A/N: So...

...had some rough shit to deal with regarding Net Neutrality, but I had this chapter written so I gave it some tweaks, tacked on this at the top of the author's note and managed to get it out in time for the holidays. We'll have to see where this all goes regarding the net, but for now, I'm still around I suppose. Until I have to start shelling out serious cash just to afford internet. Still...

...here ya go.

Surprise, surprise!

New chapter again says I!

And a Happy Holidays to all!

Really got into this, if ya can't tell~!

I've also read the most recent chapter of Attack on Titan and I am KICKING myself because they went and did EXACTLY what I had planned for Marley. I won't say any more for fear of spoiling any of you who have yet to read it, but that irked me a bit.

Ah, well.

Back to the drawing board for me!

Furthermore, I feel I should answer a few questions. A LOT of people have been asking about that "cult" Levi and Naruto mentioned in the last chapter. Was it the same one mentioned near the beginning of the story? The one accidentally founded by Naruto?

They have a role to play here as well.

Oh, and Several of you have been wondering about a certain character and whether she would be left out of the events to come.

This chapter should answer those questions aptly.

One last thing, there's a quote in here from the trailer of a recent movie that happened to catch my eye.

I own nothing!

Now...

...ONTO THE NEXT ARC~!

Yes, its short, but better than nothing, no?

Also, Not So Far Away is next on the update list =D

So Happy Holidays to all!

"You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!"

~?

Lurking Demons (Interlude)

"Oh, your poor, poor thing. They really did a number on you, didn't they?"

Zeke hissed out an angry breath when the damp cloth brushed his seared chest, but otherwise remained stoically silent as his companion tended to his wounds. He refused to dignify her gentle teasing with a response, let alone admit he'd been bested by a single adversary. It was almost to embarrassing to bear. Even as his blistered side shrieked in protest he gritted his teeth through and locked his jaw, resolving himself to silence. For her part, his companion took his silence in stride, expertly binding his injuries with gauze and applying healing ointments to accelerate his healing factor.

The gentle warmth against his back told him she'd somehow started a fire while he slept.

Somehow, it only made his shame burn all the more.

"That's alright," she hummed, her gentle voice echoing through the cave they'd taken refuge in. "I won't tell anyone."

...shut up, Pieck."

"Ohohoho! He speaks!"

A foul tirade of curses followed.

"There, there. No need to to swear. Here."

"What's this?"

"Dinner."

Tucking her knees into her chest, the young woman briefly paused in her ministrations to offer him a stiff piece of what he could only assume had once been a rabbit. Irked as he was, Zeke turned his nose up at it. He had not the stomach for food, much less conversation. Still, Pieck kept nudging the slightly-burnt morsel out toward him until he finally accepted it. Met her gaze. Even in the faint light provided by the fire, her eyes seemed to embrace the night, threatening to swallow the very sparks themselves. As if the light itself were afraid to approach her. As he looked on, those eyes favored him with an expectant look as if to say:

Well?

Relenting, the warrior sank his teeth into the meaty haunch and took a reluctant bite.

"See?" A slight smile graced her pale feature as he chewed. "Not bad, is it? Takes the edge off?"

"We don't have time for luxuries." Zeke grimaced, forcing himself to swallow against his better instincts. If memory served, winter was fast approaching and he couldn't afford to be choosy about his meals. But a skilled cook Pieck was not, and the meat ground against his teeth, drawing a grimace from the elder warrior.

"So that's a no, then?"

"Tch!"

Irritated by his companion's dauntless enthusiasm and seemingly impenetrable composure, the ashen-haired warrior flung the food aside, turned away from the fire-away from her!-and rested his weight on his good side. Dark thoughts sprang to the surface, swimming in the shadows. He vividly recalled being bathed in the raging blaze, stumbling out of his titan even as its fur-ridden body succumbed to the chakra-stoked flames. The pain-agony-that followed. If not for Pieck's last minute assistance he had no doubt; he wouldn't have survived.

He'd failed.

Of course he knew that.

Annie's betrayal had been one thing. He'd known for some time that she'd gone turncoat though it did little to ease the sting of it; knowing she'd willingly forsaken them to join their hated enemy. Foolish girl. She let her heart lead her and believed she was in love. How easily she was swayed.

Really, part of this was her fault.

Because of her weakness, Reiner and Bertholdt were gone now. Leagues away, ensconced within the walls. Surrounded by a small army. Any attempt to retrieve them now would surely result in disaster. If the Eldians within knew how to produce a titan, then Armored and Colossal were likely already lost to them. And even if they weren't, he found himself loathe to try. If he did, he risked bringing that monster down on their heads. Instigating a battle he was no longer certain he could win. Not with the odds stacked against him. In the end, the true enemy was none other than those gifted cadets and their master. All this because of a name.

Uzumaki Naruto.

That one would be a problem.

And to think, he'd been bested by that buffoon's apprentice!

