Eren was back in the flowers and sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him. This time the blossoms did not drip; did not dissolve into water at his touch— but they did cut. Their beauty was stunning and every time Eren's arms or legs brushed those gorgeous petals they sliced into his skin. He was covered in blood, nearly as wet as if he'd been dumped into the sea. Eren kept running.

Through the endless flowers, over the fields—with grass as sharp as butcher blades—all the way down to the barn with its ceaseless moans. This time the doors were open and Eren charged through.

"Mom!" He called, his voiced pitched far off like it sometimes is in dreams. "Dad! Mikasa!" Eren fumbled desperately at his shirt. Blood coated his hands and soaked through his clothes, making everything slippery, intangible. Finally he pulled a small bottle out from the elastic of his pants, leaving red fingerprints scattered behind. Eren held it out as an offering.

"The river spirit gave it to me." His voice still sounded hollow, almost not his own. "Maybe if you drink it you'll change back!"

Eren couldn't find them though. Everything within the barn was a tangled, dark mess. He could see titans shifting within the shadows—the glint of an eye, the flash of white teeth—and he could hear their vicious groans…but nothing specific; not his family. Eren dragged himself forward and behind him, beyond the barn's doors, the sun began to dim. Soon there was darkness both in front of Eren and behind.

"Mom?" He whispered.

"You can't help them."

Out of the shadows came something human—or at least something spirit. Her white dress and golden hair shown amongst the blackness.

"Krista?" Eren asked.

"You can't help them," she repeated. "Not yet." Behind her Bertolt, Reiner, and Ymir materialized. They also wore white but it was a shirt and tunic combination that appeared remarkably plain next to Krista's ruffles. She looked decadent in comparison. Krista looked like a queen.

"Help me," Eren begged her but the four of them only stared. "Help me!"

"You can't help them."

"Stop saying that!" Eren screamed. He threw the bottle and it tore right through her, truly ghost-like. None of them blinked at the assault.

"Yet," they all intoned.

Eren moved ever further, their clothes now acting as his only illumination. He could not longer see the titans' movements but their hunger was as loud as ever. He stopped just short of his friends as a particularly close growl sounded, a gust of hot, stinking breath breaking over them like a wave. Eren didn't have the Corporal's swords, or Dot's medicine now but at least he wasn't alone. He took a very deep breath and held out a bloodied hand.

"You need to get away from there," he said. Eren offered his hand to any of them that would take it. "There are titans right behind you, Krista!"

"Better," she said and now there was a smile. It made her eyes look a little less dead. "But that's not my name, Eren."

He didn't question how she knew his. "Historia," he tried.

"Better still." Historia stepped forward and her three friends stepped with her. They weren't close enough yet though and suddenly Eren found that he couldn't move. He tried to gesture them further, towards him, just another few feet.

"We need to leave," he insisted.

"But what about your family?" It was Ymir and Eren's head snapped up to look. Her expression was as blank as Bertolt and Reiner's. "Are you giving up on them?"

"No!"

"You're running away."

"I'm not." Eren stomped his foot and reached his arm as far as it would go.

"You're not?"

"I'm not!"

"You are."

"Dammit, Ymir, you guys are family too!"

She smiled at him then, or smirked rather. It was a tight twisting of the lips softened only by her gaze. Reiner and Bertolt smiled too.

"Better," Historia said again and she stepped forward.

They were close enough to touch now and Eren eagerly grabbed at her with both hands. He bloodied her white dress irreparably but he nearly wept at how solid she felt. The groans weren't as loud now. Eren thought he detected the faintest bit of light behind him: the sun beginning to rise.

"Let's go," he said but Reiner shook his head.

"We can't leave, Eren."

"Sorry, Eren." That was Bertolt. "We belong here."

"What do you mean you belong here?" Eren's voice was rising again, scouring at his throat. He pushed past the pain to shriek in their faces. "What the fuck does that even mean, Bertolt? Don't be fucking stupid, let's leave! Let's leave right now!"

Historia silenced him by raising one hand to touch his cheek, standing nearly on tiptoe to reach. "This is where titans belong, Eren. Didn't you know? And I stay with them," she gestured to her friends.

"But they're not titans," Eren insisted. Historia only smiled.

