November, 1944

Maybe he was hallucinating, maybe dreaming, or maybe he was at the gates of heaven. Armin could have sworn he had heard her voice, but couldn't quite bring himself to believe it was real.

"Armin?"

What a cruel trick it was, even his mind had turned against him. He had been reduced to absolutely nothing; the darkness had tormented and consumed him.

"Armin, it's me, Annie."

The small rectangular hatch on the door slid open and the boy craned his neck to look. In the next moment, light poured into the cell; heaven it is, he concluded and brought an arm up to shield his eyes but almost immediately lowered it when he noticed the silhouette of a woman standing in the doorframe, an angel?

Annie practically threw herself to her knees beside the boy, sat him up and embraced him in what felt like a bear-hug. It hurt, but the pain let him know that this was no dream or hallucination, but in fact, very much real.

"A-Annie" he stuttered out, dazed, "How…?"

"I'm sorry I took so long." her pitch fluctuated uncharacteristically and the façade she'd carried all the way there cracked, "I'm so sorry for everything." The overwhelming anxiety, guilt and relief boiled over the top and tears flowed down her cheeks. The blonde moved back and cradled him, "I could apologise over and over for what I've done, but it'd do little and right now we don't have the time." Armin watched as pearly teeth dug into her bottom lip as she contemplated what to say next, "Can you walk?"

"I think so." he moved and groaned gently, "I'm just…" he spoke up, "so glad to see you." he watched Annie's face carefully under the dim light of the cell, her wet cheeks and crystal like eyes glistening. "If only I had thought several more steps ahead. I could have avoided all of this, but, being there, at the cottage, gave me a false sense of security …Poor Eren, Mikasa, Ymir. It was my fault, really. You had told me the truth, you told me we should have left—"

The boy's rambling was cut short, "Don't say such a thing." Annie interrupted with a frown, "Don't you dare blame yourself for this. Anyway, they should be safe now, Reiner—"

"Reiner?"

"Yes." Annie blinked and diverted her eyes away from his; a subtle movement, but the teen picked up on the connotations even in his weary state. Once again, there was something Annie was hiding from him, but he knew that now was not the time to delve into it. They had to get out, lest they both get locked up, or worse.

"He should be here." The blonde murmured as she stood and brought Armin to his feet, albeit shakily.

With his arm draped across the girl's shoulders, the two stumbled out of the cell and straight into a broad, hard-as-iron chest. A wave of panic flooded over the teen, his eyes still hadn't completely adjusted to the light and so the face of the man they had just walked into was unclear.

"Reiner." Annie's tone seemed surprised, despite the fact that she had been expecting him. The young woman quickly wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, "The others, are they safe?"

The soldier gave her a stiff nod, "In the car." His words were brief and his body language suggested he wanted to make a move.

The shock of it all had rendered Armin speechless for several moments; a thousand thoughts whirled around in his head. When he finally seemed to make sense of it all and the revelation that Eren, Mikasa and Ymir were safe hit him, he couldn't contain himself, "Danke schön." he cleared his throat and raised his voice as to ensure he didn't go unheard, "Danke schön…for helping Annie, for helping my friends."

"You needn't thank me, Arlert." Reiner responded, "If Annie had not come to me—"

"No," Annie interjected before the soldier was able to reveal anything else; she hadn't planned on telling Armin about her condition, not yet at least. Not until they were safe. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without your help."

The soldier raised his brows at the girl and then turned his attention to the guard lying on the floor, "What were you planning on doing with him?"

Annie knew if she killed this man, they would face fewer problems but the girl didn't feel like taking a life. "Armin," she addressed, "Do you recognise this man? Did he ever do you any harm?"

Armin's eyes skimmed over the unconscious guard, "There's no need to kill him." He spoke, his voice quiet but firm.

"He might wake up." Reiner warned.

"I'd rather not have blood on my hands," Armin turned his gaze back to the blonde, "do you, Annie?"

"No." she practically whispered, "But Reiner is right."

"We'll buy some time if we lock him in the cell." Armin offered and Reiner didn't hesitate to move the body. Annie handed the sturdy soldier the key and with that, the deed was done. With any luck, he wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

"Come on," Reiner urged but his eyes landed on Armin, "Are you alright to walk? I can give you a hand."

"I'm f-fine." but the boy's legs begged to differ as they trembled beneath him; if Annie hadn't been supporting him it was likely his knees would have buckled.

