A/N - FINALLY! I have finally finished this chapter! I am so sorry for the wait but these last few chapters have really been giving me trouble and between that, a miner case of wrighters block and me buying my first Persona game, it's just been slow going. But I can happily say that this is the last of the major exposition and we can start getting into the good stuff.

Also, if you want to, when you see the prompt, then play (Attack on Titan OST "Attack on Titan")

Just to clarify, that was not a typo, the name of the song is Attack on Titan. It's the one that plays when the wall was first beached in episode one.

Anyway, enough rambling from me. Happy reading everyone.

Wings of Freedom

Chapter 14

Eren groaned a little as his eyes cracked open and he sat up and gave a yawn before setting his hands down on his scaly blanket "huh, weird. I could have sworn I was having a nightmare for a little while there" he muttered as hazy memories of being trapped in a Titan's stomach, came back to him and he gripped the hard, bone like edges of his blanket.

Eren's eyes widened a little as his blanket shifted and he looked down to see it was a wing, then looked over to see his Dragon waking up and looking at him "morning" she said and Eren sat there for a moment as the events of the previous day, came back to him and he looked around at the interior of the tree "oh…so it wasn't a dream" he said as a hollow expression crept it's way onto his face.

Eren snapped out of it though as a neck was coiled around him and he looked down to see Scarlett looking up at him with large, pleading eyes "thanks Scarlett" he said and the Dragon hummed happily before uncoiling her neck "I guess I have you to thank again for me not having any nightmares" he said and the Dragon gave him a concerned look "protect" she said and Eren could feel that it was directed at him "thanks but…I'm going to have to face this on my own eventually. I can't rely on you forever" he said and this time the Dragon growled slightly "always together" she said sharply and Eren frowned as he was reminded of his new immortality "that may be so and I do appreciate your help. But nothing's going to get better until I can actually face this" he stated.

The Dragon hummed sadly and with irritation as she averted her gaze "hay" Eren said as he grabbed her by the jaws and made her look at him "I'm not going to shut you out or anything like that. I'm probably gonna need all the help I can get, but we need to be equals, not you protecting me or me you. I mean, we're suppose to partners right?" he said and the Dragon relaxed before nuzzling him "partner" she agreed and Eren smiled as he hugged her snout.

A fake cough, got their attention and they looked up to see Mikasa, standing a little ways away with Armin sitting up in his sleeping bag. Both of them were staring at him, Mikasa with her usual mask while Armin had the decency to look sheepish.

Eren blinked before his cheeks reddened a little "you guys heard all of that didn't you?" He asked, though it was more of a statement then a question. Armin scratched his neck nervously "only what you were saying. We still can't hear Scarlett" he admitted and Eren facepalmed in embarrassment "remind me to talk like this when having personally conversations in the future" Eren thought to his Dragon and received a huff in affirmative.

Meanwhile, Mikasa's mind was swimming with frustration he kicks and screams when we try to help but then goes and says that to her she thought as she pondered what Eren had said. She may have only heard one side of the conversation but it still seamed so out of character for Eren and it only added to her turmoil.

There was a loud thumping and they turned to see Thalia and Roy, exiting their room and walking over to them "morning, is everyone awake" he asked cheerfully. He looked and sounded completely refreshed, as opposed to the previous night.

Armin, Eren and Scarlett, stood up and stretched "morning, and yah, we're all up" Armin answered and Roy smiled "good, in that case take these and please get cleaned up" he said, almost pleading at the end as he held out some baggy but clean and undamaged clothes.

Eren blinked with surprise and confusion as they took the clothes and he looked up at the Rider "huh?" he questioned and Roy deadpanned "I realize you kids have been struggling to survive up to this point and I mean no offense but…you all are filthy" he stated bluntly and pinching his nose a little.

The kids suddenly became acutely aware of all the grime and dried blood they were covered in and had been ignoring all this time and Eren's clothes had been reduced to rags by the Titan that ate him. The kids all cringed and began scratching at their hair and tugging at their clothes as Roy and Thalia both looked upon them with sympathy "yah, I sung some wash rooms out of the tree while you all were still sleeping. They are over there and I already had the baths drawn for you" he said and the kids all stared at him with disbelief for a moment.

Of all the crazy and insane things that had happened so fare, the idea of actually being clean seamed the most crazy to them. They had become so accustomed to just trying to survive day to day that they hadn't even considered getting clean, but now here they were and Roy could have sworn he saw a tear trying to escape Armin's eye for a moment before they all shot forth and converged on the washrooms.

