"Father."

Suttungr entered his father's audience chamber to find his father sitting alone.

"I'm thankful to see you made it home," The King said from where he lounged in a chair.

"We barely made it. All of Ragnar's guards are dead, except the few he left in Yggadrasil," Suttungr paused, rubbing his arm where a bruise was just beginning to heal, "And Ragnar is the only reason we made it out. You saw the beam of light and the explosion right?"

His father rested his head on his hand, his eyes lidded heavily.

Is he bored?

"Of course I did, I may be almost nine hundred years old, but I'm not blind," His father's eyes opened all the way, and he looked at Suttungr, "What was it like?"

"What, Ragnar's… erm, transformation?"

"Yes."

"Well, I happened to be under a pile of Surtr when it happened, but I felt it when he transformed," Suttungr looked meaningfully into his eyes, "I only saw a few glimpses of him, but it was… impressive. And at the end, when he roared… all of the Surtr's Jotunn disappeared."

"What?"

His father sat up, all pretenses of boredom vanishing. A knock at the door brought their eyes around. Ragnar walked in, followed by Annie and Luigi.

"How did you-" Suttungr began.

There were at least a dozen guards outside.

"Don't worry," Ragnar said, his eyes locked on their Father, "Your guards aren't dead. Now, I have some questions I want answered."

Where did this… confidence come from? I didn't think Ragnar would be this bold, to confront Father…

"Then ask them."

Ragnar walked to where their Father sat and stood in front of him. Annie and Luigi walked over to stand beside Suttungr.

"What am I?"

"You're a man," At Ragnar's snort, the King scowled, "And you are so much more. Let me ask you something, what of the second being inside me, the one you call Beast?"

Ragnar's hand went to his chest, hovering over his heart.

"It's a part of me now," He said, his voice low, "A true part. It has chosen to break the Prophecy with me, to fight for what we love."

All eyes turned to Annie, who blushed and looked away.

"So, you have chosen to break from the Prophecy," The King muttered, "That path will be long and dangerous, but you may be able to save what you love… Hmmm…"

His father suddenly stood, and stepped close to Ragnar. Annie watched from the side, noting the four inch height difference between them.

"I do not know how you convinced the beast inside you to take your side," The King said, walking over to a wall and knocking on it, "It should not have been possible. If you can do that… then I shall tell you what you must do."

His knocking produced results, and a panel popped away, revealing hidden compartment.

"It's always good to have a few secret compartments lying around… Annie, could you come here for a moment?"

Ragnar looked over at Annie, whose brow furrowed as the King's gaze shifted to her. She walked over and stood next to him.

"Could I see the ring that Ragnar gave you?"

"How did you know?" Ragnar said.

"I'm a King, and your Father. I know these things."

Annie pulled the ring from around her neck, handing it to the King, who eyed it.

"It's been quite a few years since I saw Inanna's ring," He looked at Annie, "I had it crafted for her by the finest jewelers in all of Jotunheim. It's worth quite a chunk of change, not the least because of this."

He twisted the ring, and all watched in amazement as it clicked apart into two halves. The King placed the now split pieces into a recessed area in the hidden compartment. A turned handle later, and they looked into a small safe, which contained only a few items. The King reached in and removed them all. Two roles of paper, and a small notebook.

"This," He said, "Is a map of the interior of the Walls. I drew it the last time I visited."

He handed it to Ragnar, who held it with suddenly gentle hands.

"That is going to be useful, because you must return to the Walls. Soon, very soon."

"But Father, we're fighting a war! We can't leave now!"

Annie spoke up too.

"Yes, King, that doesn't make any sense," Everyone turned to look at her, "You would send away your most powerful soldier, in the time of greatest need?"

The King sighed, returning to his chair and plopping down into it.

"You must all understand," He said, laying the notebook and other roll on his lap, "That the war is already over. We lost it. At least one facet of it…"

Suttungr strode quickly over to the King.

"What in the hell do you mean, we already lost, Father!"

Suttungr's raised voice was strange, he was usually the calm one.

The past few months have seen everyone changing… And Father and Suttungr most of all…

"Suttungr, look at the facts," His Father said, face slack. He seemed to age a dozen years with each of those words, "The Royal Army is a joke. You most of all should know that the Surtr can beat them, especially without Ragnar's men to give them a little backbone. And not to mention that your brother, Freyr, has been working against me from the beginning."

