A/N: THOUGHT I WAS GONE, DID YOU?! THOUGHT I WAS LOST, HMM?! Nope! I was lost for a bit, and the manga threw me off course big time. So I needed even more time to course correct things if you will, which eventually led to the FASCINATING revelation that rocked all of our worlds.

Kudos to TFS for their amazing lines as ever!

Oh, and a warning!

I'm sure you've all noticed by now, but Naruto's gotten a bit warped in this story by now. Dangerously so. Can you blame him? He's had to live through a world of death and despair. Trying to mentor Eren, trying to be a beacon despite the world wanting him dead, always while trying to be a light to those who need it; ever struggling to keep those close to him alive and in one piece. He's failed in that regard a number of times, and with every death on his conscience, he's been broke a little more. I think we all have our breaking point, and he's dangerously close to his...

...this chapter reflects that quite nicely.

As ever, I recommend the Attack on Titan soundtrack for this chapter!

Its almost scary how well it fits the scene here, showing just how twisted our hero has become towards his enemies. Granted, he believes in second chances, but not to the extent that of letting his loved ones suffer. And boooooooooy is there suffering in this story. This chapter gets bloody DARK in places, and is not for the faint of heart. It also has a nice little spark of redemption for a certain someone.

I also advise that you prepare yourselves for death.

Attack on Titan is known for that sort, after all.

Some shall live, some shall die, as you'll see.

For example, Nanaba? She LIIIIVES~!

Mike? Like hell he's gonna die now!

As for others though, weeeelll...

And obvious Jojo reference is obvious.

Hope you all enjoy the fruits of my labor!

"Lemme ask you something. What made you think I was the good guy?"

"Oi! S-Stay away from me! Don't come a-any closer!"

"No you fucking don't. You don't get to run."

"Monster!"

"Monster, ya know? Would a monster feel guilt? Does a monster sacrifice himself for the world? Does a monster throw himself in harms way so that others might be spared? Does a monster commit unspeakable acts so that others will never be forced to undertake them? No. I am not a monster, you stupid little shit. I'm Only Human. BUT I AM YOUR END."

~?

Breaking the Armor

Pain is a fascinating concept.

It gives the body focus.

Context.

If you touch something hot, you would pull your hand away, would you not? If something sharp pricks your finger, you would do your best to avoid it, correct? If you consider someone to be dangerous, you do your best to avoid them. Precisely. Pain is imperative to recognize when you are in peril. To give the human mind...context. Without it, anyone would blunder headlong into danger with no regard for their own safety. Without pain the body wouldn't be able to realize it was in danger. Yes, pain gives the body context.

Reiner was beginning to believe he was contextually fucked.

Not only did he have little-to-no legs to speak of at the moment, but he'd been disarmed at that.

Literally.

Torn apart and divested of his maneuvering gear, left to inch along on the ground like a worm, he could only crawl. Even that required intense concentration on his part. Naruto had torn open his throat and hacked off all his limbs in brutal fashion, then thrown him to the ground for good measure leaving him to be consumed by leaving him for the Titans to consume. No interrogation, no mercy, no quarter. By rights, he should have died from his wounds or been consumed hours ago. He was next to defenseless while he regenerated, his body struggling between his torn throat and the loss of his limbs.

By some miracle he'd manage to survive and recover.

Just barely.

With one arm and a half-healed throat that would likely leave him forever hoarse, he dragged himself through the muck. It was painfully slow going. The sun had long since set, and while theoretically he had nothing to fear of titans in the dark, still the fear spurred him on. Time! He needed more time! He hadn't yet restored the rest of his limbs, and if he did happen upon a Titan-or worse, a member of the Survey Corps!-he'd have no recompense but to transform and risk alerting the entire world to his presence.

Even after reclaiming some of his strength, that wasn't a gamble he was willing to take alone.

All he could do was crawl.

Bertholdt.

Where was Bertholdt?

The silence gave him all the answer he needed.

