Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of the characters within it, yada yada yada. Oh, and this may also be spoiler for those who haven't read up to chapter 49 so, you might wanna look up for that.

So here's the deal. I'm a self proclaimed author (nothing new on this site, really) and like all of you guys out there I figured that the only way I could really find out how good I am is by taking one of my little 'babies' and throwing it out to the 'wolves' :)

At this point I'd like to say go easy on me but that'll defeat the point of the whole exercise so please, by all means, keep the reviews/criticisms/compliments coming. However remember; it's my first 'story' of some sorts so... anyway, hope you guys love it and if you do, FOLLOW!

A shingeki No Kyojin story

Dedicated to

Eren X Mikasa

For Freedom, for Family

Chapter 1: Victory and Defeat

CRAAAAASH!

They had done it! Armin could hardly believe his eyes, could hardly dare to believe what they were telling him, and yet there was no mistake to it. They had really done it! They had finally brought down the Armored and Colossal titans. Even as he watched, a hot cloud of steam spewed out of the Armored Titan from the neck where Eren's Rogue Titan had just ripped its head off, exposing Reiner's unconscious body within. Almost simultaneously the Colossal Titan's hulking form was finally beginning to crumble under the relentless surgical slicing of Mikasa's twin blades, the last of which had fatally gashed open its nape, severing a sizable chunk of titan flesh and what looked like Bertholdt's arm. Even the din created by the encroaching horde of Titans couldn't drown out the ensuing victorious whoops from the surviving members of the scouting legion and the military police force, particularly the rookies of the 104th squad.

"HELL YEAH!"

"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

"WAY TO GO, MIKASA! TAKE THAT, YOU TWO FACED BASTARDS!"

The last comment came from Jean as he leapt off the Colossal Titan's back and swooped in an arc to land on the back of one of their fleeing horses.

"YEAH, EREN'S THE MAN!" Connie chimed in. "I MEAN, THE TITAN!"

At this everyone laughed and Armin couldn't suppress a hearty chuckle of his own. It was incredible how safe and lighthearted they all suddenly felt with the defeat of these two titans who had been the bane of humanity, even though they were still surrounded by dozens of others. A fact of which Erwin, stoic as usual, didn't fail to remind them.

"Save the rejoicing for within the walls! Eren, grab Bertholdt and Reiner before they regain consciousness and run back as fast as you can! In the meantime the rest of you should ward off the titans till he gets a head start and then let's all go home!"

"YESSIR!" The soldiers roared fiercely and sprang to their respective tasks.

The Rogue Titan disentangled itself from the Armored Titan's immobile frame and made for the Colossal Titan. After brutally swiping off the 7 meter types that had beset the crashing carcass, it reached up for the massive head, but instead of sending its hand into the neck where Bertholdt was sure to be it instead grabbed at something dangling off the shoulder. Mikasa, Armin realized with relief. Only when the Rogue titan had securely placed her in its shaggy hair did it reach into the gaping gash at the back of the Colossal Titan's neck and pull Bertholdt out. It then returned to the Armored Titan and ripped Reiner out as well before turning round to sprint back in the direction of city gate.

"Alright, we've got them!" Erwin yelled, the elation in his voice belying the obvious pain from his severed arm. "Now let's head home, boys! Today is a day of great victory for humanity, and we must all live to tell the tale! In other words, none of you is permitted to die today!

The elites of the Scouting Legion sat round the table in the candle lit conference room of the council, their eyes trained expectantly at Erwin. The commander's shadow-cast face had reverted to its usual calm and guarded expression, effectively denying them any hint at what he was thinking. The bleeding stump that was all that was left of his arm was now wrapped in bandages and tucked away from sight under his green cape. The other hand rested on the table where the fingers drummed pensively. A crack suddenly broke the tense silence, followed by a flare of light which briefly illuminated the conference room as Corporal Levi lit a match and lifted it to the butt of his cigarette. In moments the telltale heady perfume of the corporal's particular brand of cigarette, TitanicTobacco. His face was soon hidden behind a haze of smoke but when he spoke his voice carried the same disinterested and slightly morose tone that characterized him.

"They too, huh?"

Erwin didn't reply but his gaze steadily met Levi's through the haze and the two men seemed to understand each other. Hanji Zoe on the other hand was completely lost.