Ragnar and Suttungr tensed.

"What, you two must really think I'm a fool," The King chuckled darkly, "I knew I was poisoning him as soon as I spoke with the Snake Lord about marrying him to one of his vassal's daughters, that bastard Hninga… And damn that Laudstrom girl! I sold my sons honor to try to cement an already broken alliance…"

The King clenched the arms of his chair with white knuckled ferocity. Thin wisps of steam were floating upwards from his arms. Ragnar felt his father growing weaker, felt his strength draining from him.

He's… he's dying.

Ragnar's eyes shot open as he saw what was driving his father.

"Father," Ragnar said delicately, approaching, "How long do you have?"

The old man looked up, his blue eyes still sharp, but his face flaccid and grey.

"Not… not long at all," His voice was hoarse. The King's body slumped into the chair, "I'm so tired… eight and a half centuries I have fought. I watched the entire world be swallowed by darkness, until it was just my team and I left to fight the horde. That ravenous horde. Eight and a quarter centuries since I learned to harness the monster, to push them back," His father's eyes were molten as the memories passed through them. "Do you know what it's like? To watch everything you loved, everything you cared for swallowed whole. Again and again, in a loop that lasted centuries. To watch the woman you love, who carried your only daughter, sacrifice herself to protect the innocent all those years ago…"

They were all held in rapt silence as this man, this man who had seen so much sorrow, spilled his heart out to them. Then the final sentence struck both Ragnar and Suttungr. But Annie beat them to the question.

"Wait, I thought you only had sons, sir?"

The King looked up at the young woman, their eyes meeting for a moment before his dropped to the notebook on his lap.

"She was born many, many years ago, to my first wife, Rose," He smiled as he pulled out a small photograph, its black and white faded and cracked. None of them could see the picture, but they didn't dare move, the moment was too important, "They were both so beautiful. Rose was a powerful shifter, like her sisters. They'd all been part of my squad during the Titan Holocaust, and we'd just kind of fallen in love… Such a strange thing, falling in love while the human race died around you."

He paused for a moment, rubbing his thumb over the crumbling photograph.

"The leaders had decided that we were to make a final stand. To protect the final few ships that were trying to make it here, a land which at that time was fairly free of Titan's. But Rose and her sisters were ordered ahead for some task that I didn't know. She took my daughter, almost a grown woman by that time, since this land was safer. I never saw either of them again."

For the first time in any of their lives, they saw tears flow down the King's face. A face that would be described by most as carved from stone, which had for so many years haunted Ragnar's dreams with its stern discipline and sharp words.

He's so fragile now… I must be careful.

"Father, what must I do?"

Those eyes turned upwards.

"You must return to the Walls, the walls built using my wife and her sisters, retrieve the Jaeger boy, the Harbinger of Hope, and make peace with him. Only together can you break the Prophecy. And I know Luigi and Suttungr will lead you true…"

His head slumped down, the photograph slipping out of his grasp and falling to the floor. Ragnar jumped forward, feeling his father's energy slip away. But he felt it stabilize after a few moments.

Good, he's sleeping.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Annie move to pick up the photograph. He walked over to her, and noticed her eyes flare wide.

"What, my love?"

She just stared at the picture. He reached out a hand, and she jumped as he touched her shoulder.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, Annie."

Her eyes, those beautiful sky blue orbs, snapped to his.

"I know his daughter," Ragnar rocked back on his heels, "Her name is…"

"What happened, Jean? Why is Eren doing this?"

For the first time in a few months, a Titan was loose inside of the Walls, and the Scouting Legion was slowly mobilizing to try to stop it.

But that's going to be a hell of a thing, since Eren is also our only hope of recovering Wall Maria!

"I don't know Mikasa," Jean called, watching Mikasa, her scarf flapping in the wind, "He just slumped forward when we were approaching the rendezvous point, and then he transformed. Stupid ass barely even give me a chance to move away. Levi and the rest of the squad area already on it though."

He rubbed his head. He'd hit a fence along the side of the rode as he'd put some distance between himself and Eren. His eyes watched as Sasha, Levi and Connie used their 3DMG to get in close to the titan shifter. A pair of familiar blonde heads popped into view, as the road that Eren was running down intersected with another. Jean stood in his stirrups and waved.