"Maybe we could leave," she said. "With some help—" her thumb stroked along his skin and Eren felt the cold press of a ring. "But I'm afraid it's time for you to wake up."

Eren startled. "What?"

Suddenly Historia's expression turned hard as ice. She drew her hand back with inhuman speed and brought it down hard across Eren's cheek. He felt the skin break overtop the residual coolness she'd left behind, the blood trickling down to mix with the rest on his clothing.

"I said, wake up WAKE UP—"

And Eren awoke.

Eren's return to reality wasn't nearly as violent as one might expect. Rather than throwing himself into a sitting position or letting out a frightened yell, Eren simply froze. Completely still for five minutes… then ten… he immersed himself in the silence around him, listening furiously for anything like a moan, or a girl's voice, or the flutter of sharp grass. Nothing. Slowly, Eren drew his hand up from where it had been resting on his thigh and placed it an inch from his nose. Then he opened his eyes.

No blood. Eren let out a shaky laugh.

It was only when he rolled onto his left side that Eren let out a yelp. Instinctually he drew his hand up to his cheek… and his fingers came away with just the tinniest touch of blood. Breath stilling Eren crawled through his blankets to the porch's screen, the sun shining through it acting as a mirror. It really was a gorgeous day.

And Eren had a thin gash along his left cheek.

"How did that happen?" he asked the silent room.

Stupid, stupid question. He knew. He remembered Historia—Krista—slapping him clear as day. But that had been a dream… she'd even told him to wake up. Though she'd also said that Ymir and the others belonged with the titans which, what? Eren thumped his head lightly against the glass.

"Let's chalk that up to magic then, okay?" He said to himself, rocking a bit. "That was a dream. It also not a dream because fuuuuuuck my cheek hurts. Okay. That makes total sense. Sure. Ymir and Bertolt and Reiner and… titans? Fine. Also makes sense. No it actually doesn't but whatever I can't even begin to—fuck. Oh, oh yeah. And Hanji used to be a squirrel. Awesome. And I helped a river spirit and he gave me medicine and Irwin is still an insane, fucked-up bastard and my family's still trapped out there and WHERE EXACTLY IS EVERYONE?"

Eren's shout echoed through the silent room for it was, as he'd observed, entirely empty. The sun was high up in the cloudless sky, the remnants of last night's storm entirely gone, so by all logic (ha) everyone else should be fast asleep. Instead the dormitory was oppressive in its bareness. It was probably just his dream sticking with him but the creaking of floorboards without feet atop them sent a chill down Eren's spine.

"I need some air," he muttered and stepped outside.

Luckily memories of last night's dinner returned and Eren was prepared for the view this time. Water still swept the entirety of the space around him, what was now literally their island. The next closest bit of land was the forest and, beyond that, the real world.

Or maybe that wasn't quite the right name. Eren still couldn't get a handle on all the bathhouse's oddities… but that didn't make them feel less real. The cut on his cheek certainly stung enough. Suddenly suspicious Eren lifted up a foot, wondering if he'd actually slept walked to the barn or something.

Nope. The soles of his feet were clean, washed thoroughly before heading into bed—Hanji's orders.

"Where the hell is she anyway?"

Eren grumbled but he was still moving at a glacial pace, stretching luxuriously and allowing those last bits of his messed-up dream to be swept away by the sun. Arms up above his head Eren settled them down over the porch railing, daring to lean over and get a closer look at the water.

"It really is just like the sea," he murmured. "Irwin you little shit."

In the corner of his eye Eren could just make out the barn where his family was kept though he deliberately, and somewhat guiltily, looked away. Back towards the water actually, and wasn't that fucked up? It's not like he could do much of anything though. Not unless… he managed to find Corporal.

Eren jerked back up, suddenly blushing against the breeze. That felt wrong somehow and Eren's cheek twinged in agreement. Yes, he should find Corporal, but not to ask him about his family or any other favor. Not yet anyway. He needed to make sure his friend was okay first.

The cut faded to a manageable ache. Eren smiled.

"Right. New day, new list: find Corporal, find Hanji, find everyone else, save family, kick Irwin's ass, find a way ho—oh."

