ONE ʙʏ ONE 𝟸 : ᗩᗷᑌᔕᗴ ᗩᔕƳᒪᑌᗰ

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ᴛᴡᴏ

Carla and Kenny watched the boat appear in the horizon. A group of men were prepared to restrain Eren if needed, or if things turned south. As the boat docked, Connie, Berthold, and Reiner were the first to scramble out.

"Thank the heavens above!" Connie cheered, happy to finally see open land.

Armin and Erwin were next. They both looked drained and traumatized, both wearing speckles of blood. Once Kenny saw the blood, he grew uneasy.

Carla and Kenny grew even more sickened when they saw Sonny and Bean — Hange's hounds hop off, but they turned and waited for their real master to deboard.

Eren appeared with a smiled on his face. Zeke hopped off soon after and ran up to his mother to greet her with a hug. She was unsure at first but soon melted into her son's embrace. Carla then turned to her son.

"Mom, you won't believe the week I've had." Eren chuckled.

The boy then looked back and held out his hand. A slender hand showed, and Levi stepped off. Kenny and Carla were speechless. Levi was wearing the mask from the asylum. Once the raven stepped off, Eren kissed the top of his head sweetly.

Sonny and Bean wagged their tails and howled at them, wanting their master's attention. Eren patted their heads and praised them.

But the crew wasn't done. Hange stepped off, and Kenny's men grew tense. Eren waved them off.

"Relax, she's not too much of a threat anymore." Eren laughed, pulling Levi to his side.

Levi was silent, looking to the floor like an empty ragdoll. Same as he was at Rose Wall Asylum. His spirit seemed broken.

Hange ran up to Kenny and began warning, "Eren has lost it! Levi too! They are seriously sick in the head, and we need to get them help!"

Zeke rolled his eyes and shoved the girl to the ground. Kenny snickered, "How dare you speak badly of my nephew and his boyfriend."

"Fiancé." Eren corrected. "We're taking my last name."

Carla wanted to feel happy, but something was dreadfully off. Hange begged to her.

"Eren is seriously sick!" Hange revealed. "I don't care that he kills, but he kills he teammates! He's a loose cannon."

"How so?" Carla hesitantly asked.

"I would saw take a look at the two dead bodies on the boat, but all that remains are bones."

Carla looked to Armin. "Is this true?"

Armin groaned having put the spotlight on him. He wanted to blend in and be overlooked, and at that moment, he wanted to disappear. Eren gave him a warning smile that promised pain had he talked against him.

Eren was still there. Armin had to save him.

"Carla," he sped up to the women. "Eren is there, but he's lost it from the asylums!"

Eren didn't lower his smile as he passively growled, "Armin, why say that?" He muttered. "You're alive, aren't you?"

Armin continued, "Levi has lost it too. Please, for the safety of everyone on the island — get them some sanity!"

Hange added on. "And some help for Jean and Zeke wouldn't be bad either."

Carla looked to Armin, Kenny, then Eren. His gaze was glassy, and his smile was unnerving. Though she hated it, she needed her son back.

Kenny understood and commanded his men, "Take Eren, Levi, Jean, and Zeke to isolation rooms. I'll see what I can do about a psychiatrist."

The word isolation room triggered something in Eren. He drew his blade and hurled it towards Kenny, only missing him by a hair.

Kenny's men grabbed Eren and Levi and pulled them apart. Levi panicked and struggled to get back to Eren, reaching out for him. Eren did the same, clawing and biting to get out of their grips, but the effort was futile.

Sonny and Bean had to be tackled and muzzled. They tried to protect their master, but they were highly out numbered.

Zeke went without a fight, just a disappointed glare towards his mother. Carla was weighted with guilt watch her sons be torn apart.

"Where is Jean?" Kenny asked.

Hange huffed, "Tied up in storage. He was becoming violent, so I locked him there for our safety."

The men retrieved him and carried him off with the others. Armin helped Hange off the ground as Erwin moved next to him.

"Eren and Levi are gonna beat your ass, you know?" Erwin warned.

Armin shrugged, "Please, it's either a beating or death. No winning here."

Carla sulked away, tears brimming her eyes. This wasn't the return home she was hoping for. Kenny was worried for his nephew.

Erwin asked his companion, "Do you really think they could be fixed?"

Armin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Definitely not, and we're most likely gonna die."

They looked at eachother and began to chuckle. They weren't afraid of death anymore — the only thing they feared was tomorrow. Days are long and nights longer when those around you are being picked off One by One.

╰ ─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─ ╯

'Another bites the dust' should be the theme song of this series. Keep an eye out for the next book. Trust me, the next one will be the last!

Toodles~