He barely remembered the events that had transpired up until now; a side effect of throwing his consciousness into his nervous system at the last to survive. What he did recall proved decidedly murky; his memories of the torment that followed were foggy at best. But the body doesn't forget so easily. Even now the phantom pain of his once-severed trachea haunted him with every inch. It remembered the biting cut that had cleaved his head nearly from nape to navel. The pain of losing his limbs still burned like a second sun in the back of his mind as he hauled himself across the cold ground. There had been an explosion of some sorts, what felt like hours ago, but he paid it no heed. His mind was consumed with the singular desire to get the hell out of here and everything else be damned before-

"Yo."

Funny how one word could inspire such terror.

That single syllable-that growl-terrified the broken warrior more than any titan ever could. He froze. There could be no other explanation for the way his body inexplicably ceased moving, such that his very heart skipped a single beat. At first he didn't dare turn. Yes, initially he refused to look over his shoulder; because he knew precisely what, rather, who, he would find waiting for him there. Already he could feel those eyes boring into his back, equal parts anger and disappointment again coupled with the sound of approaching footsteps.

In the end, his body betrayed him and he found himself confirming his worst fear.

For that fleeting instant, his heart truly stopped.

His "rescuer" looked as though he'd just clawed his way out of the deepest, darkest pit. Though his face was covered in burns and his cloaked lay tattered about his shoulders, though he'd soaked himself in the blood of his enemies and broken all but one of his blades, he somehow seemed even more fearsome than before. Reiner had once seen this man carve through a small army of titans wearing that same, flat look as he wore now, a vague, disinterested expression. One that reflected no empathy, no remorse, just a cold, pitiless killer. A monster wearing the skin of a man. Angel to his allies, demon to his enemies.

Not Bertholdt.

Not Naruto.

Levi.

An agonizing, jagged pall of silence fell over the night.

...just where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Shit." Reiner managed eloquently.

A booted foot sailed between his ribs with sound and aplomb, catching the titan shifter off guard and hurling him away into a nearby tree. Something cracked. Reiner soon realized it wasn't the bark. Pain blazed through his right side and he curled inward on himself without thinking, instinctively trying to shield his head. For all the good it did him. Scarce had he gathered his wits than a hand closed around a fistful of his hair and hoisted him upright, slamming him against the tree even as another forced his jaw shut. Unable to bite down and transform as well as lacking three of his limbs, he struggled impotently against the older man's grasp.

'Damnit...!'

Before he could attempt an escape however, Levi's blade found his neck, biting deep in the faint moonlight.

"You can't turn into a titan while you're healing from all those injuries now, can you?" the corporal's voice had always been flat to begin with but now there was a distinct edge to it, one that cut deeper than any weapon possibly could. "Oi, stop squirming already. You're getting blood on my hands."

"There's about to be a lot more."

Then as if to add insult to injury, the very one responsible for leaving him in this sorry state dropped from the treetops. By contrast to Levi, Naruto had all but discarded his cloak and much of his clothing upon his upper torso alongside it. All that remained of his jacket was a single torn brown sleeve; while his trousers bore deep tears suggesting some lucky Titan had tried to grab at him in passing. Pity they hadn't succeeded. For there was something dangerously unhinged in that smile of his. Those wicked orbs the color of crimson embers pierced him, slitted and scarlet. Someone who wore a mask of civility, but in moments such as these...

He truly was staring at the devil himself.

"Hey, now!" the whiskered warrior warned, alighting on a nearby bough, then beside his partner. "Don't kill him! We need him alive, remember?"

Levi's only audible response came in the form of a noncommittal grunt, but he did release Reiner all the same. Cras

Looking up into Naruto's face, the shifter almost wished he hadn't.

"'Sup! Why the long face?" his old mentor beamed, voice oozing with false sweetness. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Reiner most certainly was not.

How in the hell was he still alive?!

"Reiner, Reiner, Reiner! You, my boy, are one lucky son of a bitch!" the older blond drawled aloud, patting his cheek with a laugh. "I didn't think you'd actually be able to survive after I cut you up like that. Yet here you are. Lucky me. That just means we get a second captive."

