Mikasa and Armin were stuck. They were halfway across the forest, resting in a small clearing when Eren and Rivaille's footsteps had suddenly disappeared, gone from sight. There were crumbles of burning embers, suggesting that they'd made camp here-resting for the night. However, there were a bit of scuffling footprints, like they'd engaged in combat or something of the other.

"If they'd run into a titan, why does it look so messy? Rivaille should've killed it-clean and quick, right?" Armin whispered to himself.

Mikasa looked at him; she had overheard. "You never know what conditions they could've been in. Someone could've been injured. I don't care what happens, but if Eren is injured…"her grip on her sword tightened. "Prepare yourself, Corporal."

Armin shivered at the prospect and awkwardly looked away. "But those trees..why are they so..'bashed'? It couldn't have been just one titan, right? This looks like the work of two or more..what if Eren and the Corporal died here?" He bit his thumb in frustration.

Mikasa pointed to the ground. "If they did, and the titans ate them, we would see blood and at least some weapons on the ground."

Armin nodded frantically, trying to reason himself with her logic. "If they did escape the titan, then they would've probably gone on and headed out of the forest, right?"

Mikasa nodded, brushing her hair out of her face. "they should be going to the plains beyond this…"

He nodded, and setting up their packs again, they continued onward.

Trampling past trees and plants, Armin suddenly stiffened. "D-Did you hear that?"

Mikasa turned to look at him enduringly. "What?"

Armin gulped. "There was this…slithering sound.."

She shrugged, but raised her sword all the same. "Probably just a snake-"

A gigantic hand burst out from the trees where Armin was. He let out a yell and drew his sword, gulping at the prospect of fighting a titan. Mikasa crouched down, preparing her 3D maneuver gear. It was a good thing they'd brought extra gas too, just in case.

A leering face poked out above the trees, snapping them like twigs.

"..What.." Armin gasped.

Two of the titan's arms raised, and with a gigantic roar, slammed down by them.

"Is going.." The fingers; nails chipped and yellow, dug into the dirt, seeking purchase in the loose grit.

"On?" Mikasa was facing the same thing, dodging and spinning around to evade the titan.

Two arms for Armin.

Two arms for Mikasa.

It was a four armed titan.

"What the hell is this?!"

~X~

"Achoo!" Eren sniffled, brushing his nose. Rivaille turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "You're not getting sick on me, are you?"

Eren shook his head, then immediately sneezed again. "Aaaa-choo!"

He shook his head. "Allergies or something, I guess.."

Rivaille looked at him imperiously, shrugging and going onward. They'd almost made it out of the desert-there was a strip of green not too far away from where they were.

They'd gone through a forest, Rivaille ticked off, a mountain, a field of some sort, and now, a "desert".

"What else could be next?" He shook his head and sighed.

Eren looked at him, still sniffling. "There could be a volcano!"

"What the fuck is a volcano?"

Eren put a finger to his chin, looking upward. "I think that it's a mountain of fire…yeah."

"There's no way in this screwed up world that there could be a mountain of fire. Keep dreaming, squirt." Eren was about to retort, but sneezed again. "Achoo!"

Rivaille was now keeping a secure distance away from him, raising his arms protectively. "….Are you sure you're okay?"

"..Yeah.."

Rivaille looked at him for a moment longer, then sighed. "Let's stop."

They had reached the edge of the desert now, only a little barrier separating them from the oasis.

Eren collapsed with a huff, breath whoosing out of him in a deep exhale. "I feel sick.."

Rivaille, who was arranging his bag, shot him a surprised look. "You never get sick."

Eren groaned and turned over. "I don't feel so hot.."

"You were never hot in the first place.." Rivaille tried to pass it off as a mocking statement, but his hand strayed towards the other's forehead, feeling the temperature. "God, you're burning up.."

Eren closed his eyes, curling into a ball. "I'm so cold.." He coughed again, if that would express his point better.

Rivaille hesitantly removed his hand, searching in his bag for Eren's extra shirt. Wincing at the smell, he cut a strip off the bottom, and soaked it with a few drops of water, placing it on Eren's head.

