Author notes: I'm TERRIBLE

First and foremost I'm so so sorry for not updating for more than 11 months now. A lot of stuff did stop me from writing but at the same time I just didn't feel like writing anything. Everything that I tried came out terribly to me and so I managed to go a whole year with nothing. If you want the excuses it goes something like: exams, physical and mental issues, moving house, exams.

The good news is that I'll be trying to upload more in the run up to August because I won't have any internet for the first two weeks of August. I'll be writing but I can't upload in that time. Please check out the new stories coming up on my profile soon!

Without further ado, the story!

His footsteps echoed off the walls in the dark, underground passageway. The lit brackets spaced at intervals along the tunnel cast faint shadows across the rough brick work, worn by time. The silence was eerie and despite the torches it was cold and damp. The short, blond-haired boy hoped to reach his destination soon. The interrogation by the military police hadn't been particularly interesting for him. The MP officials treated him like a child, asking him the simplest of questions. Not once was the identity of the female titan mentioned, or other specifics of the plan to capture her for that matter. He wondered how surprised they would have been to discover just how big a part he had played in the events that had taken place earlier that day.
It was late in the evening once Armin and Jean were finished being questioned, Jean had decided to try and find the rest of the 104th trainees while Armin had gone back to check on Eren. He had found Eren deep in sleep with Mikasa sitting by his side, she had given him a small smile and gestured for him to come in when he had poked his head around the door. They sat together like that for a long while when Armin noticed Mikasa yawning slightly.
"You should get some rest, you put in a lot of work today", he remarked appreciatively.
"You too" she said with a faint smile. He smiled back, then looked at Eren.
"I'm glad that he's okay", he went on with a small frown, "and that he didn't kill her".
"It would've been better if he had," Mikasa deadpanned.
"You know we need her for questioning", Armin reasoned.
"But that's not why you're glad she's alive, is it?" she continued. Looking towards Armin she realised how harsh her words must have sounded. "You've got to let it go, Armin. I know it was fairly obvious that I didn't like her before but look at her now, you were the one who figured it out. She killed dozens of our comrades while on the expedition and caused massive damage to Stohess today. It was your idea that she might have even attracted the titans when Wall Maria was broken down. She could have played a part in what happened that day".
"I know, I know. I just... I still can't really believe it". Armin hung his head and sighed. He waited for a few moments before getting up and heading for the door. "I'm gonna go outside for a while, get some fresh air. I guess I'll see you two tomorrow".
"Of course", Mikasa nodded. Just as Armin was about to exit she added, "If you need to talk, Eren and I are here for you. Remember that."
"Don't worry about me, I'll be alright. He said with a small smile. He left the room and instantly his smile turned into a look of sadness. Breathing a heavy sigh he walked through the corridor, outside where a picturesque view of Stohess could be seen. She hadn't rampaged through this part of the city. Leaning against that railing he had deliberated on what he should do. That had led to him deciding to leave the MP headquarter and head for the underground tunnels beneath Stohess. To the place where she was being kept.