'Second...?'

A pang of confusion followed, swiftly overriden by dismay.

Bertholdt had been captured?

His expression must've been truly telling; for his tormentor graced him with another eerie smile.

"Oh, yes." his captor replied. "He sang like a canary once I blasted him apart and ripped him out of his titan. Should have heard him scream. Remind you of anyone? Hmm? No?" Those dark eyes locked on him suddenly narrow and angry. "His name was Marco. You killed him. Now I found out your little buddy got another student of mine killed today. Connie. That's right," he growled, seeing Reiner's painful flinch. "He was caught in the blast when your idiot friend decided to transform. By the time we found him, it was already too late. Do you know what its liked to be crushed by a tree? Or several?"

"What? No...! That's not, I didn't intend to-

A flash of gold was his only warning.

Then came the pain.

"No. You didn't."

Despite his best efforts, a strangled snarl escaped Reiner as he clutched at the bloody ruin where his right ear had been. Had he been possessed of his wits and his body not focused on restoring his limbs, he could have used the opportunity to transform. As it was, he could only snarl in pain and bare his teeth at his tormentor. Naruto scowled and his blade flicked out again, biting into Reiner's nose, divesting him of a chunk of flesh. He grit his jaw against the agony only for the sword to carve into him a third time.

"Aaaargh!"

Naruto, for his part, didn't bat an eyelash.

"Aw, would you look at that?" the blond growled. "Even more blood on my hands, all because I was too blind to see you for what you truly were. So I apologize for...no, wait. I'm not sorry for this. At all. I'm going to eradicate you." he pushed forehead, slamming their foreheads together, words ground against Reiner's remaining ear like broken glass. "No songs will be sung of you when we're done, no one will remember anything but your failure. You will cease to exist as this world curses your very name. And when your world falls it will be all. Your. Fault."

At that moment, the jinchuuriki turned his head.

"You can come out now."

In his peripherals Reiner glimpsed someone else, moving in the shadows.

Someone he hadn't noticed until this very moment.

The faint light had concealed them.

No longer.

Mia?

No, that wasn't it.

Mina!

Belatedly her name finally came to Reiner as he beheld the cold anger burning behind her eyes, a tiny spark of hope dying, unsurprised. She'd trusted him, like all the others. Vouched for him. Believed in his innocence. Now she was looking at him as though he were a rotten carcass, not worthy of her time. No-it went beyond that. Something was wrong here. Something that went beyond the threat of his imminent demise. Beyond the ghastly looks everyone was giving him, and the obvious pain they seemed intent on inflicting.

Terribly, horribly, wrong.

She looked at Reiner now, eyes brimming with angry, unshed tears, and he saw something in her die.

"Reiner, how could you...?"

"How could he?" Naruto spat, a rare spark of anger slipping through his calm facade. "Easily. He's a monster. Just like Bertholdt. These two don't care about us. They have no remorse for what they've done. Isn't that right, Reiner?"

Damnit, look in her eyes actually hurt.

"Mina, I-

THRUCK.

"YOU!"

Her hand cracked across his face in a vicious open-palmed slap before he could finish, sending him sprawling. Stunned, the shifter toppled backwards, a throbbing red hand-print etched into his cheek. For their part, neither Levi nor Naruto did anything to stall her sudden assault; even when she sprang after him both men remained rooted, ignoring what followed. Had they been the blows of an ordinary civilian, Reiner would've surely been able to fend them off, even unarmed as he was. Still the blackette continued to strike him a second time, then a third, a fourth. Fifth. In vain he raised his good arm to fend her off, but, as Mina painfully reminded him with each successive blow, she was anything but ordinary.

She was every bit the shinobi Naruto had trained her to be in speed and power and damnit her blows stung!

Only when she reached for a knife did Naruto intervene, restraining her arm and hauling her back.

"It's alright." the blond soothed. "Just breathe."

Distraught, she tried to wrench herself free and lunge at Reiner again.

"But he...he...!"

"I know. And he'll get his. But not like this. When he dies, it'll be slow."

