The relief of hearing that Corporal would pull through was beyond immense, as was the joy. In order to avoid collapsing back on his knees Eren forced himself to take numerous, stumbling steps forward as Annie let him go. The damage Corporal had done to the boiler room was extensive and Eren picked his way around spilled tokens, books, towels, and shoes; an entire drawer that had come tumbling out and scattered a collection of comics. From his peripheral vision Eren saw Petra smiling at him. Connie and Sasha's argument dwindled and then cut off completely. The room was silent.

Then Eren spotted it: a puddle of blue fabric half hidden under some pots and pans. It was one of the blankets he'd tugged over Sasha—or maybe Connie—seemingly ages ago now. Picking it up Eren found that it was still soft and warm, even if it did now smell kinda dusty. Stifling a sneeze he padded over and lay the blanket up near Corporal's head.

"There you go," Eren muttered thickly. Beside him, Petra covered a light laugh.

"Yes. I'm sure that will keep him very warm." The square cloth couldn't have covered more than a thirtieth of Corporal's bulk.

"Oh shut it." There was no heat in Eren's words though. The five of them took a moment to just stand silently over their friend. The six of them breathed together.

"We need to keep moving." Annie's voice cut across the trace. Eren shook himself awake.

"The day is getting on," she said. "It will be dusk before you know it."

Sasha shot her a skeptical look. "I don't know if you missed this little tidbit but Irwin controls night and day around here. Super annoying. And, uh, who are you anyway?"

Annie ignored her. "After losing his seal and, more importantly, losing me, Irwin will have to conserve his magic. Time isn't a priority anymore; he's already let it go. I felt the change a while back." She spared a brief glance for Sasha. "There. That's a 'tidbit' for you."

"Hey! You can just skitter on out of my boiler room, Miss Cheek!" Connie held her firmly by the shoulders.

"Hey, human?" He heaved. "Some info, yeah? What's going on…?"

Eren ran a hand wearily over his eyes. As he did the dream-cut gave a faint twinge. It didn't sting nearly as much though and it felt as if it had firmly scabbed over. He and Corporal both were healing.

Eren wondered, briefly, if he should ask about Krista. Whatever secrets she was keeping seemed pretty low priority now though. They'd have to wait until they got back from Erwin's.

If they got back.

"Umm… it's kinda a long story?" Eren eventually said. Why had that come out as a question? It was definitely a long story. Eren held up his fingers to tick off some points. "Okay. Basically the short of it is: Irwin was holding Annie hostage for her magic, I freed her, Irwin apparently has a twin brother, he freed Petra—mostly—Corporal stole this seal, I guess, which had other magic in it, so now Irwin isn't as powerful—we think—and now the four of us need to get to the forest and… do something?" Eren shook his head at Petra.

"Yes," she agreed simply. "We'll do something."

Connie was catching flies even as Sasha went limp in his arms. "Oh. That makes perfect sense."

"No it doesn't, Dumbo!"

"I was being sarcastic—c'mon!"

As the two started up again Petra came and lay a hand briefly on Eren's shoulder. "Whether dusk comes or not, you'll want clothes before we head out," she said.

"Right."

The soot-balls, poor things, had been a mess of nerves since they'd come crashing through the ceiling. Now though they'd made a little nest in the far corner and as Eren crept closer he heard what could only be described as constant giggling. They'd formed the approximation of a circle and two of the soot-balls stood in the middle, waving their teeny tiny arms. Eren thought they were dancing at first, until he saw one hold up two fingers while the other solemnly cut through them. The one doing the cutting triumphantly held up his hands even as his friend shook his head; the rest of the soot-balls tittered.

"Are you meant to be me then?" Eren asked. The one wearing a theatrically grumpy face turned into all smiles. He nodded. "Well you're super good. And you make a great Connie."

"Don't give them ideas!" Came a strangled call behind him. Eren gave a little laugh with all the others.

"Yeah, sorry to break up the fun but can I have my shoes again? Oh! And my clothes too. Uh, do you know where they are?" Shit. Magic and curses aside, Eren's life would truly be in danger if he came out of all this only to tell Mom that he'd somehow lost his clothes… Last he remembered Hanji had been undressing him just a night… no. Two nights ago? A while. Too long.

"Hanji?" Eren tentatively suggested and all the soot-balls nodded enthusiastically. They were just running towards their cubby holes when a crash sounded outside of the boiler room.

Speak of the devil…

"HUMAN!"

