I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

The breaking into Second Formation went smoothly.

Mike and Sasha advanced to the front, acting as the offense for Tobias, driving away anyone that would dare come near; the brunette had begun to nock an arrow while the blond had aimed his rifle. The first that drew too close were fired upon in an instant once they assumed their correct position; Hanji remained where she was but she pulled back to give extra space between her and the back of the cart.

Ymir and Christa filled in the gap, advancing on either side of Hanji and then continuing on to be parallel to the cart. Rifles were drawn at the ready but remained unfired.

Reiner and Bertolt fell back to both sides of Rivaille, shielding him temporarily and waiting his command.

The reality of this lasted for only half a minute, Rivaille made sure everyone was in place, spaced out and giving one another a good room to fight with; when they would approach the Gate, he planned on Ymir and Christa to slow down just enough to let Tobias have enough room to run through. This was perfect, he thought, as they went into a canter.

The blinding light had only fazed them but the notion of the signal given by Ymir had drawn their attention into looking straight ahead.

Out of nothing came the dreaded Titan that many naturally feared, those who had not lain eyes upon him took him as the initial enemy and focused their efforts onto taking him down rather than noticing their convoy. It was perfect distraction but with Annie behind him, Rivaille held second thoughts; he could, by all means, retrieve Eren from the damnable Titan's body and leave Annie for the MP to deal with.

It was a makeshift plan, just as the formation was, and he felt the need to do it. Eren wasn't a traitor, the one he had riding behind him is the real threat.

"I'm going to get Eren!" He yelled over the guns as troops dispersed all around him; Gears were being used. Eren's Titan merely stood there, unmoving, but when the sight of soldiers aiming for his ankles came into view, he began to move.

Reiner offered a hand to Rivaille, not questioning his decision. Without stopping to think why Reiner would do so, he handed his black horse's reins to him, expecting him to lead his horse on. He turned half-way in his saddle and faced Annie, knife drawn for her. His free hand grasped the bloodied sweater underneath her jacket, forcing her to bring her closer to him.

She glared at him, her mouth digging into the cloth gag; she could be spitting insults his way if she could.

"Your look annoys me," he uttered. His knife dug into her chest, causing a dull thud to resound through their ears. He twisted it for good measure, then shoved her off the rump of his horse. Her body, still bound, slipped off. Just before she hit the ground, another flash lightened up the area; Rivaille took the chance to utilize Annie's Gear and was in the air within a matter of seconds.

As he flew up, he saw Reiner and Bertolt leading his horse away, gaining ground near Hanji. He could see her turning her head in confusion, shouting something that was drowned out by the chaos.

Eren had, as though reluctantly, swatted away at those closest to him, trying to gain enough space all the while avoiding harm to anymore. His mere presence was damaging to his reputation as mankind saw a need to have fear. However, it wouldn't matter once he gets into the safety of their convoy.

Rivaille whirled through the air, his focus solely on Eren. He had a quick run-in with a soldier but ended him quickly with a draw of his sword. He drew another blade and pressed on, finally shooting a grappling hook on Eren's neck and then making a haste ascent to his side. He landed on his shoulder, sure that he was going to move so suddenly.

Peeking below, he saw men rushing out to fight; from his height he could see their guns going off like fireflies, though their aim was poor.

"Brat!" Rivaille addressed him.

Eren's Titan threw a quick glance at him before stepping off to walk against the tide. The more guns fired, the more smoke was released, thus, creating a haze that slowly covered the ground; steam also rose as Eren's regenerative powers came into work, healing him after the wounds he received were inflicted.

"I don't care what fucking thing you're doing with Erwin, you're coming with me!"

Rivaille stepped off his shoulder, falling briefly and then shot two grappling hooks once more. He drew himself to the nape of Eren's neck. Just as he raised his blade, another pair of grappling hooks shot themselves from nowhere; much to his horror, one of them impaled him through his right forearm. The pain didn't register until he saw blood drawing itself out.

He lost feeling in his right hand and he was forced to release his hold on the grip of his sword; his hand violently shook as he let out a shriek at the onslaught of pain. Eyes ablaze, he turned his head to see the assailant dash passed him and take position at Eren's neck. Looking up with adrenaline kicking in, he recognized him to be Erwin.

"FUCK YOU, ERWIN!" Were the first words in greeting him. The pain seared through him. He screamed once more,"FUCK YOU!"

He broke through the bone!

"I thought you were some soldier!" Erwin apologetically shouted, trying to retract the hook, the sickening pop of it resounded through the ears as it dislodged itself from Eren's skin. Rivaille could feel the cable in through his flesh and broken bone as Erwin brought it back once more. He shrieked as blood poured over him; the hook couldn't retract through his arm. "Oh shit, Rivaille, you'll have to cut it!"

