A/N: Had to make the summary shorter for FF. So here's the full summary below. Fair warning: this story is going to have angst, hurt/comfort, past JeanEren, one-sided EreMin and mainly Levi/Eren. The rating will stay at T until the later chapters where I may change it to M. There's also death of characters and this AU is modern and contains mechas (or giant fighting robots).

Full Summary: Finally eighteen years old, Eren signs up the join the military.
The Survey Corps is a small, special core built into the Rose Military that conduct special activities. For years, they've been trying to perfect the use of their Mecha Machines, or giant robots, by somehow enhancing their power and the pilots' skills even if only for a limited amount of time; thus the M.E.E.T system was born.
M.E.E.T. stands for the Mental Establishment of an Entity Team.
This system couples machines and their pilots through their entities, making them become aware of one another in ways that would seem almost impossible and powering the robot with two souls rather than one. They merge and become one, suddenly in each other's mind, feeling each other's pain, hearing each other's thoughts, and so much more.
Scientist Hanji Zoe is a mind too intelligent for her own good. Except her system has it's holes.
The hard part is pairing up. And Eren's Altitude test and Wavelength percentage sends him down a difficult path when he matches up with Humanity's Strongest, who for years has been rejecting every partner he's ever been given.

Eren Jaeger- finally 18 years old, the age that meant he could sign up to join the military.

He told himself he was doing this because he was patriotic for his country, for his home, Maria, but he wasn't so sure. He wanted to believe he was aiming to settle the feud between Sina and Maria, but he wasn't certain. If anything, he was doing it to for his own selfish reasons.

A few years ago, Eren's father, Grisha, up and left. Left him and his mother, Carla, all by themselves. They never saw it coming though because it had been like any other normal week-day, all three of them in the kitchen eating breakfast together.

Grisha was a scientist working under the government and the military. He always wore a key around his neck; Eren never saw him without it and always wondered what it's purpose was, but never asked. This was because most of the time, his response to those types of questions would be along the lines of, "I can't tell you that, I'm sorry" or, "that's classified information that I am not allowed to share."

And it was understandable, even to Eren, as young as he was. If anyone ever were to target him, his family would be next, wouldn't they? And if they knew nothing, what was there to gain?

But the day Grisha left, he almost casually slipped the necklace over Eren's head and around his neck as he headed for the door. It was as if he knew he wasn't coming back, and for that reason, Eren didn't know whether to hate the man or worry that something had happened to him that day.

Finally managing to unwrap his fingers from the tight grip around the glinting key-adorned necklace around his neck, he let out a heavy, breathy sigh and continued packing his things. He needed to stop thinking about the past and get out of here. He tried his best not to look around the room; he knew he'd miss it, the calm atmosphere, the feeling of being in his own comfort zone, of having not a fucking care in the world.

He also tried to avoid his mother's lonely gaze as she stood in his doorway, watching him pack his clothing and accessories with her hands grasping the ends of her apron.

"Did you make sure to pack underwear, Eren?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, mom."

"Extra underwear?"

A slight, embarrassed pink blush highlighted Eren's cheeks and he stopped packing abruptly to turn and glare in her direction. "Yes, mom, get off my dick!"

Carla's eyebrows furrowed and trembled in her usual annoyance at his use of the D-word, and she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the doorway. "Speaking of that word I don't like you saying," at that Eren shut his mouth regretfully, "make sure to take those condoms that I brought you, alright?"

"I don't need-!"

She raised her hand and Eren automatically closed his mouth once again. "I have a son who went to me for most of his," her eyes flickered for a moment, "...boy problems. I wouldn't doubt my intuition here and I did go through the trouble of buying you condoms at the store. I got way too many looks. And I'm serious about packing extra underwear, Eren Jaeger. I know what happens when you get….unwanted dreams..."

"Thank you, mom-of-the-year," Eren mused, resuming his packing and making sure to hold his mother's gaze crudely as he walked over to his drawer, yanked it open and grabbed who knows how many pairs of underwear. He was being a smartass on purpose, but Carla was all too use to it by now that she was unfazed and simply leered back his way.

He went on gathering his things and didn't notice Carla disappear for a few minutes. He was too busy wondering about this place and his decision.

Was he making the right choice or was he being a little too selfish? Did he really want to join to settle the Maria-Sina dispute or did it have something to do with Grisha? Or was it neither? Maybe he merely wanted to get out of the house that gave him too many fading memories.

"Maybe my life just sucks and I'm looking for a easy, honorable way to die…" Eren unconsciously murmured out loud to himself.

