Again, canon is not followed closely in this story. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Any guesses as to universes for the OCs here are welcome!

DISCLAIMER: I own no universes featured here.

0.0.0

The bells chimed 7 and woke me. I lay in bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling in silence. Eren's trial was that day, and I dreaded it with every bone in my body.

"Selene, c'mon, we need to go eat," Sasha called from the doorway.

I sighed and rolled out of bed, quickly dressing and heading for the mess hall. Sasha and Ymir had beaten me there, along with Connie, Jean, and Marco. Mikasa was still trying to wake up; Krista was nowhere to be found.

I sat down with a few quiet greetings and began to eat. The food was good, but it tasted like wood in my mouth. After a few bites, I resigned myself to pushing my food around on my plate.

The others were just as subdued as I was. Even the few half-hearted attempts at conversation by Sasha went unheeded. She gave up after a while, and we sat in silence.

Half an hour later, after the remaining members of our little group had joined us, the clocks chimed again. Fear bubbled in the pit of my stomach. We stood as one and mechanically cleared our table. Those around us watched us with concern, or disgust, or just an unreadable face. I met no eyes and kept my face facing the ground.

We made our way to the courtroom. I stayed at the back of the group. The others made no effort to comfort Armin or Mikasa; we knew it would be a futile effort.

As soon as we reached the courtroom, we were greeted by Commander Erwin and Squad Leader Levi. Levi just watched us all as Erwin spoke softly to us, telling us that he would do his best to get Eren released to his care. I nodded silently; Armin thanked him. Mikasa was stone cold silent.

Mikasa and Armin accompanied the Commander and Levi to the Defendant's side of the courtroom. The rest of us took up a row at the back of the room.

The judge pounded the gavel on the desk and the meeting came to order. With a start, I realized the doors were opening to our right and turned to see what it was.

Eren walked in, hands handcuffed together. He looked tired. There was a small amount of curiosity in his eyes, that swiftly changed to worry and fear when he saw the amount of people there.

The trial began as his guards fastened him to a metal pole in the center of the room, forcing him to kneel. It dragged on and on, and I sank lower in my seat as it progressed. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and swung over the back of the pew-type seating. The others were engrossed in the trial.

I slipped out silently and made my way outside. The courtyard was even more barren in the day light. Only a few people wandered around, and almost no one took notice of me.

There was an enormous storehouse a few buildings over from the courthouse. I slipped through some small back alleys and found the entrance. It was locked. I rolled my eyes and climbed up to a window that was propped open.

Inside was full of crates and pallets, stacked 5 meters high in places. I grinned and started climbing.

The entire place was a jungle-gym to me. I clambered up crates, leapt from one to the other, launched off and rolled when I landed. It was so fun- even more fun than the 3DMG. I must've run for ages before a shadow caught my eye and Elizabeth waved at me.

Her hood on her outfit was down, this time, revealing dark brown hair tightly braided back and pulled into a bun. She wore a long coat, charcoal black, accented with gray and ruby red. Her boots were black knee-high leather and she carried a lot of weapons- two swords strapped to her waist, a row of small knives running diagonally across her chest, two pistols tucked under her arms. She nodded at me briefly. I waved back.

"What are you doing here?" I asked after a moment.

"You were having fun. I couldn't miss out," Elizabeth said with a shrug. "Free running is my life. It's saved my life more than once."

"It has? That's- really cool, actually."

She smirked and launched off the crates she was on.

We played around like squirrels for over an hour, chasing each other, playing tag, racing each other from one end of the storehouse to another. She was faster than I was, by a little bit at least. Probably had more practice as well.

When the clock chimed 12, I realized we'd be hanging out for over two hours. "Oh no," I gasped. "I have to go see what the verdict is."

Elizabeth nodded. "Go," she said firmly. I sprinted for the open window and launched out of it, not bothering to watch Elizabeth's departure.

I launched off the roof into a back alley and sprinted for the exit, almost running into Krista and Ymir. "What happened?" I said quickly, breathless. "Is he-"

"Survey Corps," Krista said quickly. "He's safe for now."

My shoulders sagged in relief. I bent double, breathing deeply. "Thank God," I managed to say. "Where're they?"

"They took Eren away as soon as the trial ended," Ymir said tonelessly. "Mikasa and Armin are trying to figure out where."

I nodded. "Thanks," I gasped out. "Got bored and went for a run."

"I understand," Krista said. "We're going back out tomorrow morning. We were told to repack and be ready to leave at 5."

