Ace: Another chapter has arrived, and this will shed some light on how Mikasa became the way she is. Well, it's more like she remembers how she got to be this way.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin

Chapter 8: Commander Erwin and Captain Levi

Mikasa

Bam! Bam! Bam!

I jerked up, fully awake. It took several minutes to remember where I was, but when it me where I was, I grumbled, wanting to go to sleep and not wake up again.

I was in one of the many dungeon cells that the Military Police used for "dangerous" prisoners before trials or executions. A chain kept me attached to the wall, and two nervous Military Police members stood by my cell. I had wondered why they were scared, but then I remembered that I was the monster, the MP Hunter, who intimidated them on a regular basis and tried to assassinate some of the leaders, so the fact that they didn't quake in their boots when I asked to use the john was a miracle.

I knew that Eren had also been arrested, but I didn't know which dungeon wing he was in. I had heard that the were holding a trial to determine if he was going to be executed by the Military Police or if the Survey Corps were going to use him to help humanity win back their lands from the Titans. The only reason that I knew this information was because the guards would chat away while they would think that I was asleep and they would talk about the secrets that Eren hid from everyone and that his only goal was to eat everyone within the walls. Even though it has been several years since I had talked to Eren prior to the events of Trost, I wanted to slap the guards for being idiots. Even though Eren had several anger management issues, he wouldn't purposely withhold important information like that from Armin or anyone else, making me realize that maybe he had been given the powers some time ago, but he didn't know its true purpose at the time, or his memory had wiped of this event.

Interestingly enough, the Military Police members never talked about what was going to happen to me. Maybe they were focusing about Eren first, or they were still trying to figure out what with me. Or maybe they had already decided my fate, which made me extremely nervous.

After several agonizing days of staring at the wall (and talking to it if I was super bored), I heard footsteps walking towards my cell. I was expecting the guards to change shifts, but it wasn't until heard a chair pull up that I realized that I had company.

Looking towards my right, I saw Levi and another blonde man looking at me. The blonde man was sitting on a chair, and Levi was leaning against the wall. What made me laugh was the fact that Levi looked really short next to the guy sitting down, and then I began to wonder how a short man took me down. And how old was Levi again? Armin made him seem old, but he looked fairly young.

"Hello Mikasa," the blonde man said politely. "I am Commander Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps. You've already been... Acquainted with Captain Levi."

I shot Levi a glare that normally paralyzed the Military Police in their tracks if they see it, but he looked unaffected, and Erwin didn't seem to notice this at all.

"Would you like to talk to us?" Erwin asked.

"If these to idiot Military Police personnel leave."

I was half-expecting Erwin to laugh, but I certainly wasn't expecting him to look at the soldiers and say, "You may take a break."

The guards eagerly left the room. I could only blink. Was Erwin insane? Most people feared being alone with me, but if didn't seem to bother Erwin and Levi at all.

Erwin seemed to read my mind. "Although you are quite dangerous, I know that you won't attack us."

"How do you know this?" I spat.

"If you had intended to attack us," Levi replied with a bored tone, "then you would have already escaped and attempted to kill us."

"I guess you heard about my five escape attempts, then," I admitted nervously. "Did you hear about the escape I did using only a bucket?" Although it was one of my proudest moments, it scared the Military Police to death, so they amped security since then.

Erwin nodded. "Yes. But now onto business." He sighed and closed his eyes. "You heard about Eren's trial?"

I nodded.

"They've decided to let us have custody of him after a lengthy and difficult battle of wills, provided that we fulfill certain requirements."

I smiled. "That's nice to hear."

Clearly, my smile threw Erwin off for a few seconds, but he regained his composure quickly. Levi remained unaffected.

"However, now that Eren's fate has been decided, they have decided to focus their energy on you. And as of right now, they want to execute you as soon as possible for your crimes and the potential danger that you pose to them. They don't want to give you a trial so that they don't have to waste resources on you."

I paled. My breath left me, and my lungs began to constrict. My heart rate skyrocketed, so I grabbed the blanket for moral support. " But what are my charges?"

