"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves."
Abraham Lincoln
Chapter 4: Together, We're Everything
After the final preparations were made, Eren and Cinder were taken away from the farm in Mistral. The Madame who took them went to an airship not far from the farm. Once it lifted from the ground, Eren couldn't help himself but stare out the window. Cinder joined him, grateful that she was finally leaving. "I've...never been this high before," she admitted.
"I've seen ships like this before," Eren confessed, remembering what he saw in Marley and Paradis. "But I've never been in one before." He began to smile. "It's... incredible."
"I know. Where do you think we're going?"
"I don't know."
"Where do you want to go?"
Eren turned to Cinder. "You first."
Cinder smiled as she looked out the window. "I've always wanted to see the Kingdom of Vale." Cinder wasn't allowed to bring her books with them, but she remembered everything she read. "I want to see the mountains, walk its streets. And the ocean looks beautiful."
Eren immediately began to remember what Armin told him about the ocean, so he decided to indulge Cinder. "I've seen the ocean. It's better when you see it in person. The water's cold and the sand's kind of coarse, but you don't need to worry about feeling it. Seeing it is freedom enough."
Cinder smiled, unable to wait to see the ocean. Just before she could say something else, the woman who took them cleared her throat to get their attention. She then handed two small necklaces to Eren and Cinder. "Put these on," she said.
Once the children looked at each other and took them, the Madame left without a word. "What... are these?" Eren asked as he looked at the yellow crystal on his.
"I'm not sure," Cinder replied. "Maybe they're a gift?"
"She didn't give them like they were a gift."
"No... she didn't." Cinder started to put her necklace on. "Maybe we should do what she wants."
"..."
Against his better judgement, Eren put his necklace on. "I'm not sure if I met another boy wearing something like this."
"Maybe it's because you're a different boy," Cinder suggested.
Eren's head shot up and looked at Cinder with widened eyes. "Wh... What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing." Cinder began to smile. "I just think that necklace would look great on a girl named Erin."
"A girl-?" Eren deadpanned when he realized Cinder was joking. "My name is not a girl's name!" He slammed his fist on his chair, but Cinder just laughed it off.
A couple of hours later, the clouds cleared to reveal a snowy tundra. Eren could see that the mountains and the ground were covered in snow. He had seen the winter on Paradis before, but nothing quite as large as this.
"Cinder, look at this," Eren said as he tapped her shoulder. Cinder looked out the window to see what he was seeing. "I'm not sure if-"
"Oh, I know where we're going," Cinder said.
"You do? Where?"
"Atlas. I've heard it's the greatest Kingdom in the world."
"Really?" Eren turned back to Cinder. "What makes it so great?"
"Ummm... mostly that."
Eren followed her gaze to see a large city. Or rather, a city in the sky. Multiple buildings were on top of a large rock, hovering hundreds of feet off the ground and above another city.
"This... This is impossible," said Eren, who was unable to take his eye off the city in the clouds.
"I know," Cinder said. "I've read about it a lot, but I never saw Atlas in person. It's not Vale, but it's still better than Mistral."
The ship flew closer to the buildings and landed in a landing zone near a town square. The Madame led the children through the town, keeping her head forward rather than watching the children in her care.
"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this," said Eren.
Cinder turned back to him. "Why?" she asked.
"She doesn't seem to care what's going on. She hardly talks to us, and told us to put these on."
"I... see your point. And she didn't say she wanted us, just that she'll take us. Like we're a burden."
"Yeah. Let's just see where she takes us."
The rest of the walk was long and tiring for the children, but the woman didn't seem to care. They stopped in front of another building, a little smaller than the rest but still very exquisite. The outside was made of stone and had multiple windows, showing that this building had more than one floor.
"The Glass Unicorn," Cinder read the writing made by lights on top of the door. "This doesn't look like much of a house."
"No," Eren agreed. "It doesn't."
"Come now."
The children looked to see the Madame holding the door open, but not out of kindness. Reluctantly, they walked up the stairs and into the building. Once they did, they entered a large lounge, with multiple tables and people. While Cinder was observing the people going about their business, Eren couldn't take his eyes off the glass statues. He recognized them as Grimm, one of them being a bear he fought in Salem's domain.
They continued to walk straight and ended up in some kind of kitchen. They were still looking at the lounge, but turned around at the sound of the woman clearing her throat. Once they did, Eren and Cinder saw her standing next to two younger ladies, one curly blonde wearing a skirt and a black headband and a brunette with straight hair wearing gray pants.
Cinder's focus shifted from the older children to a basket of steaming rolls behind them. She began to reach out and walk towards them, but Eren put his arm in front of her, his bad feeling coming again.
It got even worse when the Madame spoke again. "You're to make sure the laundry is folded, the dishes are spotless, and the floors are clean enough to eat off of." The Madame turned heel and began to walk away. Cinder and Eren shared a quick glance of shock on their faces. Only Eren's was the first to shift quickly. His shock of the reality of his situation had just transformed to untamed, raw anger. And now, he was prepared to show it.
"No way," he said.
The Madame stopped walking. The teenage girls gasped at his reaction. The brunette raised an eyebrow while the blonde just giggled.
"Hm." The Madame turned around. "Say that again?"
"No way." Eren stepped forward. "Do we look like slaves to you?"
"Yes. You do."
Eren grew angrier as he walked over to the Madame. "Well, look again, bitch." The older children gasped when they heard this, but the Madame did nothing. Eren raised his hand and prepared to bite it. "I've fought to escape people like you. People who think they can keep me locked away wherever and whenever they want. I'm not afraid to do it again."
"..."
Eren and the Madame didn't break their staring contest. Her daughters looked back at Cinder for a moment, who was staring at Eren. They only turned back when they heard their mother speak. "...Very well."
Everyone gasped, but one of the older daughters began to protest. "But Mom, you said-!"
"I know, I know." She didn't break contact with Eren. "But it seems I may have chosen the wrong people." She turned back to the door. "You can leave the same way you came in."
Eren didn't bother probing deeper into this, he just turned to the door and took Cinder's hand. "Fine by me," he said. "Come on, Cinder. We don't need this."
Cinder quickly walked with Eren towards the front door. "That was a close one," she admitted, starting to calm down and forget about the idea of being a slave.
"Too close. Let's get out of here before they change their minds."
Cinder took the door handle and pulled it open. "But... where are we going now?"
"I don't know." Eren walked outside. "But we'll think of-"
*BUZZ*
"AAAAAUUUGHHH!"