Hanji tore open the side door and thrust her head through. Her glasses sat skewed on the top of her head while her hair bushed up around it. It looked like she'd taken a serious tumble… or had been searching frantically for someone. Eren thought then and there that he was experiencing the definition of conflicting emotions: the desire to run and see Hanji after all he'd been through, coupled with the equal desire to keep far, far away from anyone that looked that crazed. Too late. She caught sight of Eren and her pupils blew wide.

"Hi, Hanji." Eren peeped.

"There you are! I have been looking everywhere for—is that a dragon?" Hanji went from manic to befuddled in two seconds flat. She pointed an accusing finger at Corporal.

"Yep," Annie said, popping the 'p.'

"Who are you?"

"It's a long story." Eren nearly went into a fit of hysterical giggles when he realized that the five of them had said it simultaneously. Hanji blinked.

"Listen, Hanji, sorry." Eren said. "But I don't have time. We need—"

"Oh you definitely have time, human." From manic to befuddled to dead serious. Hanji's expression lost all humor. She squeezed her way into the boiler room and sat crossed-legged on the ground. "Irwin is looking for you. He's pissed. Like… like…" Hanji shivered.

"Like last time we disobeyed him and he hung us broken on a tree?" Petra asked.

"Yeah. Like that."

Eren swallowed. "Then he knows about Annie."

"Annie?" Hanji's face scrunched in confusion even as Annie herself gave a little wave. "No. Remember that guest I told you about? Yeah, not so nice anymore now is he? The gold was cool at first but now he's started eating us! And he's demanding to see you, human, so I'd hoof it upstairs before Irwin blows the place apart looking for you."

"Armin," Eren groaned. He turned back to the soot-balls. "Clothes," he demanded. "Now."

They squeaked affirmatives and ran.

"They're in my closet!" Hanji called after them.

"Gold." Connie whispered. "Gold! Did you get us any, Hanji?"

Sasha was scowling. "You see? THIS is what I mean by slave labor. We do five times the amount of work in this place but do we hear about GOLD down here? No. Does anyone bother telling us? Noooooo."

"I tried to get you some," Hanji whined. "But he ate everyone who got close."

"Coward."

"Am not!"

Connie pouted. "Not even a tiny piece? C'mon."

"Who's Armin?" Petra asked.

"ENOUGH!"

They all jumped at Eren's shout. Only Annie raised an eyebrow, looking bored.

"Armin's the guest," Eren grit out. "The one… being bad. I need to talk to him. Before we leave."

"You know him?" Hanji's mouth swung open. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know who he was at the time!"

"You know the guy eating everyone?" Sasha snickered a bit. "Oh man, of course you do."

Eren narrowed his eyes. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means if I don't stop you children now we'll never get out of here," Annie stepped forward, clearly taking command. She addressed them all as one unit. "What's the fastest way to get to the forest?"

"Forest…?" Hanji started to ask but Annie glared. Hanji was left huffing in frustration before she finally sniped, "Boat!"

"A boat?"

"Well yeah. Irwin turned this place to soup, didn't he? I've got one tucked away somewhere." They all stared. "What? Don't you guys like boats?"

"Not particularly," Eren sighed. "And when we cross the water? What then?"

"That's really what I'm asking," Annie murmured even as Petra nodded.

"The forest," she said. "We've, that is, Corporal and the rest of us, we spent a great deal of time there before…" She lifted her hands, encompassing the bathhouse and all the experiences that were tied to it. "I know it well but it's deceptive. The size of the trees makes the forest itself appear smaller than it actually is. Once you're down on the ground you could spend days, weeks even, trekking about and getting almost nowhere if you don't know where you're going. I've been to Erwin's house once before and I swear to you, it's not a place we'd reach easily in a day, let alone a few hours if we're on foot."

The party stood in silence for a long time. Then, suddenly, Connie snapped his fingers.

"Then don't travel on the ground!" he cheered and dove into the pile of stuff Corporal had thrown about.

"Is he…?" Eren asked but Sasha only shrugged in defeat. Raising a hand she twirled fingers near her ponytail a couple times before drawing in a deep, deep breath. By now they all had the presence of mind to cover their ears before she screamed,

"HEY, WALNUT-HEAD. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"I'm helping, Sasha, jeez!"

"Helping. HELPING? Uh huh. Mind running that by me again?"

Connie's shaved head popped up from behind an upturned drawer. He held a sock in one hand and pliers in the other. "I'm looking for something, okay? Just hold on."

"'Hold on,' he says. I'll hold on to your—"

Hanji jumped over Connie and came to a skidding stop next to Eren. She landed with her hands on her hips, sporting an impressive glower.

