A/N: Now, in a few of my more popular one shots, I've found people usually want a second part. So when I finished the first part, I realized people would most likely want a second part, since Armin and Eren weren't exactly out of the woods yet, since Eren had a broken leg. But I was like, I already have a climax and resolution. How can I add more without messing up the story structure? Then I was like, well, I'll just write another one shot with its own climax and resolution.

It's kinda funny, since I wrote this while I was in the thick of a production of "Into the Woods" which sort of follows the same structure.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

FIGHT

Part Two

The boom came again.

For a second, Eren could almost convince himself that it was simply thunder, an oncoming rainstorm, though the sky was cloudless. Each rumble, each thump was a little louder.

He pressed his back against the wall and gave the ground an experimental push with his good foot, trying to heave himself into a standing position. Pain shot through his entire body, and he slumped back down, his eyes squeezed shut, his teeth clenched so hard he thought his jaw might crack.

"We've got to... get you out of here..." he heard Armin say.

Eren's eyes snapped open to glare at Armin, his breath coming in short huffs. "What... what are you talking about? I'm not about to desert our squad."

Armin crouched beside him. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "Please, just take a second, catch your breath."

Eren let out a long breath, trying to push away the sensation of liquid fire pouring over his leg.

Each breath was a struggle.

He watched, staring but barely seeing as Armin got to his feet and grabbed a short board from a pile of rubble. He then placed it against Eren's leg. Together they tied it on with strips of cloth, ripped from their uniforms.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Apart from the rumble of titan feet, the air was still, silent. No swish of gas, no whirr of cables. No voices.

"Where are the others?"

Armin flinched, then closed his trembling hands into fists. "T-they..."

"What? Armin, are they okay?"

His friend didn't reply. His eyes began to glaze over as he stared at nothing, his entire body shaking.

No. No, they couldn't—they couldn't be—

Eren grabbed Armin's arms, the movement jerky. "Just tell me what happened!" he shouted. His voice grated in his throat, harsher than he meant it to be.

"They died," Armin whispered, then buried his face in his arms. "All of them. I w-watched them die and I d-didn't do any-anything. I—I couldn't move!" He lifted his head, his breath hitching. "Don't you see? If you stay out here, in this condition, you'll die too!"

Eren felt his lip lift in a snarl. His breath jerked in and out. How dare Armin say that? How dare he say that they should run like cowards with their tails between their legs?

"Our orders were to stay until the people have evacuated," Eren said. "What's the point of becoming a soldier if we can't even do that?"

He heaved himself up, blinking hard as pain screamed up his leg. The world tipped, and Eren countered it by shooting off his cable and leaping into the air. He heard Armin's faint cries, telling him to come back, to just stop and think... but he couldn't. He wasn't a deserter. He'd fight these monsters until his last breath. After all they'd taken, he wasn't going to let them take Trost too.

He flew through the streets, wind whipping around his shaking body. The stones below him were flecked with blood, the only evidence left of his fallen companions. Acid rose in his throat, almost choking him. They didn't deserve to die like this. He forced his gaze back up, swallowed hard. His throat burned.

There.

There it was.

A titan, one of the seven meter ones, lumbering down the street.

Wiping a hand across its bloodied mouth.

Eren jerked to a stop, his body quivering, his mind refusing to make the connection. No. Not again.

Not again.

The world around him seemed to turn red as heat rushed through his body, overwhelming the pain.

Let's see how they liked becoming the hunted.

The titan turned to walk away, and Eren leaped from the wall, swinging out his anchor and letting out the gas. He shifted his weight from side to side, like he had practiced so many times. He flew past building after building, straining to catch up with the monster that had killed his companions, the people he had trained with for three years, the people he had learned to call his friends.

"Come back here, you bastard!" Eren screamed. "I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"

His mind stuttered and he was twelve again, watching his mother's broken body lifted by the titan. Except this time he wasn't going to run away. He was going to rip that titan apart, he was going to—

The impact came before he even knew what was happening. He was flying through the air, then sickening agony slammed right through him. For a moment, he was held by nothing.

The ground flew up to catch him, its reach anything but soft. He heard the smack, saw the darkness splatter across his vision. A high pitched ringing filled his ears, blocking out all sound.