Eren fell to the ground as a crackling pain ripped his throat. Sharp, quick jolts seemed to travel from his neck down to his chest, and it continued to burn harder.
"EREN!" Cinder ran up to him. "Eren, what's-YYYYAAAAAUUGHH!" Cinder felt the exact same pain as him and she fell to the ground. She tried to grab her neck, but the pain was unbearable.
"Now, that doesn't feel too good, does it?"
Eren and Cinder couldn't see the Madame standing behind them, but they could hear her voice. "It was kind of that gentleman to tell me you would be trouble," she continued. "Fortunately, I came prepared." The Madame grabbed them and pulled them back inside. Once they were back in the hotel, the pain on their necks stopped.
Cinder looked down on her neck, trying to find out what happened. That's when she saw the necklace, and when she pulled on it, she felt a mark on her neck. "Eren, the necklaces!" she yelled.
"..."
Eren was still on the floor, slightly twitching his body and his hand covering his neck.
"E... Eren?" Cinder asked. She moved closer to him and slightly shook his shoulder. "Eren?! Eren, what's wrong?!" For some reason, Eren seemed to suffer from the shock worse than Cinder did. And when she moved closer to him, Cinder could hear him whisper a possible reason.
"My... My nape..." Eren weakly whispered, feeling like the back of his neck was on fire. And his powers were having trouble healing that spot.
"What was that?"
The Madame walked up to Cinder, her daughters standing behind her. "Now, I believe I made myself clear," she said as Cinder looked up at her. "You're to make sure the laundry is folded, the dishes are spotless, and the floors are clean enough to eat off of." She began to walk away, and her daughters put a bucket of water and a brush next to Cinder.
"But... But Eren can't do this!" Cinder protested. "Look at him!"
"..."
The Madame looked down to Eren, still twitching from the shock. So, she turned to her daughters. "Put him in the backroom, I'll deal with him later." The daughters laughed to themselves as they picked Eren up and walked him to the backroom. With that, the Madame had one last thing to say to Cinder before leaving. "Now, hurry and get to your chores. The floor looks filthy."
Cinder watched the Madame walk away. It was at that moment she realized something else.
Nobody in the lounge was watching what happened.
Nobody was going to help her or Eren.
Nobody cared.
Days passed.
A week passed.
It was the worst time of the children's lives.
Just as the Madame ordered, she and Eren had to take care of the laundry, dishes, and floors. But it got even worse when they had to take care of the guests as well. Helping make and serve their food was a chore, and not once did any of them show a sign of gratitude. Just as Cinder observed, nobody cared what was going on. But the one thing Cinder despised was the cleaning. Statues, tables, chairs, the little girl had to take care of it all. For some reason, she hated it more than anything.
Eren hated everything. He hated the hotel, he hated the people, he hated the uniforms he and Cinder had to wear, and most of all, he hated the stupid collar the shallow woman gave him. It went off whenever he tried to leave or whenever the Madame pressed a button on a remote she kept with her. And because his nape was the one weak spot of his body, the part Eren couldn't heal or regenerate easily, his suffering was legendary. It hurt for hours, even days at a time. More than anything, he wanted to turn into a Titan and destroy everything and everyone. But he couldn't risk Cinder's safety with such recklessness.
So they stayed in the hotel, sharing whatever scraps of food they could find and working almost every hour of every day, with nothing changing.
Until one day.
That day went along like any other, with Eren cleaning an empty room and Cinder angrily cleaning the floor with a brush and soapy water. She only stopped to wipe her brow clean of sweat.
"You need a rest?" Eren asked calmly.
"No, you rest," Cinder ordered. "I'm almost done, then I'll finish the room."
"Thanks." Eren leaned against the railing, catching his breath. "Cinder... you know this won't last, right?"
Cinder looked up. "Eren, I don't think-"
"I'm serious. I don't care if it takes three weeks or three months. We're getting out of here, then we can go see Vale. We'll be free."
"...Eren, I know this is our plan." Cinder moved her brush again. "What I don't know is how."
Eren turned back. "We have all the time in the world to make a plan. But we'll make one." Eren looked back at the main floor. "The Madame only understands how to cause pain. So I think we should start by fighting fire with fire. We could use... We could use that."
Cinder stopped moving her brush and looked where Eren was looking. They were staring at a man in a blue and bronze outfit with a pauldron on his left shoulder. He was holding a sword, and showing it off to some of the other hotel guests.
"Whoa," said Cinder, entranced by the sword. "He must be a Huntsman, and he must have used that sword to kill tons of Grimm."
"If we had something like that, things would be good," Eren said. "I can use it."
"You can?" Cinder looked back to him. "How?"
"Well... I-"
*SPLASH*
*SPLASH*
The sound of something hitting the ground behind Cinder caused them to shift their attention away from the Huntsman. Cinder and Eren turned to see the Madame's daughters behind them, the brunette slowly walking towards them. The only thing was...she had mud on her shoes, and was walking all over the floor Cinder worked hard to clean.
"You missed a spot," she said as she stomped on the ground, more mud escaping from her foot. Once she did, the sisters began laughing at what they just did. Eren and Cinder, on the other hand, weren't joining them. Eren simply sighed as he prepared to clean up their mess. So he reached for the bucket to get the brush and-
"Wait, where's the brush?" Eren thought to himself.
*SSSSSSSSS*
A sizzling noise was being drowned out by the laughter, but Eren was able to hear it. Following his ears, he saw that Cinder was holding the brush and that it was... steaming. Cinder didn't notice, she focused her glare on the laughing sisters. That was when she growled and threw the brush on the ground with a small explosion.
*BOOM*
A cloud of steam erupted from the brush and the sisters stopped laughing. They let out a yell and fell to the ground. Eren joined them, the steam hitting his face. After a few seconds, he began to recover and see the steam disappear. In its place stood a seething Cinder, who stared daggers into the sisters. But once she calmed down, she helped Eren stand up. "Eren, are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah... I'm fine," he said as he got back to his feet. "How'd you-?"
Eren didn't get a chance to finish his question as two hands grabbed the children and pulled them all the way to the kitchen. Once they got there, Cinder felt a shock to her throat, and she fell to the ground.
"Now, that wasn't very ladylike, was it?" the Madame asked. Eren turned around with a glare, and immediately felt the same shock. "I'll deal with you later," the Madame said to the young boy. But she focused back on Cinder. "As for you, I suggest you remember your place."
"..."
"SAY IT!"
The Madame pressed the button again and Cinder continued to spasm. Once the electricity died down, the young girl uttered a phrase she and Eren hated. "Without you... I am nothing."