Roy and Thalia both laughed historically as the kids ran passed them, not even attempting to restrain themselves "oh it feels good to laugh again, and I figured that would get them" Roy admitted and Thalia hummed in agreement "they deserve to relax after everything they've been through" she agreed.

The two then turned to face Scarlett who looked a little out of place and even a little nervous under their gaze, especially when Roy slapped his hands together and rubbed them "alright, your turn" he said and Scarlett yelped slightly and began slowly backing away with a fearful look in her eyes. Roy simply smirked however "come now. A magnificent Dragon such as yourself, deserves better then to be left in such a diminished state" he said with such a fake voice and the young Dragon perked up a little before looking herself over. She normally attempted to keep herself clean, she hated when her scales didn't shine, but even with her diligent licking and with everything that had happened the previous night, she had indeed accumulated a good deal of grime and dirt.

Roy continued to look her over with a fake, admiring eye "yes, such a beautiful Dragon deserves better then this" he said and Scarlett seamed to hold her head a little higher as she soaked up the praise and finally laid down in resignation so they could clean her.

Roy chuckled as he grabbed a bucket of water and a rag Dragons…Praise gets them every time he thought and Thalia snorted smoke in his direction "I heard that" she warned playfully as she sat down by her hatchling and started humming to her and licking some of the grime off.

Eren sighed with content.

He couldn't remember feeling so relaxed as he dried himself off and put on the clothes Roy had provided them. It was very similar to what Eren usually wore, only it was a little baggy, seeing as Roy was a few sizes larger then them. Still, Eren was very happy to be clean and wearing clean clothes that weren't scavenged and patched together.

Eren looked himself over and after a cursory inspection, opened the door, leading to the original washroom, which Roy had expanded upon, and found that Armin had already finished and chopped his hair back to it's usual length and Mikasa was about halfway through cutting her own hair back, though she was going a little further "you're cutting your hair short?" Eren asked and Mikasa looked over at him for a moment before turning back to the mirror "it kept getting in the way a lot while we were on the run so I decided to keep it short. At least for the time being" she answered.

Eren nodded in understanding as he walked un to the mirror and grabbed a pair of scissors to trim back his own hair, but as soon as he looked up in the mirror, he gasped slightly "what the?" he questioned while staring at his reflection and grabbing at his now metallic, crimson red hair with it's silver streak "what the heck happened?" he thought aloud as he examined it and the others looked to him with confusion for a moment before Armin realized what he was talking about "oh right, sorry I guess with everything that's been happening, none of us told you" he apologizes sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

Eren looked over at them in confusion "wait, when did this happen?" he asked and Armin and Mikasa looked at each other with concern for a moment before answering "it happened when Scarlett healed you. Your hair just changed colors for whatever reason" Mikasa explained and Eren blinked with surprise before turning back to his reflection. He closely examined the changes and then rolled up his sleeve to reveal the line of metallic red, where his arm had been severed "I guess I still have a reminder" he muttered while tracing the scar and it's scaly pattern.

Armin and Mikasa watched Eren with concern as he grew a far away look "Eren…I'm sorry about what happened" Armin said and Eren snapped out of it "don't worry, I'm fine" he half lied as he looked himself over "you know…I actually kind of like it" he said while brushing some of the hair aside and smiling a little before proceeding to trim it and the others let out sighs of relief but still eyed him with a little worry as they finished cleaning up.

Everyone exited the washroom with happy sighs "this feels so much better" Eren commented as they walked out then grunted as he was tackled by Scarlett and she nuzzled him "well someone's feeling better" Eren grunted out and the Dragon hummed before getting off Eren and prancing around "what's got you so hap…py…" Eren trailed off as he looked his Dragon over and he and his friends' jaws dropped slightly at how brightly the Dragon's scales shined "wow" the kids droned and Scarlett seamed to revel in the praise "clean" she said happily and Eren blinked "yah, defiantly" he agreed. They had never seen the Dragon this clean before.

The kids were brought out of there trance by some laughing above them and they looked up to see Roy on the balcony above, with books stacked up in his arms as he looked over the edge "Dragons are beautiful creatures, and Brightscales especially so" he commented before heading for the stairs "Brightscales?" Armin asked with curiosity and Thalia walked up to them "it is the type of Dragon she is. Our last names are determined by the features we bare" she explained and the kids looked between her and Scarlett as they noticed just how much shinier Scarlett was and how much longer and sharper Thalia's claws were "so, Thalia Razor Claws…" Armin started as he processed the information and the Dragon held up her paw and flexed her fingers, showing off said claws "…and Scarlett Brightscales" he finished and Scarlett struck a pose, holding her head up tall.