"What was that, Eren?"

"Huh?!" Eren flinched and nearly dropped the shirt in his hand, spinning around to see Carla standing in the doorway again. Nervously, he scratched the back of his head and laughed half-heartedly. "Oh, no. Ha-ha-ha….n-nothing…" He mumbled before trailing off and eyeing the small tube in her hand. He groaned. "Is that seriously what I think it is…?"

"Depends on what you think it is," the brown-haired woman said with a shrug.

"L…" This was most definitely awkward. "Lu….b…" By this time Eren was almost wishing he had pretended like he had no idea what that liquid was in the first place because it was a word near-to-impossible to just casually say in front of her.

A tiny giggle came from Carla and she held it out to him, inching forward. "Lube, sweetheart. It's not that hard to pronounce. Here."

"What do you think I am….gay?!" Eren spewed, instantly regretting it as soon as Carla gestured to the picture sitting on the dresser beside them. He already knew that photo; he knew it a little too well actually and the last thing he wanted was to make eye contact with it. The picture consisted of him and his ex, Jean, arms wrapped around each other on an Easter day somewhere in their junior year. Both of them had a pair of stupid bunny ears on and even though they tried the make-up, they looked more like a cat's whiskers than a rabbit's. They still had worked hard though so they didn't even bother to wipe it off that day.

But Jean was an asshole in more ways than one and that's as far as Eren would allow himself to ponder on. He wasn't going to cry over Jean. It's been far too long, a good two years. He should have been over it by now. He should have burned that picture months ago.

Eren refused to look at the picture and when Carla's motherly senses kicked in, she grabbed the photo and faced it downward. He felt his mother grasp his hands and she wrapped the tube in his hands, pushing it to him. "Don't act like there's something wrong with being gay. You just didn't find the right guy for you yet, okay…? Take it," she smiled and cupped his face. "Because mama wants to make sure she's taking good care of her amazing son who just happens to like his own gender."

Eren leaned into the gentle touch and smiled. He was going to miss more than the comfort of his room; he was going to miss this, going to miss her.

He pulled away and zipped up his bag, throwing it over his shoulder and checking once more for the key around his neck. Carla noticed it, but choose not to pry into it and followed after him as he exited his room.

They were walking down the stairs when the loud sound of a horn blared through the windows and caused them to flinch, covering their ears in the process.

When Carla opened her eyes, she was glaring, making an annoyed grimace. "What the-?!"

"That's the bus!" Eren recognized that sound all too quickly, tracing it back to the sound that a woman with brown hair and glasses had blasted into his ear after he signed all the legal military contracts and filled out the forms. He couldn't forget her yelling, "that's the bus' horn, okay?! When you hear it, you better be ready! Hannes gets impatient fast!" He never got her name, but he assumed that meant that Hannes would be the name of the man picking up all the rookies.

"That is too fucking loud! It probably startled all the neighbors!" Carla shouted.

Eren was pounding down the stairs now and bursting out the front door to see a bus stationed out on the street in front of his home. Nothing was too flashy about the red and white bus besides the emblem that stood out on the side; a beautiful red rose inside a shield-shaped figure. With how tinted the windows were, he couldn't see anything but the shadows of others, probably his age sitting and jumping around excitedly.

"Hold on, Eren!" Came Carla's voice as she appeared at the doorway with something in her hands. Normally, Eren would have groaned at this like he used to when he was younger and she'd drop him off at the bus stop instead of letting him walk alone like his friends, but today was an exception. Today, he was leaving her and if she embarrassed him by kissing and slobbering all over his goddamn face, then so be it. Cause he didn't know when he'd be back.

Or if he'd be back, as dark as that thought was.

She hurried up to him and held out the old red scarf given to him when he was a kid. "You left this….I know you may not wear it, but it'd be nice to have around, right…?" She was almost hesitant, as if she feared he would reject taking it with him, but that wouldn't be the case.

Eren gave her a small, bittersweet smile and he bowed his head. "Right."

Carla returned the smile and she wrapped it around his neck caringly, throwing the end over his shoulder before she held out her hand. "Now give me your hand."

With a raise of his eyebrows, he placed his hand in hers and watched as she pulled off one of her rings, the one that seized her index finger. She always wore it on the same hand as her marriage ring and Eren never knew its purpose or who it was from. And it was now being given to him.

She held his hand as she slipped it onto his index finger and ran her thumb over it gently, her smile growing, but etching with sadness. When she looked up, their eyes caught one another.