For the first time, he felt a sense of fear wash over him. Panic had settled in, mankind's strongest soldier had felt the fear he had pushed away for years. As he hung off of Eren's neck, he tried to focus and yet his mind was preventing him from processing the situation.

-...-

She laid next to him on her side, drenched in sweat. Their legs were entangled while his hands were at her waist, drawing her close to embrace her. Her hand was caressing his hair lovingly as she let out a content sigh. He had closed his eyes but he could imagine her grinning lopsidedly.

"Rivaille...I need to know something."

"What?"

"Did you spare me because you...love me?"

His mind stuttered, barely comprehending her question as her fingers began to caress his scalp, making his heart suddenly pound at the gentle contact. Hesitantly, he said with careful words,"I spared you because I can't live without you."

He opened his eyes once more to see her giving a rather sweet smile. "Close enough."

"To what?" He murmured, but she silenced him with a kiss. He couldn't say it to her, he had just brought out those feelings and here she was, shoving them into his face out of the blue. He couldn't tell her, no, not yet. He just can't. He was just learning. He wanted-

-...-

"Slice off your forearm, Rivaille, that's an order!" Erwin yelled, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Rivaille's mind drew back to where he was. He brought his left sword to his forearm, just below the grappling hook. He clenched his eyes, trying to think of another way out, but the situation didn't permit it. Taking in a sharp breath, he pressed down against his skin and let the blade sink into him in one slice. It was clean and he even cleaved through the bone, dismembering himself all too easily.

His eyes rolled back, it was too much. He felt himself falling and soon, he was upside down, his hooks still holding to Eren's skin. Blood rushed to his brain as he dangled there, a veil of blackness came to him.

Rivaille was slipping away from the world. To his right he saw blood trickling down from his stub; it sickened him beyond belief. He turned his head to the left and saw that a Titan had materialized not too far away; it was Annie, no doubt about it. He blinked once, twice, then on the third, he couldn't open them. He could hear Erwin shouting something but he had fallen to far into the abyss.

-...-

Jean was too late to be by Erwin's side, already Eren had leaped up from the saddle of his horse to utilize his Gear. He was too late as he saw the light flash before them all. At this he yelled,"Rivaille found another Titan-shifter, he's going to use her to distract everyone!"

Erwin, upon hearing the news, instantly tore after Eren without saying another word. From where he stood, he watched as a stranger in black zoomed into view, aiming for the neck of the Titan. Upon seeing this, Erwin purposely fired a hook to the man. Within a matter of seconds, the poor soul thought it best to sever his forearm. With a gut wrenching at the sight, he saw the arm fall to the ground amongst the smoke of gunpowder.

Now that he dangled from Eren's neck, Jean recognized him to be Rivaille.

He dismounted his steed, took Eren and Erwin's horses and tied them nearby, along with his own. He was in the air within a matter of moments, dashing through to be by Rivaille's side. When he got there, Erwin had cleanly sliced a chunk of Eren's neck, thus revealing the Titan-shifter embraced by his own flesh.

Erwin glanced down to see Jean, then called to him,"Remove his Gear and take him to the horses, we're leaving now!"

Jean nodded and braced himself against Eren. His hands released the grips and reached over to Rivaille; the ex-Corporal was passed out. His hands fumbled at the straps until he found that he carried a second knife on his person. He hacked away through the belts and straps, taking most of what he can and removing them. His work was nearly done, all that was left was to remove the fan system.

He looked up at Erwin; the man had successfully pulled Eren out of the body and was preparing to leave.

"Hurry it up!" Erwin urged, he was looking to the left. Jean took a moment to look in his direction to see that a second Titan had appeared and was now advancing upon them. It lifted a hand and was ready to swat them like flies. Jean's hands were shaking by now, and somehow, with a taut tug, he released Rivaille from his Gear; the man was now free falling.

With both Eren and Rivaille free of their traps, Jean and Erwin retracted their hooks and dropped down, barely missing the giant hand that easily knocked Eren's now vaporizing Titan. The shouts were loud as the soldiers were brought to focus on the second Titan. Jean had managed to take a hold of Rivaille's waist and then hold him close; his hands reached for the grips and he shot his grappling hooks once more.

They whirled by a group of soldiers as they fired their rifles, yet they weren't aiming for the two that flew too close.

The next thing Jean knew, he landed by his horses, falling to the ground with Rivaille crashing underneath him.

Erwin came into view with one arm carrying Eren.

"Leave one horse," he said as he flung Eren into his saddle. He mounted as well, then waited for Jean.