Eren ran a hand over the scales on Scarlett's back "so, does being a Brightscales do anything aside from looking nice, uh no offense" he quickly added when his Dragon huffed at him. Roy hummed as he walked down the stairs with the stack of books "well, Brightscales are known to be more vain then others, and Dragons are usually vain as a general rule" he said and Thalia gave her own angry puff of smoke "hay, you know it's true" he shot back in English before turning back to the kids as he thought on Eren's question more "eh, aside from that I don't think there is really any actual advantages, though I suppose it may make their scales a little stronger, but I can not say for certain" he explained.

The Rider shook his head clear though "anyway, come on. Breakfast is over on the table" he said and the kids immediately locked in on the table as the smell of cooked food filled their noses and they eagerly fallowed.

Once that were seated at the table, they took in the glorious sight before them and their moths started to water a little as they eyed all the food, all prepared and fresh. They were briefly destructed thought, by Thalia jumping out of the tree and flying off "where's she going?" Mikasa asked as Roy sat down the books and looked through them "she is going out to catch something for herself and Scarlett" he answered as he set the books in a line before leaving them a sitting down at the table himself and serving out the food.

The kids quickly dug into the food I missed this so much Eren thought as they savored the food. They paused for a moment though as Thalia returned and they gawked a little as she had a whole dear in her mouth. The Dragon then set the dear on the ground and hummed to her hatchling a little and Eren could tell that she was just as excited for her meal as they had been and Eren smiled a little as Scarlett licked her lips with anticipation before digging in.

Roy chuckled a little at the sight before turning his attention to the kids "so, I presume you all have more questions?" he asked and it was like he flipped a switch as they turned on him and questions seamed to spew out of Eren and Armin in rapid fire, while Mikasa, though still curious, was content to wait.

Roy blinked and held up his hands "whoa, whoa, one at a time!" he pleaded and Thalia gave a roar that silenced them "thanks Thalia" Roy silently thanked his Dragon while the kids rubbed their ears "now please, calmly" he said and the kids thought over their question for a moment "what happened to me?" Eren finally asked while running a hand through his hair.

Roy hummed in thought as he absentmindedly rubbed his own scar "what happed was Wild Magic" he began and the kids noticed his mood grow slightly depressed but he sighed and continued "as I understand it, your people don't understand or even know of magic so I guess we should start with the basics. But fortunately, I was already planing on discussing this" he said while reaching over for one of the books he set on the nearby table. He then leafed through the book a little before handing it to Armin, who eagerly took it.

Armin raises an eyebrow as he read over the contents of the book. It appeared to be handwritten and judging by how rough the letters were and the copious amounts of spelling and grammatical errors, combined with several notes written in english, off to the side, it was obvious Roy had written and translated it. There were also several others words though, that Armin didn't recognize but they didn't look like english and there were also a few sketches as well.

Roy took a big sip from his cup of water before continuing "with few exceptions, the only way for most races to cast magic is to use the Ancient Language, which I believe we explained a little before" he began and Armin looked up from the book with a raised eyebrow "is that actually the name of the language or is there more to it?" he asked and Roy grimaced a little "no, the Ancient Language does have a name, but no one knows what it is. In fact much of the language is lost to us, but in honesty, I believe we are better for not knowing it's true name" Roy explained and the kids looked at him with curiosity "why's that" Eren asked through a moth full of scrambled eggs.

Roy shook his head with a sigh "as we said before, every word in the Ancient Language embodies the very existence of a thing. So just what do you believe would happen if you knew the true name of that language, which it's self is IN said language?" he said and the kids paused for a second as they let that sink in "exactly, that is far too much power for one person to wield" Roy said before getting back on track "anyway, as I said, there are a few exceptions. The biggest and most powerful being Dragons" he said and the kids glanced over at Thalia and Scarlett "Dragons are highly attuned to nature and magic, it's part of there very being. Wherever they are, nature grows in abundance and their magic is far more powerful then anything even the Elves are capable of. However, they also can't fully control their magic and usually can't even cast it without the proper inspiration and even then no one can fully predict what might happen" Roy continued.