Two pairs of green staring into each other like a reflection, like a mirror.

Carla's gaze was firm, serious and unmoving as she observed Eren's face. "Should you ever find someone who you think is important...or who you love while you're there… I want them to have this. I want them to wear it, Eren, just like how you are, on their index finger. Nowhere else. Even if you're not with them, I want to be able to recognize him by myself with this alone…."

Eren's breath caught; he couldn't find the words to respond. He was silent and at a lost, looking between his mother's face and the bus waiting behind them. Ever since Jean, he couldn't see himself really loving anyone. He couldn't see himself trusting anyone enough like that again. And he most definitely couldn't see himself giving this ring to anybody either.

But he didn't want to tell Carla that before they parted ways. He wanted her to believe there would be someone to introduce to her one day. "Of course…I will," he forced out through gritted teeth before the bus suddenly blared again with a loud honk.

Eren flinched again, but Carla wasn't fazed, her eyes narrowing. "Well fuck. Ruin a mother-son moment why don't you, you impatient old fart of a…!"

He cut his mother off. "Mom, I have to go. They probably have others to pick up, too." With a chaste kiss to her forehead and a grin because he realized how much taller he was than her, he rushed towards the bus, waving in her direction. "Bye, mom!"

He left her standing there with wide eyes, holding the spot he kissed with one hand as she waved with the other. "Text me! Or call, please!"

Before he stepped onto the bus, he smiled over his shoulder. "Sure! If they let me!"

The blond man sitting in the driver's seat, Hannes as that weird glasses-woman mentioned before, stopped Eren at the front and the whole bus got quiet. Everyone was silent as he pulled out a clipboard and scanned through a stack of papers attached to it. After a while, Hannes paused, looking at Eren, at the paper, at Eren, and then the paper again. "Eren Jaeger…?"

He nodded.

"Security question: what's the animal that you hate the most?"

Eren tried to think back. He had set up that question himself and, of course, answered it, but his memory was pretty shitty. "Uh…..horses, I believe…"

"Ding-ding-ding," Hannes said, coming off bored and tired. "We have a not fake. Welcome, Eren Jaeger. Prepare to die and get your balls chopped clean off."

"W-What?!"

Everyone on the bus broke out into hysterical laughter, even Hannes who patted his arm and wiped a tear in the corner of his eye. "Gets the males every time….! I'm kidding. Now go sit down before I drive this piece of shit while you're standing."

"Oooh, okay…" Eren murmured, already uncomfortable as he walked down the aisle and the bus started to buzz with chatting once more. And if things weren't bad enough, he saw a familiar face to make things worse. He froze. Not a familiar face that makes one jump for joy, but the kind that makes a stomach churn.

"Eren…?"

"Jean…?!"

The two-toned undercut, ex-boyfriend was sitting in a seat with another male; one with black hair and freckles. His face had paled just as Eren was sure his had as well. How in the hell did the last person he wanted to see, be the first goddamn face he had to encounter on the bus?

Is this a fucking joke?

As much as he wanted to, he wasn't going to run back, jump out the bus and stumble back into the safety of his own home. He had his reasons for joining the military and Jean wasn't going to fuck things up for him.

The boy next to him smiled. "You know each other…?"

Jean sucked in a breath and nodded. "Yeah. Unfortunately."

The other male popped Jean on the arm with a glare and then regarded Eren. "Hi there! I'm Marco, Marco Bodt. Nice to meet you!"

"Eren….Eren Jaeger…"

The freckled boy's eyes brightened up. "Nice last na-!"

"Sit your little ass down, Eren!" Sang Hannes from the front of the bus, cutting off Marco.

Eren was happy with the interruption. It meant getting away from Jean and that's exactly what he wanted to do, except he was stopped by the little blond sitting in the seat across from them.

He had a nice appearance, probably one of those brains-not-brawn types which made Eren wonder why he was here. His face was round and his eyes were blue like the ocean, a color Eren nearly found himself getting lost in when he had turned to look at him. His blond hair was almost shoulder-length and he had a small, petite build to him. It was kind of cute.

"You can sit with me...uh...Eren." He forced the name out a bit awkwardly, but Eren still found it adorable. He held out his hand and smiled. "My name is Armin Arlert."

Eren smiled back and took the smaller, fragile hand, shaking it as gently as possible as if it would break under too strong a grip. "Nice to meet you, Armin."