After another minute or so he reached a fork in the long tunnel. Taking the right path, he walked for a little while longer before he saw the light at the end of tunnel. He entered a wide room, completely bare save for two chairs and a table in the middle. At the far end of the room, two survey corps guards stood either side of a thick, padlocked, wooden door. Armin saw that squad leader Hanji Zoe and lance corporal Levi were sitting at the table.
"Ah, there you are! Armin was it?" asked Hanji.
"Yes, ma'am", Armin said saluting as he spoke.
"No need to salute! You're off duty right now anyway, right?" She went on before he could answer her. "It seems your judgment was correct." She said appreciatively. "You've helped us capture an invaluable prisoner. They could be the key to finding out the colossal and armoured titans true identities as well." Armin looked down at his feet.
"But... the cost of it all...," he paused for a moment then looked sadly at the two people in front of him. "Was it even worth it?" Levi looked up towards him with a stony expression.
"Whatever we did, we did it to ultimately save humanity. These, 'titan-shifters', are the biggest threat we face in retaking the walls and one of them captured is progress if nothing else." Hanji put a hand on his shoulder.
"We won't let those deaths be in vain." She said firmly. "It's our responsibility". Armin nodded in understanding but he didn't feel very much better.
"So what do you need, Armin. Has the military police called for us? The commander?"
Armin shuffled nervously. He felt unable to form the words in his mouth.
"I... I..." he paused. "I want to see the prisoner." His two superiors looked at each other for a brief moment.
"Any particular reason why?" Hanji asked inquisitively.
"She was part of our training squad. I think she was ... A friend." Armin held his breath, waiting for them to answer. Hanji looked at him curiously but just before she was about to say something the lance corporal spoke.
"Fine. Be quick." he said shortly. Armin looked at him in surprise while Hanji gave him a quizzical glance. After pausing for a second Hanji turned back to Armin.
"Well, go on then. You have our permission." Armin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Captain Levi, Squad Leader Hanji. I'll make it short." he said gratefully. Hanji walked over to the door where the two guards were stood. She leaned over to them and muttered something inaudible to Armin. They both nodded in understanding and moved to remove the padlock and the wooden planks which barred the door. They stepped back out of the doorway once they were done, signalling to Armin that he could go in. Doubt welled up inside of Armin as he approached the door which lay in front of him. She had attacked his friends, his comrades and his family. She was responsible for the deaths of countless people, good people, innocent people. He thought about what Mikasa had reminded him about earlier that day. She could have played a part in the fall of Wall Maria as well. He was supposed to feel angry, betrayed, vengeful and bitter. Armin, however, felt none of this as he pushed against the heavy door with both hands. After reflecting on their time together and brooding on all that he had seen in the past month only one question remained. The door opened slowly, hinges creaking from years of neglect. Why?

Upon entering the room Armin noticed instantly that it was far more decrepit than what he had seen of the underground tunnel system up until now. It was bigger than the room he had entered from and the only illumination in the room was provided by two torches hung on either side of the room by rusty, metal brackets. The door closed slowly and softly behind him, leaving him with nothing but silence and the person in front of him. The crystal looked very beautiful in the dim light. It reminded him of what he'd read of the oceans beyond the walls. The torch light reflected off the surface giving it a yellow glow. He walked towards the crystal, slowly, apprehensive of what he might see inside. Dozens of ropes were wrapped around it, wooden beams holding the crystal in place. He suddenly squinted his eyes as the light refracted off the crystal, momentarily blinding him as he walked forward. Once he regained his sight he had gotten close enough to see her clearly.
Annie.
For a few seconds he froze, forgetting about his worries and denial, finally surrendering himself to his emotions. She had been a friend to him. More than anyone else ever had been. Eren and Mikasa had been the only people in the world who cared for him when he joined the trainee corps. The only people he had cared about. Everybody else had taken him at face value. The short, weak boy who couldn't keep up with the rest.
Annie hadn't. Before anybody else, she had been there and she had given him a hope to carry on, more than to just be with Eren and Mikasa, told him that he could be somebody. From then on whenever he would talk to her she would listen, she would be there and sometimes (if he was lucky) she would respond. They became friends. He would sit with her sometimes after training, appreciating the time they spent together. He saw how quiet she was, how apathetic and neutral, untalkative and even cold. He had wondered how strange it was that he got to even be around her, despite their differences. He remembered the time they had been in a team together with Jean and he had hurt his leg. He had been able to see just how much she valued their friendship and that she enjoyed his company just as much as he did her's. On the night when they had chosen what military factions they would join she had seemed sad and lost, like him. She had shown him that she was every bit as emotional as the rest of them.
He remembered what he had discovered that day and suddenly he gritted his teeth in anger. He had known from the beginning that Annie had Marco's gear, that she had most likely killed the test subjects. It was his fault that Annie had gone as far as she had.