No... No! He couldn't pass out... he couldn't...

Eren... promise me you won't get killed.

Eren cracked opened an eye; the other was swollen shut. The world was nothing but a smear.

He opened his mouth, but his lungs refused to fill with air. Then he was choking down breaths of air, retching it back up, his body spasming. He gave a deep shudder, a movement that sent waves of pain rippling down his body. His mouth was filled with the coppery taste of blood. Where was the titan?

Move, he thought. Just move, you stupid piece of garbage!

But his body refused, it refused to stir from where he was sprawled across the street. Like an old dishcloth someone had thrown away. At every second he expected to feel the weight of some titan's giant fingers closing around his body.

Please... just move...

It felt as if he were hovering on the brink of nothingness, slipping between pain and numbness.

Can't...

Then came the whir of a cable, the hiss of steam, the thump of boots hitting the ground.

"Eren, seriously, what the hell? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" A foot touched his side. "If that abnormal had any sense, you'd be dead by now!"

Jean's voice.

"I know you're a hardheaded idiot, but I thought you knew that this 3DM gear doesn't let you fly through buildings."

Eren opened his mouth, ready to spit out a retort, but no words came out, only a low moan. It wasn't a wimper. He didn't do that. Soldiers didn't do that.

"Jean, we-we've got to get... gasp... get him out of here! He wouldn't listen to me... he..."

There was the sound of a snort, almost like a horse might make. "Well, that might be possible if I weren't running so low on gas. Idiot supply depots have holed themselves up at HQ and now titans are swarming all over the building. We'd be lucky to get ourselves out, much less him."

"We c-can't just leave him here to die!"

Eren gave a small shudder. Dizziness rattled through his brain, making him nauseous. How had he let himself become so broken? How had he let himself become a risk to his companions' lives? They couldn't take him with them... they...

If someone ordered you to die... would you?

The words echoed through Eren's pounding head. Tears slipped out of his eyes, stinging his cheeks as they touched the fresh slashes of fire on his face. He didn't want to be left to die... all he wanted right now was his mother. His father. Their little house with the stream nearby and Mikasa calling him in for supper.

Then Eren felt an arm slip around his body, the touch surprisingly gentle. He felt himself being lifted. He couldn't even lift his gaze to try and meet Jean's, couldn't even choke out a protest.

"We shouldn't be too far away from the wall," Jean said. "Keep an eye out for titans."

Useless. Nothing but a piece of dead weight.

He was supposed to be able to stand on his own, to get up and fight, fight until he had given everything. To kill these monsters and help reclaim Trost. After his mother was killed, he swore he'd never run from them again.

Yet here he was.

The wind screamed in his ears as they flew on. Useless, it said. You're going to get them killed, it said.

Then cold darkness wrapped around him, smothered him.

It... it wasn't supposed to end like this.

Wall Maria—gone. Trost district—gone.

And they didn't even know why.

Eren limped down the narrow aisle of sturdy cobblestones, using his crutch as a substitute for his broken leg. The sun shone bright in the sky above, setting everything ablaze with color. It mocked him.

Two weeks since the battle for Trost. Two weeks spent limping around like some old, lame donkey.

They said that by trying to use is 3DM gear he had twisted the bone, furthering the damage. They said he might never fully heal that limp. That he might never be able to fight titans again.

One of the horses thrust her head over the stall door and let out a loud greeting. Eren felt his lips lift in a smile.

Every other part of his body sagged.

"Hello, Luck," he said softly, running his fingers down the funny strip of white that ran down her face.

In the two years he'd spent waiting to join his training, more than once Eren had found himself hanging around the Survey Corps' stables, hoping to catch a glimpse of these mighty warriors, adventurers. Eventually they had put him to work with the horses, a job he had found soothing, almost.

One of the mares, Luck, especially seemed to enjoy his visits. She was a bright copper color with a blond mane and tail, so different from the dull blacks and browns of the other steeds. Despite years of breeding to produce horses that were swift, yet steady around even the fiercest of titans, Luck still came out skittish. After a few years of trying to gentle it out of her, they gave up. From that time on, Luck stayed within the walls.

Luck made a soft noise in her throat, nudging at his hand, swiping her tongue across his palm. He reached down to pick up a few wisps of hay and her ears pricked forward.