Before he even had the time to react, the burly man swept the fragile boy up into his arms bridal style. Apart from a squeak that accidently escaped his mouth, Armin made no protest and allowed the blond man to carry him up the stairs and out of the bunker.

"I take it you didn't encounter any problems then?" Annie asked out of curiosity moments later, having been astonished by the lack of hindrances so far. She'd have been a fool to think they were home and dry now, and Annie was no fool. If anything, she felt more alert. An uneasy feeling had started nagging at her, a feeling she wasn't able to brush off. The blonde knew that intuition was trying to tell her something she didn't want to hear.

"Nein" Reiner stated, "But we should hurry. We still need to retrieve Historia, after all."

Annie nodded in agreement.


A string a profanities followed the sound of the front door opening and Historia's heart leapt. She froze and listened.

"Good for nothing swine!" A man's harsh voice bellowed and was followed by incoherent babble, or at least nothing that Historia was able to decipher from upstairs. The girl didn't second guess what was going on; evidently, Herr Leonhart had returned home and was anything but happy. "Son of a bitch!" he hurled at the witless guard a second later, succeeded by a dozen more insults.

The fear mounted as the berating went on and spiked when the irate man began asking of his daughter. Historia wasn't exactly sure what she would do if she was caught posing as Annie, or how the hell she'd even begin to explain herself. Perhaps there was a chance of escape, but she didn't like her odds against jumping out of the second floor window.

"She had better be up there or God help you, boy." Herr Leonhart threatened before the girl heard heavy footsteps ascending the wooden staircase.

The girl mentally cursed, I hope he doesn't decide to want to look at his daughter today…

Historia sucked in a breath and the door cracked open. She felt his eyes on her back and her spine tingled. She had immersed herself under the covers, safe for a few strands of golden hair splayed out across the pillow, and yet, the girl felt exposed. The longer he lingered, the more intense his gaze felt and the more suffocated she became under the quilt. Her heart rattled mercilessly against her ribcage, anticipating the moment when he'd lift the blanket up over her head.

But it never came. The door clicked shut and the sound of his footsteps followed him down the hall. Historia waited another moment before exhaling a long, shaky breath.

The next she heard was Annie's father barking at the guard from downstairs; apparently something along the lines of punishment for his drunkard stupidity. The front door slammed shut shortly after that and she presumed the guard, on the most part, had been let off the hook. It was quiet again and not long before the scent of fried eggs, freshly brewed coffee and cigarette smoke wafted up the stairs.


"You can put the gun down now." Annie side-eyed Reiner. He obliged with a nod, lowered the weapon and slid it into the inside pocket of his jacket. Even if it was just a precaution and had proved quite useful in deflecting suspicion, her stomach had been in knots from the moment the barrel pressed against the back of Armin's head. It had been the boy's idea though, and his reasoning couldn't be countered; after all, carrying a prisoner around was bound to draw unwanted attention. Dawn was fast approaching and more guards were arriving on duty. They couldn't take any risks.

As they neared the staff car, Armin was able to see Eren sitting in the backseat. Almost as if the brunet had heard them come along, he turned his head to the side and smiled. Tears of elation welled in Armin's eyes as he returned the smile and choked back a sob,

"Eren."

When Armin finally reached the car, Eren raised his hat, "Good to see you, Armin." His voice was unsteady, tears pricked at the corners of his eyes and his cheeks darkened in embarrassment, knowing he had failed to hide the fact that he too was on the verge of tears.

"You too, old friend." Armin swallowed but the tears flowed. Eren's eyes barely touched Annie and Reiner, who were standing on either side of the boy. Armin wiped away the stream of tears and turned to look at Annie before stumbling into the back of the car.

Mikasa leaned over Eren almost immediately to wrap her arms around the blond boy, "Thank God you are alright." She spoke softly, "I was so worried".

The car door was closed a moment later with a thud, disrupting the moment. Mikasa's almond shaped eyes peered out of the window where her gaze locked with a pair of cold blue eyes. Annie stared straight into the girl's grey eyes, unwavering, until Reiner murmured something about getting a move on and hopped into the driver's seat. It was then when the blonde woman made a move for the trunk and disappeared out of view. She re-appeared a second or so later with a red piece of fabric between her fingers. Armin wound down the window and Annie stepped forward.

Surprise flickered across Mikasa's face as her eyes fell on the garment, but when she turned her attention back to Annie, her expression was reticent. It was almost as if the Asian girl was being cautious, considering her hesitation to move. But, after a prolonged moment Mikasa leant forward and reached over Eren and Armin for the scarf. Without a word, the girl proceeded to wrap the scarf snug around her neck and sunk into its softness, hiding the lower part of her face, right to the tip of her chilly nose.