Eren suddenly looked back at Roy "wait, so you're saying this was just random?" he asked while gripping at his hair. Roy scratched his chin a little in thought "for the most part yes, though Scarlett's little display of Wild Magic still would have helped save your life in some way, seeing as that was what she was feeling at the time. Still though, you have no idea how lucky you are that Scarlett felt the proper inspiration at the time, otherwise I might not have been able to heal you to the same extent" Roy explained.

The kids all paused for a moment and had to put a little more effort into swallowing the food, currently in their mouths, as they processed that.

Roy cleared his throat to snap them all out of it "anyway, I will be teaching you about magic in greater detail later. For now, do you have any other questions?" he asked and the kids thought it over again before Armin swallowed his food and looked to the Rider "you said last night that you don't know where the Walls are in relation to your home, but why is that?" He asked.

Roy sighed as he looked over at his Dragon, who gave an annoyed huff "alright but be quick about it" she said and the Rider rose from his chair and stepped out into the open while the kids watched with anticipation. Roy then held his hand up and his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. The Riders hand began to glow white and a similarly colored pinprick of light, formed in front of him, but no words wore spoken. The next thing they knew, the small point of light expanded like a balloon and swirled with colors like a soup bobble until it burst open into a swirling vortex of color.

The kids stared in awe at the vortex but had to brace themselves a little as they felt the wind being sucked into it. But then the vortex suddenly closed and Roy bent over to lean on his knees and Thalia shook her head a little at the energy drain. Roy then looked to the kids "that…is how we got here" he said before standing back up strait and walking back over to the table and sitting back down.

Roy shook the dizziness from his head while the kids just watched him expectantly and Roy sighed "it's a good thing you asked about wild magic first, because that's where that…tear, in reality comes from" he began and Eren arched an eyebrow "but, I thought only Dragons could use it and not at will?" he asked and Roy sighed as, yet again, more painful memories came back to haunt him "when Vroengard fell…" he began and the kids grimaced a little as they realized where this was going "…when it was discovered that we were betrayed by our own, the Dragons of the Order were disgusted that their own kind had been involved, and so, many of them all cast the same spell with Wild Magic, simultaneously" he explained and the kids eyes widened a little "wait, but if Wild Magic is so rare already…" Armin trailed off in though and Roy nodded "what happed was an event so rare that it hadn't happened in the memory of any currently living Human. And as such, the spell was incredibly powerful" he confirmed.

Eren scratch his chin a little in thought "but, what did the spell actually do?" he asked and Thalia gave a low growl from where she sat "it un-named the betrayers" she answered and the kids were once again confused "un-named them?" Mikasa asked and Roy nodded "aye, the spell erased the names of all the Dragons that betrayed us form all living and written memory" he clarified.

Armin hummed as he thought it over "I assume there's more to it then simply forgetting their names" he said and Thalia snorted in acknowledgement "names have power and as far as we know they cannot take new names, meaning they remain nameless for eternity, and many of them went insane as a result" she explained and the kids had to take a moment to ponder the gravity of that.

Roy then leaned forward on the table a little "now, this is where our ability to open those tears, comes in" he said, getting their attention again "some of the Dragons knew we had some eggs with us and were planning to escape with them, so in addition to casting the un-naming spell, they also cast a spell on us, giving us the power to open these tears" he explained but then gave an exasperated sigh "unfortunately, we haven't the faintest clue as to how it functions aside from that it allows instantaneous transport from one location to another and nether can we control it's destination" he admitted with frustration.

The kids looked at Roy with surprise "wait, so you didn't even know where you'd end up!?" Eren asked and Roy nodded "aye, and we used it seven times before it finally spat us out over Shiganshina, and each time it sent us to random places all over Alagaësia and there seams to be no limit on distance, be it merely a few inches or on the other side of the continent" he explained with more then a little irritation at the randomness of the ability.

Armin hummed in thought "so, you have absolutely no control over it?" he asked "the only differing factor we've notice in that the more dire the situation, the further it takes us and we were certainly in very dire straits the last time we used it" Thalia explained and Roy nodded in agreement "indeed and as much as it's randomness may irritate me, we would have perished several times over by now if not for it" Roy admitted.

The kids took a moment to digest the new information. It was certainly and interesting story "ok, but I'm curious, why stay in a tree" Mikasa asked as she decided to move on with the questions and Armin nodded in agreement "yes, I realize it's pretty secure up here, but why not set up in one of the abandoned Outlier Districts of Wall Maria. The gates are probably still functioning so you could easily close them and then clear out whatever Titans might be wandering around inside and then have the entire district to yourself" Armin inquired.

Roy and Thalia both blinked with surprise at Armin's analytical abilities "actually, we did consider the Outlier Districts but all of them are to far removed from the Scout Regiments path to Shiganshina, meaning we would not have been able to provide support" the Rider explained, much to the kids surprise "wait, you've been helping the scouts!?" Eren asked with surprise and Roy nodded "indeed. While we may not be able to openly help them, we have been covertly providing support by using magic to help the crops grow in spite of the famine and healing the injured, in addition to simply exterminating any Titans bound for them while we were searching for Scarlett's egg" Roy explained and saw a small smile cross Eren's face.

Armin frowned though as he thought it all over "but, then why not just seal the breach? I mean you clearly have the ability to do so" he asked and Eren's eyes widened as he looked to Armin, then Roy, who was now looking away with an expression of shame "because…we have already attempted to seal to breach" Roy answered.

The kids were beginning to feel nervous again "and…it worked…right?" Eren asked hesitantly, to which Roy sighed before looking to the kids with sad eyes "almost, but…there were unforeseen consequences" he began as he recounted the story.

[Ten Days Ago. Shiganshina]

Roy was kneeling under the busted gate of Shiganshina as he dug a small hole and once it was deep enough, he reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a seed and looked at it for a moment before giving a sigh "I really wish I didn't have to sing to make things grow" he muttered before dropping the seed into the hole and filling it in while his Dragon stood behind him "unfortunately I must agree with you on that. For all your skills…you are completely tone deaf" the Dragon agreed with a teasing tone to her voice.

Roy simply rolled his eyes as he finished packing in the hole and stood back up "alright, let's seal this thing" he said as they both backed away and Roy grimaced as he began to sing in the Ancient Language.

Roy did his best not to make his Dragon's ears bleed with his "singing" but he could feel that she was doing her best not wince at the horrible notes. Regardless though, the Raider and Dragon both watched with anticipation as a bit of the dirt began to mound up like an ant-hill. Then a small sapling broke through and grew at an astonishing rate.

Roy managed to get the tree to about half Thalia's size, before he had to stop and kneel over as he panted in exhaustion and Thalia too, looked a little tied from lending him her strength "well…it's progress" Roy got out between pants and his Dragon huffed with annoyance "why can we not simply place a ward over the gate, as is?" she complained and Roy gave a frustrated sigh of his own "because I don't know how to make a ward like that. I need a solid surface or to at least minimize the gap before I can place a ward" he explained.

Thalia gave an exasperated huff as she looked to the new tree "well, we at least need to make it big enough so those creatures cannot step on it, before we may rest" she advised and Roy sighed "I know…well let's get to-aaaggghhh!" Roy suddenly dubbed over in pain and Thalia yelped and was immediately on top of him "what's wrong!?" she asked with concern but then she felt dread and disbelief coming off him "impossible" he grunted before looking up at his Dragon and she too was filled with dread upon seeing his eye bloodshot and his scar glowing a sickly red.

"Brisingr!" An impossibly deep voice, called out and the Dragon barely managed to garb her Rider and leap out of the way as an enormous fireball, as big as the Dragon, impacted and incinerated the area where they once stood and the tree along with it.

Thalia immediately took wing and tried to fly away while her Rider yelled in pain "hold on Roy! I'll-" "RRRAAAHHH!" Thalia's thoughts were cut off by a lance of black lightning, hitting her in the side and she roared as she fell back to the ground.

The Dragon growled as she stood back up, still with her incapacitated Rider in her paw "how…how is there one here!?" she yelled at no one in particular as she again, had to dodge another fireball.

Thalia weaved through the buildings in an attempt to avoids more attacks but had to stop as her mind was viciously attacked and she found herself unable to move as she battled to retain control of her body "rraaahhh!" Roy screamed as he pushed passed his pain and lashed out at the mind attacking his Dragon, forcing it to retreat and allowing the Dragon to move again.

Thalia shook her head clear before dashing off again "Roy! Are you ok!?" she asked with worry and the Rider yelled with pain some more before answering "something's wrong! It's worse then before!" he replied and the Dragon whimpered as she sped towards the gate.

Another fireball nearly hit them and Thalia roared with rage "curses, where is it!?" Thalia fumed as she sped through the city until the gate came into view.

