"Mikasa," Eren simply said with a fascinated look and a smile on his face. His fern-colored irises shined perfectly with his chocolate hair. He was dressed in his old everyday clothes. The clothes he and his comrades were so accustomed to seeing. He looked no older than ten. As Mikasa drew nearer, she caught a note of Eren's familiar accessory: the key for the basement of his old house. Everything about his appearance seemed nostalgic. She wondered to herself. She must be dreaming… or dead.

"Eren? You're… where are we? Are you okay?" Mikasa said, breathlessly, reaching out to carry him to the hug. Eren let her embrace him, completely and absolutely ecstatic as he patted her back. "C'mon! there's so much to talk about! And there's someone I want you to meet!"

"So, Eren," Mikasa began.

"So, Mikasa," he mirrored.

"Is this a dream? Or am I dead or something? This feels so real. You look so… different. What year is it?"

He knew exactly what was being referred to, and the younger one of the duo could only answer her question truthfully. Eren frowned a bit and muttered, "Oh, a while back. Maybe four years? Maybe more… But it's all worth it." At Mikasa's very nervous shuffling, he added, "Hey, calm down! You'll catch a tick doing that. That's what mom said, at least."

"No, I'm fine it's just..." Her voice trailed off.

"Confused? Don't worry, you're safe here!" Eren chided, before following Mikasa's gaze. In the distance, they could see the outline of an old tree that brought back memories for both of them.

"Look, remember this? It's that old tree. The one where we used to scavenge for firewood?" Eren shouted as he jogged up the small hill. Mikasa did a quick spin around to assess her surroundings, something she had thought to do before.

It was home.

She was home.

The landscape before them was just among the outskirts of Shiganshina. Hills, flowerbeds, windmills and farms. And they all were empty. As a matter of fact, everything there felt… empty. Yet at the same time, she couldn't be more at peace.

"I just keep wondering... how long it's been since we've been here, you know? How many years has it even been..." Eren momentarily made a gesture of counting on his fingers. "Three? Five? Sorry, I lost count, he-he!"

Eren shrugged, looking away. Mikasa's heart hammered in her chest for a moment, but then he looked back at her, and she saw that he was grinning. "Have you ever just pictured what real freedom looks like?"

Mikasa's eyes widened as she turned to see Eren standing next to the old oak, his back towards his guest as he appeared to be looking off into the distance.

"I used to think it came in one form; the sea. And that once we've reached it," Eren lamented. Mikasa slowly trailed up the hill behind him, which miraculously was way taller than she'd remembered. The wind around them began blowing even stronger.

And by the time she reached the top:

"Sh*t, Mikasa! Mikasa wake up!" someone screamed at the top of his lungs. Shaking the girl's body, the owner of the voice yelled into her ear.

"Jean… I don't think she can- I don't think she can hear us." Another voice came from beside Jean. "Connie, what the h*ll happened to her?" He asked, as more concerned than a mother about her child.

"Well, she was perfectly fine about an hour ago," Connie stated, unsure. He quickly thought back to when they were all at lunch in the cafeteria that afternoon. "Everything was fine." Connie finished, taking one last glance at her.

'Wake up, Mikasa…'

"Hey, Eren." Mikasa tapped the boy's shoulder. Her raven hair, now danced lightly in the wind, tickling against one cheek as she smiled at him with almost childlike excitement. The boy's eyes fluttered open, and as he took in her current form, he smiled.

"You're staying. . . ?"

"Mhm. Where you go, I'll go. I promised, didn't I?" The boy smiled and he moved over to allow his friend to sit next to him. "Mikasa," Eren said simply with a stoic expression upon his face.

"Yes, Eren?"

"ḯ̶̛͙̫̦̋͑̓̌̈́̾͝ͅ'̷̡͕̤̯̰̩͙̓̽͑̕ͅv̵̱̠̈́̄́̿e̵̛̠͉̤̦͕̦̼̎̈̾͗͌͒̊̕͠ͅ ̵̯̘͇̂͊̌̉̔͆a̷̧̢̛͈̘̪̍͂ļ̴̟͚̜́̓w̷̨̢̬̰̳̙̰̝̺̔̓ą̴͉̟͋̇̾̾̆͗y̸͈͛͘͠ş̷̛̖̼͓̅̽͑̚ ̵̮̫̌͝h̶̢̩̠͇͈̫͎̥̄̍̎̀a̵̤̤̬̪̟͋̋͑͒̃͝t̶̤̥̖̓́̐̆e̸̦̞̓̉͋͜ḓ̴̡̦͇͆̽̓̍̅ ̶̨̛̦͚̔̐͊̇̋͂͌͠y̸̧̨̛͖͓̺̰̩ô̶͇̈̾u̷̯͔̲̲̳͖̙̱̭͌̄̀͗͑͘͠" He whispered, letting Mikasa draw her into an embrace.

Mikasa jumped.

"E… Eren?"

Eren stood up abruptly, knocking Mikasa off his shoulders abruptly. Mikasa caught herself and pushed her hands on the dirt as she sat herself up.

"I can't understand you… Are you okay?"

"Don't you get it?" Eren's voice suddenly became more clear. And more hostile.

"Eren…?!"

"You can't stop it." Eren's voice began to carry. The hill shook and the sea of clouds that seemed to perfectly shield the houses below began to part.

Devastation.

The only thing for miles. The only thing she saw.

Buildings decimated, animals trampled to death, smoke everywhere.

"What's going on?" Mikasa cried, shielding her face from the storm, literally. "EREN!" She screamed as he began to fade to nothing. And as suddenly as he had seemingly accepted her existence, he was gone.

And she was alone.

Mikasa ran. She ran as far as her child-formed body would allow her. She didn't know exactly who or what she was looking for but that didn't stop her. Something was pulling her to the carnage down below. She ran through the storm, doing her best to not slip into any puddles below her small feet as her tears mixed with rain. She needed to stop, she wanted to stop but she didn't. She couldn't. She needed to find…

Eren?

Armin?

Carla? Dr. Yaeger?

Is there anyone even here?

If she could remember correctly, she didn't see any people before all of this. Only insects and animals. She could try to run to the walls and find Carla and Grisha, but they could be dead for all she knows. Armin could possibly be at his grandfather's house. And that's a very slight possibility. Because she had no idea if he would even be there, or here. Wherever "here" may be.

Then she remembered.

'C'mon! there's so much to talk about! And there's someone I want you to meet!'

Eren mentioned that there's someone else here. That someone must be someone he trusts. That means it could be her family! She felt even more sure that Armin or Eren's parents may be somewhere in Shiganshina. The thought of her family possibly being there caused more tears to flood.

She harshly wiped away the tears that began to cloud her vision. Mikasa was determined to go figure this out. "Focus, damm*t," she chided herself. "You have to find your family."

While contemplating her choices, she didn't notice an object in her pathway until she tripped face-first into the dirt.

"Hn…" Her gaze trailed to the mass she'd so graciously tripped on.

It was a dead calf.