Eren had been so focused on avoiding looking at the barn that he'd simply assumed those were clouds over there. But no… it was smoke, billowing forcefully out of a tube that Eren recognized as connecting to the boiler room. Based on the amount pouring into the air Sasha must have been working overtime, which made about as much sense as anything else this morning.

Eren opened his mouth. Now that he'd recognized what it was he could almost taste the smoke on the air. "It's morning," he said, if only to confirm it. "The bathhouse shouldn't be open…"

Something like lead settled into Eren's stomach. He took off running.

He knew his way down to the lower levels well by now. Eren toyed briefly with the idea of heading all the way to the ground floor—popping into the boiler room, seeing what Sasha and Connie had to say—but if their version of last's events were anything to go by it didn't seem like they were kept in the loop much. At the last second Eren took a right instead of a left and flew into a nearby elevator instead. He cranked the latch, hoping that if there was actually work going on everyone would be somewhere on the main floor.

Indeed, as the elevator descended Eren began to hear actual voices: first a gentle murmur, then a roar that blew over him as the doors opened. Eren gapped at the mess he emerged into. Spirits were working alright, but their movements had none of the controlled grace he'd gotten used to seeing late at night. Now, with sunlight streaming through the windows, workers threw themselves into their tasks with abandon, appearing almost manic in their enthusiasm. It was chaos again but this time it seemed born of anticipation rather than fear. Eren spotted a pair of toads just a few feet away, seemingly oblivious to presence. They were tugging on a plate of meat and arguing over who would be giving it to "the honored guest," even though one toad was dressed in a uniform identical to Eren's, stating clearly that he wasn't one of the cooks. Even so, he was the one who managed to yank the plate out of the other's slimy hands and he trotted away happily. The other was left pulling at his warts.

"What guest?" Eren asked.

The toad ignored him. Eren shot out a hand as he passed. "Hey! What's going on?"

"Shove off, human!" And that was apparently that. Eren threw a rude gesture at his retreating back.

"Human!"

At first Eren thought it was the toad again and he quickly lowered his hand. Peeking through the crowd though… he didn't seem to be coming back. Eren only turned towards a staircase when he heard the shout again.

There was Hanji. She charged up the steps and flung her body halfway over the top of the banister, grinning up at Eren on the landing. A mass of spirits continued to push past them in a frenzy of activity.

"There's this super rich guest—" Hanji said at the exact same time Eren went, "What the hell is going on?"

They both went silent.

"Why didn't you wake me—?"/ "Guest, human, it's not complicated—"

Silence.

"You first," Eren growled.

"Right. So a few hours ago yeah, Delilah wakes me up, she's one of the nymphs okay, good friend, real nice. Anyway, she's going on about this super rich client that somehow got into the bathhouse, no one knows what that's about, but he's all kinds of rich so it doesn't really matter. Like, really rich. Apparently he can make gold. I've never heard of anyone doing that—not even Irwin!" A pained expression flit across Hanji's face and she dropped her voice. She leaned upwards and Eren leaned further over the handrail. Now they were nearly bumping noses. "Rich, okay? So at that point everyone's scrambling downstairs to start in on food and baths and just everything because he's apparently giving it out by the handful, and I did try to wake you, I swear! But you were totally dead to the world. Looked like you were having a pretty intense dream there and oh wow, what happened to your cheek?"

Eren's hand flew up to the cut. He'd hardly noticed it after his decision to find Corporal but now it flared painfully.

"Nothing. Just—gold? This guy can make gold?"

"Yep. Saw him do it myself."

"But…" Eren looked around at all the spirits—tripping over themselves to get some of that gold—and then he looked back at Hanji's vibrating frame. He bit his lip, suddenly afraid of offending her. "It's just… I didn't think you really went in for this sort of thing…"

"The gold?" Hanji blinked. "Oh no! I haven't taken any. Don't care one wit about that. But isn't it cool? I just like that he can do it, you know? And all these crazies," Hanji cast a mocking eye on the very spirits that Eren had been cringing at a moment before. "They make for some really excellent entertainment."

Eren grinned. "You're terrible. You'd make a great human being."

