What If...Marco Had Lived

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Also I don't remember the exact exchange between Reiner and Bertholdt so gonna improvise.

"Gotta find Reiner and Bertholdt" Marco thought and he hurried along the rooftops of Trost.

A few rooftops ahead he saw Bertholdt's tall frame come into view.

"Found them"

As he made his approach he over heard Reiner and Bertholdt's conversation.

"Look we need to use our titans to get Eren" Reiner said.

"But I want to get out of here with very few casualties"

"Do you wanna go home or not? We can get Eren if we combine the power of the Armored and Colossal titan, then Annie can—"

"Titans?" Marco asked.

Reiner and Bertholdt turned with a look of shock on their face.

"What are you guys talking about, does that mean....it was you two who breached the Walls?" Marco stammered hoping he was wrong.

Bertholdt and Reiner exchanged panicked glances. That told Marco everything he needed to know.

Before he knew it. He was tackled by Reiner. He could barley breath under the crushing weight.

"What's going on here?" Marco could look up, but could recognize Annie's voice.

"Annie" Marco gasped. "Help me!!! Please"

"He knows Annie, about me and Reiner." Bertholdt said in a shaky voice. Desperately wishing he wasn't in this situation. He genuinely liked Marco, and was looking forward to him getting his life in the capital.

"Please just tell me what is going on" Marco gasped.

"Annie take his ODM gear off"

Annie froze. "Annie please don't do this"

"ANNIE NOW!!" Reiner barked.

Bertholdt held Marco's arms behind his back. Marco felt his gear being removed.

"Oh my god I'm going to to die. Mom, dad, Jean" Marco was panicked as his thoughts raced. He was no match for the 3 of them in hand to hand combat.

As the three departed the rooftop, Marco cried out.

"Please we haven't even had a chance to talk this out"

Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt stood on a nearby rooftop. They saw the Titan approach.

"Please I can help you, we can figure this out together. Please I don't want to die, I don't want anyone to die!!"

Reiner was struggling with a war in his brain. "I'm a solider, I'm a warrior, I'm a solider...."

Marco panicked as he felt the tian grab him. Using all the strength he had left to stop himself from being devoured. As his strength began to fail, he felt the hot breath of the Titan, the a rush of cool air, somebody had grabbed him.

Someone had saved him.

"Jean" Marco said. Expected to see him when he was set down on a rooftop.

He wasn't expecting to see Reiner.

He looked around for a weapon. Maybe Reiner wanted to make sure that he silenced Marco himself. He remembered, the dagger his father had given him before he left for training.

"Don't come near me!" Marco cried pulling out the dagger. In his peripheral he could see Annie and Bertholdt finishing off the Titan that was suppose to devour him.

"Marco put it down, you know I can overpower you"

Marco didn't waiver.

Bertholdt and Annie soon appeared at Reiner's side.

"So you saved him, and he knows. What's your plan now" Annie said coldly.

"Look I had to order you to take his gear off" Reiner barked at her.

"Would you both stop. I think we can all agree that we didn't want to kill Marco" Bertholdt said, he turned to Marco who was still wielding the dagger. "Well....you said you could help, how?"

"How can I trust you? How do I know you would murder me the moment my back is turned"

Bertholdt stepped forward. "Look I didn't want to kill anyone, and I don't want to kill you, but I swear on my father's life that we won't betray you again."

The could hear the fight for Trost rage on.

"First thing, give me back my ODM gear", Marco barked.

The 3 looked at each other for a moment. Annie walked towards him.

"Slowly....put it at my feet" Marco said. Keeping the dagger level with Annie. She slowly put the gear down.

Now came the ultimate test. Could he put away his dagger and put on his ODM gear safely, or would Reiner tackled him again?

Reiner had rescued him, but had also tried to kill him.

Marco took a deep breath. Putting his dagger away. His hands shaking as he reattached his ODM gear.

The 3 looked at him. Bertholdt, "so we trust you and you trust us?"

He held out his hand.

Marco shook it. "Agreed. Now let's help Eren and the Garrison and we can meet later this evening"

******************************

Jean had been so relieved when he found Marco. Embracing him in his arms. "I'm so glad you're ok"

Marco breathed in Jean's scent, "I'm glad you're ok too, anybody we know dead?"

"Ian Dietrich, from the Garrison was killed defending Eren." Jean said. "But Connie, Mikasa, Armin, Sasha, and Connie are ok"

Marco breathed a sigh of relief. The two began the awful task of retrieving dead bodies.

Later that evening. The cadets and the Garrison soldiers stood around the funeral pyres, as the ashes of the dead drifted into the night sky.

Marco noticed that Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt were absent.

"Jean I've made a decision. I'm not joining the military police. I'm going to join the Survey Corps"  he said staring in to the flames.

"The Survey Corps?"

"Yeah, I just...something about today just opened my eyes. I don't want to spend this short life hidden behind the walls. I want to see the outside, to fight for humanity's freedom, for my friend's freedom, for my own freedom.

************************************

It was late in the evening. Marco made his way into the woods, telling Jean he just needed sometime to himself.

He found Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt in a smaller clearing, a full moon was out.

"Missed you guys at the funeral service" Marco said flatly.

He was met with silence. He did notice that Annie's eyes looked a bit puffy and red, like she had been crying.

"So how much do you know?" Annie asked.

"Just that Bertholdt and Reiner are like Eren. They can turn into titans. They mentioned the Colossal and the Armored Titan but I'm not sure who is who" Marco said sitting in on a log.

"I'm the Armored and he's the colossal" Reiner said point to himself then Bertholdt.

"So what does that make you? Their handler?" Marco asked Annie.

Bertholdt let out a laugh.

"I'm the female titan" Annie said cooly.

"Female Titan?" Marco raised an eyebrow.

Bertholdt looked at Reiner and Annie.

"We've got a lot of ground to cover then".

To be continued