Chapter Text
In an abandoned village deep within the territory of Wall Maria, two boys sat in the pin-silent streets, surrounded by old, crumbling buildings, and overgrown, wild flora. They clung to each other as if they were each other's lifelines, tears streaming freely down the dark-haired child's face. The other blond child held his friend close, attempting to comfort him, all the while trying not to cry himself. Please, he thought, shutting his eyes tightly and squeezing the sobbing form in his arms. Please, someone, find us…
They didn't know how long they had sat there for when a soft set of footsteps padded toward them and stopped in front of them.
"Why are you crying?" a voice inquired, equally as soft as the footsteps it belonged to. The boys looked up at the owner of the voice, one in fear, one in angry defence. A young boy, approximately their own age of nine years, with a short, black undercut and freckles smattered haphazardly across his cheeks, stood in front of them, his hands clasped behind his back and his expression full of concern. The blond pulled his friend closer, as if trying to protect him from the stranger.
"Who are you?"
"Why are you crying?" the boy asked again.
"I asked you first."
"I asked you second."
The blond huffed in annoyance at the stranger's childish behavior while the raven haired male hastily wiped his eyes with an oversized sleeve.
" Everyone's gone," he began, swallowing hard. "Everyone's gone, and they've left us. They left us all alone, because –"
A choked sob cut him off, and he quickly buried his face in his friend's shirt once more. The boy held him close, finishing the thought for him.
"Because of what we are. Monsters."
There was a long pause. The duo waited, expecting the boy to leave.
"You're not monsters." Both kids heads snapped up. The look of concern on the freckled stranger’s face was no more, now replaced with a kind, almost angelic smile."You're human. Just like the people who lived here once. Just like the people in the towns. You are human. And you're not necessarily alone either." He gestured toward them, the smile never leaving his face."You have each other. And if you have at least one person by your side, it makes everything a little more bearable. Plus, I'm here." The kindness in the child's eyes shone clear as he held out a hand to each of them.
"I'm here, and I'm not going to leave you anytime soon."
***********
"She's gone!"
"The shifter is gone!"
"How is that possible?"
"She's escaped?"
Reiner and Bertholdt stood against the wall, watching as soldiers ran past them in a panic, and listening to their voices carry through the hall.
" Reiner…" Bertholdt leaned in and whispered to the figure beside him," They – they aren't talking about Annie, are they?"
Reiner was silent for a moment, deep in thought, a look of concentration on his face. "I don't know," he stated finally. He grabbed Bertholdt's wrist, pulling the two of them into the rush of people making their way to the dungeon. "Let's go find out."
**********
The crowd of people gathered around a single area in the dungeon- the area where Annie's crystal stood- all looking around nervously and speaking to one another in hushed tones. Reiner and Bertholdt pushed through the crowd, stopping dead in their tracks upon laying eyes on the scene in front of them.
Hundreds of crystal shards littered the ground, the front of the large, now smoking crystal completely destroyed. Inside, where a 5-foot teenage girl once resided, now held a dark, gaping hole.
"What do you reckon happened?"
"Did she just smash her way out?"
"How..." Bertholdt breathed, staring at the crystal remains with a mixture of awe and disbelief. "How is this possible?"
"Out of my way!" Before Reiner could speak, a voice roared over the clamour filling the dungeon. The two boys stepped to the side as a small, strong, irritated figure pushed to the front of the crowd. Corporal Levi stopped in front of the mass of people, surveying the scene with his same look of distaste. The only indication that he was feeling anything was the slight widening of his eyes and tightening of his jaw. His abrupt halt caused his two tails to crash into him; one muttering curses under his breath, the other profusely apologizing for his clumsiness. Reiner and Bertholdt watched as the two young men behind the corporal took in the sight before them, their expressions slowly changing; the brunet, Eren, wore an expression of pure horror, the dual-tone-haired teen, Jean, wearing one of anger and pain.
"No..." Jean said quietly, his face contorting in rage and his hands raising to run through his hair, gripping it hard. "NO! This isn't possible, we... we had her! We had her, and she was completely unresponsive for a whole damn year, and now what? She's just gone? How the hell could this have happened?"
"Jean, calm down," A shaggy blond boy said, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. The people had begun to speak again, all at once.
"Hey, isn't that that titan kid, Jaeger?"
"This is probably his fault."
"He did it! He helped her escape!"
"Enough!" Levi cried out, silencing the agitated mob. "Eren has been in my office the entire day; it would have been impossible for him to have done this."
