Author's Note: Hey guys, so sorry for the late update! Had a lot of videos to make on my youtube

January 1st, 11:12 PM

Wings of Freedom Base

The gunshot echoed throughout the entire mountain, waking everyone in the tents. Mikasa watched in horror as Historia's silhouette through the tent collapsed to the ground outside. Blood had splattered on the tent as well.

Eren woke with a start, as he turned pale in horror. His heart sunk to his gut, as he held Mikasa protectively. "Oh shit...", he muttered in a tone of complete terror, as Armin and Sebastian woke up.

Before they could say anything, a complete gun fire broke out, and Levi's voice was heard.

"EVERYONE HIDE IN THE TREES NOW!", he roared, as the gun fire continued, it sounding like Levi and his squad were trying to fight off whoever these trespassers were.

"The people from the lab?!", Sebastian asked fearfully, as Mikasa quickly grabbed her own gun, and led Sebastian out through the back, Eren and Armin closely following behind them, both armed as well.

"It's not the lab..", Eren whispered, his voice shaky with disbelief and horror. Armin frowned, noticing this.

"Then who is it?!", he demanded, as they exited the back of the tent. As they went to move behind the cover of the dark forest, another gunshot was heard and Armin yelled out in pain.

"Armin!", cried Mikasa fearfully, as Armin collapsed, his leg had a deep bullet wound in it, as blood soaked the snow.

Mikasa drew her gun, shooting the person who shot Armin down, as Sebastian and Eren quickly helped move Armin behind a large fallen down tree where they were shielded, Mikasa following.

They crouched down it, seeing Sasha and Connie as well. "Who the hell are these people?!", cried Sasha, gripping her gun.

"I don't recognize any of them from the ZCP", Connie added anxiously, as Mikasa quickly tied a tourniquet around Armin's leg.

Eren peered over the fallen tree, seeing the men who were heavily armored and shooting machine guns at Levi's squad.

"Could they...be the Titans?", asked Armin, as he winced painfully, gripping his injured leg. Mikasa glared, as she noticed a large T on each of the men's jackets.

"It's the Titans, no doubt", she growled. "We can't just sit back here hiding! Levi's squad needs our help!", Eren growled, gritting his teeth. "We can't rush in blindly either", Sebastian pointed out, as Mikasa scanned the area for some way to safely help them.

She looked around desperately, as her eyes went to Historia's body. She was motionless, the snow under her soaked in blood. She had been shot in the chest, right through the heart. Mikasa swallowed hard, feeling her heart sink, as she even felt her eyelids grow heavy with tears.

When suddenly, they heard a yells of pain and anguish. They all looked, to see the Titans had shot down all of Levi's squad members except for Levi and Hanji themselves.

Their bodies were in a gruesome pile of blood in the snow, as Levi glared dangerously, his arm was shot, and Hanji was out of bullets.

"We HAVE to help them!", Eren glared, as he suddenly jumped out from the forest, and sprinted at the Titans.

"EREN!", Mikasa screamed fearfully, as she followed.

"SIS NO!", Sebastian went to follow next but Sasha held him back. "LET ME GO, SASHA!", Sebastian struggled, but Sasha kept a tight grip on him, knowing Mikasa wanted her little brother safe.

Eren aimed his gun, and shot one of the titans, and rammed his body into the next to knock him over.

Mikasa aimed her gun, and shot one other man, and fired a warning shot at the second, as the Titans began to freeze.

"DON'T MOVE!", Mikasa snarled, aiming her gun at the tallest man's head, while Eren glared dangerously, shaking hard.

Mikasa noticed Eren shaking badly, she also noticed the intense hatred in his eyes for them. Levi frowned, something was strange...why did they stop attacking upon seeing Eren and Mikasa?

These men were heavily armored...and there were at least 10 of them still. "Are you the Titans?", Levi questioned, aiming his own gun.

Once again, silence from the armored men. Mikasa glared, focusing her aim, when she suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes.

She looked, and saw what appeared to be a young girl...possibly younger than Sebastian. But the preteen was aiming her own gun directly at Eren.

Mikasa's heart sunk, and her eyes widened, as she watched the girl squeeze the trigger. "EREN!", using all her strength, Mikasa shoved Eren aside, as the gunshot was heard.

Eren hit the ground from Mikasa shoving him, as he even rolled twice in the snow, as Mikasa collapsed to the ground.