Escape was in sight. All she had to do was get through it and the wall would give her enough cover to get airborne. But that's when the Dragon heard the rapid thumps of what could have only been a Titan's footsteps, but these were too rapid for what she had grown accustomed to.

Thalia looked back over her shoulder and only saw a shimmer before pain exploded in her right side and she was violently thrown to the side with several lacerations, cutting deep into her scales.

(Music)

The Dragon moaned as she weakly raised her head and looked for what had attacked her and her eyes shot wide "stars and skies!" she exclaimed and Roy weakly looked up as well and his heart dropped into his stomach as he saw a massive, shimmering silhouette, looming over them, and he watched with horror as the illusion faded to reveal the form of a fifteen meter Titan.

This was unlike any Titan they had seen before though. It was almost skeletal, with black bones protruding from it's spine and joints like spikes and it was incredibly pale. It's hair was long and dark and it's eyes…it's eyes were blood red and sunken within black sockets and they showed a dangerous level of intelligence.

Then to their growing horror, the Titan started chuckling, and it slowly built until it threw it's head back in full blown evil laughter.

The Titan then fixed them with it's gaze as it smiled at them "I suppose we should thank you for setting us free" the Titan spoke and the Rider went ashen white as he and his Dragon simply lay there in shock. Not only had the Titan spoken but it had done so in the Ancient Language.

Eventually, Roy managed to formulate words as he fought through the pain and shock "h-how…how is this possible?…" he asked and the Titan seamed amused by what it was seeing "so you have forgotten us already, even though you kept our "gift" which you seam to be enjoying so much right now." it spoke and it grew a thoughtful expression "perhaps this will jog your memory?" It said and the Rider winced as several minds touched his and a cacophony of voices filled his head as his mental defenses cracked under the assault and the agony he was experiencing. And then his eyes suddenly shot wide as dozens of memories of Roy killing the Shade that chased him and Thalia here, flashed though his mind.

Roy then gasped as the attack on his mind ended and he finally understood "no…it can't be!" He yelled before gripping his eye in pain again as the Titan laughed "yes! Now you understand! We are the spirits you released when you killed that pathetic Shade!" the Titan Shade exclaimed with glee before looking back to them "and we are so thankful to you. Because now we have a new host. One that can withstand tremendous power and magic that would tear any Human or Elf apart, and best of all…mindless. We can completely control this form!" the Titan Shade exclaimed with glee as the spirits within cast several spell, reshaping the Titan's hand into a claw with deadly, serrated bone spikes on each finger "and to show our gratitude, we offer you a quick death, but do not worry, we will take good care of the eggs you carry" it said with an evil chuckle before bringing the claw down on them.

Thalia immediately dodged, having taken the opportunity to recover some of her strength, but she still roared in pain as the claw grazed her side but she powered through as she spewed fire at the Titan Shade and raked her claws through it's eyes, distracting it, even if it's wards kept it from taking much damage. The Dragon then quickly ran for the gate as Roy put all his effort into keeping their minds free.

The Titan Shade eventually shook off it's daze as it's eyes quickly regenerated and turned on them, sending spell after spell at them but Thalia managed to dodge the physical ones while her wards struggled to block the rest and she miraculously managed to make it through the gate and took to the air.

The Titan Shade ran through the gate and looked up to them as they flew off as fast as possible. The monster only grinned though "run all you wish! We will be waiting for you here!" It called out after them as they fled, before turning and walking back into the city.

[Present]

The kids all stared at Roy with wide eyes and mouths agape with horror and Armin was even shaking ever so slightly as Roy looked at the floor with a grim expression.

Eren was the first to get his voice back "so…let me get this strait…there's a Titan out there that can talk and do all the crazy stuff you can?" he said, trying to rap his shocked mind around the situation. Roy only grimaced though "no…that "thing" can do far more then I'll ever be able to do" he admitted with shame and anger.

Armin audibly gulped as he processed the information "so, Shades are people that have taken spirits into themselves and ether been possessed by them or dominated them, giving them incredible power, and they can only be killed by stabbing them through the heart" he thought aloud as he thought back to what Roy had told them during his story "and when you killed the Shade that chased you here, it released the spirits, but why did they latch onto the Titan?" He asked.