The Madame turned back to Eren. "I have some business I'd like to get back to, so I'll be quick with you. Now, what do you say?"
Eren looked back up to the Madame, who knew that she was expecting to hear a "thank you." "...Go to Hell," he spat.
*BUZZ*
Eren fell to the ground as his neck was violated, and the Madame smiled at his torment. Once she let go of the button, she walked away, leaving Cinder to help him off the ground.
"You should have told her to take her daughters too," the young girl remarked. "Remember, try engaging your Aura, it should help with the pain."
The children began walking towards a small room behind the kitchen, a storage area where they would sleep. Eren took this opportunity to ask his earlier question. "How did you do that? With the brush?"
"I... don't know. I was just really angry, and all of a sudden my hand felt warm. I... can't remember the last time I felt that warm. It felt... good."
Eren wasn't sure, but he quickly remembered something he saw in one of Cinder's books. "Cinder, didn't you show me something like that in one of your books? I think it was... a 'Semblance?'"
Cinder stopped walking. "Oh, yeah!" She looked down at her hands and thought back on the feeling of warmth. Once she did, her hands felt hot again, like they could burn whatever they touched. "You're right, this must be my Semblance!"
Eren suddenly had an idea. "And you said Huntsmen and Huntresses fight with their Semblances?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Then that's it, Cinder. This is how we do it."
Cinder looked up at Eren and put her hands down. At first, she was going to ask a question, but stopped herself. She was staring to think what Eren was thinking. "You think we can use my Semblance to-?"
"To win our freedom." Eren took Cinder's hands and looked into her eyes. "Cinder, I have... something to tell you. You remember me telling you about Armin, my best friend?"
"Yeah, the one with all the books."
"There was something else we did together. We learned how to fight."
"Fight? You mean, like fight the other kids at the farm?"
"Something like that. We learned how to fight against people bigger than us, to defend ourselves properly. The people who taught us were... combat teachers."
"How come you're telling me this now?"
"Because I can teach you how to fight. With your Semblance and my know-how, we'll fight the Madame together."
Cinder began to smile at the idea. At last, they had some kind of plan to escape. And Cinder believed it was a really good plan. There was just one thing she needed to know. "What about you? You don't have a Semblance."
"No, but I can try to find mine. I still have the Aura you helped me unlock, so that should help. Until then, I'm going to teach you how to fight. Then, we can leave this place without looking back."
"That... That sounds like a plan." Cinder smiled again. "When do we start?"
"Tonight."
"Dammit, where the hell is it?"
The blonde sister stepped out of a vacant room. At the moment, she and her sister were trying to help an angry guest. He was a Huntsman, one who stayed at the hotel very often. A few minutes ago, the Huntsman came to her and her sister and demanded to know what happened to one of his swords. After apologizing for the inconvenience, the sisters said they would help look for it. And now, the blonde came out of the room empty-handed. "Well, let's hope the others found it by now," she whispered to herself. "Maybe we should get-"
She left her thoughts at the sound of quick footsteps. Looking up to see her sister running towards her with nothing in her hands, she frowned. "No luck with you?" she asked.
"Where's Mom?!" the brunette frantically asked. "We need her right now!"
"Huh? I think she's at the desk, why?"
"It's Eren! He has the sword!"
The girls quickly began to run to the desk, forgetting to tell the Huntsman they found his weapon. And just like the blonde said, the sisters found the Madame at her desk. She only looked up when she saw her daughters run and stop in front of her.
"Mom, come quick!" said the brunette. "We found something! It's Eren! He has a weapon!"
The Madame said nothing as she walked into the backroom. Her daughters walked deeper inside while their mother waited for a minute. If Eren indeed had a sword, chances were he was going to threaten her daughters. Once the boy did that, she would surprise him with two punishments: one for stealing and another for attacking her children.
Once she heard Eren scream and footsteps run, she pressed the first button on her remote. Her plan had gone off without a hitch, and now she would see the rewards of her efforts.
The Madame joined her smiling daughters to see Eren grabbing his throat and shaking on the ground. "Well, that wasn't very bright, was it?" She stopped for a moment to see what Eren would do. Once he stood up and charged again, the Madame simply pressed the button a second time.
Eren continued to scream, wishing he could turn into a Titan and crush the women where they stood. But like always, the pain didn't cause any blood to shed and the pain to his nape was unbearable. All he could do was wriggle and squirm.
The Madame stopped holding the button and looked down at Eren, smiling. "Now, that was for stealing from a valued customer. Your next punishment will be for attacking my daughters."
"Deserved... it," Eren weakly said, defiant until his last breath.
"Hmm. Well, then. I wonder if Cinder feels the same way."
Eren shot his head up and formed two more fists. He was prepared to attack once more, and this time he wanted to fight through the pain. The Madame was prepared, and was beginning to wonder if the remote should stay pressed the next time she pushed it.
"She doesn't."
Everyone turned around to see Cinder standing in the doorframe. Even Eren was looking, trying to figure out if he heard her right.
"Cinder," the woman coldly addressed her second slave. "Do you have something to say?"
"I did... Ma'am." Eren's jaw dropped at the sound of that word. He began to notice something was wrong, that Cinder didn't seem to be afraid. She stood and spoke with confidence and only continued to do so when she spoke again. "I was going to warn you about Eren...but I came too late."
"...Cinder?" the boy asked in disbelief
The Madame walked over to the young girl, and stepped on Eren's hand to shut him up. He screamed in pain again, but it quickly left him once she lifted her foot. "Is that so?" the Madame asked with some skepticism.
"It is. Eren's been planning to use that sword to escape, and he's been teaching me to fight for weeks. To fight you."
"Really?" The Madame looked back at Eren, shooting him a cold glare. "So tell me, Cinder... why would you disagree to something like this?"
"Because... you suggested that I remember my place. So I did."
Eren felt a new pain in that room. His heart had just broken, leaving a hollow spot near his chest.
The Madame smiled out of humor rather than sadism. "Well... this is a surprise. You've learned your lesson, Cinder... but your friend continues to disappoint me."
"I could-" Cinder stopped talking for a moment and put a hand to her chin, as if she was thinking of something.
"Yes?"
"I could... help him learn." Cinder formed a fist in her hand. "I can... show you what he taught me."
The sisters began to smile and laugh at the idea. They were starting to get bored of the shocking, and were very excited to see Eren receive a beating. "Go ahead," said the blonde sister. "Do it."
Cinder approached closer to Eren, who could only watch the act of betrayal. "Cinder..." he moaned.