Armin seemed to be smiling from ear-to-ear now and he moved his bag and scooted over so that Eren could sit. When they both got comfortable enough and the bus started to move, the blond leaned in and whispered into Eren's ear, "I take it you and Jean don't like one another..?"

Eren was a bit taken aback by the question, but when he saw the sincere expression on Armin's face, he almost felt relaxed and he suddenly felt as if he could trust him with his deepest, darkest secrets. He shook his head. "No, not really. But that's it. We don't hate each other, but there's no liking either."

"I see."

Not that Eren was jealous, at least he was convincing himself of that, but he couldn't help asking the one question that came to mind when he saw Marco. His voice came out low, so low that Armin had to lean in to hear him in the loud vehicle, but he didn't want anyone, especially Jean who was across from him to hear.. "Hey, uh….are Marco and Jean a thing?"

Armin blinked and turned slightly rosy, so surprised by the question that he had to clear his throat to answer. "N-No, nooo! No, they're not. Marco has been my friend since my freshman year. He would have told me if he were dating someone. Besides, they just met."

"Ah…." Eren sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Just wondering…"

Armin must have somehow sensed the internal war Eren was having within himself because he tried to change the subject, suddenly lighting up. "Hey, how about I introduce you to everyone real briefly? You know, just names and faces, and then you can properly meet later…?"

At that, Eren followed Armin's finger as he pointed to Jean and Marco. "You've already met those two and you know Jean. But Marco, I'll let you know right now that he's really nice. He's a caring guy and likes to help people, but he's honest when he has to be."

He then pointed to a pair of males; one was blond and had quite the muscular build, he seemed to be boosting to the one next to him; a tall olive-skinned boy with dark hair who was sweating just a bit. He looked like the nervous type, but seemed comfortable with the other.

"The blond is Reiner Braun. From what I know, he's a show-off, but he's comical and he seems nice. The tall one is Bertholdt Hoover. He sweats a lot, just don't say anything about it. He's quiet and shy, but he does talk if you strike up a conversation with him."

The next two were a chatty, loud pair. A boy who was practically bald and a girl with brown hair who was chewing on a potato. "Connie and Sasha. They're weird, but hilarious." He gestured to four people in the back as he pointed to each one individually. "Mina, Thomas, Hannah and Franz. I don't know much about them, honestly. Mina is nice though. And I know Hannah and Franz are together so I wouldn't make a move on Hannah if I were you."

"Oh, trust me, I won't," Eren mumbled with a roll of his eyes. "I'm the fucking gay lord."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Continue."

Armin went on to a couple of girls near the back. One was sleeping, sitting alone in a seat. She had short, shoulder-length raven-colored hair and was almost pale. Eren could easily see the Asian descent in her features. "That's Mikasa. She hasn't said much so I can't tell you anything."

The other two girls consisted of a blonde even tinier than Armin and a tall freckled girl with her brown hair tied back. They were playing around, tickling each other and laughing.

"And that's Ymir and the blonde is Christa. Ymir had made it clear that Christa is hers so don't make a move on her either cause Ymir seems rather….tough. And then there's me!" He smiled in a friendly manner as he pointed to himself, blue orbs brightening up.

Eren shrugged. "Nice crowd."

"Nice sarcasm," Armin piped with a little giggle.

"I'd say thank you, but I was actually being genuine. I guess I'm just tired.."

Armin squeaked apologetically and lowered his head. "Ah! I'm so sorry! I should have let you sit by the window so you could lean against it and sleep…!"

"It's fine!" Eren started.

"No, it's not!" Armin countered, scooting closer to Eren and offering his small shoulder. "H-Here….you can lean on me if you want. I don't mind at all…"

Eren looked from Armin's face to his shoulder and back again. He wondered if this boy was being a little too nice though Eren was ready to take the offer if he really meant it. He was tired, actually. It was sudden, but he wanted to close his eyes now. Wanted to see the black nothingness of the inside of his eyelids instead of the people on this bus. "Are you sure?"

"Positive…" Armin said.

After a little whispered 'thank you', Eren made himself comfortable and rested his head on Armin's shoulder. It was small, but it was still nice and he appreciated the offer.

He didn't, or couldn't, fall asleep right away even though he so badly wanted to and ended up asking a question that he was curious to have answered. "Hey...Armin, right?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you join the military?" He inquired, staring at the back of the seat in front of them, eyeing the ugly, boring grey color. "I mean...everyone has a reason...and I was just wondering…"

Armin seemed to be thinking of his next words carefully, that or he was trying to find a way to avoid the question altogether because he didn't want to say it, but soon said, "I want to work alongside Hanji Zoe." He almost sounded like he was in a trance when he muttered the name in a quiet awe. "She's a scientist in the Survey Corps committee. I've heard all kinds of things about her from my Grandpa who used to work with her….and it's just always been my dream, I guess. Heh, sounds cheesy right?"