Thalia snorted a little from where she sat "usually when a Shade is slain, the one responsible will have strong mental defenses, as they wouldn't be able to slay it otherwise. This would prevent the spirits from possessing them, leaving only whatever unprotected civilians or animals that may be nearby for them to possess and obviously, a person would receive treatment for such a possession before they could become a Shade, leaving animals as the only host that would go unnoticed, which means that even if they were to possess them, only one or two at most could inhabit the new host and they would be harmless" the Dragon explained but then let out a growl "unfortunately, we were unaware of the Titan's existence at the time and only recovered enough to explore, days after arriving" she explained.

The kids nodded numbly in understanding but one dreadful bit of information had Armin very concerned "but, you said Shades can only be killed by stabbing them through the heart and Titans can only be killed by cutting the nape of the neck, so…" he said with dread and Roy sighed "yes, we took notice of that unique feature of the Titans, so…I don't know if we even can killed that Titan Shade" Roy admitted with dread.

Roy was glad that they had already eaten most of the food by then, because it was clear that everyone had lost their appetite with that dreary news. Eren still had a bit of fire left in him though as he looked to Roy "but, you can tear Titans apart like their nothing…can't you find some way to kill that thing?" he asked and Roy sighed "Eren…I'm not even a full fledged Rider. We had only just finished training when Vroengard fell and I made the mistake of thinking I could take on a Shade during the fall" he said with frustration and reached up and gripped at his eye "and I'm not the only one who payed the price for it" he added with guilt written on his face.

The kids looked at him with concerned and curious expressions and Roy sighed before lifting up his shirt and the kids gasped slightly at the silvery scar, stretching from his right collarbone to his left hip "that Shade we killed when we arrived here…gave me this during the fall" Roy started before letting his shirt fall back down "that cursed blade, cut right through my wards like they weren't even there…my heart, lounge and everything else along that line were hit. By all rights I should be dead right now but…but Vorlin saved me" he finished with a depressed look and Thalia whimpered a little.

The kids were starting to feel uncomfortable now "w-who was Vorlin?" Eren hesitantly asked and a slightly louder whine came from Thalia "my mate" she answered and the kids blinked with surprise while Scarlett whimpered herself and laid her ears back.

Roy heaved a heavy sigh "he…he was gravely wounded like me and…well I guess he felt the right inspiration and, like Scarlett did for you, he saved me. That's why my new eye is silver" he explained while fighting to keep his voice from braking "he died shortly after and his Rider A-…Ari…even though she was driven mad with grief, she still sacrificed herself to buy us time to escape" he finished while barley holding back the pain in his voice. The Rider managed to recompose himself though and traced the scar over his eye "unfortunately, Vorlin's magic couldn't fix everything. A Shade's weapon inflicts a curse upon it's victims that causes debilitating pain. Whatever Vorlin did, suppressed the curse but whenever I'm near a Shade, it comes back out again, so not only is going up against a normal Shade dangerous enough, I can't even fight them at all without becoming a liability" Roy finished with an expression of utter defeat.

The dread in the air was palatable as the kids all processed what they had learned "we'll have to fight that thing won't we?" Eren asked and Roy nodded grimly "aye, if we ever wish to seal the breach then we must find a way to kill or at the very least contain it" Roy affirmed "but…how are we suppose to do that? We're cut off from aid as things stand and if a normal Shade is really that deadly…" Armin trailed off.

Eren then clinched his fists as that fire reignited in his eyes "we train…" he stared with a determination that caught everyone off guard "we prepare and then we take down the king and get the Scouts on our side. Then we can find more Riders and then with the military at our back and with more Riders, we can find a way to take that thing down" Eren said with resolve and Scarlett gave a roar of agreement.

Everyone else just stared at Eren with surprise for a moment before a smile cracked across Roy's face "that was exactly what we were thinking" he said as he felt everyone's spirits lifting again and he stood up "if you are still willing to fight, then I will train you and we will overthrow this corrupt kingdom and end this enemy at your gates" he said and the kids and young Dragon grew determined looks "when do we start?" Eren asked with a little excitement.

Roy smirked as he stood up and walked over to the books he had set out and grabbed a wooden sword that was leaning against the table as well as Wyvern. He then tossed the wooden sword to Mikasa, who caught it with ease but also with a little surprise. They then gasped as Roy unsheathed his blade and it burst into flames "right now" he answered with a devious grin and Eren blinked as it began to dawn on them just what kind of hell this training would be what have we gotten ourselves into he thought as the Rider cackled like a mad man under his breath.

The fun was about to begin.