"Wow," I said, catching my breath slowly. "That was fast."

"I know. I don't even know why we came along, honestly-"

"Witnesses," Ymir said. "In case the prosecution needed some."

I nodded. It made sense.

We packed up that night and headed out the next morning in the pouring rain. I wore my waterproof cloak as we set out, in a long convoy, fully loaded with supplies for the exterior. I rode towards the front of the line, head down. I didn't talk to anyone as the horse in front of me began to move and we advanced out of the Capitol gates.

It took us a little over a week to travel back past Wall Sina and back to the training camp. As soon as we arrived, we were ordered to deposit our stuff and report to the main yard.

A small stage had been created while we were gone, and the other trainees wandered around the yard as we waited, talking softly amongst themselves. I slipped through the crowd, listening to gossip and categorizing it for later.

A hand landed on my arm. I turned to see Jean and Marco standing there. "Hey," I said with a brief smile. "What's up?"

"We should probably be asking you," Marco said, a smile dancing at the corner of his mouth.

I inclined my head. "They're saying that this is the official meeting to decide which branch of the military we go into."

Jean looked startled.

"Where are you going?" Marco asked.

I smiled again, somewhat sadly. "Survey Corps. It's not like I have much of a choice; I didn't make the top ten, and the Garrison isn't very appealing to me." Then I sighed. "I hope you live well in the interior, both of you."

"Thanks," Jean said softly, nodding at me.

Marco just smiled mysteriously.

"Cadets, line up!" Shadis roared, and I waved briefly to them, before making my way to my spot as 14th in the ranks.

Erwin took the stage and began to speak. I listened silently, stock still, eyes flicking everywhere to see the reactions to his speech. There were so many people with wide, terrified eyes, and I knew, without a doubt, that they would practically be running away when he dismissed those who were afraid.

I couldn't recall his speech too much later on; but I knew as soon as he told those who were scared to leave if they wished. It was like a flood; people immediately took off, vanishing behind me. I kept my eyes forwards, keenly aware of those who were still here. Sasha, Connie, Armin, Mikasa, all of them stayed.

My heart fell to my feet when I saw Jean pulling Marco away. Tears grew behind my eyes; I blinked them away and focused on Erwin.

"I welcome all of you to the Survey Corps," he finally said, and praised us for being brave. I relaxed my stance and looked around. Sasha had fallen to her knees, burying her face in her hands. Connie's knees were shaking terribly. Mikasa, Bertolt, and Reiner all looked unaffected. Armin glanced over at me with wide eyes and a trembling smile.

My heart still ached terribly. Jean and Marco had left, left me alone to face the outside without them. I hoped that I could face the world outside the walls by myself when a hand slid into mine and squeezed tightly.

"We're staying," Marco said into my ear.

I spun and threw my arms around him, a few tears spilling over. "Thank you," I whispered, and I knew that he could hear because he hugged me even tighter.

After a moment, I released and flung my arms around Jean. He stood there, wooden, for a moment, before gently patting my back and detaching himself from me. "I really hope this isn't a terrible idea," he growled.

I laughed, still shaky, and wiped my eyes. "I'm so glad," I said. "So glad you're staying…"

"What, and leave you to die out there by yourself?" Jean snorted. "No. We'll go down together, according to this suicidal bastard." He jerked his thumb at Marco, who grinned, completely unashamed.

"Cadets," Erwin said behind us, and all three of us snapped to attention. He'd stepped off the stage and was greeting us one by one. "Names?"

"Cadet Fletcher."

"Cadet Kirchstein."

"Cadet Bodt."

"Full names, Cadets."

I hesitated for a brief moment, before, after an encouraging nod, saying, "Cadet Selene Fletcher, sir."

"Cadet Jean Kirchstein."

"Cadet Marco Bodt."

Erwin nodded, apparently satisfied with this. "Thank you for joining the Survey Corps, all of you. I'm sure you'll be of great value to the Corps."

I almost smiled, remembering Caddy, but instead nodded, choosing to keep my silence.

"We'll be leaving in the morning," he told us. "Be fully packed up and ready to go. We're heading to a small castle that Squad Levi has claimed as their headquarters."

"A castle?" I murmured. "Wow."

"Dismissed," he said. We snapped to attention, before departing. I walked between Jean and Marco, slipping my hands into theirs. Marco grinned down at me and swung our joined hands. Jean just looked at me with a raised eye, but let me hold his hand.