"Want to tell me what's going on, human? You know, something about the random new people you've met and you saying you're heading into the forest and the dragon sleeping over there—which, way cool, but still—and did I mention there's a really pissed off sorcerer looking for you?" For all her bravado Eren could tell Hanji was legitimately worried. She kept rocking forward and back on her heels like she was toying with the idea of just picking him up and carting him off somewhere. It wasn't an all-together unpleasant option.

Surprising himself and clearly surprising Hanji, Eren stepped forward until he was flush against her chest. Her arms immediately wrapped around his bare shoulders.

"Oh, human," she cooed. "Long day, huh?"

Eren nodded. Pressing his face against the clean fabric of her shirt he breathed deeply, letting the air out in a rush that warmed her skin. For a moment—just one moment—Eren let his limbs truly relax, his arms dangling and swaying ever so slightly, his legs held up by Hanji's knees. Eren closed his eyes. The only part of him moving now was his mouth and it took him a long time to realize he was forming words. There, with the other four giving them space, Eren told a story for Hanji only: about looking for and failing to find Krista, finding Corporal instead, bloodied and half mad from the papers' attacks; the trip into Irwin's office, freeing Annie, learning of Erwin; the decent back down here and the recovery that had drained him almost as much as the fear. Eren told it all and when he was done he felt empty. That too wasn't an all-together unpleasant feeling.

"Well fuck." Hanji said.

"Yeah… fuck sorta sums it up."

Hanji pulled Eren backwards and the rush of air where body heat at previously been made him shiver. "I don't know whether to hug you," she said, "or slap you silly. I'll settle for this," and without further ado Hanji leaned down to smack a kiss against Eren's forehead.

He squirmed. "Aw. C'mon, Hanji."

"Your clothes are here."

The soot-balls had indeed returned. They came in squeaking, triumphantly holding up shoes, shirt, and shorts. They looked freshly washed and Eren pulled them on with a relish that had nothing to do with their fresh scent. Just having his old clothes back on gave him some strength. After tying his laces Eren tilted back on his heels and smacked the tips of his sneakers together, oozing satisfaction. Dot's bottle was tucked safely away in his pocket.

It was while he was fiddling with his shirt that the cry came.

"Found it!"

Connie surfaced for air, dusty and trying to blow off a speck of paper that had adhered to his nose. In his arms he carried what appeared to be a collection of metal and leather scraps. He dumped the whole mess at Eren's feet and then plopped himself down, pulling out a tiny bottle of oil and spritzing a corner.

"Wanna explain this, genius boy?" Despite her dark tone Sasha stepped forward curiously, as did the rest of them. Connie was too engrossed to toss a barb back. After a bit more tweaking and squeaking he grasped two of the straps and held it all up so that it formd a semi-recognizable shape.

"It's like some kind of suit," Eren said. He could see where a person's shoulders would be situated and there was a strap that could only be buckled around the waist. There were also two large, rectangular containers hanging—and surely straining Connie's arms—that looked as if they settled on the outer side of either hip. Connie grinned.

"It is a suit," he said. "A 3d-MG suit – three dimensional maneuver gear. I've been working on it for years, man. Look. Look here." Excitedly, Connie picked up a connecting wire that had been pooling in his lap. At the end of it was a lever of some kind that fit snugly in the palm of his hand. "It's all connected, see? Our bodies, our limbs and extremities, they don't move independently. Not totally. So why should this? It's all one unit, responding to you, your body's natural movement enhanced to the one-hundredth degree. Cool bit of magic I wove in there, wouldn't you say? Cool right? Techno-magic and animating soot. That's the extent of my power, guys." The soot-balls who hadn't run off to fetch clothes cheered. "But this baby…" Connie's fingers stroked lovingly over the handle. "I've been tuning her for decades. Totally in synch. So when you do this—"

He pulled the trigger and something shot out from a nearly invisible side-pocket. It whizzed through the air and Eren felt the puff of it soaring directly by his ear. He stood stock still, trembling, even as he heard the crunch of it hitting the wall behind him. Blindly, Eren pointed at whatever it was while glaring at Connie's perfect 'o' of a mouth.

"That could have been my head," Eren hissed.

"…Oops?"

Petra came trotting back with the projectile, winding up the connecting cord. It was a small but sturdy clasp, one tong still holding on to a bit of the wall's plaster. Eren eyed it pointedly.

Sasha poked it. "Is it a weapon?" She asked. Eren said 'yes' at the same time Connie went 'no.'

"It's really not!" He flailed slightly. "Sorry, man. Sorry, sorry. It's not supposed to take anyone's head off, just attach to things."

"Well it certainly did that," said Annie.

Hanji frowned. "Well what for?"

