- Disclaimer -

I do not own or contribute anything to Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan). It belongs to the author Hajime Isayama, and is published by Kodansha. This story was written for fun, intending no harm or infringement. I highly encourage everyone to buy and read the manga to support the author! It is an amazing story.

To say that Eren was excited to see Hanji and Jean at that particular moment would've been likened to saying that he was excited to see the horse innards currently painting the front yard. It would be a lie, though, to claim that he was completely indifferent at their arrival; he was a bit relieved that the only chance to figure out what was wrong with him had just arrived…he was just nervous of what that would entail in the near future. Eren was also less than pleased that Jean had returned in time to see the newest carnage. He already had his work cut out for him doing damage control with the others. It looked as though the already long day was going to get even longer.

Hanji was the first to make a move. Dismounting her horse, she picked her way along a clear area free from scattered horse bits and approached Levi. Her usual mania seemed to fade into a more somber expression as she drew near.

"Levi, what happened here?"

"Inside. Now," Levi barked, a feeling of restrained emotion radiating off of his person. "Sasha, tie and un-tack Hanji's horse. Jean, take your horse out and try to find the other horses that broke free last night. Help with the clean up when you return. Everyone else – clean the yard. No one is to enter the cabin until I say otherwise."

Eren reflexively smirked at the look on Horse-Face's, well, face. It only rested on his lips for a fleeting second before the realization that this mess was solely his fault dredged back into his mind. A frown immediately replaced any semblance of a smile and stayed there.

With the new orders issued by the Corporal, everyone begrudgingly returned to their thankless tasks newly bestowed upon them. Levi hastily snatched Hanji's wrist and marched towards Eren who reflexively hunched in a way that he hoped looked apologetic and humble, eyes downcast. He felt Mikasa tense next to him as Levi quickly approached. Not knowing what to expect, Eren was startled when Levi suddenly grabbed him by his shirt collar with his free hand in passing, dragging both Eren and Hanji into the cabin and letting the door slam behind them.

Letting go of the two, he proceeded to wash his hands in the sink.

"Sit."

"…Tea?" he asked as an afterthought.

"Yes please!"

"No thank you, sir."

They both sat, Hanji staring at Eren with an intense (but mostly unsettling) interest. Offhandedly, Eren noticed Levi putting the kettle on the stove and pulling out mugs. He heard Levi sigh.

"Soooo…" Hanji began.

"Damn woman, would you give me a minute!" Levi yelled over his shoulder.

"Someone's a bit cranky this morning," she tried. "What's wrong Levi? I thought cleaning put you in your happy place."

Levi only sighed once more. "I'm not going to start this without tea."

Thankfully, he seemed reluctant to start. Eren, could wait for an eternity and still not be ready for the conversation that was about to occur. He remained still, sitting in full attention with perfect posture and staring straight ahead while pretending not to notice Hanji's ogling – perfect table manners couldn't possibly hurt his chances of escaping from this nightmare alive.

After precisely six minutes and forty-three seconds of Eren nervously counting in his head, the tea kettle began to whistle. After another three minutes and twenty-seven seconds (approximately) the tea bags were removed and Levi made his way to the table, cups in hand.

From Eren's perspective, Hanji looked like a small child heading into a candy store – which only amplified his impending sense of doom. He didn't know if it was from nerves or if she had actually trigged a heart attack in him. Thankfully, Levi took command of the table.

"Eren, as I'm sure you heard from your little gang, who are apparently as bad at following orders as you are…" he added more to himself, "…about last night's endeavors. Hanji, however, has not. Why don't we all start at the beginning." He took a long drag of tea.

And so, taking a deep breath, Eren began his reluctant tale in much the same way as he had done with Levi only a day prior. Hanji, ever diligent, had pulled out her small notebook and began furiously scribbling; what she was writing, Eren didn't want to know.

His synopsis of "The Life and Times of Eren Jaeger" went smoothly until he reached the events of the day prior. There the words started to thicken in his mouth and a nervous sweat started at his palms but by no means stayed there.