"I could have stopped it all..." Armin whispered hoarsely to himself. "All those lives gone, wasted... " It paralyzed him with guilt to think about everything that had happened as a consequence of his inability. He stared up at the face sealed within the crystal. He had been expecting a cruel smile, anger, maybe even fear to be etched across Annie's face. The only word that described her, however, was peaceful. As if she was sleeping.
He balled his fists and scowled at her.
She had no right to be at peace. She had murdered all those people in cold blood. Not him. She had carried out the actions, it was her fault. They had trusted her. He had trusted her. He thought she had cared.
"Why, Annie?" Armin said weakly, finally saying his question out loud. He was answered with silence. Armin hung his head, suddenly feeling drained. His face was only inches away from the glimmering surface of the crystal. He looked up and saw a face full of guilt and sorrow reflected back at him. He felt betrayed. He felt furious. Horrified at what she had been capable of. Yet at the same time he felt remorse and sadness for what had become of her. He told himself she deserved it. She had become the enemy as soon as she had shifted in Stohess. No, even before that. She had been the enemy all along, hidden amongst them and playing them all for fools.
"Why!" Armin demanded, slamming his fist against the crystal, tears welling up in his eyes. He wanted sorely to be angry at her, to let go of his sadness. To choose his head over his heart. Armin tried, but he couldn't do it. He knew that he couldn't bring himself to hate her, despite the atrocities she had committed.
Her time as a trainee might have been a lie but that didn't change the time they had spent together, or the words they had exchanged. Even as the female titan she had shown him mercy, a virtue that nobody had thought she possessed.
He had been spared, even when he could have been easily taken care of. If nothing else it showed she still cared. That she wasn't just a titan in a human body. He told himself that she simply had no reason to kill him on the expedition or even in Stohess. He wasn't a threat to her and she knew that just as well as him. He didn't want to believe it. Annie hadn't lied to him when she had said that she cared, she wouldn't have lied to him.
He slumped further forward, his forehead resting against the ice cold surface. He felt defeated and useless. He couldn't save all those people. He couldn't stop Annie. He couldn't even kill a single titan. Armin sighed deeply, trying to clear his mind.

His thoughts wandered back to the day he and Annie had met. She had scolded him then, for how he had been thinking. How ironic. She was the one who had rekindled his spirit to fight against the titans, to aid humanity. It had inevitably ended with one of them being defeated. "Happy?" he asked aggressively, looking up at her. "What were you thinking?" he continued "That you could bring down the walls without murdering all of your friends?!" he stopped realising that now, more than ever, Annie wasn't going to respond. It didn't matter anyway. She was a prisoner and indefinitely sealed away by her own choice. She'd given everything to prevent her capture, defiant till the bitter end.
A powerful foe, even though she had eventually been defeated. He thought about everything he had discovered in the last 2 months. About the titans and about the shifters, about himself and his friends. Not only was he smarter but he was stronger as well. He had proved it today. Everything that Eren and Mikasa said had turned out to be true. They had trusted him just like they always had and it had paid off.
Despite the odds he had survived the fall of Wall Maria. He had survived those harsh 5 years of scrounging for food and training to be a soldier. He had survived the attempt to take Wall Rose. They had fought back and beaten the titans.
He looked up at her again suddenly realising something. "For what it's worth you were right. We do all have something to fight for don't we?" His voice echoed off the walls as he spoke out calmly. Armin had finally realised the feeling behind Annie's words to him when he had first met her. They both had something to fight for. He'd made his choice and Annie had made her's. Annie had lost he hadn't. Nothing else mattered. "I'm not going to give up you know" he said with a faint grin. He'd learnt a lot in the past 5 years. To stand up for what was right. To fight against impossible odds. To have faith in your comrades and in yourself.
"I still have to go beyond these walls," he muttered to himself. "And when you get out of that crystal I'll be waiting for your answer" looking up at her face once more. He sighed to himself after a few seconds, shaking his head in embarrassment.
He sat down in in front of the crystal and stared at her for the next few minutes, thinking back to their time together. The good times they had spent together. As friends.

Hanji stared at the door. "What's taking him so long?" Levi looked at her irritably but said nothing. "I've got to check on him," she announced suddenly getting up.
"Don't." Levi replied.
"Why not, he could be-," she was cut short
"In danger? Escaping with the prisoner? Levi asked with a slightly raised brow.
"It just doesn't feel right to let him stay in there that long," visibly frustrated.
As if on cue the door creaked open once more as Armin exited the room. He approached the two in the middle of the room.
"Thank you Captain, Squad leader," he said with a small nod to both of them.
"Um of course, Armin. No problem." She said with a sheepishly. Armin headed towards the tunnel to leave the room but was stopped by Levi.
"Arlert." He said, looking at Armin now.
"Yes, Captain?" Armin said turning around to face him. Levi studied him for a brief moment.
"Keep up the good work" He said shortly, turning away. "Dismissed." Armin nodded and saluted in confirmation, turning back towards the tunnel, quickly disappearing into the gloom. Hanji stood rooted in place for a few moments before staring at Levi quizzically.
"Did I miss something?" she said, confused.
"You can be completely clueless sometimes, four-eyes."