Hanji clutched at his hands, dangling in the open air over the stairwell. "And you're wonderful. Now, want to help me find Marco? Last I spotted him he was tearing after Jean. Seems our friend has a touch of the gold fever after all." Hanji chuckled a bit, then sobered. "Can't say I completely blame him. It's not like we get paid a lot here, you know? And Jean wants to get a place for himself and Marco someday, provided…"

Provided any of them got out from under Irwin's thumb. Eren nodded. Speaking of,

"What about him then?" Eren's last nod jerked up at the ceiling. Surely Irwin had heard about all this by now. Mr. I-Know-Everything-That-Goes-On-In-My-Bathhouse; Mr. Avarice. No way was he still tucked away upstairs when there was a guest who could make gold. No fucking way.

After a second's hesitation Hanji mounted the last few steps and came to stand directly behind Eren. She angled their bodies away from the passerby and stuck their heads together. "Alright. Honesty Hour. I love watching these toads scramble as much as anyone but frankly, human, I've got a bad feeling about all this. Irwin hasn't been seen yet. Not once."

"What?"

"Mm hmm. Weird, yeah? And not in a good way." Hanji twirled her fingers to indicate all the spirits below them. "There's a lot of talk as you'd imagine. Some are saying it's magical exhaustion—yeah, that's a thing. I don't know a whole lot but after all the casting he did last night? Guy's gotta be tired. Might have been enough to keep him knocked out, even through something like this. Plus there are rumors that not all that magic is strictly Irwin's."

"Not…?" Eren crossed his arms. "Hanji, I'm damn sure he's the one whose been putting me in body binds these last few days."

"No, no. Yes he's the one casting but some say the magic may not all belong to him, that it's not innate. Some sorcerers draw power from other objects, or even other beings." Hanji waved a hand at Eren's horrified expression. "Relax! I'm telling you, they're just rumors. Stupid rumors. What the hell do toads know about magic anyway? No," Hanji ceased her waving and slung her arm over Eren's shoulders. The close proximity allowed her speak against his ear. "My thinking is he's out."

"Out?"

"Yep."

"Out where?"

"That's the question."

Eren gnawed at his lower lip. "Corporal's been out somewhere too…"

"And I'm just cynical enough to think those most be related."

"Yeah," Eren agreed. "Yeah."

The lead was returning to his stomach only now it was moving, churning, tiny leaden balls knocking together, or a pile of corrosive sand pooling in on itself. The more Eren thought about Corporal being gone and Irwin being gone and the possibility of them being gone together… the more he wanted to barf. Hanji sighed, following along with Eren's increasingly depressed expressions.

"Honestly, human, I'm not liking this one bit. A spirit that makes gold? That's real powerful stuff. And how did he get into the bathhouse? I can't think of a way, not unless someone let him in."

Eren felt a twinge of source-less panic before Hanji distracted him, shaking him by the shoulders.

"But!" She cried. "Until we know for sure that this is all doom and gloom I'm gonna enjoy it. What about you, human? Gonna come with me and get some gold?"

"I thought you didn't want gold."

"I don't, but I thought I'd get some for Connie and Sasha. I'm 99.9% sure that unless they've got inside information neither of them were expecting to kick-start the boilers this morning… and Sasha at least is going to be pissed. Something shiny might make her feel better."

"Not unless things are even weirder here than I imagined and you can actually eat gold."

"…Fair enough. Maybe I'll get her bread instead. What about you then?" Hanji side-eyed him just a little. "Interested in making a buck?"

"Fuck no."

It came out a little too quickly but all Eren could picture was his dad: packing up the car, loudly proclaiming that, yes, they needed to move, for their finances of course, spouting on and on about the greater funds they'd make in this new town. It still made Eren's hands shake and if his dad wasn't currently being held captive by an insane sorcerer Eren would have probably claimed to hate him or something. Still. Gold? No thanks.

"Suit yourself," Hanji said easily. "Coming anyway?"

Eren's cheek flared as he ran a hand over his face. "No. I need to find Corporal. No chance you've seen him since last night?"

"Nope, sorry. Good luck with finding that one and don't do anything stupid, like get yourself killed! You're my favorite human I know."

"I'm the only human you know."

Hanji bent to kiss Eren's cheek with a giggle. "Aw—whatever! I'll see ya. Keep safe, yeah?"

"Yeah… hey, Hanji?"