"… I dreamt about eating again but this time it was more pronounced; I could remember more. I think that's when I realized I was dreaming about my titan. Although, this time, when I woke up around noon, I felt fine. Actually, I felt better than fine. I felt normal again – just hungry. I went outside to join everyone while they were putting the garden. That's when Connie tripped and fell. He started bleeding and it… it smelled good to me. I didn't mean for it to. I thought that maybe I was still sick and just disoriented! Then Levi came in to see me and I guess I had been starting to steam like a titan. I…got cleaned off and had time to cool down. I went back outside with the others for a bit, then we had dinner. I didn't eat anything. One look at the food and I felt sick. Corporal Levi had decided that I should sleep in the barn last night though. That's when… the Corporal gave me a piece of raw chicken." Eren could feel the pace of his words quicken and start tumbling out of his mouth as if to mimic the terminal velocity that his heart had just reached. He tried to slow himself without much effect, "… I couldn't help myself. It was the best thing I've ever tasted. I knew that couldn't be right though. Raw meat isn't supposed to be good." Deep breath Eren, he had to remind himself.

"We stayed out there, in the barn. I slept and the Corporal kept watch. That was the first time in four days that I actually had a peaceful nights' sleep. I just remember eating and being full in my dream. The next thing I know, Armin and Mikasa are shaking me and trying to wake me up. That's all I remember…." Eren finished.

Eren truly felt at a loss for what to do; truly hopeless. He accidently glanced at Hanji's book. It looked as though she had been writing a lot of things down. Eren's fingers twitched. Against all pervious resolve, curiosity seemed to dig its' boney hands into his brain. He felt a strong desire to read it. His fingers twitched.

"What a lovely story Eren. Thank you for sharing." Levi spoke up after a moment of silence.

"Wow…" Hanji breathed out. It looked to Eren as if her eyes were glazed over in some sort of sick drug high.

"Ah-ah." Levi murmured. "It's my turn now."

He took another drink of tea.

"No need to repeat. I'll start with the initial hunch after the whole 'Connie's tasty hand' ordeal. Eren seems to be getting more impulsive…instinctual, and I'm led to believe that it gets worse at night, judging by the symptoms."Levi shot a sideways glance at Eren.

He continued, "…Better safe than sorry. I decided a barn stakeout was in order. After Eren fell asleep, absolutely nothing happened. It was totally, mind boggling boring. I hated to think I chose to stand all night in a filthy, shit-smelling barn with no one for company other than a sleeping Eren-fucking-Jaeger…and then four o'clock rolled in."

He paused for another sip of tea.

"Eren started tossing and turning. This continued on for about fifteen minutes, growing worse as time passed. I was about to wake him when he started steaming and groaning so I decided to keep my distance. It only took about two minutes before Eren's titan literally exploded onto the scene. The steam kept me at a distance for a second and then I had to dodge the wave of stampeding horses like some kind of shitty circus performer. By that time his titan already had one horse in its' hand and the remaining half of another horse in its' disgusting mouth. Luckily for us, it was preoccupied with the last horse when I hooked to the back of its' neck to care much about anything else."Levi finished, immediately raising the mug of tea to take a drink. It seemed almost like therapy to him, Eren noticed.

Hanji, however, was in a different state of mind. Her face was now only mere inches from her notebook writing as she wiggled around in her seat. She gave off vibes that no normal person should given the situation at hand. It was disturbing.

The uneasy atmosphere of the small party continued on in relative quiet, the only noise coming from the frantic scratching of pen on paper. After countless awkward minutes spent avoiding all eye contact Eren decided to shatter the near-silence.

"Um, Hanji?"

"Yes Eren!?" Hanji immediately replied, louder than necessary, full attention immediately on Eren.

"What do you think is happening to me?"