Eren shook his head awkwardly on Armin's shoulder. "Not really. My father was a scientist, too. I don't know if he was with the Survey Corps, but he did work for the military."

"You say that like he stopped working there…? He quit?" Armin asked.

Unconsciously, Eren gripped the key around his neck in his hand and sighed heavily, suddenly feeling tired enough to just pass out. "In all honesty, I don't know, Armin…. I wish I did."

The next thing Eren knew, he was being pulled from his deep slumber by a gentle hand shaking his shoulder. Once again, he had no dream to recall or ponder on; just another dreamless nap. He wasn't surprised about it though considering it happened often.

Eren's head slowly rose from its resting place upon Armin's shoulder and he sat up straight, making his best attempt to rub the grogginess from his eyes. The blond had his eyes on him, a slightly amused look on his round face and a tiny curve on his lips. It almost seemed like he wanted to laugh, but as soon as Eren shot him a confused glance and raised his eyebrows, Armin glided his hand across his own lips.

It didn't take Eren too long to catch that gesture; he quickly rubbed away the drool on the corner of his mouth with his jacket sleeve and glared Armin's way when the boy giggled quietly before turning his attention back to the front.

Eren followed his gaze only to find that the entire bus was now dead silent and had stopped. Hannes was in the front and it seemed as if he had been talking for quite a while now, a black duffle bag in his hands.

"...now this is an order placed upon me by the Survey Corps and the entire Rose Administration, and since you're kids, I know you'll all be tempted to pull off these blindfolds," Hannes was saying, shifting almost nervously on his feet. "But don't. It's considered illegal action against the military and both you and I could get into huge trouble."

Blindfolds?

Eren sideways glanced at Armin and leaned close, nudging his petite shoulders with his own. "What the fuck is he talking about…?" Eren whispered through gritted teeth. "Blindfolds? What in the hell do we…?"

"For safety precautions," Armin said, cutting him off in a hushed, hurried tone without even breaking away from the man at the front. "Apparently, the location is supposed to be top secret and it's in case we should ever return back home or get held hostage. Either way, they don't want us to know so Hannes said he's got to blindfold us."

It was bit easier said than done for Eren to hide how blatantly confused he looked. He understood taking orders, yes, but did they seriously trust a bunch of kids to just do as they're told? Did these higher ups really think everyone would just shrug and go along with it without peeking under their cloth?

Not that he would be the one idiotic enough to do it nor did he know anyone else in the bus enough to gauge whether they would or not. With the exception of horse-face, of course. Eren didn't put it past Jean to be the stupid one to get himself in that sort of trouble just because he wanted to be a rebel.

He peered past Armin with narrowed eyes and noticed Jean leaned in close to Marco as he whispered something in the later boy's ear and then sniggered.

Yeah, he definitely just might be the one.

Eren sure knew how to pick them. He should have believed his mother's weird hunch the first time he had brought him over to his house near the start of their relationship. Her woman's intuition was pretty damn good most of the time if not fucking spot on.

Yet he gave stupid Jean the benefit of the doubt. And look where that got him.

Returning his attention to Hannes, Eren watched as the man made his way down the aisle and passed out blindfolds to everyone. It was apparent that all of them were black since that was the only color that came out as he got closer to their row.

"Please take this seriously when I say, no matter what," Hannes purposely emphasized the last word, raising his voice and the tension in it as he gave two blindfolds to Armin before turning to Jean and Marco's side. "Do NOT take them off. Legal action may be taken against you if you violate this rule."

Armin handed Eren one of the blindfolds and almost immediately started to wrap the fabric around his head. Within seconds, he could no longer see and he gazed carefully in Eren's direction, taking a nervous gulp of air and licking his lips. "I'm never one to complain about orders, but...I don't like the feeling of being blindfolded, Eren. I-I hate the dark and I feel extremely vulnerable right now…"

If he wasn't kidding, then Eren had to admire Armin for this. He put it on as soon as it was placed in his hands without question, yet he felt this way.

How gutsy.

Though the cracking of his voice would say otherwise.