Nothing about him made the slightest bit of sense. Who was he? What were those abilities he possessed? When had he found his way to Paradis island? Where did he hail from? Why did he exist? How did he simply acquire a titan form like that? Something was afoot there. He could feel it. Too many questions. Not enough answers. And yet Zeke felt as though those answers were still there, just out of reach. He must be missing something. A thread he had yet to grasp. Whatever it was, it eluded him, lost in the mire of his anger and confusion.

His face was almost certainly known now thanks to that brat of his.

"So?" Pieck inquired, plopping down beside him. "What are we going to do now?"

'Run away with our tails between our legs.' was his first coherent thought, and it shamed him.

As things stood, they simply didn't have the numbers or the resources to complete their mission anymore.

...we're going to reassess our mission." Zeke said instead, hating himself for the way the words ground out of him.

"Wait. What?" Pieck blinked, incredulous. "Why? We're not done yet. Surely you don't intend for us to return empty handed?"

Resigning himself to the slow-burning anger in his chest and the condemnation it would earn him, the battered warrior propped himself up on his elbows and fixed his subordinate with a cross look. There was a dangerous gleam in those dark eyes of hers, one that didn't turn from his gaze. What had she been plotting while he slept? He wasn't sure he wanted to know. No, best to nip any hair-brained idea she might have in the bud before it bloomed into something disastrous.

"Are you questioning my orders?" he growled.

Instead of defying him outright, the girl deflected with a question of her own.

"What about infiltration?" the blackette suggested. "Surely if we-

"They know my face." he argued.

"Not mine."

Realization coiled Zeke's into an ugly knot.

"No. Absolutely not."

The refusal came far too easily to him; partly because she spoke the truth. Pieck hadn't left her titan for months now. That brat-Marco as he recalled-claimed to know the faces of Zeke and his associates. Not Pieck. None would know her face to be certain, but more than that he couldn't bear the idea of losing her. Pieck was his ally of course, but more than that, she was his partner, the only one he could truly trust with the sanctity of her mission. If something should happen to her...he'd be alone. Zeke didn't like his chances as they were now, but if this overconfident girl meddled...

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you don't have any say in the matter. And you're clearly in no condition to lead it."

"Now listen here you little...!"

Even as he made to rise, Pick lowered her hand.

Pinched a nerve in his neck.

Blackness.

A/N: Hooray for CLIFFHANGER endings! Is this a happy ending? Hmm. Good lord I am TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRED! I pulled an all nighter to write this and I've got a super long shift tomorrow! Still, there we are! MARCO IS ALIVE! How, you ask? Did he fake his death? He did indeed. Did Naruto know? He certainly did not. Don't worry, its all part of the plan. Answers aplenty next chapter! A lot happened in this chapter and more will in the next. Is Zeke down for the count? Who knows?

Only a few chapters left now!

Yes, I know, I KNOW, you guys and gals all want the Annie and Petra scene. These last few chapters have been heavy on action, as one might expect. It's coming, but it just hasn't played out yet. I didn't want to shoehorn it in here. Next chapter for sure! Plenty of romance abounds!

Also, let's establish a list of the Titan Shifters, neh?

Naruto = Asura Titan. (Original)

Zeke = Beast Titan.

Eren = Attack Titan + Coordinate.

Pieck = Cartman Titan.

Ymir = Dancing Titan.

Annie = Female Titan.

Mina = Armored Titan.

? = Colossal Titan.

And there we go! Hope you guys and gals enjoyed this chapter!

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly?

And of course, the previews!

We're nearing the end here, folks!

(Previews)

"This is quite the report you've submitted."

"Of course it is. Can I go now?"

Naruto pinched his brow with a small sigh, punctuated by Darius Zackly's statement. It wasn't that he disagreed with the old codger; if anything, Zackly was one of the few outside the Survey Corpse who held his respect. He held no delusions of grandeur and only What bothered him was that they had to do this in the first place. Go through the motions. As much as it irked him to do so; he had to set an example for his students. Even if it meant wearing a uniform and strutting about before the top brass like a prize peacock. Galling as it was, this served a purpose. It made him appear sane.

After all, who wanted to follow a madman?

"That eager to get back to it, are we?" his superior arched a weathered brow from where he reclined behind the desk. "I would've thought you'd take some time to recuperate after all this."

Despite his misgivings, the blond felt a smile touch his mouth.

"On the contrary," he corrected, "I'm taking some time off. Beginning now."

Before he could make good on his promise how

"Naruto."

Zackly's voice gave him pause.

The wayward warrior paused.

"That boy of yours...do you believe him?"

A lone blue eye appeared over his armored shoulder.

"REISS!"

A voice like thunder shook the cavern.

"Please! I beg of you! Have mercy!"

Ponderously, the hand paused.

"Mercy?"

Blue eyes burned red.

"Where was your mercy when you took her from me?"

With that, the knife descended in a ruthless streak of silver.

He spread his arms wide, as though beseeching the very heavens themselves.

"I declare war. An awful war. An ugly war. A war of extermination! Not just on our enemies, but on anyone who would threaten our way of life! Let them call us demons! Let them brand us monsters! It matters not! We will cross the seas and together we will bring their precious empire tumbling down! Hear us, Marley!

"WE'RE COMING FOR YOU!"

R&R~!