Hanji's aura of tangible passion dispersed slightly, replacing itself with what could be labeled as concern, "I'm not sure, yet. I have some theories but I'll need to run some tests firsts. Honestly, this is new to everyone. I didn't even know if you could get sick or something like this could happen but I suppose it's completely plausible considering that no one is sure about the similarities of shifters verses that of normal people- uh, not that your abnormal, just that sifters are rare and this is really just brand new and the opportunity of the century-I mean, getting a chance to look in-depth at the physiology of someone who can either change into or is part ti-"

"When you're done orgasming all over the table we can talk about what's to be done about the current situation." Levi stood, abandoning Eren at the table, to take his mug to the sink.

"Oh! Sorry! If I would have known it was this serious, I would have brought more things from the lab but Jean said it was an emergency so I'm pretty low on stock. No matter, I still have my main instruments…although this is hardly the place for scienc-medicine. Is it? But as for getting started, I'd like to right away! We're burning daylight! And I can get some base measure-

"Fine. Take Eren into the woods. There's a meadow about a mile to the west of here. I'll send Armin with you and I'll be down as well once I get things squared away here….And Hanji, don't be an idiot."

With that last bit of advice, Levi was out of the door. It was just Eren and Hanji now. Even worse, Levi had given sole custody of Erens' body to Hanji. A distinct panic was sitting heavy in Eren's chest. This was pure nightmare fuel.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?" she asked, a bit too enthusiastically; chugging the entire mug of now-cold tea.

"Uh. Um, wouldn't you like to rest first? You've had a long ride," Eren tried bargaining. Maybe Levi would be done by then…

"Nonsense! There's science to do!"

Crap.

The trip to the meadow had been a lot shorter in duration than Eren had hoped. Hanji had immediately left the cabin, dragging Eren behind and went directly to where her freshly unloaded horse was now tied and began to re-harness the poor thing, which seemed as reluctant to start this trip as Eren did (Eren felt an unspoken bond form between them immediately). Armin soon joined the pair. He was wearing his 3DMG gear. Eren felt his stomach drop a bit. He figured Levi would have incorporated safety measures for the testing, but the small feeling of betrayal was still there. They all knew the risks however. Eren really hoped nothing would come of this.

With a small greeting, Armin took over tacking the horse while Hanji put on her maneuver gear that had been in the back of the cart. Grabbing the lead rope, they soon departed. Eren could feel the eyes boring holes in his back as they vanished into the forest.

The clearing was a pretty peaceful place in general. Eren had been there before with the rest of the squad when the weather was fair and they had a small amount of free time. It was about 70 meters in diameter and lined with tall oak trees. Patches of purple and white flowers acted as ground cover, growing thicker as they approached the forest. There was also a well known blackberry patch just inside the tree line on the upper left hand side of the meadow. It was usually a tranquil place where the teens would come to relax– almost as if they were cut off from the world and all of their troubles. Today it seemed like a completely different place to Eren as he sat on the tailgate of the small cart while Hanji prepped medical tools for the much dreaded testing.

The tests proved to be mercifully simple at first. Hanji had poked and prodded Eren with thermometers and other such instruments while Armin looked on in uncomfortable silence. The quiet didn't last long though; it was completely destroyed by Hanji's hums, thrilled squeals, and her non-stop questions.

"Do you feel any different? Sick? cold? Any pain? And how often have you been eating? What have you been eating? When did you first notice odd cravings? How often do you get them? Notice any swelling? Are you regular? Are all of your' parts working okay?"

"No. No. About once a day. Light foods. The other night was the first time. Nothing since. Uh, yea. And yes?"

Eren forgot how much she enjoyed talking about "science". It was very awkward for Eren, to say the least. The only one seemingly immune to the general mood was Hanji, who plowed on with great eagerness. He actually had to fight to keep his pants on during the physical portion.

She soon moved on to taking his blood pressure and made some notes.

"Interesting…," she muttered

She looked in his ears, his nose, and his throat.

"Very interesting…."

"What? What's so interesting?"

"Oh, nothing…"

She then took a throat culture and made more notes.