"Hey, what's happened?" She asked, looking quickly from one to the other. "Who's they?"

"The Colossal and Armored Titans, Bertholdt and Reiner, have crystallized themselves like Annie before them," Armin said quietly.

"That's correct," the commander said, his piercing blue eyes turning to the latest addition into the elite squad. A natural born tactician, Erwin was a man who had learned to second guess and third guess every decision he made, and yet this was one choice he could find no flaw with. The youth's extraordinary intellect and deductive capacities never failed to astound him. As if to illustrate this fact Arwin presently blushed under this prolonged scrutiny, proof that he had once again accurately deduced what was on the commander's mind despite his poker face.

"They must have done so the moment Eren's Rogue Titan let go of them within the walls," Erwin continued. "It was too fast for anyone to do anything, and now they are both sealed away in crystals too solid to be broken by any means we dispose of as of yet. But that's not the real problem. The real problem comes at the level of human resources. It is too risky to keep the three prisoners locked up in the same area for too long in case they all decide to emerge from their cocoons and transform simultaneously, and so we'll have to keep them separated. As we speak arrangements are being made for the latest captures to be brought here where they shall be guarded 24/7 by our men and some choice members of the Military Police and Garrison. However this can only be a temporary measure; the truth is that we simply do not have the manpower to indefinitely watch over the three captives separately until they come up for air. We don't even know if they need to come up for any."

"All the evidence we've received so far suggests the contrary," Hanji said immediately. "Since Eren shares his titan's ability to regenerate lost limbs and wounds we must assume that the same goes for all other titan attributes, including their ability to go without air or nourishment for indefinite amounts of time. Their only weakness comes from sunlight deprivation and even that only seems to cause them to lapse into a catatonic state from which they will ultimately rise once they are re-exposed."

"In other words something must be done quickly," Erwin completed.

"When you said the crystals are too solid to be broken by any means we have at our disposal, I'm assuming you're referring to those of us in this room and other 'normal' humans in general, right?" Levi said in his bored voice. "But you obviously have a Plan B in mind. A very large Plan B, I imagine."

Once again Erwin looked at him and an unspoken message seemed to pass between them. The image of the Rogue Titan stumbling across a war-torn street with a gigantic boulder suddenly flashed in Armin's mind.

"It may be too early for him though," Hanji commented, catching on this time. "I doubt he'll be able to crystallize, let alone shatter-"

"This isn't about what he can do but what he must do," Levi cut in, his tone suddenly sharp with impatience. "For better or worse the brat has given humanity the firepower of a titan and evened out the score in this war. In the short time since we found this out countless sacrifices have already been made to make sure it stays that way, least of which isn't the loss of Erwin's arm. If he doesn't do this then he's of no use to us, and all those sacrifices will once again have been for nothing. He must do it."

Hanji Zoe opened her mouth like she was going to say something but then shut it again with no words coming out. As cold as it sounded she recognized the truth to what Levi was saying. And besides, the corporal's recent incapacitation had made him grouchier than ever but she didn't believe for one second that he didn't give a damn about Eren. If anything, the boy probably reminded him so much of himself when he was younger.

"Whatever it is, we should focus our efforts on one of the prisoners first- Annie," Armin said and proceeded to recount to them how Bertholdt had reacted when he had heard that Annie was being tortured.

"So you're saying that if we do the same thing it'll probably bring him out, right?" Levi asked. "You do realize that it will involve actual torture and not just mere threats if it is to succeed, don't you?"

Armin's face was deathly pale but he met the corporal's piercing gaze evenly. "Yes."

Levi studied him for a few more seconds then finally leaned back with an amused look on his face. "You surprise me Armin. I personally didn't think you'd have it in you. You'd make a fine leader someday, if the titans don't get you first."

"Now that that's settled, I trust you all know what needs to be done, right?" Erwin said as he rose to his feet. There was the sound of drawn back chairs and shuffling feet as the others followed suit. Levi was the last to get to his feet. "Bring me Eren Jaegar."