Eren gave the blond a reassuring pat on the head and grinned, "no worries, Armin. You're fine. I'll protect you, alright? If you want you could hold my hand the entire time-" His joking words caught in surprise when the smaller male suddenly lunged out, desperately searching Eren's lap for his hands. "Hey! Hey! I still need to put on my blindfold!"

"Sorry!" Armin squeaked, contorting into his own space and clasping his own hands together as if trying to reassure himself. He also must have felt the need to explain himself because he didn't stop there as he piped, "I-I get nervous really easily, sorry…!"

"You're fine," Eren reaffirmed so sternly that he couldn't even believe it was his own voice that had spoken the words. He stared down at the blindfold for longer than intended because Hannes was already coming back up the aisle and he made sure to shoot him a warning look before he got to the front. With a deep sigh, Eren raised the cloth to his face and his sight then plummeted into total darkness as he wrapped it around his head and tied it tight.

He heard some footsteps headed back their way, the pace was slow and almost completely random, becoming louder as whoever it was came closer.

"Ow! Fuck…!" Cursed a sharp and annoyed voice.

It was Jean without a doubt. Eren could recognize that voice in a loud crowd if he tried.

"Sorry," said Hannes. "But its mandatory that I check the blindfolds before we move on."

There was a small silence that followed before a familiar squeaking noise could be heard from beside Eren.

"Sorry, kiddo."

"It's fine…" Armin whimpered quietly, obvious anxiousness etched in his voice.

Eren braced himself, but nothing could have ever prepared him for the hard tug Hannes gave the back of his blindfold. Had he not be ready, he had no doubt that the man's strength would have yanked him into the seat and maybe into a coma.

Okay, maybe that was an overstatement.

He gritted his teeth and growled at the pull and he heard Hannes laugh. "Sorry, guys. I might not be used to my own strength yet." Eren rolled his eyes from under the blindfold. Might? "I guess I feel like I'm being gentle when I'm really not. With the intense muscle training you'll endure, you will understand what I mean when you get there."

There was a snort. "Might?" Came Jean's voice.

Eren grimaced at the word. He had hung around horse face so much that they had practically thought the same thing. Carla hadn't been lying when she claimed they were alike two years ago. She may have been grinning when she did, but she must have been dead serious.

"Very funny, Kirschstein," Hannes mused.

As soon as the volume of the footsteps decreasing gave the indication that Hannes was continuing his check towards the back of the bus, Eren leaned back into the seat and relaxed. With only the darkness to entertain him and no intention of peeking out from under his blindfold, he probably would have drifted back into comfortable slumber had he not felt the entire seat begin to quiver rather violently.

Eren tilted his body and leaned his shoulder against Armin's trembling one, coming to the realization that the seat wasn't the one quivering; it was the blond sitting in it. The body language was the only thing to go off of, but with the statements from earlier, Eren knew that Armin was becoming super nervous.

He elbowed the blond softly in the arm. "Hey, relax. We're fine. The bus hasn't even moved yet and you're losing your goddamn mind. Calm down."

"Mmmm…." Armin mumbled through his chattering teeth, jaw tight with apprehension. "Easy for you t-to say. I'm sorry you're stuck sitting next to a shivering mess like me."

Eren shook his head even though he knew the other male didn't see it. Armin had been nice enough to let him sit beside him and even rest his head on his shoulder. As far as Eren was concerned, he owed him twice.

He reached out and allowed his hand to search for Armin's shoulder. The boy had flinched at Eren's touch, but he didn't make an attempt to move or say anything as Eren's hand slid down his arm to find the blond's.

Eren's hand covered Armin's, fingers wrapping around the smaller one as he pulled their hands into the little space between them. It took a few seconds, but soon Armin stopped his shaking and relaxed, taking in sharp, deep breaths to help calm himself down.

"Alright, it seems everybody has secured their blindfolds nicely," Hannes spoke. He must have passed by Eren because he felt a rush of air when the bus driver's voice sounded close and loud. "There are hidden security cameras in this vehicle and the footage will be checked before official training begins so don't think that just because my eyes are on the road that you won't get caught. Because you will and you will be dismissed, is that clear?"

Eren nodded his head.

"Good," Hannes said, followed by the sound of a bag being dropped and a seat squeaking.

The bus is suddenly moving again and Eren cocked his head in the direction of the windows only to remember that he had been blindfolded. Coming to that realization made him want to shiver too and he could see now why Armin was so jittery. Who wouldn't be when they could see nothing but pitch black yet felt themselves being transported to an unknown location that was so important that it needed to remain confidential?