"So interesting."

She had to be doing that on purpose.

His torment continued on this way for a while longer until she announced that he was done…with the initial checkup and vitals. Next they were moving on to the actual testing. Why was false hope so cruel?

The medical "tests" began and slowly became more invasive. Cue urine sample, saliva sample, and tissue sample. All were place in their respective color coded tubes and/or agar petri dish without a hitch. All that was needed now was the blood sample.

Something that did catch them a bit off guard: blood wasn't supposed to steam up the inside of the vial. Now, Eren wasn't a medical doctor but this seemed like common knowledge so he was pretty confident with this deduction.

"Why is it so warm? That's never happened before," Eren tried to insist, as though he were pleading not guilty. His neural circuits seemed to be broken however, as the only words to make it out of his agape mouth were "Hot…"

He glanced from his arm to Hanji.

She looked as if she were about to die of pure ecstasy.

"Wow~"

Both Eren and Armin continued to look on in perturbed (and a bit queasy on Erens' end) horror.

After the initial shock of the first vial, they (more of Hanji, really) decided to continue on, and collected five more vials. Eren had never been bothered by needles in the past. They were a necessary evil in the world. Nevertheless, under these circumstances, he could almost feel the phobia forming. It seemed to him that Hanji took a bit more blood than was strictly necessary. He made a mental note to tell the Corporal later, which was sooner than anticipated. Corporal Levi had just entered the clearing carrying two packed lunches and appearing recently showered and wearing full 3DMG.

Hanji was the first to greet him, "Ah, Levi! You're just in time! We were about to head back to the cabin to look at theses samples!"

"Oh. Which cabin do you mean? Because those definitely aren't going anywhere near the cabin we just finished cleaning."

"Oh well. They should be looked at fresh anyway," she shrugged.

"Hn," was all the acknowledgement Levi gave as she made her way to the cart containing the small microscope, assorted chemicals, and other lab equipment Eren couldn't identify. She was almost prancing.

"Armin, you're dismissed for lunch. You have an hour until you're expected to report back. I think this goes without saying but, not a word to anyone. If they ask, tell them to run ten laps around the cabin on my orders." the Corporal stated.

"Yes sir," Armin saluted. He glanced back at Eren with an apologetic expression. Eren just put on his best I'll-be-okay-but-then-again-maybe-not smile and shrugged.

Levi continued to walk towards Eren, setting the lunches down in the shade. He leaned against the tree Eren was currently sitting under.

"And how about you, Jaeger? Feeling anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, sir. I'm sorry about last night! I didn't think something like that could ever happen when I was asleep. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble!"

"Quit groveling. With any luck Hanji will have this figured out before dinner," Levi mumbled, staring at Hanji. Eren didn't have the fortitude to tell him that his blood was warmer than any humans' should be. Hanji would tell him soon enough anyway.

A shriek tore through the clearing. Eren looked towards the source, immediately startled. Levi was already several paces in front of Eren, heading for Hanji. Eren quickly followed suit. Eren reached the cart shortly after Levi. By then, Hanji was breathing rapidly and smiling something fierce as she held six empty vials.

"They evaporated when I uncapped them! The tissue sample is gone, too! Oh Levi! I wish you could have seen them steaming away earlier," she squealed. "Here! Feel how hot the glass is still," she commanded, thrusting the empty vials into Levi's chest. He swatted them away.

"I'll take your word for it," he curled his lip.

"Aww," Hanji said a bit dejectedly. "You're no fun Levi."

The small Corporal just sighed.

"Uh, so, did you find anything, Hanji?" Eren really hoped he didn't have to give blood again.

"Well," she started, all attention on her, "I did manage to look at a small blood sample before it went kafooey. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I'm just waiting for the Rapid Flu Test to finish up. It should yield results in about fifteen minutes. I also started a culture based on the throat swab I took. That will take about two to three days to show what's growing. Then I can correlate some of the data I collected with it. Yep, looks like we're just playing a waiting game now, boys."

