woah, so it's been like, three years since I updated this story.

and since I highly doubt anyone waited that long for an update, we'll just pretend it's new and shiny.

anyways. I apologize in advance if Eren seems out of character in the story, I'm not very good at writing in pre-made character's POV.

ALSO. (so much talking, I know) don't be surprised of you see some plot holes because I suck at writing, so keep in mind that I'm not a professional writer, okay? I'm just doing this for entertainment and fun.

tags/warnings: time travel, modern!AU, mild cursing (but let's be honest, no one cares), mild angst, probably a lot of OOCness

yeah, not a lot to be concerned about. okay, so.

onto the story.

"So, what exactly do you need me for?"

Eren fidgeted with his shoulder strap in anticipation as Hanji sterilized needles and containers. She had been excessively busy as of late, and when she had called him in, he could have sworn there was a glint in her eye. A quick survey of the room revealed piles of books and scattered papers, evidence of her work, and being the typical curious adolescent, Eren leaned over to skim the front covers.

"Physics of the Impossible."

"Philosophe Naturalis Principia Mathematica."

"The Balance of Time and-"

"Alright!" came Hanji's overly cheerful voice, causing Eren to snap back to attention. She was practically glowing as she nearly skipped over to Eren, waving her hand in the direction of a nearby chair. "Please, do take a seat, Eren!" she smiled.

The teen hesitantly obeyed, lowering himself slowly into was he feared would be his resting place. "You still haven't answered me," he reminded, folding his arms across his chest impatiently. This time she appeared to have heard him, turning her wide eyes on him and beaming.

"Oh, well, recently I've become rather invested in a new study, and since you are the only one I was able to find with free time, I wanted to try a little something," she hummed, pulling out a ominous looking syringe.

"Something?" Eren pressed, tilting away from her marginally.

"It's an, uh, experiment of sorts, you might say," Hanji explained, and suddenly Eren understood why everyone was telling him to avoid Hanji as much as possible when she's being unusually lively. "Took a while to gather everything I needed, a few months in fact, but now I can finally test it out-"

"Uh, wait," Eren flinched, holding up a hand, "This is safe, right? I won't get a disease or... explode or something?"

The squad leader blinked for a moment before huffing out a laugh, "Eren, I wouldn't endanger your life like that!" she said, clasping his hand in her own, "I just want to do this one test, okay? All you have to do is tell me how you're feeling and I'll write it down."

He took a second to consider his options, but Hanji's near death grip made running impossible, so he merely sighed and gave a sharp nod.

Hanji squealed and leaped back, and even her repeated 'thank you's and promised favors weren't enough to settle his agitated nerves. He exhaled roughly and stuck out his arm when instructed to, willing his body to relax and accept it's untimely fate. Hanji promised it would be fine, no need to be so jumpy.

"Relax, Eren," she consoled. "This isn't even supposed to work the first time, so you'll be fine."

Well. Not relaxed anymore.

Hanji cleansed the surface of his skin before bringing the needle up close and personal, pausing once before piercing his skin and injecting foreign fluids. Eren hissed, clenching his teeth together. Whatever it was, it burned like a bitch.

"All done!" Hanji chirped, taking a step back. Both parties stared at one another for a minute, Hanji with a notebook in hand and Eren rubbing his arm anxiously, before Hanji spoke up.

"Anything?" She sounded hopeful, but Eren still felt like himself, a bit hungry, but that might be because he skipped breakfast this morning. "No, nothing," he replied.

A thud resounded in the small room as Hanji collapsed dramatically to the floor, clutching her notebook and wailing, "No way! Everything was done accordingly, how could this happen? Such a downer!" Eren debated if he should try to comfort the distraught veteran, but before he could decide, she had already recovered, bouncing back to her feet and heaving a loud sigh.

"Ah, well, no use in crying over it, eh, Eren?" she concluded. "Guess I'll just have to keep trying." Hanji tossed the unused journal onto a neighboring table and began cleaning up the remains of the attempted experiment. Unsure of whether he was allowed to leave, Eren remained seated for a while before clearing his throat.

Hanji looked up and gasped a bit. "Oh, my bad! You're free to go."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and stood up casually, testing the waters, and when everything seems to be functioning accordingly, started towards the entry. He wondered what they would be serving for lunch, but that was deemed as unimportant as his legs suddenly gave out and the floor was rushing up to him.

Then it went dark, and he didn't think anymore.