It was the military base, of course, and Eren could see where they were coming from, but it didn't ease his mind much less Armin's. The natural response of being cautious was still present within him and perhaps everyone else on the bus, too.

It had Eren wondering just how well Jean was taking it and knowing him, he knew he'd be sitting on the fence about this too. But Eren hoped, for everyone's sake, that he wasn't stupid enough to jump it by peeking under his blindfold.

He may not have liked Jean, but his hatred didn't reach the point of wanting him to go to prison.

For about ten minutes or so, the bus was nothing but the definition of silence. The atmosphere was unnervingly hushed and it didn't settle right with Eren's stomach at all nor did it help keep Armin's teeth from chattering or his body from trembling.

Eren did his best to relax the blond without speaking, rubbing soothing circles into back of his hand with his thumb, their fingers intertwined. He was positive that Armin's knuckles were pure white with how tightly his hand was gripping his own. It was a vice grip that wouldn't let go unless someone pried it apart and Eren found himself worrying that someone would have to do that once they arrived at the base.

The bus stopped.

And the atmosphere grew even more rigid; so disturbingly quiet that Eren almost wanted to dash off the bus to puke. He wished his mother hadn't fed him such a huge breakfast now.

Armin's fingers were tightening now and Eren's face contorted in pain to cope with the iron grip. But he didn't say anything. He didn't want to say anything in this dead silence.

The sound of someone getting out of their seat echoed throughout the bus and the noise the door made when it opened up followed suit. Said person was probably getting out.

And Eren hoped that person was not Hannes.

But unfortunately, it made all the sense in the world that the person who had gotten up was Hannes. He was the only one who could open the door, hell, the control was at the front of the bus anyway! And he doubted any of these blindfolded people had even dared to move.

A long, hushed front glided over the entire vehicle and it lasted for about three minutes if not more, until Jean spoke up, "guys….you still alive, or what?"

"Sasha is…" came a frightened, female voice and then a loud slap.

"Ow! Sasha! Did you just hit me?!"

"Connie is," the voice said again.

A body scooted close to Eren, a little bit too close, but it was almost comforting considering the situation. "Mr. Hannes?" Armin called out in nervous squeak. "Mr. Hannes…? Hello?"

"Where did that bastard go?!" Jean cried.

Eren noted how he had basically screamed that and it could have been possible that the man was right outside, possibly tending to the bus or speaking with someone. He growled in annoyance. "Shut the fuck up, Jean! We're probably at the base and he could be talking to someone right now."

Jean clicked his tongue. "Like hell that's what you were thinking!" He countered, and Eren could almost picture him throwing his arms up as if he were livid. "He would have told us we could take off the blindfolds then! This is about knowing the location and how to get there, not what the damn place looks like!"

"Guys…." Marco murmured in a careful voice.

"Jean has a point," came a somewhat deep-voiced response. Eren assumed it was Reiner. "I don't think he would have just exited the bus without saying jack-shit to us."

"Maybe the fucker is testing us. Seeing if we'll pull of the blindfolds."

That was most definitely Ymir. He could remember that flirtatious voice. She said quite the amount of lewd pick-lines to the blond girl beside her from time to time and Eren only wished he never heard them in the first place.

But for once, Eren was beginning to appreciate how observant he was when it came to voices. Put him in a room with people speaking left and right, and he could still pull the voices out if he heard them for long enough. It was saving him the confusion now.

"Then we can't pull them off," Marco asserted.

Armin was whimpering quietly from beside Eren and he offered the blond a couple of reassuring hand squeezes before butting back into the conversation.

"We won't. She's probably right and he is testing us. That makes sense," he muttered. "So we'll just sit here and wait. That shouldn't be too-"

Suddenly, the sound of banging against the bus echoed around them, slicing right through Eren's words and making the quiet atmosphere flip into pure chaos. Everyone was startled and the bus filled with the panicked screams of the blindfolded kids as they jumped from their seats out of the natural fight or flight response.

Eren, too, had been startled, but before he could jump to his feet, he was pinned down by a body. There was no doubt in his mind it had been Armin because the body on top of him was petite and the arms clinging to his waist were fragile and shivering violently.

There was absolutely no way he'd get out of this mess with his blindfold on. Things were chaotic right now and Hannes seemed reasonable; he'd accept the removal of the cloth in an emergency, wouldn't he?

"Ymir! Ymir, where are you?!"

"Historia!"

Eren didn't really have the time to ponder on it.

"R-Reiner?"

He ripped his blindfold off.

"Connie! Connie!"