Levi just huffed again. Eren just looked down. He wasn't very good at waiting.

"Eren, why don't you grab the lunches? One o'clock is a good time to have a lunch break."

Eren turned toward the tree. He knew as soon as he left hearing range that they began talking about him. His ears were hot and his nose itched. Did they think he didn't know they we're going to talk about him as soon as he left? Did they think he was stupid? Well, let them talk. He slowed his pace slightly and continued towards the two lunch bags. Grabbing the lunches a little too roughly, he began the return journey back across the clearing.

Upon returning, Levi directed them as to which bag belonged to whom and stepped back, watching Eren intently. Eren soon realized why. His "lunch" contained raw horse meat. He really wanted gag but the physical disgust never came. He just ended up doing a weird convulsion-thing with his head accidently.

"Jaeger?" Levi questioned (angrily).

"I'm fine." What a lie, Eren thought. "I know this should be disgusting to me but it's not. It's surreal."

"Don't philosophize. It's not your specialty. Just go over there and eat the damn thing," he gestured to the edge of the clearing, about 30 feet to the left of the cart.

Eren did as he was told. It was hands down the most absurd and uncomfortable meal he'd ever sat through – even without Hanji coming to sit next to him and watching him the entire time. To make matters worse, the lump of meat was still delicious, unfortunately.

After lunch and the cleanup that followed, Hanji said it was about time to check the RFT.

It was negative - one dead lead. Disappointment was heavy in the air.

"So, if we have to wait a couple days for the cultures, what do we do now?" Eren questioned.

Levi was quiet for a moment. "Well, you don't survive for this long in the Survey Corps without having a plan B. I don't think it wise for you to go up to the cabin. It will just cause more unneeded stress on everyone. I think it's best if we have another stake out – though not in the barn this time. We'll stay down here."

"Ohhhhhh…I can't believe I get to spend the day and then go camping with two handsome men!" Hanji laughed, winking.

"Oh no you don't, four-eyes. You're going back to the cabin to get rest. When you get there, tell Jean to take the rest of the day off as well. Everyone else has to run the 5 mile trail, an hour of sparing while switching partners every 20 minutes, and then continue on with daily chores. Bed time is at 0900. Tomorrow will be an off day for them. Report back here at 0900 and we'll take the night in shifts."

"What about you, Levi? You've haven't slept either," Hanji asked.

"Like any of us sleep anyways," Levi bitterly answered. "If Armin hasn't started back yet, tell him to move his ass."

"Will do, Levi," she saluted. She then tied a tarp down over her cart and unhitched her horse, which she mounted and began making her way to the trail.

Eren had been listening to the exchange quietly, waiting for Hanji to leave. He was searching desperately for words but couldn't find any. What do you say when you become a huge burden?

"Sir?"

"Yes, Eren?"

"I'm sorry."

Levi sighed. "I knew risks when I took this job. I considered the inconveniences when I took responsibility for you in that courtroom. I knew what I signed up for."

Eren knew the Corporal was trying to wave it off - the uncertainty, sleepless nights, responsibility for the squad; and it only made him feel worse.

They continued to stand in heavy silence until the merciful arrival of Armin about twenty minutes later. He quickly strode into the clearing, fumbling with something in his hands and quickly tucked it into his jacket pocket. He saluted the Corporal "I'm back, sir."

"About time Arlert."

"Sir, sorry, Sir," he apologized. It seemed to be enough for the Corporal, who grunted and walked away to lean against a parallel tree with his eyes closed.

Eren just shrugged at Armin.

"Here. I figured we'd be in for a long wait so I brought some cards. We're pretty limited on games with only the two of us and no money but it's something…" he tried, handing Eren a card deck that he removed from his pocket.

"Thanks Armin!" Eren wasn't really a big fan of card games but it gave them something to do to while away the hours, and if this morning was anything to go by – it was going to be a long wait. He began to shuffle the cards.