Jean brought his attention to Rivaille. Half of his right arm was missing; he had sliced just a little but passed through the joint. Unconsciously telling himself, Jean took off his own jacket and wrapped it around the wound in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. With that done, he got up, hauled Rivaille's limp body onto his horse, and then grimly said,"He's going to bleed to death."

"At least take the body," Erwin told him, voice unwavering. They watched as the second Titan began to trash about the now decomposing body of Eren as it released more steam. Under the cover of white and gray, the pair ran through the haze to freedom beyond the Inner Gate.

-...-

"Advance!" Hanji ordered. When she had noticed Rivaille, Bertolt, and Reiner had disappeared, it was her turn to take up the lead. She remained behind them but was the head of the party.

They had just narrowly made it through the Gate. After a moment of darkness through seven meters, they emerged out of the other side, only to be greeted by the unmoving guards that had formed a protective line; they were the Military Police.

It was at the sight of them did Mike shout to Sasha,"Avoid the Marquis! Avoid him but take down the others!" He aimed and fired, taking down one of the two dozen men that stood there. Sasha took to his word and let loose another arrow, then quickly drew another. Their assault continued until she was fresh out of arrows and he was gone with bullets.

"Ymir, Christa, go! Petra, the rifle!" Hanji called.

The two girls ahead of her had sped up their horses to be by Mike and Sasha; simultaneously, Petra tossed Mike a loaded rifle for him to fire once more as Sasha stowed away her bow and took to using a firearm. Shots rang once more.

By the time they reached the thin blockade, only three guards still stood upon horses that hadn't spooked just yet. They fired in a glorious barrage, nailing the three guards with their steel and leaving them dead in a thick haze of smoke. It was a massacre of two dozen soldiers, all fell quickly to them within seconds. As they raced on, their horses stepped over bodies, uncaring for who they were.

Just ahead by half a kilometer was the said Marquis that Mike had ordered to avoid. He had taken to falling back with another rider by his side. When they caught up to him, Mike spurred his horse faster and shouted to him, soon, they were brought to a canter, then a trot, finally, a walk. Exhausted and still holding the thrill of the kill in their hearts, they halted, each one of them panting; even Armin was left shaking from his spot.

Hanji looked at each one of them as she watched Mike, the Marquis, and the servant exchange words. She then brought her attention to the Military Police as they laid dead in a heap. Each carried a rifle yet it seemed that they were too stunned to use them.

Perhaps they were fazed by the sight of Titans appearing.

A sharp pain came from her shoulder. Grasping at it, she looked to her left and found that a bullet had burrowed deep into her (she figured she might have caught it back in the Karanese); biting her bottom lip, she tried to cover it with her hand. One moment, the pain radiated throughout her body; the next, it was gone. She observed it closely, watching in wonder as her flesh and skin began to mend itself before her very eyes.

The bullet had apparently been pushed out as the hole was closing in a visible vapor. This phenomenon lasted for only a minute, then it was gone and the steel ball popped out; her hand caught it and she gazed at it, eyes wide.

The pain. It was gone. The wound. It was mended. The bullet. It was between her fingers.

"...oh my god," was all she could say. She turned her horse, she had to blurt out the success of her experiment; it happened right in her body. She successfully Regenerated!

Just like a Titan!

She was met by Ymir, who had rode beside her as everyone's backs were turned, she lowly spoke,"I saw that."

"It doesn't necessarily mean I'm a Titan, this was achieved through science...or, as Rivaille would put it, fucking around," she said almost too proudly.

Ymir rolled her eyes, her head shaking. "You're lucky it was only me, should it had been Petra or Mike, you'd have a problem in your hands." She looked ahead of her towards the Gate. "What happened to Bertolt and the other two?"

"They might have dropped back to deploy Annie," Hanji said, both had decided to drop the subject for the moment.

"You don't think they were captured, were they?"

The sudden sight of Weiss finally catching up to them was a bit comforting to Hanji; she had seen him slip out of sight earlier when they were making a break for the other side. He leaped over a body and regrouped with everyone, his tongue dangling while his body shook from exerting so much energy.

A roar came from the other side, the roar was that of a Titan. However, it wasn't Eren's calling.

The longer they stood there, the more Hanji dreaded that the worst had happened. The rush of joy dissipated and was replaced by fear, the fear that Rivaille would never emerge from the smoke. She left no word to Ymir as she clucked her tongue and raced for the Wall once more; Ymir followed suit.