"Hey Armin, Historia, over here!"

The two turned onto the road to follow Eren, slowing to allow Jean and Mikasa to catch up.

"Why is Eren heading north? That doesn't make any sense! I thought he'd want to head towards home…" He heard Armin call to him. "This has something to do with those visions he's been having, doesn't it?"

They watched as Levi landed on his neck, apparently unnoticed, his blades flashing. The titan slammed to a halt, sliding forwards on its knees. Connie and Sasha arrived, and helped to rip Eren out, before darting away.

"Alright, we need to get to the secondary rendezvous point before the sun totally rises," Jean ordered, orienting himself using the Wall, "We need to head six kilometers west. Let's go!"

A dozen flares burst into the sky from behind them, and Jean knew that they weren't from the scouting legion, because it was the signal for having sighted an enemy.

The rest of Squad Levi surged forward after their Captain, trying to catch up as they made their escape.

The King fled downwards, deep into the depths of his palace that only he knew. He felt his power draining away at an ever increasing rate, and was chagrined that it was a great enough change that Ragnar could sense his degradation.

He grows more powerful with each passing day, I should be proud.

He came to a halt in front of a great metal door, the door to his inner sanctum. Where he kept his treasures from the past, that he'd had built long before Jotunheim had become a reality.

"Code required for entrance." A disembodied voice said.

"'And may it be so, that the king has already risen,'" He recited. Bolts slammed inwards, and the doors opened inwards, creaking.

I wish I could gift my sons with this knowledge, but the technology I have hidden here won't assist them in their quest… Best to keep this place a secret. But I can at least give them another asset on their journey.

The chamber was not large, barely ten meters on a side, and the fact that it was filled with large amounts of stuff didn't help that fact.

Now where is it…? He swept several pieces of junk off of something, then turned and began to search opposite of it. It took him nearly an hour, but finally he found what he was looking for.

It was a massive chunk of crystal.

He swept his hand across its surface, clearing away some of the dust. The face below it was so familiar. It brought back a flood of memories.

"Hoenor," Rose called to him, as he rushed forward, "We have a breakthrough! Titan's have overrun the western defensive line!"

Hoenor stroked his beard, knowing that he needed to shave. The western defensive live had been the weakest… Only a hundred men, a pair of self-propelled guns and a trio of shifters. And he only had a single force in reserve…

"Radio Diomedes," He told Rose, yelling over the cacophony coming from the north, "Tell him to get over to the west and hold that line! We need another hour to get the civilians behind the barriers! Tell him I'll be joining him as soon as possible."

As he watched, the night sky lit up, as the entire defensive line came under attack, the Titan's charging in like sheep… sheep that could absorb a pounding and regenerate. The men in the defensive line fired back wildly, cannons thundered and squads of shifters roared their challenges. They'd nearly made it to the port city, after such a long journey… Why had the titan's chosen now to attack?

"Rose, I'm going, you're in charge now."

He launched himself forward out of the command post, assuming his now familiar titan form. Charging towards the west, he caught sight of one of the self-propelled guns firing, its massive gun thundering. Its shell missed its mark and slammed into a titan's chest, and he could see the crew scrambling backwards in panic as it reached outwards, and knew he wouldn't make it in time…

A shadow moved next to the outstretched titan, a massive hand slashing out, its edge hardened…

Diomedes Johnson, the Mad Titan had arrived.

As he looked down at the still youthful face locked into a smile below the crystal. He knocked twice on the impossibly hard crystal.

"Dio, I have need of you." He said quietly.

The crystal cracked, as the man inside awoke. It shattered finally, and the man stood up, his black suit barely even wrinkled. He stretched, his red hair falling to his shoulders.

"Man, a hundred years locked in that fucking crystal is a little much," He drawled, his tenor voice as cultured as ever, his grey eyes sweeping over Hoenor, "My goodness, you've gotten even uglier."

"Oh, shut it, Dio," Hoenor scowled, "This is what the centuries do to you… Now, we need to speak before I run out of time. You remember the prophecy from all those years ago? The one about the Harbingers?"

"Of course I do," He said, putting his hand in his pocket and drawing out a pocket watch, while he spoke he began to idly swing it back and forth, "Although there are what, three different versions of it? I just remember the one that starts with, 'Two shall be born, one to Death, and one to Hope'. What of it?"

