Whatever magic was controlling the water kept most of the other spirits at bay. As Jean dashed off for rope only Moblit dared enter the room. He kept up a steady, hoping pace that allowed him to skim over the water. With a splutter and a cough he landed hard on Marco's bad shoulder.

"What happened?" he cried.

"Human fell in," Hanji answered. She was slowly massaging Eren's fingers. Even through the water Eren could feel callouses dotting her skin. They felt wonderful, like garden tools and instruments and everything else you found on land. He held on tight.

"Yeah," he said quietly. So quietly he wasn't sure anyone heard. "I fell in."

Marco nodded at Moblit, letting him know he was good where he was. "Any reaction from…?" His eyes drifted upwards. Moblit shook his head, nearly upending him from his perch.

"No. It's the steam."

Eren looked too. Moblit was right. He couldn't even begin to make out Irwin and for that he was beyond grateful. The steam was everywhere now, obscuring what wasn't already blocked by the waterfalls their spirit had created. Taking his time Eren took in the odd structures, keeping balance on Hanji as he turned from side to side. The water was falling but didn't seem to be emanating from anywhere in particular. They were just recycled, huge columns of water, six of them… strategically placed around his guest's massive form.

"I think he's defending himself," Eren murmured.

"What?" Marco called.

"He's defending himself!"

Eren waved his arm at the swirling water and he could see the moment the others got it too. The columns weren't just intimidating; they were outright dangerous, with the water pulsing at a speed capable of blowing any fool right off his feet.

"Defending himself from what?" Hanji asked.

A stupid question. Eren was starting to think that all this steam wasn't natural either. Yeah, Sasha had sent a bit more hot water than they'd needed… but not that much. Not enough to create this. It was a little too convenient that the steam was converging directly above their heads and sides, ensuring that a certain sorcerer couldn't see the events below… yet Eren's friends could still find their way to him on the ground. The others cast looks of understanding all around.

Cautiously Marco reached out towards the water and then immediately drew his hand back with a hiss. His whole arm had been shot away the second he'd made contact and now he shook it like it had gone numb. Marco tried flashing Eren a grin.

"I don't think he wants me going near him," he said.

"Me either," Hanji said with a yelp. Still holding onto Eren with one hand she'd tried thrusting her other into the fray (showing far less thoughtfulness than Marco). It reverberated, throwing them both off balance. Eren crouched to steady himself on the tub's edge while Hanji's wayward arm struck Moblit in the face. He tumbled off Marco's shoulder and hit the water with a 'plop.'

"Sorry!" She called.

He emerged with water spouting from his mouth, then gave a growl. Eren hadn't even known frogs could growl.

"Well I'm not trying that!" He huffed.

"I wouldn't recommend it." Marco shook his head. "The force of it would probably send you flying into a wall. It could very well crack your skull." He ignored Moblit's horrified expression and simply turned to Eren. He was smiling more easily now. "Bet you anything you can get back through though…" Marco trailed off, waiting with his remaining eyebrow raised.

Eren grit his teeth.

"Go on," Hanji urged. She gave his hand a squeeze and then tugged him back into a standing position. "Go, human, go human, go!" Chanting, she gave an odd, one-handed version of a cheerleader's routine. This time she nearly succeeded in kicking poor Moblit.

"Hanji, that is not helping—"

"Shut it, frog-face. I know humans. They need encouragement. Faith! What do you know about human boys, huh?"

"You're too erratic, Hanji—!"

Eren had to let go of Hanji's hand in order to move forward so he did just that. Then: step one, push the bickering to the back of his mind. Step two, determinedly face the water. Right. Step three.

It went against every instinct Eren possessed to reach back into that stuff. It didn't help that he'd only just come out of it… made even worse by seeing his friends hurt by it… Eren ended up standing there, knees knocking together, his arm having frozen at the level of his waist. No matter what he said to himself—weaseling and reasoning and curses—it just wouldn't move. He was stuck and a large part of him was totally okay with that.

"You'll have to at some point," Marco said gently. "When Jean gets back..."

Yeah... yeah, fuck. That pretty much covered it. Eren could wish for things all he wanted but here at the bathhouse need took precedence over desire, and he needed a hell of a lot right now: to win this little game of Irwin's, to ensure his family's continued safety, to not let his friends down… all of that was a little more important than his need to run for the hills, even if his body disagreed. Hell, there was even a need, small as it was, to prove to himself that he could go back in, even just once… though admittedly, this was a bit different from a thinning stream in his hometown, wasn't it? Scarier. Terrifying really. Eren could admit that freely.