The boy winced as the cool cloth made contact with his feverishly warm skin, twisting around for a bit until he found a comfortable position.

For the first time in his life, Rivaille felt helpless. What was he to do? Eren'd never gotten sick before. Hanji said something about that too…a titan's abnormally high immune system or whatnot. Do titans even have immune systems? He looked back at Eren, who was sprawled along the ground, fidgeting in his restless sleep. "Oy. Brat."

When there was no response, he pulled a hand through his dirty hair, that fact reminding him that he needed to get to a fucking stream and shower.

But now that Eren was like this..well, that set his plans back. Besides, if anyone was searching for them…his eyes swept the desert warily. They had a better chance of catching up. The only thing he could do now was take care of Eren and hope that he didn't fall into a coma or something.

He looked at the other, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

Abnormal titans had appeared.

Eren was sick.

What the hell was going on?

~X~
Mikasa bit her lip as the titan's arms lunged towards them. She waited until a split second later, when she jumped and landed on the arm, running up the muscle to get to the neck. There were other hands that tried to catch her on the way up, but she dodged them effortlessly, concentrating on her one target; the spinal cord.

Armin was doing his best to distract the titan from Mikasa, waving his arms wildly and nicking the titan at random intervals.

When Mikasa reached the neck, she knew there was something wrong. There was a bluish-black budge at the neck, twisting and wrapping around that weak point.

If titans evolve ever further and all of them gain intelligence…they could very well protect their spinal cord with hands-and furthermore, with this extra protection-

Humankind wouldn't stand a chance anymore.

She somehow knew that merely stabbing or cutting the neck like she usually would wouldn't do anything, but truly, there was no other way.

The titan roared in anger; Armin had managed to slice of a finger, which was regenerating back as soon as he'd cut if off.

What's more, their healing rates have gone up even quicker…She mused as she analyzed the situation. "Armin! Is there any way besides the spinal cord?"

Armin thought for a moment, suspended in the air. "No, so far, that's their only weak point. What? Is there something wrong?" He hastily dodged a leg that was coming up to kick him.

"Something's protecting its weak spot. I can't poke through it!"

Armin thought quickly-Mikasa could practically see the gears turning through his head. "Do you have a bomb?" He finally called.

Mikasa screwed her eyes shut and tried to remember if she'd packed the explosives or not. Thankfully, she'd grabbed them as a last resort-she was immensely thankful for that now. Pulling the tiny black devices out, she quickly stuck one on the weak spot, and another at the base of its skull. Setting the bombs to activate, she quickly jumped off the neck, swinging her maneuver gear to grip a tree branch, lunging herself forward to grip on it. "Armin! Quickly!"

He followed her, likewise swinging onto a branch next to her. "three..two..one.." he breathed, eyes wide with anticipation. There was a tremendous boom, and the head of the titan was blown off, blood trickling off the severed neck. From what Mikasa could see, two bombs were barely enough-the spinal cored was only half severed. She leapt on to neck, hacking the rest to pieces. When she was satisfied, she turned to Armin, waiting for conformation.

Armin was staring at the titan in disbelief. "..How.."

"It must've been an abnormality." Mikasa affirmed, wiping her sword on the grass; she wanted to make sure it was free of blood.

Armin trembled slightly. "But..there's never been an abnormality with different..body structures…it's mostly the 'personalities', per say, and the intelligence level.." He slumped back into the tree. "What's going on? And here I thought everything was almost over.."

Mikasa crouched by him and patted his back reassuringly. "It's okay, we'll get Eren back, and we'll stick together."

Armin nodded, eyes closing. "What if we don't find him?"

"We will." Mikasa nodded to herself. "I swear it."

~X~

Eren was getting worse as the day passed on. Rivaille had tried feeding him a tiny crumb of bread, but Eren had just groaned and pushed it weakly away, saying that he felt like he was going to barf if he ate it. All he'd been able to hold down was a few sips of water, and even that he could barely hold in.

What Eren had passed off as merely, "allergies", had turned out to be a full blown sickness. He complained that his body ached, his head burned, and the world was spinning around him.

What's more, he'd kept on trying to touch Rivaille in certain..places.