Levi sighed. "Thirty attempted murder charges, at least forty criminal damage to property charges, twelve kidnappings, and because the Military Police say so."

"I didn't attempt to kill anyone, nor did I kidnap anyone or hold them hostage!"

"What about the destruction?" Erwin asked.

I bit my lip. "It was closer to fifty or so. I used to keep track of what I did, but as my bag is taken, I can't exactly say the exact number."

"Did you steal anything?" Levi asked.

"Maybe."

"They also claimed that you kidnapped Eren and Armin," Erwin stated.

"Armin followed me after I saved him from potential Titan attacks. I grabbed Eren to save his life, to make sure that he was okay, to help save Trost... And maybe convinced him to help me destroy the Military Police."

"You do know that when they are going to execute you, you must admit everything that you have done and what you have admitted to us," he pointed out.

My eyes looked towards the ground, and my shoulders slumped. I didn't want to admit it out loud, but I finally lost the battle against the Military Police, and I couldn't avenge my parents' death after all the work I had done.

Erwin saw my predicament. "However," he added quickly, "there may be a way to spare your life."

My ears perked up, and my body began to relax. "Really?"

Erwin nodded.

"Sweet! But what do I have to do to make sure that I live?"

Levi stepped up and leaned against the bars of my prison. "We gain custody of you, and use the same conditions that we use for Eren on you. But you have more conditions as well."

"For starters, you have to be trained to become a full-fledged member of the Survey Corps. We will assign you instructors to help you throughout your training, so you don't have to worry about going the official training that could have the other students kill you."

"If Erwin calls for you at anytime, you must stop whatever you're doing and report to him as fast as you can. That includes sleeping, eating, reading, killing Titans, talking, etc. The one exception is if you're cleaning or if I state otherwise."

"If Hanji wants an assistant or needs some help with an experiment and she asks for you, you must go to her straight away. The exceptions for Erwin apply here, except if Erwin calls for you then, then you must go to him. If Hanji calls for you if you're with Erwin, don't leave until Erwin gives you permission to do so."

"If we give you a task, whether it is a solo mission or it is with a group, then you must complete the task as commanded. You cannot leave unless the task is in jeopardy or some catastrophic element we didn't plan for appears suddenly, then you have the right to do whatever you need to do in order to survive."

"If you see a recruit in the hallway, do not talk about your conditions with them. Armin and Eren are the only exceptions to this rule."

"If you go outside, you will be escorted by a member of the Survey Corps to prevent anyone from the outside attacking you. And if you run into the MPs, do not look at them, and keep your green hood up at all times for extra protection, and do not say a word to the MPs."

"And finally, you must remain in my squad in the castle and during travels, and you do as I say. If you disobey me too many times or suddenly go berserk, my squad has the right to end your life."

I gulped. These conditions seemed okay, with the exception of the last one. Then again, the was the only way to escape imminent death.

"I'll join you," I replied after several seconds.

Erwin nodded. "That's good to hear. Any questions?"

"No sir."

Erwin smiled. "That's good to hear. I'll let Zacklay know that agreed to our terms and conditions." With that, Erwin got up and left, leaving me alone with Levi. I expected Levi to leave, but he seemed interested in talking with me.

"This is absolutely none of my business, but what would your parents say to your actions?"

I gritted my teeth. "They would have stopped me long before I would have considered antagonizing the Military Police, but they can't, because they were murdered."

Levi blinked. "What?"