Feeling Ymir's eyes on her from the far side of the back seat, Annie decided to make a move. In her mind, there was nothing left for her to say or do. She was certain if she vocalised her apology, it'd only come out sounding insincere. She could only hope that her actions would reveal the unspoken words. Just as she was about to walk away, Armin piped up,

"You're not coming with us?" his brows furrowed in confusion; Eren and Mikasa looked to her somewhat expectantly, but remained quiet.

"There's something I must do. I will join you later." Annie replied calmly and as she turned and walked away, she heard the roar of the engine as Reiner drove off.

A wave of relief washed over her at that moment, but it was short-lived. As she trekked through the snow in her brown heels towards her father's home, she heard a familiar voice call out her name. The voice of the person she least of all wanted to hear, safe for her father,

"Bertolt."

Annie reluctantly turned around to face the tall soldier. He'd obviously just reported for duty, clean shaven and fresh-looking.

"You look tired." he commented, Annie said nothing. A silence fell upon them then and she could tell that underneath the stern look on his face, he was anxious. "What are you doing out here?" he questioned.

"I just finished third shift." Annie lied through her teeth.

"You've been working?" he seemed rather taken back by this and Annie automatically resumed the role she'd played all these years.

"Armin is dead, nothing matters anymore." she stated, expressionless.

Bertolt frowned, "Annie—"

"It's the truth." the girl interrupted, "Working keeps my mind off of things," a sad sigh escaped her lips, "distracts me from feeling too depressed."

It was clear he didn't know what to say as he stood there with a dumb look on his face and wrung his hands.

"Good night." Annie finally announced and took a step away from the lanky man, but apparently he wasn't quite finished.

"… Annie?" Bertolt spoke up once more, "You haven't seen Reiner have you?" for a fleeting moment, Annie feared he suspected her. But how could he? Then again, she'd betrayed him once. The blonde kept her cool and turned to face him once again, "He wasn't at breakfast so I checked his room. It was empty." The dark haired soldier added.

"I haven't." she responded coolly, "If you'll excuse me, I just want to sleep."

"Right." Bertolt swallowed and his hazel eyes dropped to the snow.

Annie turned away then, leaving him standing there with unuttered words resting on the tip of his tongue. She didn't look back and instead continued on towards the house, slightly slower than she would have liked thanks to the icy conditions. When the girl eventually reached the pathway that led down to the stream, it was silent and she assumed the water had frozen over; she advanced, but stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted smoke billowing from the chimney.

The girl paused for a moment or two before proceeding, her qualms confirmed when she reached the house and recognised her father's footsteps in the snow, along with the guard's whose trail was all over the place, unlikely sober when he stumbled out. Without another thought, Annie made her way to the back of the house and saw that the window she had entered and existed through earlier had since been closed.

He'll probably cook breakfast, smoke, bathe and then return to work…

Annie knew her father's routine fairly well. He would most certainly leave the house at some point but not before another soldier stopped by, it could be an hour or so before he set off for work and the girl's growing concern was that there wouldn't be enough time before someone reported the missing prisoner from the bunker. When that happened, all hell would break loose. Even so, Annie considered her best bet was to wait it out.


No one said a word as Reiner sped off with the prisoners. Armin supposed it was an odd kind of situation, what was anyone to say? Inquiring as to where he was taking them seemed like the obvious thing to ask, but the teen swallowed the words and instead chose to gaze out of the window. He was still in a daze, barely able to function or focus. The only thing he was fully aware of was the chattering of his teeth.

They didn't ride for long before stopping at a rather isolated spot on the outskirts of the town. It wasn't far enough to ensure their safety, but Armin realised it was just a stopover until Annie joined them. The blond soldier stepped out of the vehicle first and the rest of them followed. Reiner led the four into a wooded area before stopping in front of an air raid shelter, hidden amongst the trees and the snow. He pushed open a steel door and revealed the empty concrete bunker.

"Wait in here." Reiner beckoned them to enter,

"We're not that far from the prison. If we stay here, it'll only be a matter of time until we're found." Eren protested, trying to mask his concern with anger.

"They've got Historia." Ymir reminded Eren sternly, "We're not going any further than this until she's safe in my arms."