There was another need too though—debts, the need to repay. He couldn't lie to himself and say that his guest hadn't saved his hide back there. Eren owned him for pulling him out of the water when no one else could—or would—and as far has he was concerned, that debt was huge. Mega huge. Like, convincing-stupid-human-boys-to-touch-the-water-they'd-just-been-saved-from huge. And god, wasn't that just the way the universe worked. Screwing him over.

His guest gave another grunt. Like the ones before it sounded vaguely pained and that set Eren forward. With a cry he shoved his hand back through the column of water, half expecting to be thrown back like the others had; to lose his balance and plunge into that black void once more.

He didn't though. Instead Eren blinked at his arm, now invisible up to the elbow. He'd sliced through the water as easily as butter. Dimly he felt Marco reaching up to pat his back and Eren whirled.

"D-don't shove me," he said and Marco quickly removed his hand.

"Got it."

"No, I didn't mean—"

"Eren," he said. "I got it."

Before Eren could try apologizing again, or figure out what exactly he thought he was apologizing for, a call of "Here!" cut through the steam. Moments later they were able to make out Jean's form, a coil of rope slung lazy-like around his shoulders. He snatched one end and tossed it to Marco, Marco caught it with ease and tossed it to Hanji, Hanji rose up on tiptoes and when she found that she was now just out of reach, Moblit hopped up onto her head. With a leap he took the rope and landed at Eren's side.

"Tie it tight," he said.

With one hand already in the water it should have been easy to do it second time… but it wasn't. Watching his second hand disappear into the swirl of blue and foam was almost worse because then, despite the solidity of the spirit's body to lean against, Eren felt like he'd lost all balance, like he was going to be sucked in any moment—forever. It wasn't like he could see through the water anyway so Eren just shut his eyes, curled his toes against the warm ceramic, locked his arm muscles, and concentrated on the sludgy muck beneath his fingers.

It only took a minute for him to find it: the sharply pointed object sticking out about a foot from his client's side. It was slick though, the rope slipping off the end once… twice… more times than Eren was comfortable remaining there. Finally, with a muffled scream that was two parts frustration and one part fear, Eren dove in until the water was covering his shoulder. That got the knot tied. He doubled it because hell was he going to do this again.

"Done!" He called.

Marco scowled at their rag tag team, then down at his own arm. "We're gonna need more than this. Hey, everyone!"

Slowly, spirits crept into the hall, all of them gaping at the chaos surrounding them—the raw power forced into one, tiny room. Marco shuffled them like sheep until a line had formed and only when they got a sense of what was happening did the energy pick up. Eren took a deep breath and kept his hands where they were, deep in the water, while Moblit took up the rope over his shoulder. Hanji took the portion that swung down from the tub, Jean moved to stand directly behind her, Marco right behind him… then a toad, then a cat, then a whole track of spirits, back and back and back. They reached so far into the mist that Eren hadn't a clue how many there were. A lot probably. Maybe all.

"On the count of three…" Eren felt disembodied, like his voice was coming from someone else. He could just make out his reflection in the column of water and yes, those were his lips moving.

"One…"

"One!" The crowed called back.

"Two…"

"Two!"

"Three."

"Three!"

"—heave!"

Eren gripped and threw his weight backwards. The only thing that kept him from flying was the sheer mass of their guest and the suction his body created around whatever was stuck in there. It felt positively huge, heavy in a manner Eren was unaccustomed to. Like trying to pull a whole horse out of quicksand and before he knew it Eren found that he'd started up a chant, a dose of much needed encouragement.

"Heave!" He screamed and the spirits behind him roared in assent.

"Heave!"

"Heave!"

"Heave!"

"Heave—!" A sudden hush fell as the rope slackened and something came flying outwards with impressive speed. Eren watched as it arced over his head, landing with a light clink by Hanji's feet. Moblit scampered down into the water and snatched it up, wary of the sharp edges.

"A wine bottle?" He said, incredulous.

"Don't stop now, Shifter."

Eren stiffened.