"The prophecy is real… I wouldn't have awoken you if I didn't need you. Now come, we'll go speak someplace else, this room is… uncomfortable."

As they left, the king stopped, reaching down to pull a small, round object out of a box. He pocketed it, but not before Dio noticed.

"Is the situation truly so dire that you would need to use one of those? What have you been up to in the last hundred years, Hoenor?"

The King turned, eyeing his old friend's lanky frame, his hawk like face that hadn't changed at all.

"My friend, the end of sorrow is upon us. And you can assist in bring it about."

Luigi sat with his fellow Guardians, and Suttungr, inside his tiny room. He wore a loose robe, having been able to bathe properly for the first time in ages. The sun had finally set, and a pair of lamps gave them enough light to speak.

"So, what's the plan going to be Eleanor? I told you what the King said, what do you suggest?"

Eleanor was sitting rigidly beside Tyr, her eyes wide with shock. Tyr sat back, relaxed though, sipping his tea.

"The King truly believes that we can't win this war?"

"Unfortunately, yes. So we need to get out of here as quickly as we can. The Prince's survival and training is still the most important though."

Eleanor sighed, her dark hair covering her face.

"Well, the five of us can't really do a whole lot when it comes to protecting Ragnar," She finally said, "Each of us is powerful, but… we simply don't have the numbers. I have a few ideas of how to fix that, though. One, we could try to recruit from the local academy, but we would have to spend quite a bit of time training them. Two, we could speak to the Great houses who are friendly to us and see if they would… lend us a few men for our mission… Three, and the worst option, is we go with what we have. But against the thousands of soldiers within the Walls, we'd likely not fare well."

Everyone nodded.

"So, we'll need to speak with the houses Macdowell, Oswald and Styr," She turned to Nick, "You should be able to speak with the Macdowell's, I believe you grew up with the current house lord, correct?"

Nick nodded.

"Yeah, we've known each other a few years, I also know quite a few of his guards."

"Good, now, Luigi, Suttungr, you two should be able to speak with the Oswald's."

They both nodded. Griselda was the second oldest child of the house lord of the Oswald's, so they'd likely bring her along.

"And… Tyr and I will go speak with my father," She said, not looking forward to that, "I know before the assassination attempt on Ragnar, that he offered support. I'd put a minimum of what, fifty Jotunn to be able to complete our mission?"

Luigi stood, walking over to his window.

"That would be optimal," He drew the blinds back, looking out over Yggadrasil, "However, I don't know if we'll be able to get that many. And a small and light group should be able to travel faster anyways…"

"But," Tyr said, "If we get bogged down, like if the Surtr found out about this and ambushed us, then a small group wouldn't be able to fight our way out."

Luigi clicked his tongue, knowing that they were both right in the long run.

"Well," He said, turning, "It doesn't matter, we won't know what we have until we go and look. But we need to make sure at least two of us are here to watch over Ragnar and Annie."

Suttungr looked up at that point, from the small book he was always reading.

"I can help with that," He smiled, "Arnora and Griselda really enjoy spending time with Annie, and the kids love the both of them. I think until we leave, we can have them watch those two."

They all smiled. Nick and Tyr had gotten to watch Annie be pulled from her formidable shell by those children, and they were glad that she'd warmed at least a little. The combat lessons for Astrid hadn't been a bad thing either.

"So it's decided," Luigi said, "We must create a new force for Ragnar. Something more than just a group of guards, something deadlier. We must create the Death Prince's Own."

Sigmund Mosher was not a happy man. He hadn't seen his wife in a month, and he knew that his second child should be born at any time. Which was why was impatiently waiting with the other leaders of the Royal Army, as Lord Arthur and his Surtr entered the Governor's mansion in Niflheim.

Thirty cloaked Surtr rode with him, and he knew that the rest of the Surtr were sitting at the edge of the town, opposite the Royal Army. They were escorted by MacArthur, who led them through the main gates. Freyr, ever the pompous fool, was standing with his Guards at the top of the main stairs.

Eric leaned forward from his place behind him.

"Sigmund," He said, his bass voice lowered to barely a whisper, "I don't like the feel of this at all…"

Sigmund waved his hand, discretely so as to not draw any unwarranted attention.

