"From now on, because of that… we might have to take the lives of others. We're not good guys anymore." Armin finished as he weakly lifted himself up and made his way toward the barracks.

"Well, on that uplifting note, I think I'll call it a night too." Said Jean

One by one, everyone sans Mikasa and Eren dispersed. Mikasa studied the boy, why couldn't she read him lately? She knew his mind was on something, but what? What would he need to keep from everyone? What would he need to keep from her?

Something lightly grasped her shoulder, Eren's hand. "Lets get some sleep." He mumbled as he stood up and walked toward the doorway.

"I miss Eren…" She called after him.

Eren stopped for a moment, looking back at her with apologetic eyes, and then to the floor. "I'm in here somewhere." He said with a half smile, pointing at his head. She wasn't amused, but inquired no further, so he proceeded to his basement.

Upon closing his door, Eren eased into bed and brought his eyes to the ceiling. He played with his basement key, running his fingers along all the dents and scratches accumulated from the years of training and battle. He briefly thought about how fortunate he had been to not lose it amidst the chaos of late. It wasn't as if he would have noticed it being torn away in the middle of a life-or-death situation. But, it wasn't long before his mind made it's way back to what never left his thoughts.

'Annie... Why?'

Silence. He heard no voice, not even that ghostly presence since he had figured it out. Or had she deliberately given herself away?

'You only left me with more questions than I already had for you. If your mission was to erode my sanity then call it a success. I've tried to play the devil's advocate with you. I couldn't believe that you would do such things, kill so many good people for your own gain. I guess I let my feelings get in the way... It hurts, Annie. Only Armin and myself ever saw the good in you but you threw us away. You threw humanity away... It wasn't enough for you to defeat me somatically, you had to push your crusade to a mental frontier as well.

His eyes watered a bit. Never had he been this betrayed by someone he respected so much. Not even Reiner's identity shocked him like she did. She was the embodiment of all the traits he admired, traits that he most needed. She knew how and when to use restraint, her emotions were so very well controlled that most of the other 104th trainees fostered doubts of her very humanity. But Eren was never fooled, he saw through her defenses when they fought and appreciated who she really was. But maybe it was everyone else who saw the writing on the wall.

Eren turned his attention back to his key. Anything to distract himself long enough to fall asleep. He thought about how much better things would become once he could unlock the secrets in that basement. His father, wherever he was, surely left something that could change this fight.

This thought put him at ease. Not long after, his body relaxed enough to drift asleep.

"I'm here"

"Annie… How are you doing this?"

"Oh, you don't have an 'I will kill everyone of you' speech prepared? I thought I was speaking to the Suicidal Bastard..."

"You're no longer a threat sealed up underground. I could scream at you until I bleed, or I could learn what everyone in the Scout Regimen want to know."

"How do you think they'll react when you tell them who you've been having late night chats with, and your means to do it?"

"I'll cross that bridge when i get that far. I'll ask you again, how are you doing this?"

"Staying on track, I'm impressed. I felt you the second you revealed yourself as the Coordinate, every shifter did. I've trained since I was a child to communicate this way."

"Coordinate… You mean when I commanded those titans? How many others can see into my mind like this?"

"You're in possession of the most powerful ability among titan shifters, and you have more dormant abilities than you're aware of. When you used it for the first time, every shifter on the planet was alerted to it, along with the location of the event. That is the drawback of it, every time you use it you'll give away your position to everyone. As we speak, there are shifters headed for the location you last used the ability. It's unlikely that anyone else has trained to link minds with you, the last known coordinate died 100 years ago shortly after the walls were built. But I can teach you how to defend your mind once we get you safely to Arrah."

"What… Arrah? How can you take me anywhere? You're locked up underground aren't you?"

"Arrah is where we come from, that's all I can tell you. I haven't been responding because Berthold and Reiner have been helping me escape Wall Rose."

"No... NO! You're not going to do it again. I've already escaped from those two traitors, it isn't happening again!"

"Eren, it's already done."

"What?! Bullshit!"

"You are en route to the rendezvous right now..."

"..."

So much wind...

'Why can't I move?' Eren thought.

Between his shoulders and feet Eren could barely even twitch, and... it was hot, very hot. His body was drenched in sweat, it was a painful heat. Also, he could feel he was moving very quickly. His head was exposed to powerful, unrelenting wind. Even the fastest horse couldn't generate so much wind resistance. As his eye's began to clear and adjust to the dark of night, it dawned on him: his bindings were organic. Gripping him tightly was the hand of a 15-meter class titan. But who?

"Annie?" He called.

No answer.

He tried to get his bearing, surveying his surroundings. They were blasting through what appeared to be open plains. The moonlight offered him only fragmented insight to his whereabouts. He couldn't see the lights that villages or establishments typically gave off in any direction. He turned his attention to his captor. The titan gripped him in its right hand, held against the left shoulder. Eren speculated that holding him that way was for his benefit, as opposed to swinging him back and forth as it ran.

'A kidnapper with manners... Beats riding in Annie's mouth, I guess.' He thought, half chuckling as he tried to bury his fear and uncertainty.

Eren peered at the titan's face. White hair, about shoulder-length, made it hard to distinguish any details. But it was clearly female, but where did she come from? How did she get Eren out of the basement? Was anyone hurt or was it a clean extraction? He began to worry about his friends he was being torn from… again.

He set aside his worries for the moment and continued to study his abductor. This was definitely an experienced shifter, she moved with a precision that reminded him of Annie's form. But her features were different… She was armored, with exposed skin at her joints for movement. But, unlike Reiner, her plating appeared black and smooth. The moonlight reflected off her plating at certain angles, it was quite a light show as they tore through the night. Peering at her face didn't offer much detail from where he was. But, he could see that she lacked armor on her head and face.

