I've been getting a lot of positive feedback regarding "Ruin Me," I'm so glad you guys like it. I'm sorry updates are going a little bit slow, but here you go. This chapter has no Eren/Annie interaction, Ihope you like it anyways. Probably one or two more chapters left of this, and then that's it for this fic. I'm glad you guys have stuck around so long. :)

Chapter 10:

Annie couldn't focus. The flurry of blades spinning around her, carving into her titan form and weakening it before it had time to regenerate, was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. No wonder they call him humanity's strongest soldier, Annie thought.

She wanted with all her might to stop him, and Mikasa. They were, after all, trying to take Eren away from her.

Annie felt a hook grab onto the back of her neck. Someone, probably Mikasa, was going in for the kill. Annie crystallized the skin of her nape as she brought up her hand, ready to snatch Mikasa out of the air. But she felt a force, two human feet, land on her hand, and leap against it, preventing Annie from grabbing Mikasa. Levi jumped off of her hand and used the momentum to slash at the muscles in her jaw.

No, Annie thought, as she tried in vain to keep her mouth from opening. It was no use. Her lower jaw dropped, and Eren was exposed. Please, don't do this. I'm sorry for hurting your friends, don't do this.

Levi had landed in her mouth and pulled out Eren, and shot away again with the gear. No, please, Annie thought, don't take him away from me.

She could feel tears begin to stream down her face. Please, give him back. He isn't safe with you... Please, I love him.

Eren looked at Armin in disbelief. "You can't be serious... This is Annie we're talking about... How could she be the female titan? She was inside Stohess district, safe and sound. Where's your evidence?"

Armin refused to meet Eren's gaze, but he spoke nonetheless. "The female titan knew what you looked life before her attack. And, she reacted to my use of your nickname, 'suicidal bastard'. Only our cadet class knew about that. But the main reason I think it's her is because I think she's the one who killed Hanji's test subjects."

"What makes you say that?" Eren snapped defensively. He refused to believe any of it, not without solid proof. He could't believe it. Annie, his sweet princess, despite being outwardly cold, was no murderer. Besides, what motivation could she possibly have?

"The titans were killed at the same time, which required the user to be extremely familiar with the gear they were using."

"But the equipment inspection. Annie checked out!" He said, remembering the day. Annie had come to visit him after she had inspected her gear. It was cold, so the two had spent the rest of the day staying indoors, warming up by the fire. He could remember her touch, her warmth, her kiss.

"But it wasn't her gear that she presented." Armin replied grimly. "It was Marco's."

Eren wasn't following. How could he? Armin's logic was bouncing all over the place. "What does Marco have to do with this?" He demanded.

"I don't know," Armin admitted, "but I recognized the same scrapes and dents from when the two of us did gear maintenance together."

"You're just imagining things." Eren defended. "There's no way Annie would do anything like that."

"I'm not making this up." Armin assured. "I'm telling you, Annie was in possession of Marco's gear."

Eren looked up and realized that Jean was sitting across the table. He looked far away. He was probably wondering the same thing, trying to fit Marco into the puzzle that already didn't make sense. Eren felt bad for him. He remembered how close the two of them were.

"Is there anything else?" Levi asked.

Mikasa offered, "Well, she certainly looks like the female titan."

That set off Eren. Couldn't she have offered anything that wasn't circumstantial at best? "What the fuck, Mikasa? What kind of evidence is that?" He demanded.

"So basically, we don't know for sure." Levi summed up.

Eren couldn't believe any of it. "This is insane. What if it's not her? What if you're wrong?"

"If it isn't her, then she's cleared of suspicion," Mikasa answered.

"Eren," Armin implored, "this is our only chance. Either we take it, or the government condemns you."

"I don't care." Eren answered. "This is Annie. You don't know her like I do, she wouldn't do that!"

"Eren," Mikasa's voice was icy and steely, "when you fought the female titan, did anything ring a bell? Anything remind you of Annie?"

Eren flashed back to his bout with the female titan. He thought she had been copying his stance, but... No, that was ridiculous. It couldn't be Annie. Similar style, if that's what it even was, could be chalked up to sheer coincidence.

Annie would never hurt people, not without a good reason.

A couple of days later, Annie woke up in her bed back in Stohess. Anguish took her mind and she thought to herself, I failed. Yes, she had failed at her mission, failed to capture Eren and now he was back within the walls. In danger.

She pushed off the sheets, and her deerskin blanket, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She wanted Eren nearby, but who knows where he was now?

He occupied her thoughts as she slipped on her clothes and looked up to see that Hitch had already left. Couldn't have woken me up? She thought, annoyed. She finished putting on her hoodie and pants and slipped on her MP jacket, so she opened the door and made her way downstairs, thoughts still lingering on her boyfriend.

She was faintly aware that the others were talking about her, but she didn't care. She wasn't like these people.