"So...how is everyone?" Eren began hesitantly.

"Good. I left just as they were getting ready to start their run," he said, equally hesitant.

Well then, it seemed as though neither of them wanted to have this conversation.

"They must be tired…"

"Not too bad. Jean looked completely exhausted though. He was asleep within ten minutes of entering the cabin." Armin started fidgeting with the grass, not looking at Eren.

"Mikasa is probably worried…"

"Yeah, she's a bit on edge," he said nervously.

Eren decided to just bite the bullet.

"Do they hate me yet?"

Armin stopped fidgeting and looked at Eren with an unreadable expression for a moment.

"I don't think they hate you Eren. We're a team. We we're all recruits together. That really helps the situation. I think," he paused, "I think they don't know what to think. Last night scared all of us a bit – even you. There's just some uncertainty about the situation…" Armin finished.

"Yeah…" Eren said, not sounding convinced.

What the hell? Did they think he was doing this on purpose? Did they think he'd intentionally hurt them? He went through years of hell training with them! And Armin was nervous around him too- Eren could practically taste it. He literally grew up with Armin. He literally died for Armin and now he was acting like Eren could turn into a monster at any second. It was such bull shit!

Eren took a deep breath and blew it out. No need to get upset. He began dealing out the cards.

"On the bright side, at least the weather is holding up," Eren concluded.

The rest of the day seemed to pass slowly; card game after card game, small talk after small talk, until the sky became cloudy and a light drizzle started around six o'clock. Eren couldn't tell if he hated the rain or welcomed it. The rain had made the cards soggy and forced the boys to quit playing. It was a godsend really. You can only play so many games of Old Maid and Go Fish before you just snapped (and Eren felt his limit was getting uncomfortably close).

As soon as the rain started, Levi announced that he was going up to the cabin to "…take a shit." As soon as Levi disappeared from view, Eren and Armin both decided that they would both be significantly drier in Hanji's cart under the tarp. Moving aside some of her lab equipment, they settled in and waited. Levi didn't take long, however, and was back within half an hour. He was half carrying, half dragging another large tarp and two large bags. Eren and Armin rushed to meet him, each grabbing an end of the tarp – which was actually a mid-sized tent now that Eren could see it properly.

"Take that over to that big ass tree there and set it up," he commanded, following close behind. They did as they were told and quickly got to work setting it up, eager to get out of the rain. With the three of them working, the tent was pitched in no time. The weather then seemed to notice their plight and it re-doubled its efforts to make them miserable. The rain quickly grew steadier and the sky darkened, to which Levi remedied by taking out and lighting a lantern from the larger of the two bags. He then pulled out three small blankets.

This particular tent seemed to be fit for two people. With three people and a lantern in there, some personal space was being breached. So there they sat, shoulder to shoulder, minimal talking. They were in for a long night.

Once settled in, Levi pulled out two dinner bags from the last bag he had been carrying. Each "dinner" contained an apple, a warm baked potato, and two small pieces of jerky. The Corporal handed one to Armin and kept the remaining bag for himself. Eren gave him a questioning look.

"Uh-uh. No dinner for you tonight. Remember the last time you ate before bed?"

And so there he sat, staring outside at the rain and the mud and the darkness, listening to the Corporal and Armin eat. He wasn't that hungry anyway…

The rain continued to fall as time crawled by. Eren soon tuned out the small talk emanating from Armin and Levi by letting his mind wander. He thought about his team –Mikasa, Armin, Connie, Sasha, Jean, Historia… Were they really uncertain of him or was Armin trying to be nice? Were they afraid of him? And what if Hanji couldn't figure out what was wrong with him? Would he get worse? Would his squad abandon him, handing him over to the military police? Would they kill him…or worse? Would they keep him caged like an animal and study him? What if this wasn't even abnormal? What if this was completely normal for titan shifters? Sort of like a coming of age thing?