She felt an intense burning pain in her chest, as blood began to darken the snow under her. She was in too much pain to move, as she grimaced, clutching her chest, suddenly soaked in sweat and white as a ghost.

She found it hard to breathe, as the pain only got sharper and sharper, while her body grew heavier and weaker.

Everyone froze in horror at what just happened. "EREN! MIKASA!", Armin cried fearfully. "Mikasa, no...!", Sasha felt tears flood her eyes, as Sebastian had frozen in horror.

Eren found his bearings, he got up and his heart dropped to his gut, seeing Mikasa's motionless form. "Mikasa...Mikasa NO!", not caring if the titans shot him dead, Eren rushed to her side, collapsed on his knees and lifted her up in his arms.

"No, no, god please, NO!", he sobbed shakily, seeing the bullet wound in her chest. Mikasa struggled to open her eyes, her breathing labored.

"E-Eren...", she managed to utter out, in a weak voice. "Why..?! Mikasa, WHY?!", Eren sobbed, cradling her close, tears flooding his eyes.

Mikasa gave a weak, faint smile. "You saved my life Eren...", she answered. Eren had saved her life...from the fire, during the first bombing...and now Mikasa had returned the favor.

She had sacrificed herself to save him. "Mikasa...you got to hang in there! You hear me? You're strong..c'mon, fight it!", Eren begged her, as he held onto her cold, limp hand. Mikasa coughed weakly, going limper and limper.

Levi glared at the Titans, and suddenly open fired at them, as Hanji hurried to Eren and Mikasa's side. To their shock and relief, the Titans retreated.

One of them paused, starring at the girl in the woods. "GABI! MOVE IT!", he yelled angrily. The girl glared, and went to follow. Sebastian's fists clenched, and he suddenly grabbed Sasha's gun, and sprinted after the girl.

"SEBASTIAN!", cried Sasha. "Sebastian, get back here!", Connie yelled, as he went to chase after him.

Hanji examined Mikasa's wound, as Eren continued to hold onto the injured girl...not even caring about the Titans anymore, he knew Mikasa needed him..and he couldn't lose her.

At this point, Mikasa had fallen unconscious from the pain, her breathing remained labored. Hanji applied pressure to the bullet wound.

"There may be hope, the bullet narrowly missed her heart, but I need to extract it..and stop the bleeding", Hanji explained urgently.

"THEN HURRY! PLEASE!", Eren yelled, fearfully, holding onto Mikasa protectively. Hanji nodded quickly, as Eren lifted Mikasa up, and Hanji led them into a tent where the medical supplies were.

"Armin's injured too!", Sasha cried then. "Let them treat Mikasa first, Sasha..she's in really bad shape", Armin assured the redhead, clutching his leg.

"I'll at least get you pain medicine!", Sasha insisted as she hurried to get some from a tent. Armin glanced over at Historia's body and he felt a heavy lump in his throat, tears appearing in his eyes.

Eren carried Mikasa inside, and very carefully and gently set her on the bed, like she was fragile glass. "Easy, easy does it, she's hurting bad..", Hanji quickly opened the medical kit, as Eren held onto Mikasa's hand, not letting it go.

Mikasa's eyes weakly fluttered open, giving Eren's hand a very weak squeeze. "E-Eren...my brother..", she started, but then coughed hard, clutching her chest painfully.

"He's fine baby, he's fine, he's with Sasha and Connie", Eren assured her, not even knowing himself that Sebastian had took off after Gabi.

"This is bad, she's injured in the same area her ribs were broken...its going to take a long time to heal..if she makes it through the night", Hanji admitted, as she prepared to extract the bullet.

Eren gritted his teeth at this, but he kept hold of Mikasa's hand as she panted heavily and painfully. Hanji removed Mikasa's top, as she began to insert the tool to extract the bullet.

This caused agonizing pain, and Mikasa released a blood curdling scream, arching her back, going into a convulsion from the pain. The medical tool had to go deep into her wound to get the bullet out.

"EREN! Hold her down!", Hanji ordered urgently, knowing if Mikasa thrashed too hard, it could cause not only further injury, but possible internal bleeding.

It killed Eren to do this, but he held her down firmly, as Mikasa screamed and cried out painfully, struggling hard.

"I know, I know Mika! Hang in there, you gotta stay strong, its almost over baby, almost...", he tried to encourage and soothe her best he could, stroking her hair. Tears streamed down Mikasa's face from the pain, but she slowly calmed down.

