C h a p t e r  1 0 : U n d e r s t a n d ?

Scarlet let out a battle cry as she and Levi descended upon the Colossal Titan.
Annie opened her eyes, her eyes flashing, as she changed into a titan. She began to beat up the Titans.
She could almost hear Bertolt's voice in her head. "Annie, what are you doing!? This is the perfect chance to take them out. Why are you fighting against us? You don't need to take cover anymore." He screamed, or rather, Annie knew he was thinking.
So why was she?
Again, she finally realized, somehow, she was okay with fighting for humanity.
This group of people had made her realize that.
Especially one particular Coconut Head...

"Hey, Annie!" Armin greeted her. She had been eating alone in the mess hall, as she was the last one up. Levi and Eren was cleaning, Hange was doing some research, and who knows what Scarlet and Owen were doing? So, it was just the two.

"...." Annie glanced at Armin, but said nothing and continued eating.

"You can talk, you know, there is no one to interrupt us." Armin invited.

Cautiously, Annie scanned the room. "I don't know why you make all this effort for me." Annie said. "I'm your enemy."

"You were my enemy." Armin corrected. "But you aren't anymore. You're on our side now, and I couldn't be more glad."

Annie stayed silent.

"... You're planning on betraying us, Huh?" Armin asked. Annie stared at him, bored.

"I'm not stupid. I know you're still working against humanity..." Armin sighed. "But I'm hoping you'll change your mind. If you don't, you'll be slain."

"Its my job." Annie replied, surprising Armin. "Whether I like it or not is of little importance. What matters is that I get it done, and that I'm still alive." Annie shut her eyes.

"Annie..." Armin frowned. "It doesn't have to be this way... You can have a new mission. One that involves us."

"I can't." Anne responded distantly.

"You can. Why not!?" Armin asked, getting frustrated. "There's nothing getting in your way-"

"My father!" Annie yelled. Then she continued in a softer voice. "My father."

"Your.. Father?" Armin questioned. "Is he.."

"No, he's not dead... At least, I don't think so. I promised him that I'd return to him..."

"You can still return to him even if you join our side. I'm sure they'll allow you to."

Before Annie could answer, the one and only Levi unlocked the door and walked in.

"You still trying to get her to talk? How's that working for you?" Levi raised his brow, bored.

Armin shook his head. "It hasn't been." Armin lied smoothly.

"Bummer. I was hoping the female titan would be more talkative..." Hange commented as she entered the room.

Even the other night...

Annie stared at the moon, tucking her knees into her chest. Even the moon reminded her of something...

"Annie?" Armin wondered, as he sat down next to her. "Didn't know you would be here..."

"If you had to kill the person you were the closest to, would you?" Annie asked, after a moment.

Armin pondered. "Strange question... But Uh... It depends. If it would save the world, yes."

Annie nodded. "You really do have guts.."

"What about you?" Armin asked.

Annie pushed the bangs from her face. "There's no point in living, really. We all die eventually. Except for us Titans. In this world, the Titans- we are superior. We'll live when you won't."

"Humanity will live, if the Titans just stop-"

"Wrong. Humanity is weak. They'll eventually go extinct from disease or famine. There is no point in letting humanity win if they're just going to die anyway." Annie continued.

"Gee, no need to rub in the fact that you'll live longer." Armin muttered, and Annie let the bangs fall back onto her face.

"Sorry." She murmured. "I'm not used to it..."

"It's okay," Armin grinned. Take as long as you need."

Annie smiled to herself. This was probably the worst time for her to reminiscence, but she knew that the Coconut Head had indeed changed her perspective on life.
Now if only she could tell him.
But first, she had to ensure that he- and herself- made it through this experience.

When she watched Armin get knocked back, she furiously kicked off the Titan's head.

Armin grimaced, but laughed through the pain. "I guess I finally got through to her..."

"Huh now? What are you even talking about at a time like this!?" Jean yelled as he sliced a titan at their nape.

"When did you get here!?" Armin yelled.

"We got here while you were daydreaming!" Reiner shouted.

"Oh, your whole squad is here." Armin saw.

"You just noticed!?" Jean screamed.

"Urgh-agh!" Mikasa yelled as she sliced through Titan flesh. Armin watched as Levi and Scarlet took out the Colossal Titan's eyes.

