Disclaimer: I do not claim any kind of ownership to Attack on Titan.

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Quick Note: This is an asylum fic, so I'm giving a trigger warning just to be safe. Nothing intensely gruesome, so you should be fine. Enjoy!

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The year 1952:

The frigid metal cuffs dug into Eren's wrists behind his back. The fluorescent lighting overhead cast his thin shadow long and spindly down the hall. His green eyes were startled, wide, staring blankly in shock at the ground as the guard led him through the narrow corridor. A white long sleeved shirt and loose, worn blue pants covered him. His footsteps echoed like thunder around him, and his heart was hammering almost painfully. Thick oak doors squeaked on their hinges as they were pried open, and he stepped into the office.

In front of him, a formidable man, tall with blonde hair parted on the side, sat with a pen in hand. "Eren Jaeger," he greeted, not glancing up. "I am the headmaster of this place, your new home. My name is Erwin Smith. I hope you'll settle in nicely."

Erwin went on to explain the basic rules, curfew, and everything else he would need to know to have a nice, quiet life within the walls Erwin commanded. Eren said nothing as the late afternoon light filtered through the window, dust particles drifting in the air, nearly blinding him as the man finally looked up to meet his frightened gaze.

"Welcome to Sina Asylum."

...

He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to be locked up in a cell, mere hours away from his first electroshock therapy session. He was supposed to be home, with his mother, maybe helping her cook. Not bound to a stiff hospital bed by leather straps, fighting the rising panic in his chest that begged him to just scream, fucking scream, because someone had to hear him and get him out. Someone had to.

But there was no one there. He was to be kept in isolation until his first session. Then he would be allowed to walk freely within the commons area and fenced courtyard, under strict supervision, for five hours a day. He was to obey commands, undergo treatment for his condition quietly, and perhaps he would be well enough to be released within a few years.

Eren knew that was a lie. No one left Sina. Not really.

Tears pricked at his eyes as he felt himself swelling up with the fear, his skin too tight around him, the walls closing in. He needed to move; he just needed to be able to lift his hand and he'd be fine but he couldn't and everything was smaller than it was supposed to be and he couldn't fucking breathe and he needed air right now.

He made a choking sound as he strained against the bindings, trying to make them dig deeper into his skin. He wanted them to rip him open, to let him just bleed a little because there was too much of him stuffed inside his skin and he needed to release something through the valve. He needed it to stop being so tight. He was just about to let himself finally cry out. Just so that it wouldn't be so damn quiet anymore. He stopped suddenly.

Someone tapped at the door to his cell. He heard a giggle.

Through the small square cut in the door at eye level, the mystery person suddenly jumped up, their hands grabbing the bars at the side and rattling the door. "Boo!"

Eren flinched, staring at the woman with wide, frightened eyes. She giggled again, pushing her glasses slightly on her nose. "Newbie, huh? Interesting! I bet you like science! Help me out with my experiments, would you? They're fun, and they piss off the staff! We could swap meds or something. I can tell you want to! What's your name, kiddo?"

He blinked, dumbfounded, watching the excitable woman grin at him in a friendly, though somewhat unnerving manner. "E-Eren," he managed. "My name's Eren Jaeger."

She cackled madly this time. "Fantastic," she exclaimed. "I'm Hanji Zoe, but don't ever use my last name. Zoe sounds stupid to me. Very unscientific. I can tell we'll get along very well, Mr. Jaeger." Somewhere down the hall, a door creaked and slammed shut. Her head turned and she grinned mischievously. A man yelled at her, demanding she get back to the main room. "Whoops! Gotta run! Later!" She took off sprinting, the guard chasing after in hot pursuit. Another door slammed, and Eren released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

He didn't sleep that night.

...

His door slammed open violently the next morning, rousing him out of the half-asleep stupor he'd fallen under. He was immediately on edge, his frantic eyes shifting to watch as two men approached him. Soon, he was unbound from the bed, only to be cuffed once more as he was roughly shoved out of his small quarters and into the hall.

They passed by the cafeteria and several other rooms before reaching a plain white metal door, which was opened to reveal another sickeningly white bed. Next to it was a metallic box with strange dials and buttons, attached by wires to wool muffs. The nurse was waiting for him next to the doctor, and patted the bed.

That was when it hit him that this was really going to happen.

"NO!"

The terror seized him as he jerked back, yanking away from the two men's grip on his shoulders. He yelled as he stumbled, and grunted when a pair of arms wrapped around his legs and sent him crashing into the floor, scraping his cheek on the cement harshly. The burning sensation on his skin didn't hinder him as he kicked and thrashed until he was finally pinned down and strapped to the bed.