When we moved out in the morning, Marco and I flanked Jean. We rode together for the full journey, occasionally switching places to mix it up, adding and subtracting other people, but ultimately keeping together.

When we arrived at the castle Squad Levi was staying at, we were swept into a whirlwind of cleaning the castle top to bottom. It was a miracle the place was still standing, honestly.

Eren was there, too, under a tight leash. I felt bad for him; he'd obviously seen all of us around, but was unable to come visit, not until Captain Levi cleared him to come see us. When he did, he was swamped with people almost immediately.

"You guys are all here?" he asked in shock.

"Yep!" Sasha piped up cheerfully.

His eyes swept the circle of people and landed on the three of us. "Even you, Jean?"

Jean snorted and looked away.

"Between your little speech that you made at the end of Training, me, and Selene, we convinced him," Marco said. I glanced up at him; he was grinning widely. Jean looked slightly put out.

I had a few run-ins with members of Squad Levi. Fortunately or unfortunately, I found myself tongue tied often around them, which thankfully meant I couldn't make a complete fool of myself. Sasha and Connie, on the other hand, weren't so fortunate.

I conversed with someone from another universe on an almost daily basis. I'd been focused on only a few people, so far- Sixteen was good for sparring, Stephanie for chatting, Elizabeth for free running and Asteria for learning about Caddy and how she worked. I'd only spoken to Rae twice in the week and a half I'd been at the castle, but each time she was warm and helpful. I got the feeling she was just happy all the time, and loved to talk with any of us.

I hadn't met any other alternate versions of Rae yet, but Stephanie had assured me that sooner or later I'd meet someone besides the same five people over and over again. I'd just have to be patient.

We moved into the ring between Walls Maria and Rose after a month in the castle. Those in the town around the gate welcomed us like heroes. I knew, somehow, that the reception after our return would be completely different, and kept my head down firmly and hood in place.

The two wooden gates to the outside rose over our heads as we rode out. I took my place at the back of the right flank. I was with two semi-veterans, a young woman named Gemma and a man named Pierre. Gemma was olive skinned, like I was, with warm brown eyes and light brown hair that was tied back in a loose ponytail. She was probably 19 or so, and cheerful and welcoming towards me. Pierre was pale and freckled, with a mop of red hair and green-gray eyes that were piercing when he first saw me. He was maybe 20. They greeted me warmly; Pierre clapped me on the arm gently, and Gemma gave me a smile and a soft "Nice to meet you".

Only a half an hour in, the first flare fired off in front of us. I stared at it for a moment, before Gemma shouted, "What are you waiting for?!" Then I remembered my job as signaler and quickly loaded another shot of the same color- red- and fired it off.

We kept riding, now on high alert as Titans had been sighted on our side of the scouting mission. Pierre and Gemma shouted back and forth to each other and me, commenting on all sorts of things- the weather, politics, everything under the sun. I guessed they'd been partners before, and welcomed the chance to talk again. There was a green flare in the distance that signaled for us to turn to the left. I fired off the green flare and we kept going.

More flares started coming from the right flank. I saw 2 black flares and started, firing off another one to alert the Commander. After a few moments, another green flare pointed left. I signaled our seeing it.

"Abberants? So soon?" Pierre muttered from my left.

"I don't like this," Gemma said quietly. "We were doomed from the start, bringing along that Titan boy-"

"Enough," I growled. "He's my friend."

Silence. "Oh… sorry," Gemma said, looking slightly guilty.

"It's ok," I said simply. "Just keep that in mind. He isn't a bad person. He's just… new to this whole thing."

"I bet it was a shock for you, having to fight in Trost!" Pierre called.

I nodded. "It was."

"Did you get to see the mechanical Titan?" Gemma asked.

Goosebumps grew on my arms briefly. "Yeah," I called after a moment. "It was- massive. Really scary. I didn't really know what to think of it."

"Beyond the fact that it's terrifying?" Pierre shouted. I laughed, gradually feeling more and more comfortable with the two.

We started to see signs of carnage as we rode on. A windmill was totally destroyed; smoke still wafted up from the rubble. A few trees were uprooted and thrown aside.

"This isn't good," Gemma murmured as she urged her horse to my side. "Usually we get at least a little farther out before the Titans start appearing. They're everywhere today."

I nodded, and that's when we saw the dead man. He was crushed on the ground, neck at an odd angle, bleeding out of his mouth. I gulped silently and bowed my head in deference to his sacrifice. Gemma gasped softly at the sight.