Cinder stopped moving. But as she did, her stepsister kneeled down to her. "You do this, maybe Mom will take that collar off."
Cinder's eyes widened. "Really?"
"We can talk afterwards," said the Madame.
Cinder moved even closer to Eren. "That's... very kind of you," she said. Eren grew even angrier, and was prepared to bite himself and transform. Consequences be damned, he was ready to escape by any means necessary. But another shock to his neck stopped him from doing anything but spasm.
Cinder stomped her foot on Eren's chest, and turned her hands into fists. She moved closer to Eren's face... and winked.
"...Huh?" Eren weakly asked.
He looked at her raised arm, expecting to receive a punch. But instead, Eren saw a knife slip out of her sleeve. Once she grabbed the knife, Cinder thrusted her hand to her left and made contact with the blonde teenager. The girl immediately spit blood, leaving her sister and mother with horrified looks.
"That's very kind of you," Cinder coldly repeated. "But I'm not stupid." She pulled out the blade and watched the blood hit the wall. The sister fell to her knees and grabbed her wound. But all she could do was feel her blood flow on her hands and feel life flee from her body.
"Oh, my God!" the Madame yelled as she ran towards her first daughter. Cinder took this moment to slip away to the door, closing it behind her.
The other sister came to her senses as Cinder did this. Anger rushed through her body and she rushed to the door. Once she swung it open, she saw a screaming Cinder charge towards her.
The Madame turned to see Cinder on top of her other daughter, stabbing her repeatedly in her chest and yelling. "You're all monsters!" she yelled. "You're just like the Grimm! And this is what happens to the Grimm!"
Eren's eyes widened.
"You're an animal, you hear me?! No! YOU'RE A DISEASE! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET, YOU SON OF A BITCH! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING WHAT YOU ARE! DIE! DIE!"
As Eren continued to to feel his sense of déjà vu, the Madame covered her mouth in shock. She finally began to understand what she had done; all the things she did to that child were monstrous, and they created a monster.
The Madame tried to stop the monster by pulling out her remote. But a hand grabbed her wrist and began to pull. She followed the hand to see Eren pulling on her, trying to get the remote.
Cinder stopped stabbing the girl to see Eren be kicked to the ground. She ran to the Madame and grabbed her throat, applying pressure with both her hands. The Madame was able to press the remote and shock Cinder, but the child's grip didn't loosen.
"You're wrong," Cinder said as she choked the Madame. She turned back to Eren. "Without you... I am nothing." The Madame kept gasping for air as she desperately tried to control her slave with the collar. But Cinder merely embraced the pain as she looked back at the Madame. "But... because of you... we are... everything!"
*CRACK*
The Madame's body finally went limp. She dropped the remote, and Cinder felt no pain. All she felt was joy at the sight of Eren standing back up.
"...Thank you... Cinder," he said.
She quickly pulled him into a hug, one which he reciprocated. At first, he felt betrayed and alone, the idea of his only friend abandoning him for empty promises scared him. But now, he shared Cinder's joy at their newfound freedom.
"We don't have to run now," Cinder said. Eren only squeezed her tighter as her words lingered in his head. Cinder didn't need to be afraid of the Madame anymore, and Eren didn't need to risk using his Titan. And they could make the hotel their temporary home until they found a way out of Atlas. She was right; they didn't need to run now.
"That's all you'll ever do."
Cinder and Eren jumped at the sound of a new voice. Letting each other go and turning back to the door, they saw an armed man staring back at them. He had a blue and bronze outfit with a pauldron on his left shoulder. And now... he was reaching for the weapons on his back.
Cinder immediately moved back. "Eren, it's him," she said. "It's the Huntsman."
Eren simply moved in front of Cinder with his arms extended in an effort to protect his friend. "I told her to do this," he lied. "She's my responsibility. Take me instead."
The Huntsman merely shook his head and moved closer.
All this time, all this waiting and training... they had to choose the one night the Huntsman would be in the same room as them and be the only thing standing in their way to freedom. Eren hated to admit it... but there was one thing he could do if he wished to escape. He knew their would be consequences, but he didn't have a choice now.
Turning around, Eren grabbed Cinder's hand. "Cinder, I can get us out of here," he said.
"Kid, don't lie to her," said the Huntsman.
Eren ignored him and continued to talk to Cinder. "I can get us out of here, but I need you to trust me."
"Wh... What?" Cinder asked.
"Cinder, trust me."
"Step away from her, kid."
"We can be free, but you need to trust me."
Cinder saw the man approaching closer, and made her choice. "Okay, Eren."
"Say the words, Cinder."
She took a deep breath. "...I trust you."
"..."
Eren reached down for the small blade in her hand, but didn't take it. Instead, he cut his hand with it and turned around. "Get out," he said to the Huntsman. "I'm warning you."
"I'm not going to let this go unpunished," the Huntsman said.
"But you're willing to let slavery and abuse go unpunished?" Eren spit in the man's direction. "You're disgusting."
"Alright, that's it. Get out of my way before I make you."
Cinder gripped Eren's shoulder for security. "Eren?" she asked.
The boy simply turned around... and smiled. "It's okay, Cinder. Everything's going to be okay."
Turning around, Eren raised his fist and sent it towards the man. But as it was midway, red lightning began to form around Eren.
"That went well."
"Went well?! That was the most fun I had in months!"
"I must say, even I found the experience to be... different."
"Now that's what I call an initiation!"
A brown haired man wearing a white shirt cut off at the sleeves with a green pin on it was leading three other adults through various halls. One was a pale man with a shaved head in a similar suit, but with red sleeves. The other was a tall woman with brown hair and another white suit, only she had one sleeve torn off and she was wearing sandals. They were all followed by a shorter, younger girl with buzz cut brown hair that had a blonde streak in the middle. Her suit was cut off at the sleeves as well and she was wearing pants that exposed her legs.
"Well... I'm glad I got to see you guys in action," said the younger girl. "Though, based on your reaction time with those Grimm, I think I'm a little faster."
"Not everything is a competition, Harriet," said the pale man. "That's one thing you should remember when you're in the field."
"Aw, come on, Vine!" the large woman said. "Let the newbie have one sure thing!"
"Hate to say it, Elm, but I think Vine's right," said the man in front of them. "You did good, Hare, but competition shouldn't be your top priority."
"Yeah... sure thing, Clover." Harriet looked away for a moment, but turned back once they all entered another room. A large terminal was in front of them, along with a man with black hair in a white overcoat. His coat was over a gray undercoat, black sweater, and a red necktie. He looked at the group of soldiers and saluted them. The soldiers saluted him back.