'I hope she isn't as skilled at hand-to-hand combat as Annie' He thought, unsure if he could take down a permanently armored titan with such that degree of fighting skills.

Eren decided that he couldn't expect too many answers along those lines yet. Instead, he decided to focus on something that that could lend him more insight than blindly speculating in the dark.

'If Annie can get into my thoughts, there must be a way for me to see hers...' He thought as he began to clear his mind.

Mikasa had once taught him to meditate while they were trainees. He didn't find it very useful at the time, but he thought it could facilitate such an endeavor. It wasn't easy, the mystery shifter only made their movement as smooth as her blistering speed could allow. But, Eren managed to clear his thoughts enough to focus. He beamed his attention to things that were unfamiliar, even foreign, in his conscience. He concentrated on where her presence seemed to come from when she would speak. But there was nothing.

'Hmm,' He pondered. 'What if…'

He imagined himself in the dreamscape where they spoke in his sleep. He inspected the usual source of her speech, but still there was nothing… He started to walk in that direction, very little seemed to change, but he pressed on. A few minutes passed, still nothing. Not until he was ready to try something else did he see it: A dim light. As Eren approached, the light grew and became brighter. He started to run, the object grew brighter and larger as he drew closer. But the colors... They changed and moved, what was this? Soon he realized it was an image, but a moving image? He couldn't get there fast enough, he pushed to a full sprint, propelling himself as fast as his mind could imagine. What he saw when he arrived at the source didn't register immediately.

He could see a fire burning, in a furnace. Below and surrounding it was a wooden floor, the flames danced and flickered, dispelling an amber aura throughout the room. A room? Suddenly a hand moved across his line of sight and brushed something aside that was partially blocking his view of the right side of room.

Hair... Eren was seeing through Annie's eyes. Before the realization could set in, the image vanished.

'What…'

'I'm impressed, Eren.' A familiar voice boomed.

'Annie. Where are you?'

'We're waiting for you, you're almost here.'

'Almost where? And who is this titan?!'

'Patience, Eren.'

The mysterious female titan began to slow down, but her grip remained firm. She clearly wasn't interested in giving Eren the opportunity to transform, at least not until he would be outnumbered. The moonlight outlined the roofline of a small cottage, meaning they were obviously still inside Wall Maria. Through the open front door, the furnace inside dimly lit three figures on the porch. Reiner and Berthold stood at the edge of three steps while Annie leaned against a support beam. They began to approach as his captor came to a stop a few meters from the cottage. She carefully lowered him down while sharply scanning their surroundings for threats. As his feet touched the ground, her digits unravelled swiftly.

"Cold, damn!" He remarked as the outside air made first contact with his skin in hours.

"Yeah, travelling by titan comes with it's perks." Reiner joked as he handed Eren what looked like clothing.

"What is this?" Eren asked, reluctantly taking the offering.

"It's the uniform worn by Warriors of our village, I think you'll find it warmer than your night clothes out here." replied Reiner.

"From Arrah..." Eren muttered, inspecting the garments.

This took Reiner by surprise, his face briefly displayed a look of shock before quickly returning to his usual, confident demeanor.

"Yes" Reiner replied, as he shot a quick glare toward Annie.

Eren turned his attention to her as well. She paid him no regard at all, wearing her usual, detached expression, blue eyes cast vaguely to the distance. She wasn't going to look him in the eye without an invitation. Instead, Eren began walking toward the cabin door.

"What the... Hey!" Reiner yelled, confused. "What the hell are you doing?"

Eren stopped only long enough to glance over his shoulder and say: "You're all going to convince me why I should cooperate and follow you to Arrah. Why I should abandon my friends and comrades and trust you."

"Eren! What's wrong with you? There's no time for that now, it's not safe out here. We need to keep moving!" Reiner called after him, losing patience.

Without flinching, as he crossed through the threshold and inside, Eren called back: "You'd better get in here then."

As Eren set the clothing on the lone table inside and pulled up a chair, everyone couldn't help but wonder who they were looking at. Even Annie's eyes were drawn his way, what set about this side of Eren? She decided to take a look for herself. Closing her eyes, focusing, what she stepped into seemed foreign, contrast to the ambience experienced on the prior occasion she 'visited'. With a force that shook her bones, she was cast out, disconnected. She opened her eyes as a tremor reverberated through her body. Before she could speak a word, a voice boomed.

'NO GAMES.'

While she didn't catch any of his thoughts, she knew without a doubt that Eren's anger raged inside. But when self control become a trait of Eren Yeager? This wasn't the boy who would ignite in the absence of sparks, at least not at that moment. As intrigued as she was, Annie knew, above all else, their plans would need to adapt.

Seeing such a reaction from Annie, of all people, made Reiner and Berthold very uneasy. Just as they were about to ask, blue eyes darted in their direction.

"He's… He's figured out how to block me out, on his own. You two need to get in there and pull your weight for once."

"I think we could use you in there, Annie." Berthold replied, with an uneasiness in his voice.

"He's furious. Composed, but furious nonetheless. Play by his rules if you have to, but if I go in there he may vent his rage in a way we are all familiar with." Annie retorted.

The two young men looked at each other and, after a few seconds, nodded before walking into the cabin, shutting the door behind them.

With that, Annie turned her attention to the quiet shifter above.

"Are you gassed?" She asked.

The looming figure's dark eyes met hers and gazed a moment. The titan shook its head and resumed surveying the surroundings.

"Let me know when you need to rest, I'm next in the rotation."

Annie received a slight nod in response. She walked back and sat on the porch, the girl released a strong sigh as she peered up to the stars.

A/N: With the first chapter tying this alternate storyline into the manga, I was able to make things much smoother as the plot unfolded. Hopefully you guys like it, thanks for reading!