The leather straps rubbed painfully against his flesh, but he didn't care. The muffs were secured against his temples, a piece of rubber forced between his teeth. He was sobbing by now, hot tears rolling down the sides of his face as he tried to beg through the rubber in his mouth.

The nurse smiled at him in an attempt to reassure him. "Hey, calm down, Eren," she said calmly. His name sounded almost poisonous on her lips as she made the final adjustments. "This is going to help you get better. This is going to fix you. Don't you want to be fixed?"

He shook his head as much as he could with his head tied down, almost choking when he tried to swallow his saliva as he gagged slightly on the rubber piece. The woman wiped at one of the salty drops, making him want to recoil in disgust and shame. She glanced at the doctor, who nodded, and turned a knob slowly.

Please! Please don't! I'll stop! Just untie me! Just let me go! Please I don't want to do this I swear it's not my fault I didn't mean to I'm so sorry just please don't do this I'm only eighteen and I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sor–

His voice ripped through his throat one last time in a muffled animalistic howl before the woman pressed a button, and his muscles clamped down on him, trapping him inside his own body as the striking electricity shot through his veins and nerves. He forgot how to breathe as he just stared at the ceiling, twitching, feeling the walls suffocating him. Feeling his own body suffocating him. It burned.

The shock struck like lighting in his head and snaked down to wind around his spine like a snake as it bit him from the inside out. He jerked and spasmed without control, driving him deeper into his panic as he tried to wrestle command over his body once more.

Why can't I move it hurts it hurts I'm scared, God I'm so scared please stop this. Where's Mikasa and Armin and Mom? Where are they? Why aren't they here? I'm alone. I'm alone and no one's going to help me.

I'm so scared.

Even when the humming of the machine stopped, he was still coiled tightly, still staring vacantly upward, unable to move. The rubber was taken out from between his lips, drool sloppily crawling out from the corners of his mouth. The tears kept sliding down his cheeks as he was moved into a wheelchair, and pushed out of the room.

It was just one night. It was just one night.

...

Hanji cackled as she continued to prod him with her spoon, insisting that she was only testing for his reaction. Levi couldn't fathom why he put up with her as much as he did, batting her away. He leaned his chin in his hands, bored, as he flipped to the next page of his book while Hanji finally gave up and went to go bother Mike, who was sniffing at the window like a dog again.

The doors to the common room swung open and Levi looked up to see a guard wheel in a rather thin looking boy. He'd never seen him before. His green eyes stared blankly at his feet, brown hair falling into his face. He was parked at one of the small tables towards the back of the room away from the other patients. A glass of water was placed in front of him, but he merely glanced at it dully.

The guard walked away, and Levi's eyes flashed as he watched the boy's gaze flicker angrily for a moment.

Maybe this one wasn't as defeated as he looked.

Suddenly, Hanji was dragging him to his feet towards the newbie, giggling as she tugged him along. "Ooh, Levi! You've gotta meet the new kid! You'll love him. He's adorable," she said. "Eren," she called, waving at the brunet. Levi watched as he slowly lifted his head to regard them warily, his expression worn and pained.

Levi noticed that the kid's hands were shaking, and he twitched every so often. Still, his gaze seemed lucid enough. Must have been shock therapy, was his guess.

Hanji plopped herself down in the chair next to the teen, making him jump. Levi folded his arms across his chest as he watched. "Levi, this is Eren, and he's our newbie," she claimed. Figured she lay stake on the kid like that. The woman could be damn possessive sometimes.

She turned to him animatedly, and said, "Don't you worry about a thing, kiddo! Levi and I will watch out for 'ya, won't we?" she implored, facing him. Levi grunted in response, but noticed Eren's shoulders relax somewhat. "You'll learn all the tricks in the book. Trust me!"

Eren nodded hesitantly, and Levi finally sat down across from him. "So," he said, getting straight to the point. "Do you actually talk? Or are you going to just sit there and whimper all day like some abused puppy?" Levi watched him carefully, noting the spark of irritation that lit up in his eyes.

Still, he looked away from the intimidating man. "I can talk," he muttered in small defiance.

"Well big fucking congratulations then," he sneered. "This was going to get really boring really fast if you couldn't."

At this, Eren scowled. Levi kept his expression cooled, watching the various emotions burning behind smoldering green eyes.

There it is. Knew it was back there somewhere.

"Drink your water, brat," he commanded. "If you just did shock, then you need it." Eren's nose crinkled as he glared at the older man, ignoring Hanji's incessant chatter next to him. "What? Are you deaf? Drink, moron." Eren's scowl deepened, but he complied nonetheless. Levi allowed himself to smirk ever so slightly, taking great enjoyment in getting a rise out of the newbie.

No, he decided. This one won't break.

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Author's Notes: So, I decided to have some fun with this AU idea of mine, and I'm liking it so far. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks,

Candy For Keyblades