Rivaille...I can't live without knowing you're alive. But there's more to it than why you let me live...you don't realize it yet, but I can see-

It was just by the Gate when a pair of riders came galloping passed them, not stopping to see who they were. Hanji and Ymir whirled their horses around to catch them as Hanji swore she had seen Rivaille being one of the riders, she shouted over to them in a shaking voice,"Rivaille!"

One turned his head to reveal Jean. He turned away, facing the front. Only when the pair stopped at the convoy did the two women bring their horses to a walk. Hanji walked her horse over to Jean, asking,"Where is Rivaille?" as she rounded him. She saw the man unconscious in Jean's arms. Her focus was brought to him so much that she disregarded Erwin's presence as he drawn attention to himself through Sasha and Armin. "What...happened?"

Please be alive...

Jean, face drenched in sweat and red from the fighting, gave her a glassy eyed look. Reluctantly, he moved back his arm to reveal Rivaille's whole body. Her heart fell to the floor upon seeing Jean pull the makeshift bandage of a jacket back to show Rivaille's missing forearm. At this, she could only respond,"I have a cure."

"Are you touched in the head!? He's missing his arm!" Jean exclaimed. "We need fire to cauterize him!"

As he shouted, they all turned to him. Hanji nodded, distantly telling him,"Yes, get him to a fire...I have more of my formula in my lab, I...I can fix this!"

"He's losing blood, Hanji!" Erwin yelled as she turned her horse once more to race for the Gate. He broke after her, gaining speed quickly and then overtaking her; his horse blocked hers and prevented her from going any further. "I order you to stand down-"

"I know what I'm doing!" She shot at him. "You...you wanted me dead, me and him both, you sent him to kill me! For all you are, you're no longer my Commander! Who am I to take orders from you!? You're supposed to be dead!"

I'm becoming irrational...

She reached to her side and drew out her rifle to aim it at him. Tears had risen from her, she tried to hide it as best she could but in the midst of her panic and outburst, she could no longer hold it in.

...because I'm scared of losing him.

"Hanji, just calm down," Erwin calmly told her. Only now did she noticed Eren was sitting before him, unconscious as well.

"You...don't tell me what to do!"

He pressed on,"I knew he couldn't kill you, look, I'll explain myself once we get Rivaille away from here-"

"Shut up...shut the fuck up!" Her hands trembled, her breath shook. "I...I don't want to do this!"

"You think this was easy for me!?" Erwin bellowed his worst, his cool slipping out of place. "You think...sending Rivaille to kill you was easy? You think I enjoyed watching my men be butchered before my eyes!? Go ahead, kill me if you must! Rid me from this world, but know that I'm just as much as a pawn in this as you were! You...killing me, you'll be no different than those who justified your death! Everyone's death!"

His words echoed through her mind despite her vain attempt to block them all out.

Hanji undid the safety, she didn't want to. She spoke out of turn in the heat of her panic. She tried to get herself together, she tried, honestly. And...she lowered her rifle. Her eyes burned and so she wiped her face clean. It grew silent amongst them as she wept, the butt of her rifle was pinned to the saddle, she leaned against it to support herself.

Why did I snap at him? I could have killed him and yet...I didn't. This feeling, it's not what Rivaille felt, but there's something in Erwin I feel that I should trust him. Despite what he had sanctioned Rivaille and Mike to do, I still...

"I'm sorry," she muttered, she felt Erwin bring a hand to clap on her shoulder.

"It's only natural to feel betrayed," he told her, his voice even. He released her and walked away. "You have a cure for this?"

He was referring to Rivaille.

Another cry from a Titan resounded from the other side; whatever was happening on the other side had surely broken into Hell. She saw the Gate of Wall Rose begin to close.

Shakily, she nodded as she followed and gathered her bearings. "A cure, yes, I discovered a way to Regenerate; I could heal Rivaille with it but the needed materials are in my lab back in the headquarters."

"The Marquis can supply you with what you need," he calmly said when they approached Rivaille,"regardless, we need to stop the bleeding soon, else there's no chance for him."

"No, I need the blood of a Titan," she told him, voice hoarse from her yelling. She stopped by Jean and took to examining Rivaille. She swallowed hard and then motioned for Jean to give her Rivaille. After a few moments of struggle, she hauled him onto her horse to hold him, keeping him in place. "There's a stock in my laboratory, I need someone to get it."

Then a voice so familiar and dreadful came to her, drawing their heads to look to the speaker; Hanji was the only one who couldn't bring herself to see the Marquis. "I can call for someone to send for your materials once the chaos dies down."

"Many thanks," Erwin told him, Hanji was the only one who didn't look up.

"Hnm, yes, for now you need to get that man a fire before he bleeds to death. You, redhead," the man addressed Tobias,"do you have a light and torch?"