Rivaille slapped his wandering hand away. "Eren!"

"But.." Eren whined, reaching another hand to his face.

"Keep away! You'll get me sick too!"

"Not even a kiss?" Eren pleaded, putting on his best puppy eyes.

"No." Rivaille, however, was immune. "Why are you so horny when you're sick?! Aren't sick people supposed to be too tired for sex?"

"No," Eren giggled. Rivaille didn't know how to react to that. "I just see you there..and-"

Rivaille shoved a hand in his face. "Forget it. I don't want to hear any more."

"Rivaille.."

"No."

"Rivaille.."

"No."

"Rivailleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Eren stretched his name out like a taffy puller, annoying the other man to death.

"What?!" He snapped, spinning around to face him. "You're making us lose distance as it is!"

Eren paused in surprise for a moment, then continued smiling again. "I'm thirsty…"

Rivaille sighed and pulled out his bottle, shaking it. "We don't have much left.."

"Here." He handed the bottle to Eren, who had outstretched his hands eagerly.

Eren grabbed the bottle and eagerly drank from it, gulping down the water like there was no tomorrow. He sighed in content and gave the bottle back to Rivaille, who noted that there was barely a millimeter of water left.

"Are you getting better?" He asked Eren, albeit a bit waspishly.

"Hmmm?" Eren rolled over, facing him. "It feels like my insides are sloshing around.." He giggled again, that creepy sound sending shivers up Rivaille's spine.

"Oh, god." Rivaille pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "someone save me, please.."

"Ugh.." Eren rolled over again, coughing. Rivaille sighed, he knew what was coming next. Eren tried to vomit again, but this time, just spit up clear liquid; he didn't have anything solid in his stomach. "Corporallllll…"

Rivaille put his head in his hands. "Where's the goddamn doctor when you need it?!"

"I'm tired.." Eren sighed, clutching Rivaille's pant leg. "Stay with me.."

He fell asleep quickly, humming to himself. Rivaille just started at the immobile boy for a moment, shaking his head in disbelief. "So now you fall asleep on me.."

Suddenly, he heard a quiet clack, and looked at Eren's bag to see the Rivere cube fall out. He stretched out a hand, careful not to disturb Eren's sleeping head, which somehow ended up on his lap.

He brought the cube up to inspection, scowling at the multi-colored specks. "I still don't get why he's so obsessed with this.." He nevertheless started twisting and turning it, trying to get all the right colors lined up the correct way.

Soon, he was lapsing into the fascinating puzzle, losing himself in the cube. "Ah, shit…if I switch that..then this side won't be lined up anymore.."

Eren was still contently snoring on his lap, hair tickling Rivaille's legs. Rivaille drew an absentminded hand over to his head, gently fingering the soft strands.

Eren shifted slightly. "Heichou..." He murmered.

Rivaille quickly stopped his fingers in surprise, looking at Eren, who was somehow, still asleep.

"You're impossible." He rolled his eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"

Ack. So. Eren's sick. QAQ Noooooooomypoorbabyyyyy

But this chapter is kinda important to the plot, I guess, because you'll find out the mystery of the abnormal titans soon..and why Eren, who never gets sick..suddenly falls ill..*dun dun dun!*

Sorry for the late update, guysssss

I had to finish writing the one-shot that IsyPellora requested….

It's called-

Just Another Day…around 5000 words, actually…^^" I got carried away writing it..yeah.

But I like it! :D Thanks to Loveless for helping me with the smut! (you're the best beta ever! Yeah!) So..that was my smut contribution..I didn't have the effort to write lemon in this one..so..yeah. Some more's coming up, though! :D whooohoooo but if you want your daily dose of smut..yeah.

I would love if you guys read the oneshot and told me what you think of it! (yayyayayayay)

Whoo…and to think that I'll have to write two of those when we reach 200…. (:O) Oh well, its worth it. ;) Just to read all your lovely reviews~~ They make me happy!

Um..out of Omake ideas…send them in! :D I would love requests!

Until next time! Ja ne~!

K.K

Reviews will make Eren heal faster, and will make Mikasa and Armin slow their search for them….(no cockblocksssss)