Careful of his footing, he turned to find Irwin floating in the air beside him. The sorcerer cast a disdainful look at the flooded floor and one ten thousand times worse at their guest, still encased in his protective wall of water. Irwin inched forward, his hand raised, almost as if he wanted to test for himself if he could get through… but then his fingers dropped to Eren's shoulder. With a cry Eren tore away and nearly lost his balance. He squatted there, his hands buried in the spirit's side, clinging, huffing, trying to ignore Irwin's pleased expression.

"Don't stop," he said again and Irwin gestured to their guest. "I assure you, I wasn't expecting this. Even I couldn't have come up with such an ingenious challenge for you, though heaven knows I would have liked to try!" For the first time Eren heard Irwin laugh and the sound actually drew him closer to the water, eager to get away. "That's not a stink spirit at all, oh no. Someone far ruder than any trash soul you'd find in a back alley. I'd even go so far as to say he's…barbaric." Irwin spat the word like it was something foul, like he'd gotten a poisoned mouthful of the spirit's body.

He flew even closer until his nose nearly touched the roaring water. Eren was fairly sure it wasn't just his imagination but the columns seemed to expand in response to Irwin's presence, gaining strength. Eren looked back and found he wasn't the only one getting nervous. Hanji and Moblit both backed up a few steps, casting hesitant looks all around.

Suddenly Irwin thrust his hand into the left pocket of his pants, the same place Eren had earlier seen him stuff the gold that had been given as payment. Now his fingers came back up covered in dust, only a faint sparkle remaining.

"Yes, I've a decent idea about who's hiding under that filth!" Irwin roared. He slammed his empty palm against the wall of water, sending a spark of magic reverberating about the room. "You are not getting out of paying this time!"

He rounded on Eren, the whites of his eyes showing prominently, a bit of sweat gleaming against his upper lift. "What are you waiting for, human?" He jeered. "You want to keep your family save? Then pull!"

Eren didn't need to be told twice. In his eagerness to get some distance between him and Irwin he'd slipped partway back through the water. Now he scrambled, briefly, to find the rope again. When he did he found it already taught behind him—his friends pulling, the other spirits pulling, all of them out of alignment. Eren hazarded a quick look backwards and found that it wasn't at all like when he'd been giving the orders. Now everyone tugged frantically at their own speed, shaking under Irwin's continued shouts and gestures. Even the Corporal's team had lost the synchronization that, until now, Eren hadn't even realized he'd characterized them by. They had come to stand between Jean and Marco, crammed together where there was really no room—Oluo pulling harder than the rest, Mike still looking sick, Petra had wrapped the rope about her arms in a way that made her lips thin with pain, and Gunther… he was directly in front of Erd. The two of them barely pulled at all. Their bodies only moved forward and back in a manner reminiscent of what others were doing, their eyes hard.

Despite the inconsistency, brute strength eventually won out. Within a minute Eren was forced to duck another projectile. He didn't get the chance to see exactly what it was but he heard the cry from another as it landed hard against their head. Then came a glop of mud with feathers mashed into the bottom; another that gleamed prettily as it passed. When it hit the water at their feet the dirt spread away and Eren gapped at the wicked looking knife that remained.

After that the junk came in waves: copper pots and deflated tires, orange peels, scraps of leather, fraying balls of twine, a heap of moldy cardboard boxes (one of which looked as if it contained a dead kitten; Eren pulled away with a cry), paper so wet it had reverted to pulp, the remains of a leg chair, some poor, abandoned stuffed animal, too deformed to identify; a whole damn bicycle… it just kept coming and Eren could only think hysterically that now he was glad Corporal wasn't here with them. Who knew what he'd do in reaction to such a mess.

Eventually the waves of filth became so huge Eren had to slip back down the side of the tub, not without some relief. He bumped into Hanji and the two of them started to lead the backwards charge, pulling harder and harder and continually making their way towards the door. The water on the floor was up to Eren's calves and he shivered in it, despite the overall warmth of the room.

When his arms weren't straining and his hands weren't burning from the rope, Eren had time to process the insanity of it all. He'd tied the rope to a wine bottle… a bottle had a come flying out first thing. How then was the rope still attached? Attached to what exactly? How did the garbage pass through the water with ease; what was so special about him? What were they going to find when all of this was through? He didn't have answers to any of it.

Eren watched bug-eyed as more and more sludge spilled down onto the floor. That was their spirit's body… wasn't it? Were they hurting him? He looked up but even his guest's head was now hidden, nearly encased as he was in that cylinder of water. He hadn't made a sound since they'd first started.

