She had wanted to forget, to be able to move on, to really join the Military Police and live a better life. A life where food was easily found and her work was always done. A life where at the end of the day she could return to her dwellings and be with others who at least tolerated her. Annie wasn't asking for hundreds of devoted admirers or to go down in history books (not when she lived in a time no one would want to remember).

She wanted a life without her father.

She forgave him, or at least she supposed. He did what he had to.

"These are desperate times," he had constantly reminded her. "The world isn't what it used to be."

But he hadn't lived in that world, had he? He wasn't ignorant of a world filled with Titans; the histories he spoke to her before bed were as much stories to him as they were to her.

There was no past and no one could be certain if there would be a future.

A life without Titans was a day dream, a look into the world that might have never really existed. Who was to say that there truly ever was a time when there weren't Titans? Her father hadn't lived in that time, nor was there anyone left alive who could truly remember that fantastical utopia. Maybe there was just the time before the walls and the time after.

If she joined the Military Police then there was at least some hope. Her father would be miles away, and the only reminder of what he had done to her, what he had put inside her and changed her, would be the cool metal ring around her finger.

At least that was what she told herself the day she left her home to train.

The steps she took were lighter than usual. For a few moments, she felt happiness.

"Annie!" her father called, voice filled with desperation.

Without thinking, she raced forward, putting all her strength into her legs.

"Annie, please stop! I just need to tell you something." The sound of his own feet knocking hard against the ground filled her ears.

Annie ran harder, ignoring the pain in her legs and the throbbing of her heart against her rib cage. She gritted her teeth and tightened her fists.

"Annie! Annie!"

She ran because there was nothing else to do. No past, and only a heart throbbing future. Time stretched, as if she were going to run for eternity (and maybe there were worse fates than that).

And then, once the last of her energy was gone, her legs and feet burning with every movement, she stopped. She stood still, face stoic and ears listening. Other than the snapping of twigs, the roar of wind, and the chattering of squirrels in trees and birds over her head, there was nothing.

Once she had rested for a while, she continued walking forward. It wasn't as if she had the option to turn back.

Hanjii was unusually silent. Perhaps the past few hard days had finally worn down on them. Or maybe they just had nothing to report.

Either way, the silence among the group kept making the tensions between everyone rise. Eren's face was hard and anxious. Armin looked as if he were sitting on needles. Mikasa fidgeted with her legs below the table. Dinner hadn't even been served and already her stomach seemed to be rebelling against her. It shifted and fidgeted inside of her, putting her entire body on edge.

Things weren't supposed to be this way.

And yet, somehow, this was exactly how everything was.

Mikasa bit her lip. There were no Titans to fight, no news, and nothing else to bring up in discussion. She had never been a chatty person, yet part of her desired to simply break through the silence, to crash through it and destroy it.

Instead, she stared at the others.

Levi was off dealing with other business, but from what little Mikasa had gathered from Hanjii's earlier sparse words, he was angry. No one liked Levi when he was angry.

Mikasa stiffened. She could still remember the bruises on Eren's face and body after the trial. Still, he had somehow looked up to the short man with awe.

Mikasa's stomach tightened further.

Levi was after answers, and he didn't bother trying to get them the peaceful way.

Her own day had consisted of what had felt like needless errands to help pass the time. The wall was beginning to wear down on her and drain her energy. Yet from what she could tell, she would probably be here for a good long time unless something suddenly changed. But there was nothing clear about the future, nothing that Mikasa could look forward to and count on.

"Should I have been more subtle?"

The noise was nerve wracking. Mikasa's head turned towards Armin, her eyes wide. Everyone else seemed to have their eyes locked on him as well.

"I was thinking," the blond continued, his eyes cast down onto the wooden table, "that if I had just disguised my words better that Annie wouldn't have figured it out. We could have fooled her, captured her, and this all wouldn't have been for nothing."

For a moment, there was silence. Mikasa's heart was pounding, growing faster and faster by the moment. Hanjii's face was unreadable and Eren's eyes had also turned towards the table. He was frowning almost as heavily as Armin was.

"Don't ever say that again."