"That's it, that's my girl...that's my strong girl, its almost over...", Eren promised her in a soft voice, as Mikasa whimpered, growing too exhausted to keep screaming and thrashing.

After what felt like an eternity, Hanji extracted the bullet. Mikasa gave a shaky exhale of relief, as Eren kissed her forehead, stroking her hair.

"All over Mika, all over...", Eren comforted his girlfriend, as Mikasa felt her eyelids going heavy again. Within moments, she passed out from exhaustion, as Hanji stitched the wound and gave her morphine.

"I've done all I can...the rest is up to her", she sighed softly, as she bandaged the wound. Mikasa remained unconscious, deathly still. Her breathing was weak and shallow.

"She'll..she'll recover, right?", Eren asked fearfully. Hanji hesitated, studying the unconscious girl.

"Eren..we'll be lucky if she makes it through the night. I've done all I can but..with an injury this severe, she could possibly slip away overnight...", she confessed grimly.

Eren went white, his eyes filled with horror as he froze up. "It depends on her will to live...", Hanji explained, as she exited the tent to tend to Armin's wound.

Eren held onto Mikasa's hand, as he stroked her hair. She was soaked in sweat, so he placed a cool, damp washcloth over her forehead, and caressed her scar with his thumb.

"I'm sorry..I'm so sorry Mikasa. This is all my fault...you wouldn't be laying here suffering if it wasn't for me...Historia wouldn't be dead, and neither would Jean or Petra...", he whispered shakily.

"I'm so...sorry...", he released a shaky sob, as he kissed her forehead, watching over her. "Please...you got to live. You have to fight it..if not for me, for Sebastian and Sasha...please Mikasa...I love you...so much", he pleaded tearfully, as he continued to stay at her side.

After Hanji helped Sasha get Armin into a tent and treated his wound, she stepped outside seeing Levi was burning the bodies of his squad and Historia.

"Armin's doing better on morphine...Mikasa still isn't out of the woods. We won't know if she'll survive until morning...", Hanji admitted grimly, approaching Levi.

Levi glared, his eyes reflecting the light from the fire. "This never happened before...the Titans never attacked us...why now? Why find us and attack us now?", he questioned.

"I also thought it was strange...they retreated right after seeing Eren nearly shot...", Hanji admitted, tensely.

"It's ironic...we've been in hiding since this shit started, and only a few months after Eren shows up, they're on top of us", Levi growled darkly.

"What are you suggesting Levi?", asked Hanji. Levi fell silent, choosing not to answer, as he continued to watch the fire burn.

In the woods, not too far from the base, Sebastian chased Gabi. He glared dangerously, as he ran as fast as he could through the trees and snow. Gabi glared behind her and she aimed and shot.

The bullet grazed Sebastian's arm, but it didn't slow him down. "YOU SHOT MY SISTER! I'LL MURDER YOU!", he snarled angrily as he aimed his gun and shot at Gabi.

He heard her cry out in pain, the bullet had hit her arm. But just as Sebastian was about to shoot again, a machine gun fired in his direction.

Connie pulled him out of the way just in time, as they hid behind a large rock. Connie panted, out of breath from chasing Sebastian.

The Titan who had the machine gun glared, and lifted Gabi up, retreating.

"Let me go, Connie! They need to pay for this!", Sebastian growled stubbornly. "Sebastian, you're no good to your sister dead! We need to head back to base!", Connie reasoned urgently.

Sebastian glared dangerously, but the thought of his sister suffering..it somewhat snapped him out of it. Connie took his hand, as they hurried back.

Inside the tent, Eren hadn't let go of Mikasa's limp hand, while Sasha continued gently wiping the girl's sweaty forehead with a washcloth.

"Hang in there sweetie...", Sasha soothed worriedly, as Mikasa remained asleep. "She seems to be resting a bit more comfortably..", the redhead noticed, as Eren remained grimly silent.

Sasha noticed his silence. She sighed softly. "At least she didn't develop a fever in this weather...but its best to keep her warm", she added, making sure Mikasa was covered fully by a blanket.

"This is all my fault...", Eren whispered again. "Eren, we were caught off guard..there was nothing you could have done...Mikasa just had quicker reflexes", Sasha assured him.

Eren remained silent, his eyes averted from them, though he didn't let go of Mikasa's hand.

January 8

8:23 PM

Wings of Freedom Base

It was a bitterly cold winter evening. The snow had gotten a bit deeper outside, leading to the group needing to maintenance the tents. Levi, Hanji, Sasha, and Connie worked on the tents, while Eren was checking on Armin.

