Chapter 2- Chances

"Do you understand?" A deep voice echoed in the tight space where she stood.

At this point she guessed it was a formality to say yes, the truth was she didn't understand and honestly she didn't want to. She thought she was making it clear with the emotionless expression that she didn't and did not want to care. Sanguinely speaking out of idiocy would have landed her in serious trouble and the kind of leverage he had, the possibility that…

She had to keep her thoughts together in order to get what she wanted. She had little choice in the matter anyway. The answer yes would suffice. And she'd complete the mission on her own terms anyway. That was how she, for the short period that she'd been working for this guy had done it anyway. She didn't need to force herself to comprehend his terms because frankly they were of now relevance to her. As long as the job was done she was going to get what she wanted.

She bowed on one knee and spoke. "Yes."

Her hand was touching the ground and with that her mind came to one conclusion; she needed to get out of this damp and dark place. And soon enough that time would come. She couldn't fail.

You'll be free, once again. I promise.

…..

The wind blew calmly, as the knells rang at the top of the tower. Mikasa looked over a sleeping Eren and watched as his eyes began to twitch violently. Sweat beaded his forehead. Then she remembered when she was like this. The fear she felt on that day. The sadness that grasped her as she tried to accept the reality of the fact that they were dead, trying to find some sort of way to bend this harsh reality, then forgetting the fact that she was a girl, that she was human. She knew what Eren was going through all too well; she was living through it a second time but this time there was something to salvage. Eren, Armin, Ryan. The last of her family were still alive. In this cruel world they had to survive, they were going to survive no matter what and she was going to make sure of that.

Eren's eyes opened, fearful eyes moved around in his socket until he looked up at Mikasa. Then the fear in them faded away and Mikasa watched as sadness crept in them, as if seeing her made him sure of the fact that the dream that he had yesterday wasn't a dream. Eren sat up on the cold floor and turned to look at Mikasa, he had a bland expression on his face that was much like the one Mikasa always wore on her face.

"Where's Ryan?" He asked, yet his voice seemed different, angry and cold.

Mikasa was taken aback by this but she kept her calm, from the look in his eyes he was angry but she couldn't judge him. That was no time for objectivity. It wasn't the time for resolve or hard truths and Ryan knew it. That wasn't the time to defend fear and cowardice. True, Ryan was the more mature one of the two but Hanne had made a mistake to him as well as to Eren. He could have saved them Kalura so why didn't he? Why did Ryan choose to accept the fact that their mother was dead so quickly? Why did he sound like that answer was something he'd been prepared to say all along? Why, at that moment was he so ready to accept the futility of the situation? She knew why he was angry and any objection to his anger would prove useless as she knew he wouldn't listen.

"He's going to get our rations. Armin's grandfather took them." She answered ignoring his glares. He nodded and stood up. Ryan appeared from a distance he could see him in his dark shirt and brown slacks with the yellow sash around his waist. He walked over to him and asked Mikasa if he was okay. Eren stayed silent and looked into his brother's teal green eyes with a look on his face, one of anger and gratitude for his concern.

"Ask him." Mikasa said brashly.

He wanted to but Ryan knew it was hard for him to understand why his own twin would do that and Ryan knew that there was no justification for defending Hanne's, a soldier who had the chance to do his duty and failed. But now his brother was all he had and he couldn't have Eren be mad at him.

"Eren, are you okay?" He asked

Silence.

That was better than he had hoped.

Mikasa walked past them and proceeded downstairs and Eren followed. Ryan called after him, trying to at least make sure his brother still considered him family.

"What?"

The fact that he answered to Ryan meant that he did, desperation may had been sinking in but he knew Eren still thought he was family.

"I'm sorry." He said, he had bowed his head, trying to avoid making eye contact because he knew that while sorry confirmed his importance to Eren it did not fix anything.

"I know you are." Eren said, calmly and walked off after Mikasa.

…..

Armin needed to get these to Eren and the others fast, but for some reason he couldn't forget that look of disgust on the soldiers face when his grandfather had asked for four loaves of bread for the children and the anger in his expression when the soldier sharing out these rations had agreed to that. He understood why but didn't feel that he deserved any of it.

In the West district of Trost where they were now in wall Rose there were already huge food shortages and now that the government decided to take the survivors of Wall Maria to Wall Rose, the place now had two thousand more mouths to feed and waste resources on when they could barely make it on their own.

Armin looked up to see an old man walking beside him. His blonde hair had many wisps of grey strands. He kept his hair in a ponytail and his beard was already gray. He smelled of pungent flowers from gardening in Wall Maria and his dark eyes had a sad expression in them.

"Grandpa." Armin said in shock.

"Armin" His grandfather answered weakly "It should have been me."

Armin gasped when he realized what he was talking about. When they were running from the Titans in Wall Maria. When his mother and father had pushed him out of the way of the flying debris and got crushed in his stead. He remembered the horror, and the fear as they were crushed by the boulder and his grandfather carried him on his shoulder.

There was silence for a moment. Then…

"It was their sacrifice to make, to protect you and me. We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for them. Our lives were worth something to them and I think that should it have been you they would've said the same thing,

"Mama and papa died to save you just three days ago, lament and regret won't solve anything instead let's try to make sure we survive for them."

"Okay, Armin." He said, "Let's survive this cruel world for them."

….

That day Ryan watched as the tears streamed down Hannes' face. Mikasa and Eren had left a couple of minutes earlier and were heading for the docks. He'd finally realized that he needed to get it together and head for the docks as well but now that Hannes was shedding tears he felt sorry for him. Never had he seen a grown man cry like this, yelling loudly, and begging for forgiveness from a child "Ryan, please forgive me… I couldn't…I couldn't save you mother because I was scared for my own life."

"Eren was right!" He said as tears flowed down his cheeks."She didn't deserve to die. Not like this. You could have saved her. I defended you because that's what my mom would want, for us to see things from her point of view but at this point there's no reason to. Eren was right, he's been right this whole fucking day. You'll just have us living like livestock. Weak, defenseless, cowardly. So much so that we can't even protect the ones we love." He cried and stormed off.

Remembering this, he realized she really was gone. And the last thing he did for her was a forced act of compliance, of all things to have lost that day why his mother? Why the one thing he or someone could have protected? That was the one thought that haunted him. If he could have protected her. Why didn't he?

"His eyes, His eyes." A kid doubled back in fear. "That kid's eyes they've changed."

…..

She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, she opened it and stared at it quietly, then sighed.

"I swear" She said, "You'll be free."

…..

So that ended chapter 2. I welcome flamers with an open heart and mind. I also welcome people who approve of this story. A lot is explained here if you read the other chapter. Feel free to be critical and be objective I don't like liars at all.