A stand of trees appeared in the distance. I narrowed my eyes against the wind and saw that they were tall, taller than any building I'd ever seen before, even taller than the walls. They were easily 80 meters high.

"Massive, aren't they!" Pierre shouted over. I glanced over, and he grinned back at me as I nodded.

"The first time he saw them, he asked me why we didn't just build the walls out of them," Gemma told me dryly. I giggled as he sputtered.

We rode closer, and I looked up at the trees. Tiny figures moved around in the limbs, attracting the attention of the few Titans at the edge of the forest. I knew they were people, but I never knew how small we really were compared to the monstrosities until now.

"Our orders are to enter the forest on horseback," Gemma called. "We may catch up with the Commander, if we're lucky."

I nodded briefly and grinned over at them. "Sounds good!"

We rode into the trees. As soon as we were inside, we were greeted with a small squad of soldiers. Their leader waved to us, and we quickly pulled over to the side.

"There's an Abberant, up ahead," the Squad Leader told us. "You're to attempt to herd it towards the trap laid out for it. Commander's orders."

Gemma nodded grimly as Pierre responded, "Understood. Thanks."

"Good luck to the three of you," he said, saluting us as we took off again. We didn't talk to each other as much now, trying to prepare ourselves for the fight to come. Gemma and Pierre unstrapped themselves from their saddles and readied themselves. "Be ready to launch off," Pierre called. I hastily followed suit and rose in the stirrups, settling my nerves and waiting for their signal.

That was, until we spotted the Aberrant ahead of us.

It had short blonde hair, cropped to its chin. My first thought was that it was Armin, as crazy as that was- but I knew it wasn't him. It was a female, running as fast as she could.

"Now!" Pierre roared, and launched into the air.

I fired both wires into the trees. The horses kept going as we shot out of the saddles and into the air. I took a deep breath of the fresh air and sighed, feeling peaceful as we flew along.

Someone was screaming something up ahead. I listened as we soared along and recognized the tone. It was Eren.

So the Aberrant was after Eren? Or was it just coincidence?

I frowned and kept moving, following Pierre and Gemma's lead. The next second, they'd drawn their blades and fired into the female Titan's back, slicing for her neck.

The skin turned into crystal; their blades shattered.

The next moment, Pierre's wires were yanked out of the Female Titan's shoulder. She started spinning him, faster and faster. I cried out in shock and horror as his screams of pain were cut off with a nasty cracking noise.

Gemma dropped back to hover next to me. Her face was sheet white, each freckle on her face standing out like a drop of ink. "It knows how we work?" she gasped.

"Look, we'll try it again," I said quickly. "You take left, I'll take right, we go in one right after the other."

She didn't stop to question me, luckily. I shot forwards, leaning to the right and pulling my appendages into my sides. I flew forwards at a faster rate than normal, speeding up to the point that my eyes filled with tears. I blinked them away hastily and readied my blades.

Gemma shot across the Female Titan's back, slicing hard into the flesh. It didn't work- the crystals formed again and her blades made a nasty screeching noise. I winced, but followed suit, not expecting it to work. It didn't, but I got in a good cut on her shoulder accidentally.

Then Gemma started to scream. I spun in midair to see the Female Titan holding her legs. She was slicing like mad, trying to escape, but with one squeeze there was a snapping sound and she wailed in pain.

"GEMMA!" I screamed, hurtling towards her, but it was too late. The Female Titan threw her aside like garbage- she impacted, face first, into a tree and didn't move.

I swallowed thickly and kept moving, tears streaming down my cheeks. What the hell was I going to do? I was alone, now- both my comrades were dead. If I didn't think of something, I was going to end up just like them.

I flew behind the Female Titan, hovering just a few meters behind her. She knew that I was there, and took a few swats at me, but I managed to avoid them- barely. I tried again to get a hit on her neck, but the crystal reappeared and the Female Titan got so close I could feel her fingers brush my head. An unwanted whimper escaped my lips.

Eren was screaming at Squad Levi again. I guessed he could see me and wanted to help. "STAY ON THE DAMN HORSE, EREN JAEGER!" I shrieked furiously. "OR I SWEAR TO SINA THAT I WILL MURDER YOU AFTER THIS!"

Faint laughter carried back to me. I dodged another swipe of the Female Titan's hand, a small smile growing on my face.

Then she got in a lucky swipe, and I shrieked as I went flying.

My last conscious thought was that I wasn't going to even survive my first mission.