Reiner handed a flashlight to the boy, "Until I come back with both Historia and Annie, you'll be safe here. You have my word."

Reiner's word had to have meant something to them by that point, and even if it didn't, it wasn't like they had much of a choice. The trio knew this and filed inside, but the freckled woman hesitated.

Her face was downcast and the top of her hat cast a shadow over her eyes, "I can't believe I'm saying this…" Ymir laughed nervously and looked up at the soldier, "But I can't do this. I can't sit around here while she's back there. I'm going with you."

"You can't. It's too dangerous—" Reiner began,

"Look, you set us free." The dark haired woman cut in, "That means I'm no longer your prisoner and I don't have to take orders from you. I'm going with you whether you like it or not." Ymir walked straight past the brawny soldier and stepped into the passenger seat. "Come on. We'd better get a move on, no?"

He shook his head when he realised that Ymir wasn't about to change her mind. It didn't take long for the soldier to cave in and take a seat at the wheel, knowing that he couldn't afford to waste any time.

As he fired up the engine, the Asian girl re-emerged from the bunker; "Ymir!?" the freckled woman gave her the two-finger salute as Reiner pulled away and Mikasa watched the black car until it disappeared. When the sound of its engine faded away into the distance she returned to the bunker and closed the steel door behind her.

"Where is Ymir?" Armin questioned, confused, when Mikasa returned alone.

The Asian took a seat beside the boys, "She left with Reiner."

"She actually went back there!?"The brunet exclaimed, "She's barking mad."

Mikasa sunk into her scarf, "I would have done the same, for you." Eren flushed and became suddenly pensive.

Armin remained quiet; by this point, he surmised that Historia had played a part in helping them to escape and that Annie stayed behind to ensure her safety.

The trio huddled together, sharing a warm embrace.

"Whatever fate has in store for us," Armin's gentle voice echoed through the bunker, "I'm glad I can face it with my family."


Reiner wasn't sure whether Annie and Historia were safe yet. One way of finding out was to check whether Kommandant Leonhart was on the grounds or not. If he was, it was likely Annie was already making her way to the outskirts of town. Unfortunately the soldier was doubtful of that outcome due to the fact that he hadn't seen her on route. That meant that the latter was most likely—that Herr Leonhart wasn't around, and that she was probably still waiting for an opportunity to get Historia out of the house. Though Reiner had suggested he wait for Annie and Historia with the others in the first place, the girl had been adamant that he leave straight away to guarantee Armin would be free from harm. He knew he had done right by returning though, because Annie had instructed him to come back for her if she wasn't able to make it. What Reiner hadn't prepared for was having Ymir at his side, which bumped up the risk factor.

The freckled woman refused to stay in the car, so his only choice was to investigate with the thin prisoner dressed up in guard's gear alongside. While on the grounds Reiner took the liberty of grabbing water and blankets for the escapees, knowing they were in desperate need of some. Ymir lingered behind and tried to look inconspicuous.

"Keep your head down." Reiner demanded in a hushed tone, "We won't get out of here alive if someone realises you're an inmate."

"I'm in uniform. As far as anyone knows, I'm one of the sadistic fucks who work here." Ymir rebutted, but did as the blond instructed nonetheless.

"Ssh." he reprimanded.

There weren't many guards around and the prisoners still slept, meaning their voices were likely to carry because of how quiet it was. Interacting with anyone was probably not the best idea, so the soldier headed towards the Kommandant's office; when he discovered it to be empty Reiner realised Annie couldn't have left and had most likely been waiting outside her father's house the entire time.

"Come on." Reiner murmured to Ymir. "We're going to the Leonhart residence."

"Historia's inside that bastard's home?" the tall woman couldn't quite believe her ears.

"If the Kommandant believed his daughter to be asleep in her bedroom, he would have no reason to suspect her involvement in any of this. That's where Historia came into play."

Ymir exhaled forcibly through her nose, signifying her vexation at the idea but said nothing more. The two began to make their way back to the staff car and almost made it until a voice called for Reiner, causing him to stop dead in his tracks.

"Where have you been!?" Bertolt challenged, "I've been looking for you for over an hour."

"Bert—" Reiner had to think on his feet, "I uh, I had trouble sleeping. Thought I'd get to work early."

"I saw Annie earlier," the taller soldier scrutinized the blond, visibly suspicious. "Did you know she was working?"

"Yes." He blurted out and mentally cursed.