"At ease," the man ordered. Once the soldiers lowered their arms, their superior officer spoke again. "Clover, I've been keeping tabs on your mission in Mantle. It seems everything went well.
"Yes, sir, General Ironwood. Harriet proved herself to be a valuable asset in the field, and I think it's safe to say you chose a great addition to the team." Harriet smiled at the last part as Clover continued to talk. "I talked with Elm and Vine before coming here, and they support your choice." The other two soldiers nodded in agreement.
"In, that case..." Ironwood began as he walked over to the younger woman with an extended hand. "Harriet Bree, welcome to the Ace-Ops."
As Harriet shook the General's hand, the other Ace-Operatives began to applaud. She looked at them all and smiled, but quickly turned back to Ironwood as he released her hand. "Thank you, sir," she said as she stood at attention. "I won't let you down."
"I'll hold you to that." Ironwood walked over to a computer screen. "Now, the task you performed was Operative Bree's initiation. Your next mission is critical."
Clover stepped forward. "What are our orders, sir?" he asked calmly.
"The Schnee Dust Company is prepared to begin new mining operations out in the tundra. Jacques Schnee has his eyes on several caves that have been reported to hold Dust. What we need now is-"
An ear piercing ring began to fill the room and a red light began to flash. Everyone recoiled at the sound, but they all began to readjust themselves. The large screen behind Ironwood changed from a map of Atlas to a uniformed soldier.
"Sir, we have a situation in Sector Four! Requesting immediate assistance!"
"Situation?" Ironwood walked closer to the screen and began to press keys on a keyboard. "What kind of situation?"
"There's a Grimm loose in the city! A GIANT Grimm!"
The videocall of the soldier shifted to the left as a new screen appeared to the right. The screen divided into four smaller ones, each showing multiple buildings. General Ironwood had just accessed the military's security cameras across the city. And sure enough, one of them showed a large Grimm, taller than most of the buildings in the city. It was pure black, except for white bones sticking out and red eyes. And it looked...human.
"My God," Elm said as she moved closer to the computer. "What... is that?"
"I've... never seen a Grimm like that before," said Vine.
Ironwood pressed a few more keys on the computer, and his voice began to boom on every radio in the building. "Attention, this is General Ironwood. Any and all available troops and ships are to be deployed to Sector Four of Atlas immediately. Repeat, all men and ships to Sector Four immediately." After the radios turned off, Ironwood turned back to Clover. "Clover, looks like you'll be staying in the city for now. I'll be joining you on your airship, now let's move!"
"YES, SIR!"
A gust of wind to her face woke Cinder up. She felt a small cut on her head, which caused her to remember that the last thing she saw was a flash of red light and the ceiling coming down. Only, she was protected by something black. Once she used her Aura to heal the cut, Cinder looked around to see why the wind was blowing on her face.
And what she saw scared the Hell out of the young girl.
Cinder was in the grasp of a large black hand, hundreds of feet above the ground. She followed the large arm and saw a giant Grimm. Its crimson eyes and sharp spines stood out and caused the girl to scream in fear. Out of desperation, Cinder tried to break the monster's grasp by pushing on its hand. When that failed, she used her Semblance to burn its skin. When that failed, Cinder began to panic and hit the fist, desperately trying to break free.
"Cinder."
The girl stopped punching the fist at the sound of her name. She then felt something warm softly hit her neck. She slowly turned around to see the monster's face close to her. It opened its mouth, which made Cinder try to back away. But rather than placing her in its mouth, the monster moved its lips.
"Trust... me," it said, clear as day.
Cinder's fear disappeared. "E... Eren?" The monster nodded once she asked this. She looked all over the body, seeing nothing but black skin. Eren looked like a giant Grimm. "What... What happened to you?" she asked. "Is this-?"
"I'll... explain later," Eren slowly replied. He suddenly realized how slow the Founding Titan actually spoke. But he knew that he shouldn't be too surprised. After all, the Beast Titan spoke very slowly as well. So Eren simply pointed to the edge of the floating city. "Right now... we need... to go."
Cinder nodded, giving her approval for Eren to lead the way. He suddenly began to run faster, crushing the streets and cars in his path. When a building stood in his way, Eren either avoided it or hit it with his arm. But this only lasted for a minute, as Eren found himself on the outskirts of the city. He was looking at the night sky, and a large field that ended with two metal spikes in the distance. When Eren first came to Atlas, he saw this was the final piece of land the city of Atlas stood on. Below it was the tundra, and Eren knew he had to jump to get down. Once he did, he and Cinder would be free.
As he started running on the field, Eren felt something hit his shoulder. After he moved his hand closer to his chest to protect Cinder, Eren looked up to see two ships in the air. Only, they looked more like ships that belonged to an army rather than a passenger airship that he and Cinder were brought on. The ships passed above him, and Eren saw them prepare to fly back towards him. So he took off running towards the spikes, and ducked once he heard the ship fire at him. As he did, he saw what looked like a giant bullet fly towards the open sky and explode.
"They're firing missiles at us!" Cinder yelled. "We need to get out of the open!"
"Almost there!" Eren yelled. But just to make sure they would be safe, Eren used his other hand to pick up a large hay bale. He quickly turned around and threw it at the ships. The pilots managed to dodge it, which caused them to break off their pursuit. Eren continued his run to the spikes, and he was much closer than before. Freedom was just within arm's reach. "We're here, Cinder! We-"
*BOOM*
Eren's body collided into something hard and almost invisible. After he fell on the ground, Eren looked up to see some kind of wall, made of blue light. It disappeared after a moment, and Eren stood up. He punched the spot he just hit, and another light appeared. So, he hardened his skin and punched it again. Same result.
Cinder looked at Eren's numerous attempts to punch the wall, but nothing worked. She looked around to see if there was anything they could use, but then she noticed the spikes. Only, she realized they didn't serve as just the city's limit. They were making the shield that blocked their path.
"Eren, over there!" Cinder yelled. Eren saw her point to the generator, and was starting to understand its purpose. So, he started running over to the one on his right, but stopped when an explosion hit the wall.
Eren looked back to see more airships flying towards him and multiple people on the ground charging at him. He realized he was going to have to fight his way out, but he couldn't protect Cinder at the same time. So, Eren put Cinder down behind another hay bale and spoke. "Stay here," he ordered. Once Cinder moved further back, Eren charged at the ships and people.
"We're almost to the city's edge, General. ETA, one minute."