"Pull!" Irwin screamed. "Pull or so help you all!"

They did, and eventually there was nothing more to pull at.

The rest of it came so fast Eren never stood a chance of getting out of the way. A mountain of mud and trash poured out of the tub, rushing with a speed that couldn't be explained entirely by their efforts. Feeling very small, Eren was dimly aware of the rope slipping from his fingers, the swish sound it made as it eased into the flood. Then that sound was drowned out by the clang of solid, sharp, ancient objects curving towards him. Directly at his back Eren heard Hanji yell, the sound close enough to thrum against his ears but too far away to help, and if his attention hadn't briefly been diverted by her voice Eren may have noticed the wall of water finally breaking—curving away from the spirit with terrifying consciousness, somehow moving faster than the speeding garbage… reaching for him.

As it was, Eren only realized what had happened when his world went blue-green again and his lungs filled with a warmth that he recognized as not-oxygen, not exactly. Water then. That had, apparently, saved him. Eren gave a tiny, incomprehensible 'meep.'

He rose, looked down. The force of the filth and water had dispersed the steam surrounding them. Now Eren could see the whole line of sprits, most of which had been knocked off their feet, all of whom were covered in something disgusting. Even Irwin hadn't escaped unscathed. The bottoms of his shoes were now splattered with numerous unmentionables. He hadn't seemed to notice yet though, gaping as he was at Eren floating past. With a hand that seemed detached from the rest of his emotional state Eren made a rude gesture and pointed out the stains. Score.

Then Irwin disappeared, pulling backwards, and Eren realized he'd been drawn into another boundary of water. He rested his head against his little, liquid prison. He breathed and breathed.

"Really?" Eren panted the word and the water against his mouth rippled in response. Huh. So he could talk. Eren drew in a huge breath and—

"IS THIS REALLY FUCKING NECESSARY?"

"I'm afraid so."

Eren whirled—or tried. He was floating in water after all and his jump turned into more of a sweeping twist. It gave him time to come to terms with what he was seeing though, before he actually had to make eye contact with it.

He'd been worried about dismantling this guest of theirs… he shouldn't have been. What remained of the spirit, what was now coiled up inside their giant tub was somehow more massive than the monster that had first entered their bathhouse. Or maybe it only appeared that way. Regardless, Eren's mind was translating power and personality into size. Whatever. He was still, unimaginably huge.

A long, ethereal body curled on top of itself like a snake's—like the kind Eren had once stepped on in the garden, bitten twice and forced to hobble home. There were at least four layers of white flesh sitting top over bottom and Eren was sure of that because it wasn't actually flesh at all, but rather a transparent existence that Eren could see through as easily as he saw through the aimless ghosts beyond the bridge. This spirit wasn't aimless though. Tiny, clawed feet twitched independently of one another, spread in intervals about the body, looking anxious and sharp. At the end of all this was a human head that seemed almost foolish amongst all the splendor. There were age lines in those cheeks and a fearsome knowledge about the eyes. Eren let his indignation bleed away in the face of wisdom and he found himself bowing his head in respect even as he was drawn forward. Eren's bubble was set gently on the edge of the tub… and then it popped. He wobbled in the air once again. Eren became aware that he was caught between another, endless boundary of water and one very scary spirit.

Fucking fantastic.

The silence stretched. "Hello," Eren ventured.

"Hey right back-atcha" came the response and Eren's mouth dropped low at how friendly the voice sounded. It was like listening to a grandfather. Or a doting—but outlandish—uncle.

"You're…?"

"The spirit you gave such a good scrubbing to just now? Sure am." Eren's guest inclined his head slightly. "Wasn't planning on popping in here tonight, I'll admit. Old Irwin and I don't exactly get along, don't you know. But then a friend of mine dives in and says there's a human at the bathhouse—a human! Imagine that, why don't you. I would've checked something like that out anyway but then he's going on and on about what a cutie you are, real helpful too. How could I not come? Oh, he says thanks for the buckets by the way."

"He…" Eren swayed until one claw reached out to knock against his knees. He sat heavily on the tub's lip and watched, incredulous, as the spirit produced another wine bottle from seemingly nowhere. This one was full.

"Have a seat now. There you go." He spit out the cork and took a drink. Then held out a different claw until Eren hesitantly shook 'hands.'

"Name's Dot, human boy, it's great to meet ya. Have a drink why don't you? We've a whole lot to discuss."