Mikasa looked up. She had never seen Hanjii look this angry before, at least not when any of the three were around. For a moment, light shone on the lenses of their glasses, blocking view of their eyes.

"What happened has already happened. As much as we wish otherwise, we can't change it." Their own eyes looked down to the table. For a moment, they were silent. After a few moments, they looked back up again. "Annie probably had known that she was wanted for quite a long time. When you guys showed up, she probably already had a few flags raised."

For a moment, it seemed as if the group of friends was waiting for one of the others to respond. All eyes were on Hanjii. Out of anyone, they were the only one who seemed to have answers.

"That's the thing about Annie," Hanjii continued, voice low and nearly monotone. "She's an uncontrollable variable."

It felt a bit like being in a dream, though it seemed too real for Mikasa's liking. Her feet moved as if by magic, her body following a predetermined route as if being pulled by an invisible string. Other rooms passed her by. There was the door to the room that Eren and Armin were sharing.

There was Hanjii's door as well. Though the heavy wooden door was closed, a faint light could be seen coming from the bottom of the door.

What are you still doing up? Mikasa thought. Even the voice in her head sounded tired. Her eyes only seemed half open, and it almost felt as if she were floating.

The world passed her by quickly, in the way that dreams did. There was no sound at all, no creaking of wood or rustle of fabric.

When she got to the door, her hand moved forward and opened it easily. Outside, the night sky was filled with a seemingly endless number of stars. The rest of the sky, however, was pitch black.

Though Mikasa was barefoot, she didn't feel any pebbles or twigs digging into her feet, let alone the feel of the cobblestone road. No splinters were felt, nor the sharp pain of broken glass (and there was so much of it these days). It took her a while to register the breeze, which rustled her hair and the long skirt of her nightgown.

The walk was a blur. It was hard to see with the thick shadows around her. Still, her feet moved on, heading towards somewhere that even her eyes did not know of.

It wasn't until she actually got there that her stomach filled with long needed dread. Finally, her senses really started to come back to her and the dream like feeling began to vanish.

No, she thought, even as her feet moved on. No, no, no!

It was too late when she tried to fight. It was Mikasa against her legs. What was worse was that no one else seemed to be out. There was no one to help her, no one to notice the sleepwalking, trance induced girl.

When she finally got to Annie, her eyes were wide, legs heavy, and heart racing. Annie merely smiled at her. At least Mikasa thought she did. There wasn't a light inside of the room, and for some reason there weren't any guards stationed around the crystal. Weren't there supposed to be guards?

This is only a dream, Mikasa told herself. None of this is real.

The words, however, lacked the feeling of her senses. Finally, she could feel hard wood against the soles of her bare feet and the cold, hard brush of her fingertips against the crystal'a edge. Then the feeling was gone, and she could just faintly see her hands passing through the supposedly solid surface.

A dream, she reminded herself. Nothing but a dream.

It had to be.

"Mikasa!"

Mikasa awoke with a jump. Her heart raced, and she couldn't remember a time in her life when she had been more startled. Her body ached and she shivered.

She blinked a few times, her eyes on an empty wall, and just below it a hard floor. Where was she?

"Eren, Armin, and I have been looking all over for you! What are you doing here? What happened?"

Mikasa wanted to reply, yet no words came to mind. What was she doing here?

Hanjii, yes, Hanjii, someone Mikasa that she knew and could trust, held out their hand. Mikasa took it, and with shaking legs stood up.

It was then that she saw the crystal. Though she could only see the edge in the corner of her eye, she froze. This was where she had been the night before. This was what had happened!

"Mikasa, is something wrong?"

It seemed like a ridiculous question. Something was definitely wrong.

Instead of replying, however, Mikasa merely opened up her other hand, which had been closed into a tight fist.

Hanjii gasped and nearly stepped back, but stopped before they could lose their grip on Mikasa. For a while, Mikasa just stared back down at the object, in as much awe as Hanjii was in. Still, a cold feeling settled in her chest and her stomach tightened.

There was no mistaking what the heavy, solid object in her hand was. It sparkled even in the dim light. The edges were cracked like glass and yet the surface shone.

The piece of crystal, Annie's crystal, sat still in the center of Mikasa's palm.