He thought of Reiner, Bertholt, and Ymir. Anger and hatred immediately jumped up and got stuck in his throat. Traitors. How could someone do that? Pretending to be someone's friend for years. But they weren't human…well, no, that would mean that Eren wasn't human. Even if they were good actors, Eren knew they couldn't be that good. He tried to deny it but it when he thought of them, they felt real - the friendships he made with them. He liked them but he would probably never see them again after the situation he left them in. And if they did meet in the future, there was no coming back from what they had done. He'd kill them. All of them.

Eren had a sudden epiphany. Maybe his friends felt that way about him just as he felt about Reiner and the others. A traitor to humanity. But he never tried to hurt anyone. His thoughts then shifted to Mikasa and his mother…and his father…

Eren blinked, startled from his trance like staring by a small light bobbing up and down in the woods.

"About damn time," Levi muttered.

That's right! Eren had completely forgotten about Hanji coming. Focusing on her, he could see that the bobbing light was actually a small lantern. She was carrying a bag and practically skipping through the rain to their tent.

"Helloooo. Miss me?" She called when she reached the tent.

"Like a tumor," Levi replied icily. "How can you be so damn happy all the time? And get your ass in here before you get soaked." Before he could even finish the sentence, Hanji was already three quarters of the way into the now cramped tent. She had left the lantern outside near the base of the tree so it wouldn't get too wet and began dragging her bag in after her. Once in, she pulled out a tarp, not unlike the one covering her cart and shoved it into Erens' chest. She then pulled out a small blanket and shoved it into the corner of the now-much-too small tent.

"What do you want me to do with this, Hanji?"

"Oh. I have no idea. Levi told me to bring one for you."

"You're crazier than I thought if you think we're all going to sleep in a tent with you, Jaeger. You saw the barn, did you not?"

Eren just sat and stared. They were kicking him out into the rain like a dog.

"There should be two tarps there - a small one and a larger one. Put the small one down and use the bigger one to cover yourself. It's not a hard concept Jaeger. Now get moving, I hate being this close to all of you weirdoes," Levi continued on.

All eyes were on him (mostly because there was nowhere to turn your head), so he did as he was told. After much shifting and cursing, he exited the tent and crawled out into the cold, damp, night dragging the tarps behind him. He walked about ten trees over and forcefully threw a tarp down. He then sat and put the remaining tarp over his head, practically growling. He heard Levi follow him out and grab Hanji's lantern. He set it down next to Eren's make shift tarp tent and used the 3DMG to pull himself a few branches up into the tree Eren was beside. Sitting on the branch, Eren could hear him settle in.

No one wanted to be around him. They kept treating him like a leper. A monster! He didn't choose to be like this! Eren could feel the uneasy anger growing in his stomach. It was similar to what he felt with Armin earlier.

"You could sit down here so you don't get wet, sir," he tried.

"I think I prefer the tree."

"I'm not going to sleep much tonight out here in this weather. You could at least stay fucking dry down here," Eren spat. He didn't realize what he said until it was too late. The sentence began with good intentions but ended with a snarl and malice.

"Excuse me? When did you start giving orders, recruit." Now it seemed that Levi was angry too. Well, angrier than usual.

Thunder rumbled low and menacing in the distance.

Eren felt the thrill of heated excitement and adrenalin – the kind you get before a big fight. Deep down, he realized that he's wanted this ever since the courtroom. He has wanted to wipe that smug expression of the Corporal's face. For treating him like a freak, like dirt, for not taking him seriously! Eren felt cruel and furious at that moment. Eren had been at the bottom of the tree like a hound treeing prey. He knew what he wanted so why not let himself have it? Indulging himself in his twisted pleasure, he knew exactly what to do.

Eren stood. "Fuck you. If I remember right, you're last orders killed your old squad."

Eleven. Simple. Words. That was all it took.

Like lightening, Levi tore down through the tree and in a single spinning motion, kicked at Erens head. Eren, however, had been waiting for it, and this time his hands weren't cuffed. He put his forearms up to take the brunt of the hit though he still staggered, nearly falling. Levi advanced on him immediately, drawing back for a punch.