Ironwood moved away from the pilot and looked to his team of elite soldiers. "Listen up, everyone." The soldiers stood at attention at the sound of their superior's voice. "Whatever this thing is, it doesn't seem to care about hurting the citizens of Atlas. It appears to be trying to escape. Our top priority is to make sure the city's shields do not fall and the monster is destroyed. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
The doors of the airship opened a minute later, revealing the Grimm standing over burning airships and dead bodies. But the General and the Ace-Ops didn't waste any time staring at the destruction. Instead, they jumped out of the ship and landed in their own ways. Vine projected two yellow arms to grab the ship and land on the ground, Clover used a fishing rod to latch onto the ship and join him. Elm and Vine landed less gracefully, as Elm used a giant hammer to destroy the ground below her and Harriet used her Semblance to take off running towards the Grimm. The Ace-Ops didn't wait for Ironwood as they followed her.
Harriet ran to a group of soldiers, but quickly moved out of the way as a fist crushed them all. Harriet quickly ran on the Grimm's arm and came close to its face. Once she did, she moved her arms outwards. Two sets of mechanical gauntlets formed over her limbs and she sent a fist close to the monster's eye. She landed more using her Semblance before the Grimm shook its head to knock her off. Harriet fell to the ground, using her Aura to soften the impact.
"Uhh..." she mumbled as she got back up. Once she did, Harriet made eye contact with a little girl, no older then ten. "Holy crap. Kid, what are you doing out here?" Harriet moved closer, but the girl recoiled.
"Stay away from me!" Cinder yelled.
Harriet was confused by the girl's reaction, but she brushed it off and grabbed her wrist. "No time to argue, we gotta go!"
Cinder began to resist, and Harriet was ready to use her Semblance to rush back to an airship. But before she could, the girl let out a scream. "HELP!"
Eren's body had holes in it from the bullets and small missiles, but he was more than capable of fighting. He was just about to destroy another airship, but Cinder's cry for help stopped him. He turned back to the hay bale to see Harriet pulling her arm. The sight made Eren let out a huge roar and charge towards the two. Harriet looked up just in time to avoid being crushed. She quickly pushed Cinder out of the way and used her Semblance to keep her distance. Once she slowed down, she saw the little girl next to the Grimm's hand, which carefully picked her up off the ground. Once she was up in the air, Eren looked back at the soldier. "Don't... touch her!" he yelled as he slammed his foot on the ground.
Harriet found her way back to the Ace-Ops and General Ironwood, who were staring in awe at the Grimm. "Did... Did that thing just talk?" Elm asked out loud.
Everyone in the group was trying to comprehend what they just saw and heard, and were wondering who "her" actually was. Harriet was the only one to give an answer. "It didn't just talk," she said. "It's... protecting a little girl."
"Grimm don't protect people," said Vine.
Harriet's blood began to boil, and she grabbed Vine's head to make him look at the Grimm's head. "Well, what do you call that, Zeki?!"
"..."
Vine looked closer to see Cinder holding onto the Grimm's... hair. "General, she's right," he corrected himself. "There's a child with that Grimm."
Before Ironwood could tell the Ace-Ops not to hurt the child, Clover ran past them. "Protecting her or not, this is no place for a kid!" He began running faster, ready to swing his fishing pole at the Grimm's hand.
But it was at that moment he realized the Grimm was holding a group of soldiers right over its mouth. It let them go screaming, and they all fell into the open mouth. Once it closed, an arm flew away and landed in front of Clover. The sight caused Clover to lose focus for a moment, and leave him vulnerable to the Grimm grabbing him and dropping his weapon.
Clover began to squirm in the grasp, but stopped when he came face-to-face with the Grimm. "You're not prepared... to fight a Titan," it said.
"..."
"You should have... let us go."
Clover began to scream as Eren opened his mouth again and prepare to devour Clover.
"STOP!"
Eren stopped moving his hand. He and Cinder looked down to the ground, where they could see Ironwood waving his hands. "You win!" he yelled.
"..."
Ironwood put a hand on his earpiece. "Stand down! All available units, stand down!" The ships began to fly away, and the soldiers began to lower their weapons and move back. Ironwood looked up at the Titan again and spoke. "I know you can understand me... 'Titan', am I right?"
"...I... understand," Eren said.
"I've been watching you fight, Titan, and you seem to be acting to defend yourself... aren't you?" In the back of his mind, Ironwood was thinking that he would never see the day when he was actually speaking to a Grimm.
"I don't care... about your army." Eren pointed to the shield. "I want... freedom."
"I can't let you go until you put down my fellow soldier. Put him down... and I'll open the shields."
"..."
Ironwood put his hand to his ear again, hearing a voice. "Yes, sir?" the voice asked.
"The outer shield of Atlas is to be deactivated immediately."
"But, sir-"
"NOW!"
"..."
Eren turned around to see the shield blocking his path rise, leaving a hole large enough for him to jump through.
"Do not... follow us." With that, Eren dropped Clover and jumped.
Vine used his Semblance to catch Clover as the other Ace-Ops and General Ironwood ran up to him. "Clover, are you okay?" Harriet asked as she helped him stand.
"I'm... I'm okay," Clover said as he stretched his arm. "General Ironwood, I-"
"Don't worry, Clover," Ironwood said as he put an arm on the Ace-Operative's shoulder. "We've lost enough today, I wasn't ready to lose anyone else."
Two airships flew outside the shield generators to look outside the city. Ironwood placed a finger on his ear as the pilot's voice called on his earpiece. "Sir, we have eyes on the Grimm. We don't have a clear shot, but we can get closer to it."
"Break off pursuit," Ironwood calmly ordered. "We have..." He looked back to the city to see destroyed buildings and burning airships. "We have work to do down here."
Eren felt like he ran for hours in the vast tundra. Déjà vu took over when he came across an ocean. Just like when he escaped Salem, Eren began to swim in the cold water. But before he did, Eren made sure to place Cinder on his back.
After a few minutes of swimming, Eren decided to check on Cinder. Fortunately, he had the ability to kill two birds with one stone. He opened his nape and brought his torso out, but kept his arms connected to the Titan's flesh. That way, he could still make the shell swim. But his main concern was Cinder sitting a couple of feet away from him, arms wrapped around her legs. "Are you cold?" he asked calmly.
"...My Aura's protecting me from the cold," Cinder said as she turned around. "I'm not too worried."
"Good. Are you... okay? I'm sorry if I scared you."
Cinder suddenly stood up and walked over to Eren. "I'm not scared. But I have... some questions."
"Go ahead."