Their commanding officer walked down with a small stack of papers in his hand. "Alright, we've got actual work for you today instead of the same old shit. Eren Yeager is going to be passing through Stohess on his way to the capital." Annie perked up at the sound of Eren's name. She waited for the commander to continue. "We are to escort him and make sure no harm comes to him during his passing through. 3DM use is authorized for a short time."

"Sir," Marlo asked, "what are we protecting him from? I know there are petty criminals inside the walls, but I sincerely doubt they'd try and openly rebel against the king by harming Eren. And we're far away from any titans, so..."

That's what you think, Annie thought.

The commander was not impressed. "Well, if you're so smart, you can handle it from here." He said, shoving the paperwork in Marlo's chest, evidently glad to be rid of it. Nothing but a slacker, Annie thought.

Unsure of himself, Marlo reluctantly accepted. He led the cadets outside. Marlo, for all of his ambition, wasn't very assertive. He had drive, but no actual initiative, Annie thought. She could see his sincerity in the way he talked about his goals.

"Once I'm in charge, I'll ensure that everyone who commits crimes pays for them. It's not that complicated, the Military Police just needs some discipline to restore them to their former glory."

Hitch had begun to crack up, howling with laughter in the floor. "Wow, you're something else!" She jeered between laughs.

Boris, the salt-and-pepper haired MP next to Marlo, however, didn't find it amusing. Or at least, he didn't show it. "That's a pretty high goal. Good luck with that stuff, or whatever."

"What's the point?" Annie found herself saying. Marlo's drive, passion, reminded her of Eren. But she couldn't bring himself to admire someone who was so unsure of himself that it got in the way of his goals. She felt that if push ever came to shove, Marlo would buckle and slide into submission.

The rest of the squad turned to her. Annie didn't speak to them much, so the fact that she was talking had probably surprised them. "If a goodie two-shoes like you ever wound up in charge, you wouldn't have any support at all." She continued.

Marlo regarded her, looking defensive. "That's the first thing I get to hear you say? Really?"

"I can tell you're sincere." Annie said, disregarding the comment. "You aren't the first person I've met who thought he could take on the world, make a change for the better. Going against the flow like that, it takes guts." She thought about Eren. He had the guts, not only to challenge the status quo, but to openly work against it. His most attractive quality, Eren thought.

"Guts," Annie followed, "or sheer stupidity."

Marlo looked away and crossed his arms. "I'm not like that. Come on, let's get to our station."

A short ten minute walk and they found themselves nearing their position. Marlo stopped and Hitch, not paying attention, had bumped into him. "Hey, watch it, asshole." She snapped, but stopped when she took a look at the scene in front of them. Two MP's were loading crates of gear, bearing the Military Police emblem, onto a merchant ship while a merchant— Annie could tell he was a merchant by his attire, fancy and expensive even by Sina standards— watched them. When they had finished loading the crates, the merchant passed a cloth bag to the MP's. One of the officers reached into the bag and pulled out a coin, and inspecting it, seemed satisfied. He took the bag and stuffed it into his pockets, and the two MP's exchanged goodbyes with the merchant.

"Selling government property illegally?!" Marlo snarled under his breath. He walked towards the duo. Annie was startled. She wasn't expecting him to actually do anything.

"What are you looking at, rookie?" The one on the right demanded.

"Selling government equipment is illegal." Marlo said shakily.

"Yeah?" The older man said, feigning ignorance.

Marlo looked at the ground. "The citizens paid for that gear with their own tax money. I'm going to have to report you—"

The guard laughed. "Threatening a superior officer? I like your style, kid." He smiled a mischievous smile and fished a coin out of the bag, slipping it into Marlo's breast pocket. "Go spend it on a girl. Unwind a little bit."

Annie expected Marlo to simply accept it as a failed attempt and learn from the experience. If he was smart, at least. But he proved himself an idiot. As the MP's were walking away, Marlo turned and grabbed one of their shoulders. "Selling government property is against the law!"

In a flash, the older MP slammed the butt of his rifle into Marlo's gut. Marlo went down, coughing and sputtering. His rifle, unslung, clattered away. The guard continued to beat the defenseless newbie, and just as Annie predicted, Marlo didn't lift a finger to stop him. Sliding into submission.

It was almost saddening.

Annie walked towards the three, and when the older MP brought down his rifle again, she caught his arm. Good thing too, judging by the force of the blow and the direction it was going in, it probably would have broken Marlo's nose.

"That's enough, I think." Annie said calmly, "Don't you, sir?"

Hitch had run forward too. "Sorry our dumbass caused you trouble, sir. We won't let it happen again, we promise." Her voice lowered. "Besides. You've already caused quite a scene."

The officer looked around at the crowd that had accumulated to watch him beat up Marlo, looking on in disgust and disbelief. The officer played along and cleared his throat. "Next time I won't be so lenient," he said, facing about and walking away.