Tobias's rough reply came by,"Yeah, Armin, there's a torch and some matches in the back crate in the corner. Zoe, put Rivaille in the cart."

She obeyed, taking her horse over to the cart. Petra and Armin rose up from their seats and took Rivaille's body, within a moment's notice, Armin had lit a torch and held it just above his head. Hanji dismounted, saying,"Petra, here, you ride," as she clambered on into the cart. Petra gave a worried look as she mounted the sorrel. Soon enough, Hanji herself was holding the torch to Rivaille's arm while Armin held it up.

She had to shift herself around so that she could sit with her Gear still attached to her waist.

"It's not best to stick around," the familiar voice advised,"we need to get moving before they decide to open the Gate again and send out reinforcements."

"Agreed," Ymir responded from behind.

"What about Bertolt and Reiner?" Christa asked.

"Forget about them, they never wanted to be with us in the first place. Besides, it's too late, the Gate is shut..."

Tobias snapped the reins and their wagon began to groan into movement. Soon, they were walking. Quiet murmurs came from the surrounding people, yet Hanji was too engulfed in healing Rivaille. By then, she had managed to quiet her mind, she had managed to bring herself to an operational level; she remembered only now that panicking would get one nowhere.

The flames hissed against flesh as she treated Rivaille the best she could. She watched in disgust as she attended him, Armin remained silent.

"How's Mikasa?" She asked, being unable to check on her.

"She's still breathing, her stitches hadn't come undone either," Armin reported. Erwin rode by, Armin turned his head to see Eren fast asleep in the former Commander's lap. "Eren!"

"Take him," Erwin said as he easily hefted Eren towards the blond. Hanji took a hold of Rivaille's arm to allow Armin the freedom to retrieve his friend. The Titan-shifter was laid down over the wooden panels that covered Mikasa. The cart began to feel cramped so Armin ended up sitting atop one of the crates.

"What happened to Rivaille?" Hanji asked loud enough for Jean and Erwin to hear.

Erwin slowly confessed,"I...mistook him for being a soldier so I deliberately fired a grappling hook at his right forearm. The only way for me to retract it was to slice it off. Rivaille did just that." He went away from her to give her space. "It was a fault on my part, I was too focused on getting Eren out."

No more words were exchanged between Hanji and anyone. She diligently worked and was relieved that the bleeding had been brought to a stop by the time the sun had begun to set. She peeled off her own jacket and used it to cover his newly cauterized wound. She laid him against the crate and undid her Gear, propping it against a barrel.

Exhausted, she handed Armin the torch then sat to the floor, bringing Rivaille into her arms and then holding his arm up to prevent it from bleeding once again. Tiredly, she glanced around. Throughout her laborious task, she had failed to notice that they had left the Karanese altogether, now they were in open fields of farms. A tired sigh escaped her lips, she couldn't help but lean against a barrel to sleep in the peace and quiet lull of the countryside and the calm voices of those speaking to one another.

-...-

In the cool air of the night, Isidor took a moment to ride by the side of the cart. Through Armin's torch, he found Hanji fast asleep. His eyes were fixated on her, his lips curled into a smile at her sleeping form. His hand reached to her, to touch her hair, and he did; his hands undid her ponytail to let the brown locks fall and drape over her shoulders. His fingers ran by them, each twitching in excitement.

He muttered under his breath,"I found you...Walls be praised that you live."

Mike coughed loudly when he had taken notice of this. Isidor withdrew his hand as the blond man trotted his horse in between the cart and Isidor, telling him,"A good night, isn't it, sir?"

"...yes, a good night," he said, satisfied with just catching her scent with his hand. He trotted himself to the head of the convoy to be with Fiete.

When he had gone, he looked over to Hanji, then his eyes shifted towards Petra. For once, he could catch Petra's scent to be much more accentuated than Hanji's own. He let out a relieved sigh, he was glad that Petra had survived this far. They were all free, each of them, and they could do as they see fit. He approached her when he remembered what they had loosely promised over a bottle of vine. "Stop your horse."

Petra, tired and weary from concern of Rivaille, done so. "What's wrong? Am I off center with the saddle? This horse has no withers so it keeps slipping..."

She let out a tired yawn, then he leaned over the side of his saddle, his free hand going to her chin to tilt her head towards him. He stooped low for her and planted a kiss to her cheek.

Petra pulled back, the feint torchlight showed that she had a slight blush. "W-what was that for?"

Mike straightened up in his saddle. "Uh...I'm just glad that you're alive and well."

It was quiet between them. Hesitantly, she brought her hand towards him, in turn, he took it. Side by side, they rode on, fingers laced together.

She accepted him.