She was already halfway back down thesteps but pivoted quickly. Eren swallowed.

"You haven't seen Hist—that is, Krista around have you?"

"Krista?"

"Or Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir… any of them." Eren rubbed the back of his neck, feeling oddly as if he was doing something wrong; telling a little white lie maybe. "I was just wondering," he said, anticipating Hanji's question and really, really wanting to avoid it. Magic or no magic, Eren wasn't about to admit to a dream like that. It was a little too weird, even for his tastes.

"No." Hanji said. She stared at him and then made her way slowly back up the steps. "Why?"

"I told you, just wonde—"

"Don't lie to me, human."

Ah. There it was. The feeling of guilt had just come a bit early. Eren ducked his head but then just as quickly threw it back up, pointing an accusing finger at Hanji.

"You're one to talk about lying," he hissed. "What was all that yesterday while cleaning the floor? You said they were involved somehow and that you'd tell me about it. You didn't!"

"Yes, well, things got a little crazy around here didn't they?" Hanji sniped back. "When was I supposed to tell you this, huh? While we were catering to a river spirit?" She tossed her hair and crossed her arms. "Besides, I'm not saying a word until you tell me why you want to see Krista."

"Hanji!"

She drew her fingers exaggeratedly across her lips; zipper zipped shut. Eren ground his teeth as they stood in silence for a good two minutes.

"I had a dream," he finally bit out.

Hanji's mouth popped back open. "Dream?"

"It was about…" They came together again, chest to chest. "About visiting my family, okay? Not normal visiting but, you know, out in the barn. Krista was there and so were the others. She said something about them belonging with the titans." Eren stared as Hanji sucked in a sharp breath. "So that's, what—true then? Hanji, what the hell."

Instead of answering she raised a hand to lightly touch Eren's cheek. "Did dream Krista do that?" She asked.

"Actually yeah. Is that… normal? Was it really her?"

"I doubt it," Hanji said. "I've heard of this happening before, messages couched as dreams, but Krista doesn't have the power to do this."

Only one person Eren knew did but Hanji was already shaking her head. "No. If Irwin wanted to torment you…"

"He'd do it in person," Eren finished. And he'd do a hell of a lot more than simply cut his cheek. "Corporal?" He ventured.

"He doesn't know magic."

"But he can remove some. Piggy-back…" Eren's hand drifted to his leg where the binding spell had been broken.

"That's totally different, human. Like, knowing how to make a really fantastic pie vs. pulling said pie out of the oven. Corporal just knows how to get oven mitts on." Hanji dithered a bit from side to side. "But I don't know who else has that kind of pie-making power. Or who'd want to contact you so badly."

"Or who'd choose to do it through Krista," Eren said pointedly. Hanji only sighed.

"Seriously, human. Not here. I'm sorry, really, but it's for the best. We can't be sure Irwin is actually gone. Want my advice? Find Corporal, ask him about it, and then the both of you find Krista together."

"Hanji that's… literally exactly what I was going to do."

She lightly punched his arm, a grin returning. "Alright. Look how in-tune we are."

"No, no I don't think that's it."

"That's totally it. Okay, actually leaving to make my friends rich this time. I'll let you know if I run into anyone interesting. See ya?"

"See ya." Eren watched as Hanji actually made it down the steps, pushing and shouting to make a path for herself. The whole spectacle made him laugh; which he figured was probably the point. Bubbling up into his throat, spilling in bursts from his lips… as nice as the laugh felt though, it didn't help Eren in any practical sense. He still had no idea where Irwin was or what he might be up to, no sense of who the invader in the bathhouse was (right?), no Krista, no real explanation for his odd dream, and where, exactly, was he supposed to start looking for Corporal?

Eren sighed and started traipsing back the way he'd come, returning to the series of porches and ladders that hung along the top edge of the bathhouse. He'd last seen Corporal in his dragon form, flying through the air, so maybe he should start his search up high? It was as good an idea as any.

Less than five minutes later Eren emerged back into the sunlight. He blinked against the glare and wondered which direction to head in. He supposed it didn't really matter. It would take a miracle for him to find Corporal.

Though sometimes—very, very rarely—miracles do happen.

As it was, Corporal found him.