Deserters. That's what they both were. Broken. Useless. They'd both snapped within seconds of meeting a titan.

Except Luck hadn't exactly asked for the chance, hadn't yearned for the chance to finally make those bastards pay.

Eren gave a growl and kicked his leg against the stall door.

The broken one.

He bit back a scream of pain, tasting blood in his mouth where he'd bitten his lip. Tears pricked the corners his eyes.

Luck jerked, inhaling sharply.

"Sorry," Eren muttered. "Sorry... sorry..."

He slumped forward against the stall door, his face in his hands, his teeth ground together.

He'd sworn to protect the people, to give everything for them. But in the end, he had run away, like some damn coward. He'd let the titans break him.

"Armin said you'd be here."

Eren lifted his head to see Jean standing at the end of the row of stalls, arms crossed. Great. Just the person to rub this in his face.

Still, Eren spared him a glance. "What do you want, Jean?"

"You've been avoiding us for two weeks. Figured someone better talk to you before you turn into a vegetable." He muttered something under his breath, something like "Not that I was complaining, at first."

Eren didn't respond. For a long moment silence hung between the two, broken only by Luck's quiet huffs of breath. Eren kept his eyes fixed on a small clump of dirt near Luck's front hoof. A beetle was crawling over it.

"They said we get to choose tonight. Military Police, Garrison or Survey Corps."

Eren watched as the beetle paused, twitched it's antenna. "Guess you're off to the MPs, then. Easy life, no more titans. It's what you wanted, right?"

"I..." Jean sucked in a breath, then let it out. "I don't know anymore. Huh, at least you know where you're going."

"Yeah... back to the fields."

"Are you kidding me?" Jean let out a snort. "After three years of spouting off on how you're going to kill them all, you're just going to give up? I mean, Armin said you two took down a freaking titan!"

"That was Armin, not me." His fingers wrapped around the stall's edge, heat smoldering in his core, heat that burst out into a yell. "And..." He flung his hand down towards his leg. "Look what happened! I wasn't good enough; I almost got you killed!"

He saw Luck pin her ears back at his tone.

Jean stood straight up. "Stop with the crap, Jeager!" he exploded. "Stop being so damn selfish! You're alive. That's so much more than a lot of people got! And you're choosing to mope about it?"

Eren glared. Horseface, he thought. He opened his mouth ready to spit out some stupid comment, then stopped. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a long breath, then held out his hand and made a small clicking noise with his tongue. After a moment's hesitation, Luck reached forward to meet his outstretched fingers.

"Why did you save me?"

"It's my job to make sure suicidal blockheads like you don't get killed," Jean said, crossing his arms. Then he gave a "heh" and added, "Plus, Mikasa would've kill me if I hadn't gotten you out of there."

Eren pulled a face, though bitterness twisted in his stomach. She was always hinting that he wasn't strong enough to take care of himself... and now...

"So you broke your leg," Jean said, though his tone came out quieter than before. "I mean, at least you didn't lose a limb. You've actually got a chance, a chance to go back out there and try again. Or don't. Your choice."

Try again...

"You... you're strong, Eren. A lot stronger than me. I mean... you've lived right next door to the titans your entire life. It takes guts do something like that. Screw what the doctors said. You're going back out there."

Eren took a deep breath in, then let it out, his fingers playing over Luck's whiskered muzzle.

"Thanks," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Then he looked up at Jean and grinned. "Horseface."

"You're a horseface," Jean spat back.

Luck snorted, as if saying, Excuse me?

And at that, Eren couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

Because sometimes... he had a chance. A chance to live. To try again.

And he'd be damned if he didn't take it.

A/N: And that's all she wrote! Hope you enjoyed.

I was originally going to have Armin be the one who comforted Eren, but after watching a certain OVA... (*cough* Unexpected Visitors) I began to take an interest in Jean... and now, man he's just my favorite character. Besides Armin, because he's so darn adorable. And Sasha. (And Marlowe.)

Luck is based off a horse I used to ride, Lucky. She was prone to nervousness, and eventually the owners decided to sell her because of that. She was a sweet mare though and I thought it went along with what Eren was going through. And God forbid I write a story without a horse in it. XD

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts!