"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."
Henry Ford
Chapter 8: It Takes A Village
Between the knife in his face and the apparent fact that his secret was out, Eren was at a loss for words. He had no idea how, but Lie Ren claimed to have learned that he knew he and Cinder had the power of the Titans running through their bodies. And now, Eren was at a crossroad. He could either try to reason with Lie and tell him the truth, or he could take that knife and turn it against the younger boy. Not wanting to seriously hurt him, Eren decided to play dumb. "What... What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to see what his assailant actually knew.
"You two are monsters," the boy said, trying to keep his blade steady. "We saw it. Both of us."
Eren now knew the secret was out, and he would have to explain himself. But first, he knew taking care of Lie wouldn't be a problem. The shaky knife and a poor position made the boy vulnerable to a counterattack, and Eren felt the first step of clearing the air would be to have no weapons. So, acting quickly, Eren pushed his hands on Lie's stomach. The boy tried to lunge the blade further, but the distance Eren created made that impossible. All he could do was feel Eren grab his arm and shirt, then come off the ground. Eren threw Ren on the floor and made sure the knife would fall from his grasp.
"Ren!" Nora yelled as she ran over to him. Cinder quickly grabbed Nora's arm and held it as tightly as she could. Unfortunately for Nora, it was the same hand she had her hammer in, and Cinder was beginning to squeeze it.
"Cinder, no!"
Everyone in the room turned to Eren, who was beginning to calm down himself. Raising his hands, Eren kicked the knife under a cabinet. The space it flew under was too small for Ren to retrieve it, so he stayed still as Eren helped Ren off the floor and continued to talk. "Ren, listen to me. If you're telling the truth, then I know what you saw is crazy. But Cinder and I don't want to hurt anyone, just like I didn't hurt you last night."
"Maybe," said Ren. He quickly pointed at Cinder. "But what about her? She almost burned my house down!"
"Yeah!" Nora included. "What about her?!"
A gasp caused everyone to look at Cinder, who let go of Nora and turned to Eren. "Eren, what is he talking about?"
Eren was also surprised about Ren calling Cinder out for her actions. He thought that Cinder would feel guilty about almost burning Kuroyuri to the ground, so he decided to keep it a secret. But now, he had no choice but to explain what happened. "Cinder, it wasn't your fault. When you transformed again, you-"
"Wait a minute," Cinder cut him off. "I don't remember transforming into a Titan for a second time. How could I have done what Ren said I did?"
"Because I was stupid. The same thing happened to me a long time ago. When I had my first Titan and transformed a second time, everyone told me that I attacked my friends, that I swung my fists three times at Mikasa." Eren walked over to Cinder and Ren. "When I fully transformed for a second time, I had no control and couldn't remember what exactly happened." He looked over to the younger boy. "Ren, what Cinder did last night was my fault. I didn't think this would happen, but I made sure she couldn't lose control again. I'm sorry."
Cinder didn't take her eyes of Eren as he apologized. She was trying hard to remember anything about losing control, about almost setting the town on fire. But her mind just drew a blank. "Eren, what if I lose control again?" she asked. "What if my Titan does more than just burn Kuroyuri?"
"It won't, Cinder. Losing control is just a one time thing. Trust me, you won't hurt anyone you don't want to." Cinder was somewhat unsure of this claim, but decided to trust Eren and that she would only transform when he said to. Eren, confident that Cinder would be fine, turned back to Ren and Nora. "Do you believe us now? We're not going to hurt you guys."
Ren and Nora weren't totally convinced, but they had more questions other than their home's safety. "But how were able to do what you did last night?" Ren asked.
"And what does 'Titan' mean?" Nora asked.
Cinder stepped in front of Eren with her hands out, attempting to calm the younger children down. "We'll explain everything, but we can't do it-"
The front door opened to reveal Dina, who had just come back from the field. "Nora, I didn't see anything out there," she said as she closed the door. "I think you were just-" She stopped talking when she noticed how close together the children were, they were all in each other's personal space. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"
"No," Eren lied. "We were just..."
"Introducing ourselves!" Nora loudly said. "And Cinder was just about to show me something." Nora quickly took Cinder's arm as Cinder followed Nora's improvised lead.
"Uh... Right! I just wanted to show her Vasilisa, is that alright?"
"Of course," Dina said.
"We'll come with you," Eren said as Ren followed behind him. As they left, Dina was wondering why everyone seemed to be nervous when she came back in the house. And this 'Nora' seemed to be excessively loud when she said what they were doing. Then again, maybe she was excited to meet other children. After all, she said that she was new around Kuroyuri. So Dina decided to clean up after Eren and Cinder, leaving her enough time to think about her earlier question; how did the Titans find their way to Remnant?
Eren closed the door behind him, leaving the four children all alone. Before he could say anything else, Nora yelled again. "Oh, she's cute!"
Eren and Ren turned around to see Cinder holding her doll in front of Nora, attempting to calm the situation they all found themselves in. "That's what I thought too," said Cinder. "She's pretty old, so I have to be careful holding her." Cinder put Vasilisa on her bed and hoped to get back to talking about last night. But before anyone could do or say anything, Nora rushed over to the bed and took the doll, making it walk along the mattress.
~"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora sang as she happily played with the doll.
"Nora!" Ren called out, waiting to get back at the subject that brought them to Dina's house in the first place. Nora quickly remembered what was going on and put the doll back where Cinder left it. Now everyone's attention was back on Eren, and Ren was the first to speak. "You didn't answer my first question," he said. "How did you do all of that?"
"We can explain," Eren promised. "But first, Cinder and I were careful to change out of sight. How did you and Nora see us?"
"Because you showed us."
"...Huh?"
Last night
"Hurry! More might come soon!"
Ren and Nora were looking at the Titan's hand, still amazed that it was talking and it seemed to want to help them. Rather than leave themselves in the open, the children jumped on and felt themselves come off the ground. Just as they did, the Titan tried its best to keep the Nevermore in its other hand from coming any closer to the children.
Suddenly, the Titan's eyes began to glow. It stopped moving.
Before Ren could try to communicate with it, to ask what was happening, a strange feeling came into his legs and ran up his body. Nora felt the same thing and they both fell off their feet. Images began to flash in their minds, showing a story of sorts. The images burned as they moved faster and faster, showing more giants and people trying to fight them.
Although his mind was hurting, Ren could see there was one thing all the images had in common; there was an older Eren Yeager in all of them. And it ended when his sister, Cinder, was enveloped in a dark tar.
Once the images disappeared, Ren and Nora found themselves closer to the ground once again. Not wanting to experience anything else as unpleasant as that, the children both jumped off and watched the Titan run away. All Ren and Nora knew was that Eren was inside that monster, and they had to find out more.
Present
"Even though we saw all of those things, we didn't know what they meant. All we knew was that you were always there."
Ren finished explaining how he and Nora knew about Eren and Cinder, leaving the older children in disbelief. Cinder was the first one to ask a question. "Eren, how did you do that?" she asked. "Why did you do that?"
"I... I don't know," Eren honestly answered. "I had no idea I could do that." Eren suddenly had an idea. "Cinder, do you remember when I said I needed to unlock more powers? I think I found one when I saved Ren and Nora."
"What did you do?"
"After catching one of those birds-"
"Nevermore," everyone in the room clarified.
"...Right, Nevermore. Well, there was something else I did with it before killing it. I think... I saw its life story."
"Life story?" Cinder asked. "What did you see?"
"Every place it went, every person it killed. I did something like that before, having these... flashes of memory. I think I can watch Grimm's past memories if I concentrate."
"Well, it looks like whatever you did goes both ways." Cinder pointed at Ren and Nora. "If you looked into a Grimm's... mind, you might have left your's open for other people."
"I think you're right." Eren made a note to be more careful what powers he used and who he used them with.
"Excuse me!"
Eren and Cinder quickly turned back to Nora, who had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot impatiently. "I think you're forgetting something here!"
"Huh?"
Ren stepped forward. "We said we saw what you did, but you didn't do a good job explaining what it all was."
"Oh. Right." Eren walked over to his bed and sat down. "Well... here goes nothing."
Eren and Cinder told the children everything. Eren started with his life on Paradis and ended with escaping Salem. That's where Cinder took over, and explained how she met Eren and how she learned everything herself. The last thing she explained was how she chose to accept part of Eren's powers.
This story wasn't one Ren and Nora were ready to hear. But having seen the flashes from Eren's mind, they were able to connect them to Eren and Cinder's words. There was no doubt about it; they were telling the truth. Even so, the story left them with more questions.
"So you're saying the Grimm have some kind of... leader?" Ren asked, feeling chills travel across his body. "That someone is making and sending Grimm across the world?"
"The God of Darkness was the one who made them, but Salem took over when he left," Eren confirmed. "As long as she's still alive, places like Kuroyuri won't be safe."
"And you're going to... stop her, right?"
"That's why I'm here."
Cinder put a hand on Eren's shoulder. "And that's why I asked Eren to make me a Titan. I want to help him."
A soft sobbing showed that Ren wasn't the only one affected by the truth. Everyone turned to see Nora crying and holding her legs in a fetal position. Ren saw the look before and knew what to do to help her.
"Ren... I'm scared," Nora confessed as Ren hugged her.
"Me too," said Ren, who still felt chills go up and down on his body. He looked back up to Eren and Cinder. "What about you two? People think you're Grimm too."
"Ren, please don't tell anyone," Cinder asked. "We're not Grimm, we want the same thing as you." Cinder turned to the crying girl and kneeled down to her. "Both of you."
"Which is?"
"...A home." Cinder picked Vasilisa off her bed and handed her to Nora, who gently took her and hugged her.
"Cinder's right," Eren said. "We're just trying to live normal lives until we go after Salem."
As Nora's sobs disappeared, Ren stood up. "If that's true, the rest of the village should know," he said. "Maybe you should tell them the truth."
"We can't do that," Cinder said. "We can't risk being thrown out."
"And I don't think you can risk another Grimm attack," Eren pointed out. "What are you gonna do the next time they come?"
"..."
Ren couldn't think of a good counterpoint. Eren and Cinder did everything they could do to save Kuroyuri. If they left now and the Grimm came back soon, there was no chance for the town. But Ren couldn't ignore what he just heard.
"Then... I'd suggest you find some way to convince everyone you're here to help. You should-"
"Try to do something good," said Nora, who stood up and handed Vasilisa back to Cinder. "Like you did right now."
Cinder took the doll and looked back at Eren, who was listening to the suggestions with her. They didn't say anything else as Ren and Nora left the house and said they would see them at the town meeting. Once they returned to their room, Eren and Cinder sat on Eren's bed. "What are you thinking?" Cinder asked her adoptive brother.
"I think... they might be right," he claimed. "We can't tell everyone what we are, but maybe we can show them we're here to help." Eren heard the phrase "actions speak louder than words" before, and he couldn't think of a better time to apply the concept than now. "I'm just not sure how this meeting will go. Maybe we should do something before they actually start."
"I don't know. Ren and Nora might be just as scared as everyone else. I mean, why else would they come here with a knife?"
"You think we should just wait?" Eren didn't like the idea, where there was a lot at risk in the present moment.
"I just think we should hear what everyone has to say. We'll listen and try to think of doing something they want."
Eren thought it over, and it honestly didn't sound like a bad idea. Gathering information and reporting it back was a typical mission for a soldier, so this shouldn't be different. "Okay," he agreed. "We should tell Ms. Fritz we wanna go with her."
Later in the day, Dina led Eren and Cinder back to Kuroyuri. Only a day had passed and the town was still trying to get back on its feet. They made very little progress in cleaning up the mess the Grimm had left, such a project would take at least a week. Cinder's focus, however, was on some of the burnt houses. Remembering what Eren told her about losing control, looking at each house made her feel guilty. Eren whispered that it wasn't her fault, but Cinder didn't change her mind. So Eren reminded her that they were going to fix their mess once they left the meeting.
Dina walked up the steps to a larger building with a bell tower on top. It definitely looked like the right place to have a meeting for the whole village, given the amount of space and how many people were inside. Speaking of which, all everyone was doing inside was yelling amongst themselves. Eren and Cinder tried to make out what each person they passed was saying, but it all sounded like one big mess. Dina noticed this too and said nothing. She simply found three seats and sat down. Just as the children joined her, a man in a gray robe walked up to the podium in front of the crowd and spoke into a microphone.
"Please, everyone, settle down!" the Mayor pleaded. Just as he said that, people began to either stop talking or shush the person next to them. Once the room fell quiet, the Mayor cleared his throat. "Thank you all for coming. I know you're all scared, and recovering from the tragedy last night. But now, we have to-"
"We have to leave!" a man in the back yelled. "Who knows when they'll come back again?! We're not safe out here!" A few others yelled as well, agreeing with the idea to leave Kuroyuri. However, there were some people who disagreed.
"But this is our home!" a woman shouted. "We spent years making Kuroyuri into what it is now, we can't just call it quits!" Other people, mostly families, supported her and offered their own input.
"My father poured his heart and soul into building our house! We can't let that go to waste!"
"Think about the children!"
"Where would we even go?! Mistral is the worst place to raise a family!"
People on the other side of the room joined in on the shouting.
"Who cares about what state Mistral's society is in?! We'll be safe there!"
"It has more protection and security than we can afford to make or buy ourselves!"
"What about Argus? The Atlas military can stop anything!"
Before anyone could say another word, the Mayor silenced everyone by slamming a gavel onto the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, I was thinking the exact same things you all are right now. We have reached out to Argus and Mistral in the past, and have not been able to afford their kind of security and defenses. On the other hand, the cities have been known to be... unfavorable to some."
"Like the Faunus!" a woman with a skunk's tail said as she stood up. "Faunus may live in both cities now, but there are still places they won't allow us in! We can't even buy food in some places!" Some Faunus stood up and agreed with the woman.
"That is also one of the factors I've thought about, ma'am," said the Mayor. "But the fact of the matter is, we don't have the proper defenses to ensure the safety of this town."
"I agree," someone else said. Eren and Cinder looked to the left to see Li Ren standing up. "I saw the beasts. My hunting party can handle the occasional small Grimm, but there was one monster that was... too powerful. Only a Huntsman could kill it."
"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" another woman called out. "Why don't we hire a Huntsman to live in Kuroyuri?"
"Yeah! The occasional Huntsmen only come here once a month, but offering a place for them to live would be better!"
The Mayor tapped his gavel again, gently this time. "That is one solution I have considered. Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral spend most of their time in Argus or the capital city. If that is to be our plan, there are a few factors to consider. First off, in order to pay this Huntsman or Huntress, I will have no choice but to increase the taxes you all pay."
"In that case, I say we go for it!" another man yelled. "What's a few more Lien when our lives are on the line?"
The Mayor was happy to hear this, but he needed the town's input in order to go with this plan. "Do I hear a second to that agreement?" he asked.
"Aye!" A vast majority, more than three-quarters of the room, shouted and raised their hands. It seemed the plan was already going in motion, but the Mayor had one more thing to point out.
"And then... there is also the presence of the two... giants."
The room fell silent for a few moments and began to look at each other. Eren and Cinder looked around too, noticing the fear written on everyone's faces. The silence was broken by Li Ren once again. "I saw the beasts," he confessed. "But I do not believe them to be like the monsters the Grimm are."
"How so?" the Mayor asked.
"One of them saved my son." Li looked down at Lie and smiled. "My wife and I were separated from our son in the confusion and panic. After we evacuated outside the wall, one of them was carrying my son and the young girl we have been taking care of. Rather than hurting them, the giant placed them down gently in front of us."
"It's true!" another man called out. "I saw the whole thing!"
"But what about the other one?!" someone else asked. "It almost burned down some of the houses near the wall!"
"I think I saw it helping us at first, but it definitely tried to attack us!"
"It wasn't until the first one kicked its ass that things got under control!"
"I don't care if they're with us or against us! What the hell are they?!"
Eren felt something wet touch his hand. When he looked down, he saw what looked like tears hit the back of his hand. Looking up, he saw that Cinder was crying, each word sending a knife in her heart. Eren wiped her eye and told her it was going to be fine before Dina stood up while extending her hand. "Mr. Mayor, I have something I'd like to say."
"The floor is yours, Ms. Fritz," the Mayor said as he stepped away from the podium. Dina walked up to the microphone and cleared her throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen... I believe you have every right to be afraid of the beasts you saw last night," the farmer said. Eren and Cinder looked at Dina in disbelief, as did the rest of the room. "About a week ago, I travelled to Argus in order to sell my produce. While I was there, I heard the soldiers at the base say that the city of Atlas had been attacked." Gasps and whispers filled the room before Dina spoke again. "When I asked about this, the soldiers claimed that the attack was done by only one Grimm. And the only thing I can think of causing so much destruction is the giants you all mentioned."
Eren and Cinder looked at each other as more whispers filled the room. Eren completely forgot about what he did in Atlas, all the people he hurt and killed. He had no idea that news travelled all the way to Argus, and wasn't expecting Dina to share all of it now. An Ren suddenly stood up and asked a question. "Dina, do you think that we're in danger because of them?"
"...I do." Dina reached into her pocket and pulled out her Scroll. "Before coming to this meeting, I did some research into the attack on Atlas. I couldn't find a lot, but I was able to find pictures of the aftermath. Trust me when I tell you... it's bad."
"But how can you explain what one of them did for my son? If they're as dangerous as they sound, my son wouldn't be here. In fact..." An Ren looked around the entire room as she made her point. "Everyone saw that giant help out."
"An, I'm afraid I don't have all the answers. All I can tell you is what I've heard. And I think I've said all I wanted to." Dina stepped off the podium and the Mayor took her place.
"It seems our next course of action is clear," the Mayor said. "Tomorrow, I will go to Argus and Mistral to deliver our request for a permanent Huntsman. In the meantime, we will fix what we can and be wary of these giants. Until things are back to normal, I would suggest everyone stay vigilant. Meeting adjourned." As the Mayor tapped his gavel on the podium once again, everyone made their way to the exit. By chance, Eren found himself next to Ren and Nora.
"What are you going to do?" Ren whispered.
"...I don't know," Eren replied. "I just... don't know."
Eren and Cinder kept to themselves for the rest of the day. Dina didn't notice when they got back to the house, but she became worried when they stayed in their room when dinner was made. She figured the children had to be hungry, so she tried to bring their food to their room. But the door was locked from the other side.
"Eren?" Dina called when she knocked on the door. "Cinder?"
"..."
Dina knocked again. "Eren? Cinder? Are you in there?"
"We're here," Cinder called out.
"Oh. Well... dinner's ready. I have it right here."
"We're not hungry," Eren said. "Thanks."
Dina looked at the food in her hand, unsure what was going on. She put the food down and knocked on the door again. "Are you alright?"
"We're fine," Cinder called out again. "We just wanna be alone right now."
"Why, did something happen?"
"We want to be alone," Eren said, a little impolite on his part. Dina wasn't sure why Eren sounded so angry, but she knew there wasn't anything she could do if he wouldn't let her. So she reluctantly took the food back into the kitchen and ate alone. As she did, she couldn't stop thinking about how the day went. The farmer felt proud that she was able to bring the dangerous potential of the Titans to light without revealing her secret. Even though the solution would be a Huntsman, Dina didn't know if that was enough to be safe. So she planned to warn whoever came about their danger. Maybe then the safety of the village would increase.
With her mind on the subject clear, Dina's thoughts turned back to Eren and Cinder. She didn't notice how mad Eren seemed to be, or even why. From what she could remember, she didn't say anything that would offend him. And she didn't seem to offend Cinder either. Maybe she was so distracted by the idea of Titans on Remnant that she seemed to do something that she didn't remember.
In order to have a clear head, Dina decided to go for a walk in Kuroyuri. Her walk took her to some of the burnt houses and past the people who volunteered to clean everything up. She stopped for a few minutes to get water for them, and then continued her walk. The stroll took her to the Ren household, so Dina thought she would see how everyone was doing.
An Ren was the one who answered it. "Hello, Dina,"she said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I'd check in on you after the meeting," Dina explained. "I hope I didn't scare you about what I said."
"No, you did the right thing. Warning us about those... things... was necessary. Li and I have children to look after, and knowing what's out there is half the battle."
"Oh, so you're looking after Lie's friend?"
"Yes, little Nora. Li think she can be a little loud sometimes, but I like her. She's just the sweetest thing."
Dina wanted to be happy for her friend, but her mind automatically went somewhere else. "An, is it true that one of the giant Grimm saved your son?"
"I know, it sounds unbelievable. But yes, it's true. I can't understand it either, but I saw it with my own eyes."
"You're right, I can't believe it either. I'm sorry, I just don't want the same thing that happened to Atlas to happen here. I'm just trying to understand everything I can."
"If you want to know more, I overheard Lie and Nora talking about Eren and Cinder. Maybe you should talk to them."
"I want to, but they got really quiet after the-" Dina suddenly grew curious. "I'm sorry, what did they say?"
"I could have sworn I heard them say something about 'telling the truth,' but when I came in and asked what they were talking about, they said it was nothing."
"Tell the truth? About what?" Dina knew An would probably have no idea, and she was mostly talking to herself. "I'm sorry, An, I should go. Have a good night."
"You too, Dina. Be safe."
An closed the door and left Dina to her thoughts. She decided to go back home and try talking to Eren and Cinder again. While walking, Dina tried to think of anything they might be hiding from her. But that didn't seem very likely, the two of them were very honest when she found them in Argus. After all, Eren told her how he came to be in Remnant, how he used the Founding-
Dina stopped walking.
How could she forget something like that?
When she met him in Argus, Eren told Dina he was able to use the Founding Titan to send himself to Remnant and save his friends.
"I'm sure of it! The King took the Founding Titan into the walls! If we obtain that, we can control all other Titans and completely annihilate Marley!"
That was the hope she always heard her past husband say in her dreams. It was his goal to use the Founding Titan, which all members of the "royal family" could use. So was Eren part of this "royal family?"
No.
Dina remembered that she used to be a member of that family, and the only way her son could be considered another member was from her. If Grisha wasn't another member, and had another child, how did that child use the Founding Titan? Unless Grisha met another member of the family, then that would be possible. But that wasn't likely. Eren was... special. He used to be a Titan, and according to him, he was able to use the Titan however he wanted to.
Now Dina was starting to put the pieces together. The attack on Atlas, Eren and Cinder washing up on Argus' shore, and now the Titans were in Kuroyuri. There's no possible explanation that involves mere coincidence.
"What if... What if the Titans didn't follow Eren?" Dina thought to herself. "What if he brought them here on purpose?"
Dina felt her legs run faster than the ever did before as she hastily made her way home. Once she slammed the front door open, she was prepared to do the same thing to the children's room. But that was still locked shut. So she resorted to pounding on the door and calling to Eren and Cinder. With no response on the other side Dina rushed into her room and took out a set of keys in a drawer. Using a small key in the middle of the others, Dina unlocked the door and slammed it open.
The room was empty, leaving nothing but vacant beds and an open window.
"They're here."
"How many?"
"A pack of Beowolves, twelve of them."
Cinder did just as Eren said; once they snuck out of Dina's house, they looked for any Grimm they could find. After coming back to their rendezvous, Cinder told Eren what she found. And Eren was able to find some Grimm of his own. Now, they were on the way to where they wanted them; Kuroyuri.
"Did you talk to Ren and Nora yet?" Cinder asked.
"I just saw them, they found a few of those wolves and brought them here," Eren told Cinder.
"Are they okay?"
"Ren's Semblance can hide himself and anyone he touches from Grimm. They got away just as they got close enough to the city."
"I don't like this. It seems really risky."
"Cinder, it's the only way we can buy some kind of trust from everyone. And I can't do this without you."
"...Because of what I did."
Eren and Cinder had been over this before, but Cinder refused to forgive herself for almost hurting people. And she was still having doubts about turning herself into a Titan. And Eren felt worthless because he couldn't do anything to change her mind. His predicament made him almost wish Captain Levi was here. If he could persuade Historia to take Paradis' throne, he could convince Cinder to do what needed to be done.
But roars and howling in the distance made Eren forget about his wish and focus on the present. "They're here," he said. Turning back to Kuroyuri, Eren saw a few people running out with bows and swords. Some even had firearms similar to the muskets from Paradis. "It's time we help." Eren took Cinder's hand and led her closer to the wall. Looking back to her, he saw her breathing heavily and whispering to herself. Instead of talking to her again, Eren rushed out and bit into his hand. Black blood shot from his hand surprising and confusing him before he focused on the task at hand.
*ZAP*
*CRACK*
A bright flash of red light filled the air, followed by a massive thud, causing all motion from both the villagers and the Grimm to cease. From within the light rose a large dark figure, as bone and muscle seemed to materialize. As the light fully faded away, the villages all paled as they stared into the snarling visage of one of the mysterious Titans. Once it stood to full height, gazing out over the town and locking onto the Grimm, it rushed towards the Grimm. The ground trembling with it's thunderous footsteps. A second flash of red light came from behind again, and they all turned to see the second Titan rise from the light.
The new Titan began looking at its hands and turning them in various places. Its head rose to look at the Founding Titan, who raised its arm and moved it back and forth. Cinder was confused at first, so she did the same thing. But then, she realized she was doing this movement willingly. After moving her arms and legs, coming closer to Kuroyuri, Cinder realized she had full control over her body. She wouldn't hurt anyone or anything if she didn't want to.
Her thoughts snapped to a small pinch in her arm. Looking down, she saw an arrow sticking out of it. She moved the arm to see the archers of the village shooting her. Rather than attacking, Cinder backed away and moved her hands up, shaking them. The arrows stopped as a man Cinder recognized as Li Ren stepped in front of the other archers. He pointed to the Founding Titan, who looked angry. But Cinder moved her arm in front of Eren to stop him from doing anything. Once he calmed down, Cinder got to work.
The archers, including Li Ren, stared up at the two Titans. Rather than shooting, they were observing their behavior.
"What are they doing?" one asked.
"Well, they're not fighting back," Li said. "That should be good. Now we can focus on the Grimm in front of us."
"How do we know they didn't send those Grimm here? They could just want to watch the town be overrun!"
"Hold on, what's that one doing?!"
Li Ren looked past his comrades to see the feminine Titan raise its arms in front of the incoming Grimm. Suddenly, a wave of fire scorched the Grimm and the land beneath it. The warriors were impressed and suddenly felt relieved about the beasts apparent intentions. But they were confused when they saw the giant move its arms left and right, to pieces of land where there weren't any Grimm.
"What's it doing?" the first warrior asked.
"I don't know," Li replied. "But be ready for anything."
The fire stopped after a few minutes, when new Grimm began to show up. The fire revealed a deep line that dug beneath the earth. Li ignored the symbol for now, and was about to shoot the Grimm with his arrows.
"Li, wait!" the second archer said. "Look at that!"
Li did as he was told and looked to see the giants holding their hands out to them. They weren't going to attack, Li recognized the gesture as a request to wait a few seconds. So he lowered his bow and watched the Grimm come closer. They suddenly leapt closer to the town, but the gap the giant had made was too wide for them to make the jump. They all fell into the ground.
"Huh," said the first warrior. "Well that's... convenient."
The masculine Titan raised its hand and gestured for the warriors to come closer. The other archers were reluctant, but Li was confident that he would be safe. Given that this was the beast that saved his son, he felt some kind of trust with it. So he slowly approached the gap and looked down. The Grimm were still there, but they were having trouble climbing out. They were trapped like rats.
Li was amazed at this simple invention and called for his friends to join him. They all looked down into the pit and saw the trapped Grimm. They stood still and watched them try everything to come out, but nothing worked for the monsters. It was hopeless for them, but promising for the people of Kuroyuri.
"Don't you see?" Li asked his comrades. "These things, they made a moat in less than five minutes! Grimm like Beowolves and Ursai won't be able to cross!"
"Wow," the first warrior said in amazement as he scratched his head. "Why didn't we think of that?"
"Hey, check this out," said the second warrior. All three men looked up to see the feminine giant move her arms in a circle. She then pointed to the town of Kuroyuri, which had more people coming out to see the miracle. They were still afraid, but didn't try running away. Ren and Nora had joined everyone, and were glad their plan had worked. The men still looked at the Titan moving its arms and pointing to the town.
"I think... it's asking us for permission," Li said, astonished at the idea the intelligent beast seemed to present. "It wants to build a moat around the village, making sure no Grimm can hurt us."
"That's... not a bad idea," said one of the other warriors. "Why didn't we think of that?"
"No, that wouldn't work," said a man holding a musket. Instead of explaining to the other villagers, he put down his rifle and looked up at the Titan. His friends would think that the idea he had was crazy, but it was the only way to get his point across. So he began to move his hands around as he slowly spoke. "This... won't work," he slowly shouted as he pointed to the moat and shook his head. "If... the Grimm... can't come across... neither... can we." The man kept pointing to the Grimm and the villagers as he spoke, hoping the beasts could understand.
And when they looked at each other and the moat, they did seem to understand. The masculine one seemed to understand the situation quicker, and pointed his finger to the trees. Going over to the forest, the beast grabbed a tree and began to pull. The roots loudly broke away from the ground and the giant was able to put the tree on its shoulder. Walking back to the village, it gently put the tree down and moved it up and down.
Li and the others managed to get the idea; if they could make some kind of drawbridge, the Grimm wouldn't be able to cross. The village would be safe from any ground assault from the Grimm. In order to pull the idea off, however, Li knew Kuroyuri would need two things; a new wall to position the drawbridge and enough time to create it.
The time would come naturally to the village. The wall, however, came to Li quickly. Following his friend's lead, no matter how crazy or dumb he looked talking to a Grimm of all things, he began to communicate by pointing to one of the crystal-like structures. "We need... two more of those... here and here," he said as he pointed to two sides behind the moat.
The masculine Titan quickly punched two fists into the ground, knocking every villager off their feet. Once they stood back up, they could see that two more mounds like the one Li pointed to where there. Unfortunately, they hid the village's view of the Titans. So when Li stood up to go beyond the stones, the Titans were gone. Li figured they must have run off when everyone was knocked back.
"Make way! Make way!"
Everyone turned back to see the Mayor rushing through the crowd. For security measures, two guards were hiding him in his office. But when enough time had passed, the Mayor grew concerned and demanded to see what was going on. What he found was a marvel to behold. All his questions, however, were answered by Li and the other villagers.
"So... these things are actually trying to help?" the Mayor asked. "Even the one who almost burned down our village? But why are they doing this? What are they?"
"We don't know why they're helping us sir," Li answered. "But perhaps it is for the best. Our village might even expand past our first wall, given these rocks are in the way of other Grimm."
"Even though they gave us these gifts and ideas, I still believe having at least one Huntsman around is for the best. But yes, this is all truly wonderful. Where are the giants now?"
"They disappeared, shortly after we asked them to make these pillars."
"So they can communicate." The Mayor turned back to the crowd of people, chattering and looking at the new creations. "Calm down everyone. I think we've all had enough excitement for one night. Go home." As the crowd began to disperse, the Mayor asked Li to lead a watch party in case the creatures came back. Although everyone believed they wouldn't be a threat, they all agreed to keep watch.
The only one who was skeptical of all this was Dina, who silently watched as the Titans worked. She became haunted by the memories of the monsters she saw and the one that she eventually became. And now, even though the differences were clear, there was no doubt about it; the Titans were back. And even if it killed her, Dina was determined to find out why. Her first idea, a mere hunch, was to go in the woods that led to her farm.
Eren and Cinder exited their Titans shortly after coming close to the farm. The bodies would disappear soon, so they decided to walk their way back. While Eren kept moving deeper into the forest when they left the village, Cinder insisted on staying behind to watch and listen. When she heard all the praise from Li and the Mayor, she could feel her confidence return to her. She was more than happy to hear that the people of Kuroyuri had a slightly different opinion about them. When she told Eren after catching up to him, he was happy to hear about it as well.
"I guess it worked after all," Cinder said as they came closer to leaving the woods. "I think we're still getting a Huntsman, but if we do more stuff like that, they'll see we're not a threat."
"And I told you that you can control the Titan," said Eren, who was proud of Cinder for what she did. "Now you should be able to do whatever you want with it."
"Well, what do we do now?"
"They'll need time to actually make a drawbridge around the moat you'll make. We'll give them time before coming back again. But if more Grimm show up, we'll take care of them."
Cinder liked the sound of the plan, but there was just one thing on her mind. "Eren... when do you think we can tell people?"
"What?" Eren stopped walking. "Cinder, we can't tell anyone else."
"Why not? They know we want to help, they should know who we are."
"I just..." Eren sighed as he pushed his hair back. "I dunno. We can't stay here and help forever. When we're ready, we still need to take down Salem, preferably before she knows about us."
"What do you mean?"
"Ms. Fritz knows about how we escaped from Atlas. If people across an entire ocean can hear that news in less than a day, she might hear about it too. And I think she'll want me to come back with her."
"Yeah, I guess so. But I feel like we should tell Ms. Fritz." Cinder walked up to Eren. "Can we at least tell her?"
Before Eren could answer, a voice filled the woods. "Yes. You can."
The children turned around to see Dina Fritz staring at them. She knew the woods like she knew the back of her hand, she had been in there a hundred times when she was a little girl. Finding her way around them, even in night, was no arduous task. Her journey led her to finding the dead Titans in the woods and two sets of footprints in the mud. When she followed them back to Eren and Cinder, she knew her idea from before was a reality. And now, she was about to find out everything that Eren didn't tell her.
But Eren was far from ready. He knew how scared Dina was of the Titans, and now he had lied to her and was caught red handed. If he got one little thing in his future explanation wrong, he was sure Dina would tell everyone and find some way to take care of them.
This was not good.
The sound of Nevermores in the sky, flying and screaming, had made the last part of journey quite unpleasant. The well dressed man sitting next to the insane Faunus flying the airship was annoyed by the sound, but he knew he would have to live with it. And the sound would hopefully disappear now that the ship had landed and was in front of a door.
The Faunus was the first to jump out of the small airship. Standing to the passenger's right side as he got out, the Faunus bowed his head with a smile and gestured to the door. "Welcome home, Doctor Watts," he said.
After a week of making the final preparations in Mistral, Arthur Watts was finally ready to leave the civilized world and join the one he now dedicated his services to. Although their first meeting came as a complete surprise to him, Salem's offer of taking control of the world and gifting him the Kingdom of Atlas was more than he could have ever dreamed of. The one thing he had to do before making that dream a reality, aside from giving Salem information on some of Atlas' best Huntsmen and Huntresses, was finding a way to leave Atlas undetected and join his new mistress.
The recent attack by a large Grimm had proven to be an unexpected opportunity for the Doctor, as it made his first plan of faking his death in a laboratory accident obsolete. Once he created fake evidence of his demise and fled to the city of Mistral, he waited for one of his new partners, a Mr. Tyrian Callows, to arrive and send him to his new home.
Doctor Watts knew it would be wise to find Salem before getting straight to work. Fortunately, she had made herself easy to find by waiting on the other side of the castle's front door. "Good day, ma'am," Watts said as he slightly bowed his head.
"Arthur Watts," the dark Queen addressed her latest servant with a smile. "Welcome." She stepped aside to invite the scientist inside. Once he entered of his own free will, Salem led the way to his new room. "You have everything you need, I hope?"
"Oh, believe me, I was able to take everything I could have wanted." He tapped the briefcase he was carrying with a smile. "I have a few more cases in the ship. Just say the word, and I'll be able to make you anything you want."
"Wonderful. How about first things first?" Salem stopped in front of a door that had a large table covered in multiple tools and books. "Tyrian and Hazel were able to acquire these across each Kingdom. I hope they'll prove sufficient."
Watts stepped inside and looked at each tool and book. After flipping through a few of the books, he turned back to Salem. "These will be perfect."
"Then I will leave you to your thoughts." Salem was pleased with how well the arrival of Doctor Watts had gone. She had a good feeling the man would prove just as useful as, maybe even more than, her other servants. Speaking of which, she had one idea to test her hope. "But before I go, were you able to find any information on the two things I asked?"
Watts moved away from the table. "As much as I love a good challenge, ma'am. I'm afraid the good General has been all too careful. I checked every encrypted file I could get my hands on, but I found nothing on any Maidens or anything else you desire. Although..." Watts opened the bag he was holding and took out a laptop. Quickly turning it on and pressing some of its keys, Watts looked at the screen. "I was able to save a few more before I left. I was going to look through them, but your distraction showed up. Regardless, I'll let you know if I-"
Salem rushed to Watts' side at inhuman speed before he could say anything else. "I beg your pardon?" she crossly asked.
Watts wasn't expecting her to take offense to what he said, but didn't waste any time remedying his mistake. "Forgive me," he said as he tugged at his collar. "I was referring to that monster you sent to Atlas, brilliantly done if I do say so-"
Salem moved closer to Watts. Her scowl had disappeared, now she merely wanted to know what he was talking about. "What monster?"
"The giant Grimm in Atlas, the one that destroyed part of the city."
Salem had no knowledge about sending a giant Grimm to Atlas. The only giants she could think of were a Leviathan and a Wyvern. And to her knowledge, neither of them were anywhere near the city of Atlas. The only other Grimm that was larger than normal that she could think of was-
"...When was this?" Salem asked.
"About a week ago," Watts replied.
"...Tell me more."