"You're a little punk Jaeger."

Eren saw it coming and just barely dodged. He turned and saw Levi's leg coming for a kick to his side. The fight was on. This was what Eren wanted. What he needed. He was the alpha, the predator and he had his target in sight. Throwing all caution away, Eren let his battle lust consume him and charged blindly into the kick - he didn't even hesitate.

He was hit hard, possibly cracking a rib but he didn't care. He didn't feel a thing. The kick, however, left Levi on one leg and combined with Eren's tackle, was enough to sway him, bringing them both toppling to the muddy ground. The two seemed to roll for a bit, grappling for position with Eren ultimately ending up on top due in part to size but mostly to raw fury. Eren pulled his fist back back and let it go. Levi managed to block most of the hit aimed for his head but the force seemed to stun him. He was left wide open for Eren's full throttled second hit on the right side of his face. Eren had him.

Levi seemed to have other ideas though. The smaller man shifted his hips and slid a leg up between Eren and himself in the momentary struggle. Eren felt him pulling back but was still slightly off balance to prevent the hit. The knee caught Eren's injured side, ripping a cry from his lips and dazing him. Levi then shoved into Eren, rolling them so that he was straddling Eren's arms with his knees and thighs with his shins. Levi then seemed to steal Eren's idea and began a barrage of punches. Eren, now wounded and cornered, began thrashing like an animal. Instinct took over and Eren saw red. He fought and clawed as hard as he could until he tasted a mouthful of metal. No. Blood. Not his.

He swallowed and blinked a few times, vision returning. He was looking at Levi who was holding his left shoulder and covered in mud, breathing hard. He wasn't glaring or yelling, just staring at Eren with an emotionless calculating expression and poised to move. Eren touched his lips. They were bloody.

He felt small chunks of stuff in his teeth. He swallowed once more, subconsciously enjoying the taste. Movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was Armin and Hanji, blades drawn and standing drenched in the rain. Eren couldn't even guess when they had arrived. He tried thinking. Why had any of this happened? In his mind, it was like watching someone else control his body. All of the anger, hatred, and frustration left Eren as he stood there at the center of attention. He just felt scared now.

He, like everyone else, was afraid of himself. He left his crouched, rigid, fighting stance and began backing away. He could feel the guilt over what he had just done set in. It made him sick.

"Eren?" Armin called, unsure.

There it was. That fear in his voice again. Eren deserved it.

"Don't do anything stupid, Eren," Levi said evenly. "We'll fix this."

Eren shook his head no. He really, really felt sick. He suddenly cried out in pain. The back of his neck suddenly felt like it combusted, sending shooting pain down his spine. It burned and pulsed and ached. It felt like his spine was pulling itself apart. A wordless scream tore through his breaking body. The smoldering feeling kept growing and slowly began radiating down his arms. He knew what was coming. He tried to yell a warning or something to let the others know but no words came out, only a silent scream.

But what would they do for him? After what just happened, he wouldn't be surprised if he never woke up at all. Levi would probably just cut him and be done with him and all of this madness. He didn't want to die. Not like this. Not a monster. As his final thoughts left him, darkness and empty unconsciousness cradled him once more as pain faded into nothingness.

A/N:

Woah...Hey guys. Been a while. *nervous laughter*

I'm really sorry about making you guys wait. To be honest - this has been finished for a while but I really wanted to proof-read this time and make it a good chapter. It's even longer than usual! I've just been super busy with work, school, and family. Nice weather isn't helping either.

As reassurance - I am not loosing interest in this and I plan to finish - probably in 3-4 chapters. This chapter threw me a bit - I hadn't planned the aftermath of last chapter but I'm good now. I know where we're going.

I just want to let you all know that I'm reading the reviews and taking it to heart. You guys have some good points! And I'm definitely going to change the summary. Good advice! An excerpt perhaps?

So, you know the drill - R&R. Let me know what you think!