"I should have killed them," Eren spat bitterly, unable to contain himself. "I should have crushed them when I had the chance…"

Mikasa shot him a concerned glance but said nothing. They were back in the old castle that served as a base for the Scouting Legion, seated on a bench outside a room that had been turned into a makeshift infirmary for those injured during the last mission to rescue Eren. Their injuries which were mostly minor had been attended to, or at least hers. With its titan shifting abilities Eren's body was healing itself at a faster rate than any medicine known to mankind could hope to achieve. If only he'd let it.

"The bastards!" Eren suddenly roared and smashed his fist into the wall opposite them. "I'd promised them I'd fucking kill them, slow and nice, and now this!"

"Eren!" Mikasa scolded sharply, leaping after him to pull him back to his seat.

She looked at his right hand for inspection; It was broken again. His healing isn't nearly fast enough, she thought as she forcefully cradled it in hers despite his half hearted attempts to wrench it away. She knew what was bothering him. It was the guilt over all the lives that had been lost to rescue him. It was anguish at all they'd had to endure, all they had lost and nearly lost for his sake. He was that kind of person, the kind who couldn't stand people suffering, let alone for him. And yet they had done so, even willingly in her case and Armin's, only for the two traitors to shell themselves off from interrogation like that bitch had done.

"It's not your fault. There was nothing you could do about it."

But even as the words left her mouth she knew that they weren't entirely true. The official report said that the two traitors had crystallized upon Eren's releasing them within the confines of the wall, but both she and Eren knew better. She felt her cheeks warm as she remembered the final events of that battle. When she had defeated Bertholdt she was going to return to Eren's side when her 3DMG suddenly failed, most likely due to a problem with her grapnel. As a result she had ended up trapped to the collapsing form of the Colossal Titan and would have lost her life if Eren hadn't pulled her free. It was only after he was certain that she was clutching tightly to his hair that he had turned to follow Commander Erwin's orders and capture the traitors but just before he could lay a hand on them they had Crystallized. In fact if anyone was to blame for this present dilemma it was her and she quietly said as much to him.

"Don't be stupid," he snapped the moment the words were out of her mouth. "So it's okay when you risk everything for me and not when I do the same for you? You're all I have left in this world… you and Armin. You better believe I'll do anything to keep you safe!"

Despite the fierce glare he was giving her Mikasa felt a wonderful warmness suddenly spread inside her at his words and her hands unconsciously tightened around his.

"Ah…! Mikasa you're… hurting… me!" He groaned, turning away so that she couldn't see his eyes tear up.

Her cheeks turned a bright red and she released his smoking hand which he immediately pulled back into his lap and began to nurse gingerly.

"Then I'm sure you must understand why we did what we did for you," she said softly and he turned back to her. "The world is a cruel, cruel place, and yet it it there's also beauty. You taught me that, and it's stayed with me ever since. I know that a person who doesn't sacrifice anything shouldn't expect to change anything, but if the thing we choose to sacrifice is the same thing which renders this cruel world beautiful, then what we are trying to change will have no meaning for us, will it?"

Eren stared dumbly at her, as astounded by the fact that she had spoken so much as by the wisdom in her words. Mikasa was usually so silent and stoic that it was easy to forget that she had such a smart and sensitive side as well. But it was more than that. It was funny how she could switch from being so forceful and unyielding one moment to being so understanding and openly humane she almost appeared vulnerable. They continued to stare at each other in silence for a few moments. In some ways she was a lot of his mother, and yet the feelings he was having now towards her were definitely not filial. They weren't even remotely brotherly, for that matter. He didn't understand it fully but it was in these rare moments, when he felt these heady and unusual sensations, that he really-

"Eren! Mikasa!"

They both started guiltily away from each other at the sound of their names and turned to look at the speaker. It was Armin, and if he noticed their flushed cheeks and the slightly embarrassed looks on their faces he elected not to say anything about it.

"W-we need to talk."

Mikasa got up very slowly and went to Arwin, mildly surprised by the sudden stab of irrational irritation that pierced her at the sight of this slight, blond boy who happened to be her second best friend. But then again if the ominous look on Armin's face was anything to go by, she was fairly certain she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

Author's notes: So there you have it; my first work. I wanted to set a premise before picking up the pace a little later so forgive me if it doesn't live up to your expectations of sizzling Mikaere heat! That'll come in time... if you decide to follow. In the mean time keep me posted on your opinions and views. Suggestions are also welcome and even requested.