"But then, how did this happen?" Eren inquired, stunned. "Did she...did she just break out of her crystal by herself? Can she do that?"
"No," Levi said thoughtfully, steel eyes scanning the shattered crystal once more. "No, I don't believe that she broke out herself. Not only would she have had to use a tremendous force to actually break the surface, but she’d then have to get by the guards unnoticed. Seeing how the guards have all been knocked unconscious, and there would have been no way to knock one out before the other saw her and called out to someone, there's just no way for her to have escaped with the little strength she would have had left in her. No, she had someone helping her. Someone who seriously knew what they were doing."
Reiner and Bertholdt exchanged discreet looks of distress and more than a little confusion. It hadn't been either of them. So who would be willing to risk being caught to break Annie free? And more importantly, why?
**********
Unable to stand the constant chatter revolving around the events that took place that afternoon, Reiner and Bertholdt slipped away from dinner early, fully intending to pack it in for the night and discuss the situation the following morning. However, their plans were abruptly changed, when the blond walked into the boy's barracks, and discovered a small note folded up on his pillow.
"Meet on east wall," it had read.
The pair stood in silence for a moment, unspoken questions weighing heavily in the air.
"You don't think..?" Reiner trailed off, uncertain of his own voice.
Bertholdt nodded. "It's her. It has to be."
Reiner let out a shaky breath, still holding the note firmly in his grasp, and sat down heavily onto the bed. "We'll have to wait until after everyone’s asleep. There'll be less of a chance of being caught then."
Bertholdt nodded again, sitting down across from the blond in his respective bunk.
"So much for going to sleep early."
**********
The top of Wall Rose was illuminated by the bright light of the moon that night, giving it an eerie sort of aura. The two boys walked slowly along the top in silence, refusing to walk too far away from one another.
"Reiner," Bertholdt began quietly. "Do you think it really is her?"
"I don't know," Reiner admitted, staring at the ground as they walked. "It could be her. But, it could also be something totally different. We have to be prepared for anything." Suddenly, Bertholdt gasped, stopping in his tracks.
"Bertl?" Reiner stopped at his side, looking up at the significantly taller of the two. His gaze followed that of his friend's, which was trained straight ahead of them. Just a few meters in front of them, stood two figures; one was that of a short, platinum blonde woman, with ice blue eyes and an apathetic expression, the other a much taller figure, clad in a black hooded cloak that covered their body and their face thoroughly.
" Annie…" Reiner breathed, stunned. It was her. It was actually her.
" Annie!" Bertholdt called out, beginning to close the distance between them in long, hurried strides. The woman turned, and her icy gaze became warm upon seeing them. Reiner quickly followed Bertholdt, not stopping until he held his friend in his arms, her face pressed to his chest and her arms wound tightly around him.
" Reiner," she said quietly, pulling away to smile at him and swivelling around to hug the other, slightly taller teen beside her." Bertholdt. God, I've missed you two."
"We've missed you too, Annie." Bertholdt smiled at her, tears in his eyes. "It's good to speak to you again. It's been… Weird, not having you around."
"Annie, what happened? Did someone break you out?"
"Right. About that." Annie flicked a strand of hair from her face, amused. "Now that's an interesting story. Someone did, in fact, break me out. How, he wouldn't tell me."
"But, who?" Reiner inquired impatiently. "Who was it?"
"That would have been me."
The two boys froze upon hearing the familiar voice, the soft, sweet voice that had saved them seven years ago.
No… That was impossible…
Slowly, they turned to face the cloaked figure they had seen beforehand, who had removed his hood to reveal a short, black undercut, freckle smattered across his cheeks, and a near angelic smile.
No way…
"Marco?"
**********
"I'm here, and I'm not going to leave you anytime soon."
Silence fell between the three young boys, before the blond finally spoke.
"… Promise?"
His question was barely above a whisper, but the brunet's smile widened in response."I promise."
The duo met each other's eyes, as if communicating with only their gaze. Finally, they both nodded, and reached out to take the stranger's hands. He pulled, and in an instant both boys were on their feet, facing the boy properly. "What are your names?" he asked, letting go of their hands.
"Reiner," stated the blond, and gestured to his friend,"and this is Bertholdt."
"Hello," Bertholdt waved shyly. The other boy giggled and waved back.
"I'm Marco," he said cheerfully, smiling once again.
"Thank you," Bertholdt said quietly,"Thank you. For finding us."
"Of course!" Marco surveyed the two boys, still smiling, an eerie darkness overtaking the kindness in his eyes.
"So, now, will you stay with me?"