"When did you unlock your Semblance? We could have used... whatever this is, a lot earlier."
"Well, I didn't want to risk the building falling on you. My body can take it, but I wasn't sure about you."
"...Good point. But it was worth the risk." Cinder looked out to the ocean. "We did it, Eren. We're free." She looked down at her hands. "This feels..."
"I know." She turned back to her friend. "I discovered what you're feeling a long time ago. This is your freedom, Cinder. You fought for it. You earned it."
Cinder spread her arms out and smiled. She finally had a chance to feel what Eren always talked about. The imagination of the possibilities gave Cinder a new life... but with more questions.
"How long ago?"
Eren suddenly realized what he just said and cursed his stupidity. "Um... before I met you," he quickly answered.
Cinder turned back to Eren, noticing the hesitation. It was at that moment she noticed something else. So she moved closer to Eren and sat down. "Eren... how long have we been out here?"
"I don't know... ten minutes?"
"...How long were you fighting in Atlas?"
Eren was about to answer quickly again, but stopped. He suddenly had a bad feeling as to why Cinder was asking questions like this. But if he lied now, things would get worse. "...A long time."
"Do you remember the book about Auras? From the farm?"
"...Yes."
Cinder moved in for the kill. "It said the longest time anyone's been able to use their Semblance at one time was ten to fifteen minutes. You've been like this for... way over that time. So either you broke the record, or-"
"I never unlocked my Semblance, Cinder." Eren didn't see any point in lying to her.
"..."
Cinder stepped back, shocked that Eren confessed what she realized. But now, this answer just raised more questions. "But how... Eren, what is this?"
Eren exited the rest of his Titan. It would remain afloat for a little while longer, just as long as he didn't leave it alone for too long. "Cinder..." Eren ran a hand through his hair. "There's... There's a lot I should tell you."
Cinder continued to back away, slightly afraid of the boy coming closer. "Are you... Are you a monster?" Cinder didn't know why she asked that, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
"Wha... No! Cinder, I'm human. I'm like you." He approached closer. "I'm just... different."
"Different?!" Cinder stopped walking. "Humans and Faunus are different! Day and night are different! But you... you're not like me!"
Each word sent a knife through Eren's heart, but he didn't let it show. "...You're right." He sat down. "I'm not like you. Not entirely."
"..."
Cinder kept her distance, but stopped walking. "Then...what are you?"
"I'm human, don't get me wrong. But... I'm not from Remnant."
"..."
"I'm not going to hurt you Cinder. You trusted me before, and I didn't hurt you then." He gestured his hand for her to sit. "Please, trust me again. I can explain."
Cinder said nothing, but sat down in front of him. "So... where are you from?"
"A place called 'Paradis', an island on my world. There, the people of Paradis fought against monsters like the one I made to survive. They're called 'Titans', and I was one person who could change into one whenever I wanted."
"..."
"Recently, there was a war. A big one between Paradis and the rest of the world. Using my Titan, I... stopped the world. Crushed it, actually. My people won, but I was the final casualty."
"..."
"But rather than going to the other side, I was given the chance to come to Remnant, to do something nobody else could. I was sent here by a god, who said that-"
Cinder stood up and walked away with a chip on her shoulder. "Fine," she coldly said. "Don't tell me."
"What?"
"Eren, do you honestly expect me to believe that God gave you this power? Or that you're from another world?"
Eren's feelings were hurt even more, this was the last thing he expected to happen. He wasn't lying to Cinder, but he should have realized nobody would believe his story. Now, more than ever, Eren wished there was a way for him to show he wasn't lying.
Cinder began to turn back to him. "You can believe whatever you want, I don't care," she began. "Once we get to wherever you're taking us, just-"
Cinder suddenly saw Eren charge towards her with an open hand, which caused her to back away in fear and close her eyes.
"EREN!"
He grabbed her shirt and closed his eyes.
The children opened their eyes, but couldn't see the ocean anymore. Instead, they were surrounded in a red landscape with rocks all around. A white tree stood in the background, about ten yards away.
"Wha... What?" Cinder looked around frantically, trying to make sense of what was happening. "What is this place?"
"It's called 'the Coordinate'," Eren answered. "I'm sorry for scaring you, but I had to show you that I was telling the truth." He pointed to the large tree. "That's how I came to Remnant, how he sent me to your world."
Cinder turned back to him. "What? Eren, who's 'he'? Who sent you?"
Before Eren could answer, an elated voice called out to the boy. "Eren!"
Eren looked to his right to see the God of Darkness standing before him, hands behind his back. "I was wondering when we would see each other again," he stated. "I see you've learned how to return to the Coordinate."
"It's not that different from the one back home," Eren stated. "It wasn't hard to bring myself here."
Darkness turned his head to see a scared little girl, too shocked to even move. "And you brought a friend. A new Titan, perhaps?"
"No, no!" Eren stood between Cinder and Darkness, afraid he might try to do something. "Cinder's a girl who helped me escape from Atlas."
"Escape?" Darkness began to laugh. "Could you not do that yourself? Or have you not discovered your powers?"
"I found some of them, but Cinder's been with me all this time. I didn't want to risk her getting hurt."
"Hmm... if you insist."
Cinder finally spoke up. "Eren... is this-?"
Eren stepped aside. "Yes, Cinder. This is the God of Darkness, the one who gave me my new Titan and brought me to Remnant."
"Ah, I see you've told her much." Eren turned back to the deity. "What else did you tell her?"
"That I'm from another world, that you gave me these powers, and that you sent me to Remnant."
Cinder grabbed Eren's shoulder and turned him around. "So, it's true? He let you turn into... a Titan?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yeah... it's true. I want to tell you more, Cinder. But I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you. So, Darkness can show you the rest of the story he showed me. And... my story. If you want."
"..."
Cinder looked up at the god, who simply looked down on the child.
"If you still want to leave me, I'll understand. But there's still a lot you need to know. Darkness won't do anything unless you ask."
"...Okay." Cinder still stared at the God of Darkness. "Show me."
A few seconds after Darkness snapped his fingers and Cinder's eyes widened, Eren looked up at the god. "Thank you."
The environment changed back to the ocean. Eren returned to the nape of the Titan so he could continue to swim. But he didn't take his eyes off the expressionless girl. Eren knew Cinder had just witnessed the same things he did, any doubt she had before had just vanished. All of this left the girl's questions for the God of Darkness answered. But not her questions for Eren.
"So... it's true?" Cinder asked. "You're... from another world? And this?" She stood up and looked at the Titan. "This is a part of you?"