But it was still pitch black.

"Sasha, it's okay! I'm here!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jean cursed out loud. "Marc-!" He was cut off and a grunt followed by the sound of someone hitting the ground and urgent footsteps racing past. "FUCK!"

"I'm right here, Jean!" Marco cried. "I haven't moved! Are you okay?"

The loud screams on the bus were suddenly echoing from outside the bus and Eren was now coming to the realization that everyone had bolted for the door. They must have been the only four who remained on the bus now.

Jean was panting and Eren reached out towards the noisy breaths, keeping his other hand on Armin who was still shaking in his lap. "Here. Take my hand. I took off my blindfold and its pitch fucking dark in here for some reason so feel for it."

"Eren…?"

"Yeah."

Eren felt Jean grab for his hand in the darkness as he pushed himself up. "Where's Armin?"

"Here…" the blond squeaked as he slowly sat up straight, giving Eren enough freedom to breathe without feeling constricted anymore. He may have looked weak, but he sure did have a fucking grip. "C-Can we get out of here…? It's dark..."

"Yeah. We need to find out what the fuck is going on," Jean said bitterly. "Because if this is some test then these people are either fucked up or something went wrong. I'll go first."

Eren assumed that Marco would go next so he waited for the sound of him shuffling into the aisle reached his ears before standing up and followed the freckled male. Armin was behind him in a flash and grasped Eren's arm as they maneuvered to the front of the bus, taking careful steps down the entrance and outside.

It was just as dark as it was inside the bus and Eren guessed that maybe they were in one of those tunnels. On a halloween night, Eren would have applauded Hannes for ditching kids in a place like this and having them trample over one another to get outside an abandoned bus.

But it wasn't a halloween night.

He wasn't amused.

It was so quiet that Eren was seriously worried. Where had the rest of the people on the bus gone? Why couldn't he no longer hear them screaming?

Armin then spoke up, turning Eren's thoughts into words that was relayed out to Marco and Jean. "Where is everyone else..? I don't hear them anymore..."

"Maybe they're dead," Jean replied, eliciting a whimper from Armin.

Eren scrunched up his face in the darkness and glared even though he had no idea where Jean even was. "That's far from fucking funny."

"Don't get your panties in a knot, Jaeger. I was kidding," Jean said even though he should have known good and well that this was no joking matter. "I bet they all just made a run for it and its unlikely that they worked together so they're probably separated and lost."

"That's not good..." Marco affirmed quietly. "We need to go find them."

"After we figure out where the hell we are, sure…!" Jean stated almost sarcastically.

Eren rolled his eyes. He was really starting to wonder what he had seen in this guy. "We're probably in one of those car tunnels," he offered, trying to keep the bite out of his voice.

"Car tunnels usually have lights though…" Armin murmured.

"But it makes sense," Marco called from a little ways away. "I've felt around and we seem to be in a tunnel based on these walls."

It was apparent that Jean was becoming more and more bitter by the second. "Splendid," he mused with a hint of annoyance edged in his tone.

Eren almost opened up his mouth to make a retort about how much Jean was pissing him the fuck off, but he was stopped when he heard Marco begin to scream. "Hey! HEY! HE-!" Then there was muffled screaming, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"Marco!" Jean called. "Marco!"

Eren was ready to rush over when he felt Armin get yanked away from him. The force sent him stumbling and nearly falling over, but as soon as regained his stance, he looked around.

But that was no help in the pitch black.

"EREN! ERENN!"

"ARMIN!"

The sound of struggling and screaming echoed, but it came from two different directions and it left Eren in a stump. One was loud grunts; perhaps Jean trying to fight someone off, and the other was the heart wrenching cries of Armin and the muffled screeching of Eren's name.

At the last second, Eren figured Jean could fight much better than Armin could and pursued the blond. But he never made it because someone had reached out for him and wrapped him up in their arms. He tried to struggle, but it made no difference.

Someone pressed a cloth to his face.

And even though he tried to hold his breath, he eventually had to get air.

He could still hear Jean and Armin struggling as he did; both fighting for their lives just as Eren was, both screaming. He endured that for a while, gradually becoming lightheaded and confused, slowly losing the feeling in his legs, sluggishly forgetting how to stay standing.

Until whatever it was on that cloth made him lose consciousness.

And when Eren came to, he found himself in a white room that smelled clean and fresh. He laying on a soft infirmary bed and a man was staring down at his face with a pair of steely grey eyes.

"You finally woke up. It's about fucking time."

wound