Reiner blanched.

"No. You wouldn't."

"Of course she can. Unlike you, Mina's actually a good person." came Naruto's flat reply as he took her gently by the shoulders. "She's like me. Willing to sacrifice so others might be spared. And let's be honest. Right now? She hates you just as much as I do. Maybe even more. She cared about Marco. Connie, too, ya know. Loved him like a big brother. I wouldn't force this on the others. But Mina, ah, Mina!" He gave the blackette a light pat on the back, noting her smile, "She volunteered. So. Shall we begin?"

Begin?

A pit of dread opened in Reiner's stomach, threatening to swallow all he knew.

His mind offered a realization and immediately, his mind shied away from it. No, they wouldn't...

"Now then, Reiner." Naruto began briskly, his voice cold and biting like black ice. "It took us a bit of time and a bit of negotiating, but Levi and I finally came to an agreement on your punishment. We're going to give you exactly...ten seconds. Do whatever you like with them. Cry, beg for mercy-you can even try and transform if you like." blue eyes rolled in feigned exasperation. "Who knows? You might even be able to get away from us. You may even get to kill me, if you're really lucky. But once those ten seconds are up...you're not going to be happy."

'That's right. Keep talking...

Dragging himself into a somewhat upright position-and silently willing his wounds to heal faster!-the shift fixed his captors with a wary look. A stray glance confirmed he'd regained his other arm and was well on his way to recovering something resembling legs, he just needed a bit longer. Only a few moments more and maybe-just maybe-he'd be able to transform and turn the tables on his captor. His armor would be enough to protect him, surely. It wasn't as though they had anything to pierce it, yet.

"W-What are you going to do?"

Impossibly, that cruel smile deepened.

"Hmm? That? That's easy. I'm going to what I should have done the moment I realized you were a traitor." An arm rose ponderously from the folds of his dark cloak, revealing a wicked-looking syringe clenched in hand, containing an eerily familiar fluid. "Do you know what this is?" he asked. "Judging by your expression, I'd say you do. Guess what I'm going to do with it?"

Despite the relative safety offered by the promise of transforming, Reiner recoiled from the thought.

'No!'

Flailing, He struggled upright, only for a fist to slam home into his stomach, doubling him over.

At it turned out, Naruto hit much harder than Mina, and the warrior felt something rattle in his chest.

"Ack!"

"You know," Naruto ground out with painstaking slowness, pausing to grind a gloved fist against his fractured ribs, "I learned a secret or two during my time with Annie. Moreso when I snuck into the capital. Fascinating things. Not the answers I was looking for mind you, but I think the ends outweigh the means. Why am I here? How was I able to become a Titan shifter? How do I return home?" Palming his face, the blond slowly shook his head and fixed Reiner with another dark look. "I...don't know. I still have plenty of questions, but!" his hand darted out, flashing the needle in his face. "This was the highlight. I liberated this, fascinating serum off a certain man when he wasn't looking. Poor sod probably doesn't even know I took it from him. So." he finished, eyes burning. "Guess what it does? No, I insist. Guess."

Reiner already knew.

He dare not speak it aloud.

"Stop playing with him and get it over with already." Levi warned, his flat voice cutting into the conversation. "I know he killed two of your kids, but this is getting out of hand. You're risking the mission just to satisfy your own grudge.

Mina offered an incomprehensible noise, a sound caught somewhere between a snarl and hiss.

"Out of hand?" Naruto's voice dropped an octave, vibrating with menace, frost in every syllable. "I think he's getting his just deserts. Its not enough to kill him." his fists ground together at his sides, drawing rivulets of blood. "He has to suffer and wish for death. He has to beg and whimper and cry just as Marco did."

"Oi, now." Levi's hand tightened around a blade. "Don't go losing your head over something like this."

The ninja stiffened.

"Something like this...?"

For a moment, Reiner thought the blond would disregard his ally to attack then and there.

He almost dared to hope the former would occur.

Unfortunately, it came to the latter.

...you're right." to Reiner's dismay, the blond relented with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Levi. I'll wrap this up."