"Armin, I wanted to talk to you about something." Owen frowned. "Do you really think it's smart to trust-"

"Do I think it's smart to trust Annie? Of course not. But I believe that eventually she'll realize the errors of her ways, and join humanity. That doesn't mean we should trust her now." Armin replied.

"Alright. If you're so sure, than I believe it. You and Hange are the smartest people I know." Owen responded.

"Owen, you're too trustworthy." Scarlet interrupted, as she entered the room. "That girl will never earn my trust."

"... No one will ever win your trust." Owen commented.

"You're not surprised?" Scarlet smirked.

Owen rolled his eyes. "Actually, I disagree with my previous statement..."

"Probably a good idea," Scarlet mentioned, a slight blush appearing in her cheeks.

"Owen, where are you?" Scarlet cried out in anger as she entered the room. "You owe me money!"

"calm down. I'm right here." Owen said.

"I want my money for winning the bet." Scarlet announced triumphantly.

"Bet? What bet?" Armin asked.

"I bet Owen that Annie wouldn't talk to you. Owen said that she would, and if she did within these two weeks, I had to pay him twenty dollars. If she didn't, then he had to pay me twenty dollars."

Armin had to hide his smile.

"I don't want to pay you." Owen folded his arms.

"Well that's too bad." Scarlet smirked. "I won, so-" Owen cut her off by placing his finger against her lips.

"I don't want to pay you money." Owen said simply.

"Well that's a shame." Scarlet narrowed her eyes, pushing his hand away.

"Scarlet, Owen, where are you? It's time to get ready for the scouting expedition-" Armin stopped in his tracks. "Uh-"

"Armin!? What the hell!?" Scarlet exclaimed.

"U-Uh... This is really..." Owen bit his lip, beginning to blush furiously.

Scarlet was pressed up against the wall while Owen towered over her. However, Scarlet pushed him away, as if to make it seem like nothing happened. Armin noticed- sadly- that Scarlet's hoodie was on the other side of the wall, thrown on the floor, and that Owen's hair was slightly askew. Armin shut his eyes.

"I-Uh, I'm sorry, really-!"

"Just get out of here, nitwit!" Scarlet yelled, her cheeks becoming as red as her hair.

How was Scarlet coping with her loss? She had lost the person she cared about most in the world. Although they had never announced it, they didn't need to. It was obvious to Armin.
So how was Scarlet so much as standing up? It was obvious Scarlet was affected, but by how much?
And would it effect Scarlet's titan killing ability?

The Colossal Titan had its hands covering it's nape, just like how Annie did before.

"Bastard." Levi muttered, and Scarlet and him got ready to slice off its wrists. However, a fog emitted again, and it was enough to send both Levi and Scarlet flying away from the Titan, although both made it to ground safely.

Mikasa coughed through the fog, and Jean shouted. "Where did it go!?"

The titan had used to smoke as a distraction, while it fled and continued its way to Wall Sina.

"I'm- not- going- to- let- you- destroy-humanity!" Scarlet gritted her teeth as she and Levi, once again, descended on the titan.

"Hngh!" Scarlet and Levi both came in for the kill, but suddenly, the Colossal Titan was gone. The smoke was covering the ground, so even as quickly as Levi scouted the area to see if the human inside the colossal Titan was still there, he still got away.

"Nope. Whoever is in there got away." Levi clenched his fist. "I bet Annie knows who is in the Colossal Titan's body...!"

"I bet she does... But why would she tell us?" Hange asks.

"She's on our side now." Scarlet winced. "As much as I hate to say those words..."

"What makes you say that?" Levi raised his brow.

"Because Owen said it." Scarlet told him. "And Owen is good at... Was good at reading people."

"He could be wrong-" Hange started, but Scarlet interrupted her.

"Owens not wrong."

"Scarlet is right, Hange." Levi spoke. "Owen has... Had a incredible sense of character. He was never wrong about that sort of thing."

"As long as you're certain.. I just don't want to underestimate Annie."

"She had the perfect chance to betray us. Levi, you, and I were busy with the colossal Titan. Annie could've easily caught up with Eren and taken him, but she didn't." Scarlet smiled weakly.

"You're right."

Annie was confused.
Was she wrong about Bertolt's plan? She was so certain he was headed for the walls. What happened? Now Levi's team might lose their trust in her... For an accident.
What is happening... She wondered. Bertolt...

FLASH!

Annie turned her head, and her eyes widened in horror. The colossal titan, Bertolt, was right at the wall.
He started to swing his foot back to kick.