Annie looked down at Marlo. He was fixated on his rifle, which was within arm's reach. His arm shakily stretched out towards it, and Annie knew what he wanted to do.

"Go ahead." she said, "You said you were going to make criminals pay, didn't you? I'll even help you if you want."

Marlo clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it against the ground. Just as Annie had suspected. Drive, but no resolve. Sliding into submission. Pathetic.

"The other person you mentioned, the other fool who goes 'against the flow'... Would they have done it?"

Annie thought about Eren, and his personality, how he would have reacted. He was so volatile. The slightest things would set him off. If his goals were the same as Marlo's, rather than focused on titan slaughter, he would have no problem killing corrupt officials. He definitely would have.

Maybe it was pity, but Annie decided to spare Marlo's feelings. "He might have." She answered.

"I wanted to be brave." Marlo said, "I'm not. I'm just another piece of trash, going wherever the flow takes me."

"Be grateful for it." Annie said. "It comes with being ordinary. You have no idea how lucky ordinary people are." She looked up at the sky. More than anything, she wanted to have been born with the chance at being an ordinary girl. A girl without secrets, without anything to fear from getting to have known people. She could have had friends, and she wouldn't feel so conflicted about her mission, and Eren's part in it.

She pushed the fantasy from her mind. She wasn't ordinary, she was Annie Leonhardt.

"Annie," a voice whispered from the alley. Annie waited until the rest of the MP's had passed, and then turned to the right. A hooded figure stood in the shadows, with round blonde hair and big blue eyes.

"So you're an honorary MP, huh?" he asked.

"Armin?" Annie looked on in disbelief. She wasn't sure how a weak coward like him could survive an entire excursion out of the walls, and with all his limbs, but there it was, right in front of her. There was a strange look in his eyes, something that Annie registered as shifty. A look of wariness, caution.

"What's with the getup?" Annie asked.

"Oh, it's to conceal my 3DM gear." He said, opening his cloak to reveal a set of 3DM gear. What did he need that for?

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Annie, we're going to help Eren escape, but we need you for our plan to work."

"Escape? Where?" Annie asked. "Where in these walls could you possibly hide from the government?"

"It won't be for a long time." Armin answered. "We're going to come back. All we need is some evidence and we can overrule the council's decision to turn Eren over to the MP."

Annie wasn't entirely convinced yet. "What evidence?"

Armin looked at the ground. "I can't tell you."

You can't tell me? Annie thought, Or you won't tell me? Does it even exist? Is he lying to me?

Annie let out a sigh. Eren being turned over to the MP wasn't such a bad thing, after all. She would get to be a lot closer to him, even if he was going to be held a prisoner. She could visit him, and wouldn't have to worry about his safety when he left the walls again. "I can't help you." She said, beginning to turn away. "But good luck."

"Annie, come on!" Armin pleaded, "Eren will be killed!"

The words stopped Annie in her tracks. Kill him? To what end? Surely more was to be gained by keeping him alive, studying him, right? But then again, the top brass, especially in the Military Police, were typically cowardly, weak-willed men who didn't know the first thing about titans, and were fearful to know.

But what if Armin was lying to her, deceiving her? Using her feelings to Eren to get her to comply with whatever this was? It wouldn't be the first time. He had done the same thing outside the walls.

Wait... Could he suspect her?

It was possible. Though weak, Armin was a brilliant boy. If anyone could figure out that she was the female titan, it was him.

"They'll kill him simply because they fear what they don't understand. They can't see that their actions are driving humanity down the path to nonexistence. We might not be able to change their minds, but what if we are? We have to take the chance, right?"

"Why?" Annie asked, doing aself-evaluation. She had never done anything to gain his trust. "Do you really think I'm a good person?"

"I don't really agree with that term." Armin said, "It's just something that people use to describe those who are useful at a certain time, it's completely circumstantial. But if you don't help us, then to us, I guess you'd be a bad person. Right?"

He was manipulating her, Annie knew. Masking it beneath the guise of "for humanity's sake." He was really only appealing to her emotional state, and she could see it clearly. Exploiting her attachment to Eren to nudge her into cooperating was low. Her love was not a tool for somebody else's plan.

I should have killed you when I had the chance.

But what if it was true? If there was even the slightest risk that Eren was going to be in danger, that he was going to be killed... Well, Annie had to take chances too.

Annie unslung her rifle from her shoulder and set it against the building. Then, she turned to Armin. "Alright." She said, as reached into her pocket and drew a silver ring. To most, a bland piece of jewelry, but Annie knew its secret. A small folding blade was inside it, which would snap out when Annie moved her wrist a certain way. She slipped the ring on.

If worst came to worst, she'd use it. If not, well, Eren would be safe and no harm would be done. And really, that was all she wanted.