Then those cutting orbs found Reiner again.

"Did you know that I can turn someone into a titan with this?" Naruto elaborated happily as he turned his gaze back to Reiner, nearly manic in his glee. "That's right! An actual, mindless titan. Now, I know what you're thinking. What good would a titan be? But if that titan were to say, I don't know, DEVOUR a titan shifter, well...!" He slammed another blow home between the ex-cadet's ribs, voice rising over the warrior's strangled grunts, "I think you already know the gist of it. I never found a use for it and in all honesty, I was reluctant to do so. Until now. Now...I'm not feeling nice. So, you should be happy, Reiner. Its not often I show mercy like this. Now...hurry up and choose. You have ten seconds to fight, beg, or run for your fucking life. No...nine."

For a fleeting instant, Reiner reeled.

His body forced itself upright on legs not yet healed, scrambling backwards. All the while, the countdown continued.

"Eight."

It all made sense.

"Seven."

In a twisted logic, Naruto probably saw his action as the right. He had little-to-no knowledge of the Eldians and Marley, or even the conflict raging outside of Paradis island. He knew nothing. But he would learn. As soon as Annie opened her mouth, everything would come crashing down. No, it had come apart even before that, from the first moment he and Naruto had crossed swords. It had begun the moment they'd laid eyes on each other all those years ago, and it should have ended there. Blasted sentiment.

"Six."

Now, he was going to inject Mina with the serum and have her devour him. There would be no coming back from that. Only complete, utter oblivion. Worse, Mina would very likely inherit the power of the Armored Titan and Marley would be none the wiser. That was another matter. Naruto knew entirely too much. Just what had Annie told him? Traitorous whore. Bitch! His thoughts turned ugly as they turned to his former comrade and her flagrant betrayal. She'd turned on her country, her family, all too easily and for what; a bit of love and affection? Such a weakling. Didn't she understand the importance of their mission? It was so much more vital than such fleeting emotions like family, or love, or even...no.

"Five."

Annie no longer cared.

"Four."

Bertholdt had been captured.

"Three."

He was staring death in the face.

"Two."

In the end, there wasn't any choice at all.

"One."

He bit down on his hand.

Hard.

Miraculously Reiner found that he was in fact able to transform. Muscle and bone swelled around him as his titan form burst into existence with a crackle of thunder and light; hardened armor rising around his joints, then locking down hard. Protected within the nape, even as the transformation finished, Reiner bellowed a roar and pivoted on his heel to slam a punch down at the trio of soldiers beneath his feet. He had no intention of putting himself at a disadvantage, he wanted only to scatter them. Buy himself time to escape, and figure out the rest later.

In that effort, he was only partially successful.

Levi and Mina were already zipping backwards in a puff of gas as the blow descended, seeking shelter in the high branches. His blow never found them.

Not so for Naruto.

"Wrong choice!"

An echoing bolt of lightning answered Reiner and in an instant, the Armored Titan found its assault stymied by the towering, six-armed terror that was Naruto's Asura Titan. Instead of rendering him a red stain on the ground, his fist crunched home into several tons of raging berserker, one who cared not a wit for him or his plans. In the nest instant, his foe only answered with a crushing right-hook of its own. Momentarily stunned, both stumbled back, their mangled faces already mending. Naruto bellowed a challenge and raised all of his hands into fists, taut muscle and flesh crystalizing even as Reiner looked on.

Then he pounced.

'Damnit, Annie! Why did you teach him that?!'

Snarling, Reiner dodged aside and threw a retaliatory blow, frantically trying to evade the shinobi's abrupt charge. A mistake, that. Once Naruto realized his tackle wasn't going to connect he opted for a more personal approach and dove at his legs, hardened teeth snapping at Reiner's heels, skidding sparks as they shot past. In that instant, he truly ceased to be Naruto in the warrior's mind; he was simply the Asura. A beast-no, a demon determined to grind his very soul to dust and stomp on the ashes.

It was as if he'd ceased being human altogether.

