The Return of Marco Bodt (Titan!Marco)

Chapter 18

The next morning, Marco sat down at the table for breakfast, his hands shaking violently. He had been uncharacteristically silent all morning. His food remained untouched on his plate. "Marco, you have to eat," Jean said softly, trying to persuade Marco to eat something.

"Marco, are you alright?" Bertholdt asked, his eyes filled with genuine concern. After being asked what was wrong all morning he finally snapped.

Marco slammed his hand down on the table. "WILL EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP?!" He screamed. Everyone in the breakfast hall went silent and stared in Marco's direction but he didn't seem to care. Marco ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed a few chunks of it. He took deep shaky breaths trying to keep himself from snapping again.

Jean gently touched Marco's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. Marco snapped his head in Jean's direction, delivering a swift slap to the face. Something inside Jean snapped as he reached for the knife which had been conveniently placed on the table for him to eat with. He grabbed the knife by it's handle and in the same swift movement, kicked Marco in the stomach causing him to fall backward off the bench. Most scouts stopped eating and watched while others were halfway standing, ready to get help.

Jean plunged the knife into Marco's chest. Jean expected him to fight back but wasn't all that surprised when he didn't. "You're not Marco!" Jean screamed as he stabbed Marco again. "The Marco I know would never act like this! I want the Marco I know back! Or did I lose him to that damn titan?!" Jean kept screaming.

Jean watched as the stab wounds he inflicted healed as quickly as he dealt them. Marco's shirt was stained with blood but he just laid on the floor without saying a word. "Stop healing dammit!" Jean cried, his anger reaching an uncontrollable point. Before he knew what he was doing he had slit Marco's throat. Blood poured down his neck and the noise he made while he was choking on his own blood, made Jean's blood turn cold.

Marco held his hands to his neck, blood quickly beginning to seep in between the gaps in his fingers. This time, his wounds didn't heal. A few scouts gasped as they saw the severity of his wound and rushed off to get Erwin. Reiner pulled Jean away from Marco before he had the chance to hurt Marco even more. Once Jean was off of him, Marco sat up, coughing up blood. He took in deep gasps as he tried to breathe but couldn't as he began to drown in his own blood. Erwin rushed into the scout mess hall, catching sight of Marco who by now was slowly beginning to heal.

"What is going on here?!" Erwin demanded, his professional manner never wavering. Marco's throat had healed by now but he was still coughing up unsettling amounts of blood on the wood floor.

"Jean snapped and hurt Marco, sir!" A scout exclaimed, her face ashen. Marco's body tensed as he coughed up the blood that had flooded his lungs. Jean fought back against Reiner's restraints, trying to attack Marco again.

Marco wiped the blood from his mouth only to cough more up again. He stood up, his legs trembling under him, threatening to give out under his weight. He made his way closer to Jean, his glassy, dull eyes staring back at Jean's enraged ones. "I'm sorry," Marco began interrupted by another coughing fit. "I'm sorry I haven't been acting like myself. There's just been so much going on. I hope you can forgive me...?"

"Like hell, I will!" Jean yelled. "The real Marco is dead! All I'm stuck with now is this damn titan pretending to be him!" At this Marco said nothing. He wrenched the knife out of Jean's hand and tossed it across the floor.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Marco said dully before walking out of the mess hall.

"Ah! Marco wait!" Moblit cried from the sidelines, chasing after Marco in a sea of scouts.

"How are we supposed to work with this?" Levi asked skeptically, watching Moblit chase after Marco.

"We'll make it work," Hanji said though she didn't seem too sure.