Beta'd by KappasRule, as always!

I own neither DGM nor SNK

Titan forest, Year 850

Allen's head whipped up to meet the new voice. His eyes narrowed at the source. "Reiner." He said through gritted teeth. He noticed Bertoldt not too far off. "What did you do?"

"It's just something we picked up from a group called the Crows." He shrugged. "At the time, we had no idea why we would need such a strange technique. But I guess they knew somehow."

This bothered Allen. The Crows? Who were these people?

"There's no way I'm going with you guys." Allen seethed. "I've sided with humanity. I won't help you destroy them."

Reiner frowned and exchanged a look with Bertoldt. "Well, you see… we meant what we said earlier. If you and Eren came with us, then we wouldn't bother humanity ever again. No more breaking walls." Allen couldn't read his expression.

"You're lying."

Ymir shifted awake next to him. "Huh…?" She grumbled. Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed her arms were cut off.

"Oh, good morning Ymir." Allen greeted, rather too cheerful. "It's good for you to finally join us."

She grunted in acknowledgement, and noticed Reiner and Bertoldt. Her eyes narrowed before asking, "What do you two plan on doing with us? Now that you've captured us, we have a right to know."

"We'll tell you once Eren wakes up." Reiner hesitated slightly. "It's best if we don't repeat ourselves.

However, soon after that Eren woke up with a jolt. It took a moment to process things, especially that his arms were cut off. "Wh… what's going on?! My arms!"

"Eren, calm down." Allen said.

"Look, we're in the same situation as you." Ymir said, showing off her arms.

"Ymir… Allen…" He looked at his stumps that used to have arms. "Why don't I have arms?"

"Oh, sorry. I did that." Reiner said. "I was in a hurry, I bit your neck while panicking, and I missed your arms in the process."

Eren lowered his head. "I see… so I lost." A short silence fell over the group, until he lifted one of his stumps to his teeth, everyone panicked.

"Eren, no!" Allen shouted.

Ymir beat him, and pulled the stump away from his mouth. His eyes widened. "Just wait a second and take a good look around you, Eren." She said. "This is the Titan forest inside Wall Maria. It's apparently very far away from the wall. Naturally, it's part of titan territory. Just look." Below, there were a dozen titans clawing at the base of the trees they stood on. "I guess you'd call those abnormals." She pointed out the two lying on the ground. "It might look like they're just relaxing, but they've got their eyes locked on us. And there are a lot of smaller ones below. They pose a threat too. There's a big one over there too." One stayed half-hidden behind a tree, but nonetheless continued to scrutinize them. "It's just watching us and not coming close. It's probably not very strong." She turned to Reiner and Bertoldt, sending them glares. "And then there's them. Those two stingy bastards. They're the only ones wearing vertical maneuvering equipment. Reiner's wearing yours. Recklessly turning into a titan now doesn't seem like a good idea. Not only can they do the same, they can also escape high into the trees. And even if they couldn't, we're surrounded by titans."

Eren noted that Allen still had his innocence arm. "But, what about him? What's wrong with his left arm?"

Allen shook his head. "I can't activate it, they did something to it. They won't give me a clear explanation. Besides, even if I am skilled enough to take down those titans below, I wouldn't be able to have enough stamina to transform."

"But what if you bit into that arm?" He suggested.

"I've… never actually thought about that."

"The point he's trying to make, Eren," Ymir regained his attention. "that even with 'titan powers', it's hard to make it out of titan territory alive. You understand don't you? We don't have the luxury to run wild here."

Reiner agreed. "No, right now, neither of you could become titans to begin with. It's not as convenient as you think. Your strength is limited. At the moment, it's all you can do to repair your bones."

"Dumbass. Who the hell would believe what you have to say?" Eren seethed.

"Well, I don't know that much about our titan powers, either. Unlike you two, I'm not sure how those kinds of things work. Hey, Reiner. You said you'd talk once Eren wakes up, right? How about finally telling us?" Ymir said.

Allen sent a glare Reiner's way. "Yes, do tell. What do you two plan on doing with us from here?"

"You're coming with us to our hometown. Don't give us any trouble." Reiner said, and paused. "…is what I would say, but I know very well you wouldn't listen." He continued. "Still, like what Ymir said, this is a hive of titans. If we tried to kill each other here, we'd just be eaten by other titans once we grew weak. In other words we have to stay until nighttime, when the titans can't move. Whether you three manage to get away from us, or we manage to carry you off, we have to wait until night."

"Why did you come to a place like this instead of running back to this 'hometown' of yours as the armored titan? You get tired and decide to take a break?" Ymir asked.

Reiner crossed his arms over his chest, feigning dominance. "I'll leave that to your imagination."

"What about the ones at the castle? They were moving at night. How could these titans be any different?" Allen said.

"The titans here can't move at night. I think you already know that, Allen."

Within moments, Allen's right arm healed, but he felt exhausted from focusing his energy on healing that one arm. Moments later, one of Ymir's arms healed. "Hey, Reiner. You have any water? I'm going to dry up and die if I don't drink something." She said.

"I know it's a life-or-death problem, but we can't get any in the situation we're in." Reiner grunted.

"You know, I bet I could get some if I had innocence." Allen said. "This situation you put us in, however-"

"-is bullshit." Ymir finished. "This whole thing is bullshit."

"You know, I think it's been since yesterday morning. We've been working our asses off ever since the titans popped up. We haven't had any proper food or drink, and most of all… we haven't slept." Reiner pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, thankfully, the wall wasn't destroyed. So I'd at least be allowed some rest. We can talk about promotion after that."

"Reiner…" Bertoldt warned.

"No… I think we've done enough work to deserve consideration. It's not easy to act in a situation as messed up as that one. As a soldier I don't see what's wrong with being commended and rewarded for that."

"Mister Reiner, what in the hell are you going on about?" Ymir asked.

"Hm? What do you mean? I'm not saying I should be immediately promoted to captain, you know."

"Uh… that's not what I mean…"

"Oh, Allen, I guess I should thank you for jumping in and saving me then. Even so, after that, I managed to save Krista. She has to be into me, right? She's actually always been especially nice to me, but-"

"Hey, IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE?" Eren yelled.

Silence.

"What are you mad about, Eren? Did I… say something wrong?" Reiner asked.

"IF YOU WANT ME TO KILL YOU, JUST COME OUT AND SAY IT!"

"Wait, Eren. Whatever he's saying is not normal." Ymir said.

Allen caught on. "That's right. Bertoldt, if you have something to say, you should say it now." He said, noticing his silence.

Reiner looked up to Bertoldt. "Huh…?"

"Reiner… you're… you're not a soldier. We're… warriors." Bertoldt said.

OOH MY. ok I know like, nothing happens in this chapter. Just hold tight. Review pls, and Happy Holidays!