Bertolt's hazel eyes narrowed causing creases to form at the corners. It was enough for him to think something fishy was going on and Reiner knew it. The blond swallowed a lump in his throat while his heart raged beneath his ribcage. The taller man briefly turned to the silent soldier at Reiner's side but much to their relief, said nothing. Although he marked it is odd, Ymir had kept her eyes low so there wasn't a real reason to suspect the truth about her identity. He seemed far too distracted by Reiner's scruffy and exhausted appearance anyway, "You're acting strange, Reiner, I don't understand you sometimes." He finally said. "You'd best freshen up at least."

"Yes. I will." Reiner rushed out. Panic had set in; he knew if he wasn't killed by the authorities, Annie would certainly kill him for giving her away. "Did Annie have anything to say?" he questioned in an attempt to come across as conversational and deflect suspicion. Not only that, he wondered how Annie had handled the situation, any extra information would hopefully prevent him from putting his foot in it.

"No. She was extremely tired. She had dark rings under her eyes…much like yours."

"Ah well, she's probably not sleeping right, being a traitor and all. She did love that Jew, you know."

"I thought so too," Bertolt diverted his eyes and watched as the sun began its ascent above the Bavarian mountains. "But the way she spoke of him this morning, it didn't seem that way…"

"Well, better get back to work." Reiner stated rather abruptly, he could see that Bertolt had started to think into his encounter with the girl and it would only be a matter of time before he put the pieces together. "I will see you later." The blond gave him a curt nod and began to walk in the opposite direction of the car, Ymir following closely behind.

Bertolt stood and watched the two for a prolonged moment but once he was gone, Reiner grabbed hold of the woman and dashed back to the car.

"He's your comrade. Will he be any trouble?" Ymir asked as Reiner put his foot to the pedal and drove.

"I fear he will. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"The sun's rising."

"Yes."


Reiner made sure to park the vehicle a ways away from the house so that Kommandant Leonhart wouldn't hear the engine. He found Annie crouched behind a bush near the back of the house, shivering and pale in the face.

When she saw Reiner and Ymir she beckoned them to get down and glowered at the blond solider, "I thought I told you to make sure the prisoners were—" she started,

"It's not his fault." Ymir interrupted, "I'm here for Historia."

"Never mind." she sighed and her features softened somewhat, "Father is still in the house but its dawn now, he should be leaving soon."

"I'm afraid we don't have time to wait, Annie." Reiner explained, "I came across Bertolt on the way here, he knows something is going on."

The young woman took in a sharp breath and rose to her feet. Reiner and Ymir stood with her, the freckled woman's face growing more concerned by the second.

"I can go in and get her out…I'm dressed for it, after all." She spoke up, but Annie shook her head,

"You won't."

"Then what do you propose we do, Helferin Annie?"

The blonde was silent for a minute or two as she formulated a plan, her face stern and jaw taught. When she came to a decision, she pulled a thin branch off of the bush and walked off towards the back of the house. Reiner and Ymir followed and watched as the girl tossed the stick towards the bedroom window. It missed the first time but managed to hit it the second with a clank.

The girl inhaled another sharp breath and waited. When nothing stirred Annie was about to repeat the action again and went to grab the stick,

"Wait." Ymir whispered, Annie paused.

Historia appeared at the window a fraction of a second later and when she saw Ymir below, her entire face lit up. The freckled woman watched as Historia's pink lips formed the shape of her name and then when she raised her hand to her cheek to wipe away her elated tears.

"You're going to have to catch her, Reiner." Annie said and the soldier held out his arms, beckoning the girl to jump.

However, rather than do the expected and open the window, Historia disappeared from sight causing Annie's heart to skip a beat. Assuming the worst, Ymir made a run for it towards the front of the house, fully prepared to barge straight in but fortunately the muscular man stopped her, and moments later the window creaked open.

Historia reappeared, this time dressed in SS attire after taking initiative and grabbing the clothes from Annie's wardrobe. Reiner held out his arms once again, and without barely any hesitation, the petite girl flew into them. He set her down and she immediately turned to Ymir, who too, was waiting for her with outstretched arms.

The two women embraced and held each other close, before Annie brought them back to reality,

"Let's go!"

Ymir and Historia held hands as the four of them raced to the car and climbed in. They barely had time to even shut the doors as Reiner's foot was pressed to pedal and the car accelerated, churning up snow as it swerved out of there like a bat out of hell.

The escape happened so fast that nobody, not even Annie noticed the tall, dark haired soldier standing at the top of the hill, green eyes watching as the car sped off into the distance.