"To fly of course." Connie was grinning again."See? There's one on each side. The harness keeps your weight perfectly leveled and by attaching these hooks into nearby objects you pull yourself—soar really—through the air. If these babies can break through concrete I'm sure they could handle a few trees. Just use this and you'll be through the forest before you know it. Ah, well…"

"'Well'?" Petra nudged.

"Theoretically," Connie admitted. He scrubbed at the back of his head. "I'm never uh, actually… tested it."

Sasha slapped a hand over her face. "Of course you haven't."

"What are the slots for?" Annie ran a finger over one of the four openings. They were thin, no thicker than just an inch or two. Connie was practically bouncing in place.

"Swords," he breathed. "Like the ones Corporal carries. Can you imagine? You're flying through the air and then—" He made a series of exaggerated slashing movements, complete with clanging sound effects. "Like you're engaging in battle!"

"No." Sasha said.

"Aww c'mon…"

"Absolutely not," Petra agreed. Eren took a wary step away from Connie.

"Oh! Shit, one more thing." Connie scrambled and dove head first back into the mess. Eren saw him accidentally tread over one of Corporal's claws but he didn't even stir. After a minute Connie returned with two gas tanks tucked under his arms.

"One for each side," he explained. "But there's only enough for one trip."

"A trip there and back?" Eren asked hopefully.

Connie shook his head. "I don't know how deep in the forest this brother guy lives but unless he's right on the outskirts, you'll have to walk back. Sorry, man."

"And I can only take the boat one way." Hanji said. She shrunk slightly when Eren rounded on her. "It's all fine for you lot to go off but me…" her voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't just leave, human. Not for long anyway."

"She's right." Annie said. "I'm free now and Erwin loosened his brother's hold on Petra. As for you, he's never had complete control over you, that much is clear. Even more so since you… reclaimed a certain bit of information."

His name. Eren nodded.

"The three of us are the only ones capable of making the trip. Except maybe for him," Annie pointed lazily towards Corporal. "But he's in no condition to be moving."

"Fine." Eren swallowed, working around a dry throat. "We'll walk back then and..." He swallowed again. "We'll swim. If we have to."

Hanji's hand settled over his shoulder.

"Looks like someone's trying to get your attention," she murmured.

Eren looked down. There was an especially small soot-ball tugging impatiently at a bit of his shoelace. Seeing that he'd finally gained Eren's attention he squeaked happily, gesturing for him to bend down.

"What is it?" Tentatively extending a finger Eren let out a similar squeak when the soot-ball grasped it and gave what could only be described as a very fuzzy hug. Within seconds he had hundreds of the little guys all swarming his feet, clasping at whatever part of him they could reach. He spotted one giving the toe of his shoe a wet kiss.

"You've totally corrupted them," Connie lamented. Then he sighed. "Alright. Not to be the downer here but you say all three of you are going? That's not gonna work." He shook his gear as emphasis. "Maybe one of you could get carried around, but three? Nah uh. Not happening."

"That's easily fixed." Annie and Petra shared a look, one that the rest of them couldn't easily decipher. That is, until Annie lifted a hand and the two of them began to shrink together. When the bit of smoke they'd stirred up had cleared Annie was once again a mouse, the same kind that Erwin had turned her into, while Petra was an even tinnier bird. No larger than a quarter, she climbed up Annie's back and Annie in turn scrambled up Eren's leg. She settled on his shoulder, all haughty indifference.

"Or, yeah, just turn yourself into animals." Connie muttered. "That works too."

Hanji grinned. "I think they're adorable."

Sasha groaned. Muttering something about more filthy creatures in her boiler room she swung herself back up on her ledge. Fiddling with a dial here and there she eventually turned to peer back down at them.

"You'd best get up there, human boy," she said. Her face was about as serious as Eren had ever seen it. "I didn't like getting woken up in the middle of the day but I'll tell ya, one minute I'm sending up enough water to wash an army… the next? Nothing. And there's been nothing since you guys destroyed my ceiling." Sasha cast a disgusted look around only to smile sadly a second later. "Whatever that friend of yours is up to, it's not good."

"No. It's not." Hanji agreed. "C'mon, human." Face like stone she took Eren by the wrist, pulling him away even as Connie and the soot-balls waved sadly. Sasha gave an odd little salute.

"You'll watch over him?" Eren called desperately and everyone nodded. He dipped, moving the hand that had been keeping Annie and Petra balanced, brushing lightly against Corporal's head. Eren wanted him to open his eyes, even for just a moment, to say something, anything…

But then he was pulled away—he, Hanji, Petra, and Annie—pulled through the tiny door. Off to see Irwin. Of all things.

Eren closed his eyes and hoped for the best.