"I-Is that…?"

Bertoldt gasped as he hit the brakes, screeching to a stop right in front of a frighteningly familiar blonde boy that stood right in the middle of the rural road leading home. There was nothing around for miles except grass and farmland—no houses, stores or gas stations.

…or witnesses.

The brunette had just been on his way home alone since Reiner ditched him and Annie decided to just walk when he had come face to face with one of his worst fears—to make matters worse, he was already covered in a sickening amount of blood, making the Bertoldt cringe behind the wheel.

Run him over, a dark voice in his mind said, he can't hurt her if he's dead.

Instead, he rolled down the window in a moment of sheer stupidity and timidly called out, "H-hey!"

The blonde turned towards him, his head down as bright, feral eyes bore into fearful, timid ones.

"H…hey…" Bertoldt said again, "You…you shouldn't…be out in the middle of the road…"

Just run him over, his mind said again, kill him.

Suddenly Armin looked up at him, cocking his head to the side as a smile graced bloodstained lips in such a twisted but sweet way that made Bertoldt jump.

"Kill me," he whispered, "I know that look in your eyes. You want to."

The brunette gripped the steering will until his knuckles turned white. Kill him.

Armin then started meandering towards the car, causing Bertoldt to rev the engine in warning.

"Sie haben Angst zu suchen…" he said, "…as you should. I'm a demon, after all."

Before Bertoldt was able to respond, headlights blinded his vision as another car zoomed down the opposite side of the road. It must have seen Armin because it slowed to a stop and the driver—a familiar looking woman with orange hair cut to about shoulder length—stepped out of her car.

"H-hey…" she asked cautiously, "Do…you need…help…?"

Realization dawned on her as her eyes widened in fear. "Y-you're—you're—"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence as the blonde lunged at her, teeth bared like a feral animal as he took her down to the unforgiving asphalt.

The woman, however, seemed to put up quite a fight. She kicked and screamed for help, landing a few solid punches and kicks that actually seemed to faze him for a split second—but nothing to actually cripple or distract him. They fought for what felt hours, but by Bertoldt's nervous checking of the time on the stereo, was actually only minutes.

…why aren't I doing anything?

Eventually Armin pinned her down, rendering the woman immobile but still kicking and screaming. He looked like a savage wolf that had just captured its prey—he had a psychotically triumphant grin as his eyes burned with the very same fire and brimstone that fuels hell itself, making Bertoldt shiver.

Why aren't I helping?

Suddenly the entire world screeched to a halt.

The woman's shrieks reached a crescendo only to die completely as Armin ripped her very throat out with his teeth, making Bertoldt gag and actually open the car door to vomit. The sounds…the smell…the sight…he wanted to scream, but when he tried all that came out was more bile. All he could was close his eyes and will himself to wake up from this horrible, horrible nightmare…

…why didn't I do anything?

The sound suddenly stopped, and Bertoldt made the mistake of opening his eyes.

"Y…you…" Words just couldn't leave his mouth, only sobs. "I-I…I…"

Armin then stood up from the now dead woman (who was she?) and wiped his mouth on his sleeve as he stared right into Bertoldt's eyes, eyes once bright and feral now dull and lifeless.

The beast has been sated, Bertoldt thought dryly, though he knew deep down that that was most likely the truth.

"Hey, Bertoldt…" he said, his eerily cute smile back in place. "…do you want to know a secret?"

Realizing that he was exposed, Bertoldt retreated back to his car, slamming and locking the door as well as rolling up the windows.

"Aww…" the blonde whined, "You're no fun…"

However, Bertoldt couldn't deny the curiosity seeping into his mind.

"…W-what is it?" he asked, keeping the window rolled up.

Bad idea.

Suddenly the blonde punched through the glass and seized the brunette's throat, shards spilling both of their blood onto the crème-colored car seat—and for some reason, terror was not the first emotion to cross his mind.

Those stains are going to be tough to get out, he thought.

By the time he realized how ill-timed that thought was, it was too late to get out of Armin's hold—his hands gripped the brunette's neck like a vice, digging shards of glass into his flesh.

But that's not what unnerved him the most.

The most terrifying thing was Armin's smile. It was still sweet an innocent, almost like a young child's—though his eyes revealed nothing but death.

"…did you know…?" he asked, cocking his head to the side in such an infuriatingly pure and childish way. "…that I'm the devil?"

Bertoldt wondered why he hadn't tried to overpower him yet—he was bigger, stronger, and more than capable of overcoming him.

So why hasn't he?

Suddenly a gunshot pierced the air, making the blonde release the brunette's throat. Bertoldt took this chance to take great gulps of air only to be impeded by shards of glass as well as fear.

Then, in one swift movement, a figure slammed the butt of a gun into Armin's temple, instantly knocking him out.

"Sorry about him," the figure said, bending down to check the psycho's pulse. "Okay good. He's not dead."

Bertoldt stared at the figure, realization hitting him like a truck.

"…Marco?"

"Hi," the freckled brunette said, scratching the back of his head. "Listen…"

However, to the freckled brunette's dismay, Bertoldt was starting to get hysterical. "W-what are you waiting for!?" he screamed, "Kill him! Kill him before he hurts anyone else!"

"Alright, calm down," Marco said, "Let me explain—!"

"A-are you on his side!?" the other brunette accused, "Are—are you just going to—"

"Bertoldt!"

The tall ball of nerves jumped at the freckled brunette's commanding voice.

"Just…tell Annie I said hi. She'll understand what that means," he sighed, "because right now I don't have time to explain."

Before Bertoldt could explode again, Marco huffed as he tossed the now injured blonde over his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said, "Just remember to tell Annie I said hi."

With that, he left without another word.