Sebastian was in a tent with Mikasa. She was conscious, but she wasn't fully recovered yet. The bullet wound in her chest was slowly healing, and still had a bandage over it. She rubbed it under her top uncomfortably, biting her lip.

She felt frustrated, this was the third time she's been stuck in bed. "Sis, take it easy, don't move too much", Sebastian fussed, worried.

Mikasa gave a sigh, leaning back on the pillows. Outside their tent, Connie and Sasha were gathering wood. They were in hearing range.

"Were you and Sebastian able to get a good look at the girl?", asked Sasha curiously. "She had dark hair, and was no older than 15, but that's about it...", Connie admitted.

"I'm surprised she could handle a gun with that kind of kick...Hanji said the bullet in Mikasa came from a rifle, not a pistol...at least you were able to get Sebastian before he got hurt", Sasha said.

Mikasa froze. She looked at Sebastian, who sweat dropped nervously. "You...you went AFTER her?!", Mikasa asked, horrifed.

"Thanks a lot guys!", Sebastian yelled outside the tent at Sasha and Connie. "Sebastian, what were you thinking?! You could have been killed!", Mikasa cried.

"Sis, I wasn't! I couldn't just let that bitch get away...she nearly killed you!", Sebastian snapped back, angrily. His coat hid his graze on his arm. It would become a scar.

"Sebastian, don't EVER do that again! Do you understand me?!", Mikasa growled. Sebastian glared, looking away.

"I'm not a kid anymore! I can take care of myself", he said. "You could have been killed! And I couldn't protect you! I WON'T lose you like we lost mom and dad!", Mikasa yelled back, she winced, her wound starting to hurt.

"NEITHER WILL I!", Sebastian yelled back, as he stormed out of the tent. Mikasa exhaled shakily, leaning back.

Sasha entered the tent, quiet at first as Mikasa struggled to get comfortable from her injury. She could see Mikasa's frustration.

"I'm sorry Mikasa...you're badly injured and we..didn't want to cause you any stress. Connie did follow Sebastian when it happened, and got him back here", Sasha assured her, as she carefully sat at Mikasa's bedside.

Mikasa gave an exhausted sigh. "It's not your fault Sasha...I'm just...frustrated. I can never protect him...", she said.

"That's not true! You're a badass with a gun, and you're the one who really helped us escape the ZCP", Sasha pointed out.

"Yet every time I turn around, I'm injured or sick! First it was my ribs, then Zetsumetsu relapsed, and now this...How am I supposed to protect my brother?", Mikasa asked, frustrated.

Sasha bit her lip. "Maybe..its a sign you need to let your brother take care of you for a change. Things are different now...he's not really a kid anymore. You took care of him for so long, before all this happened...besides...", she sighed sadly.

"We're the lucky ones...we've both been injured but...", she glanced at her shoulder, where she still had a scar from where she was shot.

"But..we lost so many. Marco, Ymir, Jean, Historia, Petra..the rest of Levi's squad..not to mention our parents...", Sasha continued.

"With as many of us dropping dead, its no wonder even you've gotten injured more than once..", she added.

"We're just eight now...and that includes Levi and Hanji...", Mikasa realized. Sasha had a grim expression on her face, as she gently squeezed Mikasa's hand.

The tent opened again, and Eren appeared. "How's Armin?", asked Mikasa worriedly. "He's doing better...Mikasa, can we talk?", he asked.

Mikasa nodded, as Sasha exited the tent. Eren bit his lip, silent at first. He glanced outside at everyone working on the other tents.

"Eren...?", asked Mikasa, noticing his hesitation. Eren looked back at her. "You want to..come take a walk with me?", he asked, his tone sounding a bit numb.

"Okay...", Mikasa felt a little confused, but at the same time some fresh air would be amazing, and so would stretching her legs.

Eren gently helped her out of bed, as they exited the tent. Leaving footprints in the snow behind them, they walked a short distance from the camp.

Mikasa wore her red scarf, as they continued to walk. Mikasa glanced at him softly. "You stopped shaving..", she noticed, giving a soft smile. Eren blinked, feeling his chin.

"Oh..you're right..I guess I forgot" he admitted, noticing his stubble. They went quiet again for several moments. Mikasa breathed in the crisp winter air, the only sound being the crunching noise of their boots stepping in the snow.

