcome than living – until the doctor gave him hope to go on.

"I have a family to protect." the doctor replied. "My wife, Carla, has recently given birth to our son."

He felt his face moving. Was he smiling? Was he capable of smiling at all?

"What's his name?" he asked

"Eren." the doctor replied.

"Eren… He has family."

Family was a long-lost notion to him, but it sounded warm and comforting. He felt something trickling down from the corner of his eyes. Was he crying?

"Are you sad?" the doctor asked him. "Why?"

He couldn't reply for a while. He found himself envying the doctor's son, who had just begun his life. He wanted to die and be reborn, but he knew that was impossible. In spite of what had happened to him, he was unable to give up on living – he was unwilling to give up on who he was. In this life, he was himself.

"Can I see him some day?" he said at length. "I want to see Eren."

He wanted to see what kind of a life he lived – a life he never had. He wanted to know.

"Yes, you will see him." the doctor said with conviction. "When you get out of here, you will definitely see him. Listen to me: you must always remember who you are. You will survive to get out of here, I promise that."

"I want to see the outside world." he said weakly.

"You will. You can do it." the doctor assured him. "I'll help you escape. And when this madness is all over, come to my house. Look for Dr. Jäger in Shiganshina. Promise me."

He made a promise, which bound him to life for an indefinite time. But now he had something that kept him alive: hope.

'Eren… From the time you were born, you were my only hope.'