I threw my blankets to the side and sat sideways on my bed. "When I was nine years old, the Military Police came to my house. My mother made sure that I was in the mountains before she ran to see what happened. The soldiers killed my parents, and I could only watch as my parents' bodies away. When they saw me, I ran away. Returning a week later, my home had been destroyed. I had lost everything. And something told me that the same people might come after me if I stayed at a friend's, so as I stood in front of my house, I swore to avenge my parents' death. In that moment, nothing that children played with mattered. I wanted to make the Military Police suffer the same way they made me suffer. I wanted to destroy them. Upon leaving the ruins, I moved away, never staying in one place for too long. I had even cut my hair to this style so that I would look different, and I dressed differently so that I wouldn't be recognized as easily. Whenever I could, I would listen in on school lessons so I could be book smart. And I taught myself how to sneak into places and how to fight. When Wall Maria fell, I was in the District, and when I heard about the ordeal, I knew then that my hiding places were severely constricted. However, up until , I had been hiding in Wall Maria. After the refugees had finished fleeing, I made my first strike on the Military Police. It was a small base within Wall Rose. In the middle of the night, I snuck in. I had intended to scare them. But when I entered one of the rooms, I saw some plans that detailed how a whole shipment of food was going to the rich. Upon seeing this, I remembered the starving people in the Dauper Village, I decided that I had to stop this. I grabbed the plans and stuffed them in my pockets. After this was accomplished, I snuck out of the place unnoticed. When I was far away, I realized that I didn't have any means to get to in time, and this put a severe damper on my plans. But then I got lucky. As I pondered this while walking, I heard a man screaming for help. Without thinking, I dashed over to help. He was a member of the Military Police, and some thugs were attacking him. Even though I swore to take down the Military Police, I couldn't let a man die like this. So I grabbed a torch and stuck it near a wall, then began to moan and growl like a Titan as I walked towards the thugs. They did mistake me for a Titan, so they ran away, screaming. I ran to the Military Police Soldier's side. He was dying, with only a few minutes left to live. I picked him up and moved him to a place where he could be found by people in the morning, and wiped the blood off of him. He told me... He told me that he couldn't believe that an orphan like me would help someone like him. He told me that not many would have helped him because he was from the Military Police. He then told me that his name was Blake Kirstein, and he asked me to give a note to his wife, Sophie and his son, Jean, who lived in Trost at the time. He then told me that I was the ideal soldier that others could look up to. As thanks for all I had done, he gave me his jacket and his gear; because he wanted to die knowing that his equipment was put into good hands. After all this, he told me to not fall into corruption like the current Military Police, and then died. I then put his gear on and the jacket, and I went to the Dauper Village, carrying Blake's body. In the early morning, I knocked on the Kirstein household and handed the note and body to Ms. Kirstein. I explained to her what had happened, and that I was sorry for their loss. She looked ready to cry, but thanked me for everything. After she closed the door, I doubted if I should continue with my revenge because I might hurt innocents like the Kirsteins. As I walked away, I saw the MPs making fun of the people of Trost, and I decided to carry out my plan."

"But I had to get there quickly. I only had three days to stop the shipment of food. I walked down an alley and decided to try out the gear so I could get there quickly. The first two attempts resulted in wall smacks, but after going on top of the rooftops, I jumped the roofs and made my way to in two days, where I staked out, waiting for the Military Police to come by. When they did pass by, I struck the back of the cart with one of my new blades, and all of the food spilled out without them noticing. The people went out and grabbed the food. I was worried about what they were going to say, but when they thanked me for feeding them, my resolve grew stronger, and that is when I fully embraced this path."

Levi stood there, looking somewhat impressed. "You're strong-willed, just like that brat Eren. But don't get too cocky, brat." As he moved away from the bars, he said, "See you in a few days, brat."

When he left the dungeon, I looked at the wall. "So... How has your day been, wall?"

Ace: Poor Mikasa, having to endure this. At least she's alive for the time being.

As there isn't much information about Jean's dad, I decided that for the purpose of this story, he was a member of the Military Police, considering that prior to the fall of Wall Maria, Trost was part of the interior, and to give another reason for Jean wanting to join the MPs. However, Jean wasn't there when Mikasa told his mom that his dad was dead, and Jean's mom assumed that Mikasa was a member of the Military Police. I wonder how Jean would take that... And I would think that Mikasa should have recognized Jean's name... And the event involving the Dauper Village was created for the purpose of this story, although the girl Mikasa talked to was Sasha, so that should make things interesting too.

Also, there will be some plot points similar to the manga and anime, but they are severely changed. You'll see some more changes next chapter.

Ace