'Shit!' within the nape of his titan, Reiner swore at the near miss. 'Gotta slow him down somehow! If he grabs me with those arms, its over!'

The Asura titan didn't even deign to receive the followup punch; he simply spun aside, abandoning his rush prematurely, flowing like water around Reiner's fist. Then he was upon him like a hurricane, that fanged maw snarling in his face, flinging globs of spit upon his armored visage. Two of his six arms locked around Reiner's upper chest and neck, trapping it in a crushing arm-bar. The second pair found his arms, biting deep gouges into his forelimbs and forcing them to his sides. In that instant, Reiner had an epiphany. He experienced a moment of perfect, crystal clarity. He saw all of his choices, leading up to this moment, every mistake, and the precise moment where everything had gone awry. A beat of debilitating realization followed, time slowing to a crawl as his opponent pivoted, balance shifting, upending him.

In the end, two words summed up his brief existence.

'I've blundered.'

Then Naruto levered him down into the ground with bone-crushing force.

In the chaos that followed, Reiner swiftly understood his peril; not only was he wedged facedown against the ground and trapped by his opponent's bulk, but the Asura had him by the arm at that. His armor may protect his body, but it did nothing to prevent the leverage of his trapped limb being utilized against him. Soon after he found his left trapped in another lock, ripped backward with overwhelming strength. Flesh rent and plating creaked in painful protest against the forces extolling themselves upon him. Recognizing his plight he lashed out and bit at the hands restraining him-but too late. Even now he could feel the armor on that limb cracking, splintering-

"RAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

With a bloodcurdling bellow, Naruto ripped the arm away completely, shearing it off at the elbow in a grisly gout of gore and leaving it to flop away into the trees. Fueled by the pain, Reiner pushed up with his remaining limb and slammed his heavier body against Naruto's titan, slamming it aside. Wrenching himself upright, he struck out; exhaled a raging cloud of boiling steam scalding steam into the Asura's face and slammed his thick forehead against the beast's maw. A strangled snarl told him all he needed to know about the effectiveness of his attack.

Another mistake.

That only made the Asura angrier.

The steam cleared then, and as one, those many arms descended on him in a thousand blows.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"

What followed was a one-sided beating, plain and simple.

For all his armor and strength, it didn't matter. Countless piston-blows rained down on Reiner as one, splintering more and more of his precious defenses, and with each passing moment escape became more and more unlikely. Unable to attack, he could only defend. He daren't break off any of his armor to try and flee for fear of Levi hamstringing him when he wasn't looking, and he knew even know that the rest of the soldiers were closing in on him. Fight or flight warred desperately within him, and neither option presented victory. Still the blows tore at his armor, causing it to fracture and crack, then buckle altogether as it became unable to withstand the pressure.

Then came the finishing blow.

"Oi," Naruto growled darkly, the words warping through his titan's fanged maw. "Reiner."

Something in him quailed as those bloodthirsty eyes met his, brimming with raw malice.

"COME OUT AND PLAY."

Then a burning fist barreled through his jaw and hammered home into the nape beyond.

A/N: Stay turned to see the outcome! Story's really starting to wrap up, folks!

Find out next time!

THE TALE CONTINUES! What will happen next?! I apologize that I wasn't able to include the Annie-Petra scene in this but my muse demanded that this be a fight chapter and she's a stubborn little thing when she wants to be. Romance and family will just have to wait until next chapter. I've expanded on that preview, though! And another challenger appears?! Find out next time in...

...I'm Only Human!

So...in the immortal words of Atlas...

...Review...Would Ya Kindly? And of course, enjoy the preview! Hope it makes ya smile! And of course, a SHOCKER!

(Preview)

"You throw rocks?"

"What? Why are you smiling?

"Oh, nothing...that's just fucking adorable."

"You speak of love and bonds as if they're strength. Compassion. Power. Tell me...

"Don't!"

...what would happen if someone CUT them?"

"I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING!"

"Its time to end it, Naruto."

The whiskered warrior merely grinned.

"Strike me down, and I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

R&R~! =D