Mikasa had a flashlight with them, and they were also holding hands.

As they came to a clearing, and just as the sun fully set, so it was dark out, Eren stopped. Mikasa blinked, looking at him.

"Eren..?", she asked, as Eren released her hand, and walked a few steps ahead of her. He kept his back turned to her, unable to face her.

Mikasa felt a mix of confusion and worry, noticing how tense he appeared. She heard him exhale shakily, both of their breaths were visible in the cold air.

"Over a year ago...the Titans terrorist group spread Zetsumetsu throughout the city of Tokyo in the form of an invisible gas from planes...while they also set off two bombs in Tokyo, erasing Tokyo's population, and continuing to spread the virus throughout the world...", he said then.

Mikasa didn't say anything, still confused, but also getting a sick feeling in her gut..she didn't understand why.

"The bomber had no experience in creating bombs or even experience in radiation, he just knew how to hit a button on a remote control..so he collected the bombs from someone who knew how to design them...", he continued.

"That someone, happened to be the son of the man who leads the Titans...Grisha Jaeger", he said then. The wind suddenly breezes violently, and Mikasa's mind was blank at first...and then the shock and realization sunk in.

"W-What...", her voice was barely audible, not believing what she just heard. Eren clenched his fists, and he turned to finally look at her. Tears were in his eyes and he was trembling hard.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry Mikasa...", was all he could say. Mikasa felt her heart start to pound, as she struggled to even find her breath for a second, her eyes wide in disbelief and horror.

She looked down for a moment...collecting her thoughts. Memories of Eren saving her life from the fire, when he taught her how to use a gun, their first night together, their first kiss, how he vowed to protect her...and always love her...

But...different memories overshadowed those good ones...she remembered how much Eren averted his gaze when they spoke about the Titans, how aloof he got when any sort of talk was brought up about them.

And also how he got so angry and worked up when Sasuke and Akio escaped the hospital, warning the patients about the ZCP's plan to takeover.

She also remembered when Hanji revealed new infortmation...how Eren had to leave the tent to vomit...

The way he kept apologizing...

Mikasa's breath came out shaky, as she felt a severe migraine hitting her. She starred at Eren, studying him with her eyes.

"Y-You...You...did this? You..", she looked around, and back at the camp. "You designed the bombs...?", she asked him, her tone full of horror.

Eren looked down grimly. "My father is the leader of the terrorist group...I simply designed the bombs and handed them to the bomber...fully knowing what would happen. I also knew something like the ZCP would take over...", he answered numbly.

Mikasa looked away from him, in a state of shock. All of this..the terriost bombing, the virus, the ZCP...Eren was part of it. He was partly to blame for it all.

Then, Mikasa got a sick feeling, as a memory of her parents bodies flashed in her mind.

She shook badly, and glared at Eren. "My parents...they're DEAD because of you...!", her voice got louder, tears filling her eyes.

"So many innocent people are dead because of you...we're all SICK because of you...yet...you could actually look at me..kiss me...SLEEP with me...say how much you love me..and how you'll protect me..you..", she suddenly hugged herself, feeling a great sense of discomfort and betrayal.

"Mikasa, I meant all of that! None of that was an act! My feelings for you were real! Once I saved you...I...I felt such regret for what I had done...my father forced me, he-", Eren went to reach forward but Mikasa flinched away.

"DON'T touch me...don't...", she trembled harder.

"I don't have any way of knowing if you're telling the truth...you've lied to all of us...kept this from us...and even if your feelings are real...I don't care...I never want to see you again...", she growled shakily.

"Mikasa...please...I'm...I know I can't ever make up for what I did...but I'm sorry..I love you..", Eren began, but Mikasa suddenly glared and swung her fist, punching him with such force, he hit the ground.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!", she yelled angrily. "You RUINED my life! My brother's life! EVERYONE'S lives!", she growled shakily, her wound hurting from punching him.

Eren sat up, not saying anything. "Mikasa!", Sasha hurried over with Levi and Hanji. Eren froze then, in horror.

The glare on Levi's face could rival Mikasa's...they must have heard everything. Sasha pulled Mikasa back a bit, protectively, also glaring.

"Did we really..just hear all of that right?", Hanji questioned darkly. Eren looked down, grimly. "..Yes..", he answered.

Levi glared darkly, and suddenly pulled out his gun, aiming it at Eren's forehead.

"I should kill you right fucking now...", he snarled.