"That's why I have you," He whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "Just watch my back like usual and everything will be fine."

Arthur approached Freyr, but they were just too far away for him to hear his brother's conversation. They shook hands, and then Arthur turned and waved to one of his guards, who raised something into the air.

He watched in shock as he saw the Surtr battle standard raised.

"Sigmund, we need-"

The world exploded around them, as the thirty Surtr who were already inside the city burst into their Jotunn forms, and began to savagely attack everyone around them.

Eric grabbed him by the collar, dragging him inside the mansion. Sigmund watched as Arthur transformed and joined the fray with a bloodthirsty yell, and as several of the nobles from Nifelheim were trampled underfoot.

I knew those people… and, they're dead. Just like that! Arthur broke our pact of good conduct, a stray though slipped through his mental defenses, Just like Ragnar and Suttungr warned Freyr he would…

Freyr was dragged inside by his own guardians, looking unflustered by the events that had just transpired.

"Freyr," Sigmund called, approaching his brother, "What is this? Why did Arthur break his safe conduct pact! How-"

"Brother," He looked up at Freyr, who had a tight smile on his face, "Shutup, and bow to your new king!"

Sigmund was taken aback by his brother's words, and felt Eric's looming presence behind him.

"What did you say, Freyr," Sigmund said, noting the mad look in his brother's eyes as he turned to stare at him, "What do you mean, bow to the new king? Father is the King-"

He was cut off as Dugan MacArthur burst through the doors.

"My lord," The old guard said, "The Surtr have broken through, they keep popping up everywhere! The Army is in disarray, at least half is fleeing towards Yggadrasil!"

Freyr turned his gaze from Sigmund to MacArthur.

"Is that true, MacArthur," He asked, "Which portions of the army are fleeing?"

"Most of the Royal guards, and Sigmund's men, your own men are advancing into the city!"

"Excellent, MacArthur," His brother purred, and Sigmund felt distinctly uncomfortable. He and Eric began to slide towards a doorway into another room, "You have given me fine service, but your allegiance will not be required in my new kingdom… Kill him."

To Sigmund's horror, Freyr's guardian and two other guards leapt forward, swords snatched out of their sheathes. Dugan, although a man who was great in years, met them with his own blades. But he was still surprised, and grunted as a blade slashed through his right leg.

Eric had a hold of Sigmund, yelling at him to get away, as another pair of guards advanced on him. But Sigmund was dumbstruck, watching MacArthur fight for his life. The guardian saw Sigmund standing there, unmoving.

"Run, Prince Sigmund, I'll hold them off!"

But his words were put to rest as a blade appeared from behind him, and his head leapt from his shoulders. Freyr looked down distastefully at the blood that now coated one of his blades, the first time any blood had ever touched them.

My brother… the one who I trusted above all others, is a traitor!

Even as he turned to run, Eric covering his retreat, his mind raced.

A traitor. A traitor. A FUCKING TRAITOR!

He knew of only one thing that could turn Freyr, considered the most dapper of the King's sons, into a traitor. Arthur must have dangled the thought of being King in front of him, and he'd taken the bait like the fool he was.

With the Army destroyed and scattered, even if we make it back to the capital, we don't have a chance against the Surtr with the meager forces there. Except…

He cut off the thought of his youngest brother, as he reached the rear of the mansion, Eric hot on his heels, and bit down on his finger.

I have to make it home before I can think about writing that wrong!

Well here it is folks, another chapter! And what a royal BITCH this one was to write. I usually end up rewriting these chapters at least once, but no, oh no. Not this one, this one I had to rewrite twice, and then throw those first to drafts completely out the window because I hated them so. I've finally sort of quasi decided on the overall plot, and you should all be exited. Anyone whose been keeping up has noticed that I've been trying to throw in more and more snippets involving the walls, and the characters you know and love!

Now, I'm gonna beg here a little, but I really, really, am curious about how you all feel about this. So if you're reading this, i'm BEGGING you, scroll down a little and click that review button, type some words in and SHAZZAM. Tell me you hate it, tell me you like it, tell me I should be devoured by the packs of stray dogs that now control some portions of Detroit, but please, pretty please with a cherry on top, tell me something! Thanks again for reading, hope you enjoy!

Moshier1