"...Yeah," Eren replied. "After I... died, Darkness gave me the chance to come here. The first Titan I used was my father's, but this one was made just for me."
"So you died?"
"That's right."
"Died as in... really died?"
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you stay dead?"
Eren looked up at Cinder, slightly hurt by the sound of the question. "What do you mean?"
"Darkness gave you a choice. You could go to... whatever afterlife these Gods made. Why did you come here instead?"
"When I first came here... I asked that question myself. And I think I have a good answer." Eren stopped swimming and fully exited his Titan. "I didn't understand his methods at first, but looking back on what Darkness showed us... I think Ozma's plan is to keep Salem at bay. He can't kill her, but he can make sure she can't win. Stopping her..." Eren looked down at his Titan. "That's where I come in. I have a plan, but I need to strengthen my new Titan."
"How long will that take?"
"I don't know... a few months? Few years?" Eren put his hands down. "But I have all the time in the world to regain my strength. Once I do, I'll stop Salem. I will free Remnant."
Cinder stood up with Eren and looked deep into his eyes. When aqua and amber and stood at a standstill, Cinder had one thing to say to his plan. "No."
Eren blinked and titled his head. "...No?"
"No, Eren. You won't stop Salem."
"..."
Cinder moved closer to Eren, blocking his path to the Titan's nape with a serious expression on her face. He immediately became worried about her next move. She continued to move closer, and Eren cautiously balled his fists. Once he raised them... Cinder slowly reached out and gently took them.
"We will."
His fists disappeared, but his concern didn't. Only now, Eren was concerned about something else. "Huh?"
"Eren, I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Cinder sincerely said. "But I believe you now. And if you're going to fight Salem, I'm going to fight her with you."
Eren immediately stepped back. "Cinder, no. You can't possibly want to do this."
"But I do. This is what you trained me for didn't you? This is why I learned how to fight."
"But you can stop now." Eren jabbed a finger at Cinder. "You're free, Cinder. Don't you remember what you told me you were going to do?"
"..."
Cinder remembered.
"You were going to see Vale, do whatever you wanted to do. You can do that now, Cinder. You're free."
"No, I'm not." Cinder gestured her hand to the ocean. "Nobody is. Remnant is living under Salem's shadow, she has the world on her fingertip." She looked back to Eren. "There's no freedom for me without you, Eren. Even after we stop Salem."
"But you're not strong enough," Eren pleaded. "I've seen some of the things Salem can do, she'll fry you before you know what hit you."
"Darkness said you can pass down your Titans," Cinder reminded him. "If you pass one down to me, I can fight with you."
"But-"
"Eren, stop it!" The boy jumped back as she yelled. "I don't care what else you say, I don't care if this might kill me!" She walked closer to him. "Salem's not all high and mighty as you may think she is! She's just a girl who's mad at the world because something bad happened to her once upon a time!" Cinder turned into the sky and continued to scream. "Well guess what, freak?! Something bad happened to me too! And you don't see me trying to conquer the world!"
"..."
Cinder took a few quick breaths as she recomposed herself. Turning back to Eren, she made her point again. "I want to help you, Eren. And I don't want to see the rest of the world without you. I mean, sure, you killed people so you could gain your freedom... but so did I." She took his hands again. "Don't you see? I'm just like you, Eren. I belong with you."
"..."
She was right. Cinder was just like him. Eren knew this was true, and knew she wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
Eren walked back to the nape of the Titan and began to think. Maybe Cinder could help him fight. She wasn't ready now, but Cinder had the qualities of a warrior: initiative, willingness, and a dedication to see her fights through to the end. Cinder would make all of Eren's friends proud.
But there was one thing stopping him from saying "yes".
"Cinder, I... I can't ask you to do this. You would kill for me, follow me straight into Hell." Eren looked down into the Titan. "I can't... I won't let you be my slave."
Cinder wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm not your slave, Eren. I'm your sister."
Eren's body tightened at the word. Cinder felt this, and had a feeling she upset him. But she continued making her point.
"Eren... I know you had a sister back home," Cinder reminded him. "You had a family too. I'm not trying to replace them, but... it's hard not to see you as my brother." She felt tears drip onto her arms, but she didn't stop. "You were always there when I needed you, and now it's my turn to do the same for you. Because from what I've heard... that's what siblings do. And I know-"
She stopped talking when she felt two hands take hers. Eren turned his head around and spoke from his heart.
"Mikasa was... important to me," he said. "She was... more than my sister. I'd give anything to be with her right now, to tell her how much I love her, to grow old with her. Everyone else you saw, they were... they are my family." Eren stood up and looked at Cinder. "But you're right, Cinder. You were just like Mikasa, the first few months we spent together. I know we haven't known each other that long, but... it's actually easy for me to see you as both my friend and my sister."
Cinder gasped. She expected to hear more attempts to talk her down, but this was more than she could have expected. She didn't know it before, but that confirmation was what she wanted all her life. "So... does that mean-?"
Eren gripped her hands tighter and smiled. "If you're serious about helping me, being my first Titan... let's do it, sis."
Cinder quickly squeezed his hands in joy. "Let's do it."
"But on one condition."
"...What is it?"
Eren's smile disappeared as he jabbed a finger at Cinder. "Don't ever say that again."
"Say what?"
"Without you, I am nothing. Don't say it, don't think it, and more importantly... don't believe it."
Cinder understood. "Okay."
"Not even when you're referring to me."
"I won't."
"...Do you know why I'm asking you to do this?"
Cinder nodded again. "Not for you... but for me. You don't want me to say it... because it's not true."
Eren mentally sighed in relief. He was glad Cinder was able to understand that, he was worried she actually believed it. So he smiled and hugged his new sister. "That's right. It never was."
Author's notes: thank you so much for reading this, I really hope you're enjoying it. Make sure you leave a comment and support my idea guy for this story, The Avenging Titan.
Speaking of which, I have a message from The Avenging Titan that will explain some of the choices we made in this chapter: "Both this chapter and last chapter were definitely exciting ones to help plan as they both lay the groundwork for a big change from canon. Eren and Cinder's relationship was one of the main developments the two of us were talking about as we were initially working on this story. And thanks to RWBY Volume 8 FINALLY giving us Cinder's backstory, young Cinder was the perfect opportunity for this to happen. After all, if someone else other than Salem were to find Cinder first, then who knows how things can change for her?"
That last question actually reminded me of another story I'm currently writing, "The Way of the Maiden." If you're a fan of The Mandalorian and RWBY, check it out! Other than that, please leave a review and support The Avenging Titan. Until next time!
