Attack on Titan: A New Path

by The Court of Talons

Ozma and Salem have been at war for millennia. The fight has taken many lives and taken many years. The champion of the Brother of Light has failed countless times to complete his task. Now, more than ever, Remnant needs a new protector. It needs a man who knows the cruelty of life. A man who doesn't falter in doing the unthinkable. A dark guardian. Remnant needs... Eren Yeager.

8. Chapter 8 (Rewrite)

"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 and Cinder had the power of the Titans running.

And now the boy was apparently planning to take it away by killing them.

Eren was at a crossroads. 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. The latter was a drill he ran hundreds of times during training, so Eren was confident that he could do it. But rather than resort straight to violence, Eren decided to see exactly what Lie knew.

"What... What are you talking about?" he asked, playing dumb for a brief moment.

"You two are monsters," the boy said, trying to keep his blade steady. "We saw it. Both of us."

Eren now knew his secret was out, and he would have to take appropriate action.

He also knew that taking care of Lie wouldn't be much of a problem. The shaky knife and a poor fighting position made the boy vulnerable to a counterattack, and Eren felt the first step of clearing the air would be to have no weapons. And so, just as he had been trained, Eren pushed his hands on Lie's stomach. The boy tried to lunge the blade further after he had been pushed, 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 so Nora could lose her grasp.

"Cinder, no!"

Everyone in the room turned to Eren, who was beginning to relax. Raising his hands, Eren kicked the knife under a cabinet. The space it flew under was too small for Lie to retrieve it, so he stayed still as Eren offered a hand and explained himself. "Lie, listen to me," he began. "If you're telling the truth, then I know what you saw sounds crazy. But Cinder and I don't want to hurt anyone, just like I didn't hurt you last night."

"Maybe," said Lie. He quickly pointed at Cinder. "But what about her? She almost burned my house down!"

"Yeah!" Nora included. "What about her?!"

Cinder remembered what Eren had told her, despite the fact that she had little memory of her second transformation. "I-It was an accident," she claimed. "Eren made sure I couldn't do it again!"

"It's true," Eren said when he saw Lie and Nora give skeptical looks at her. "Cinder did what she 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 own friends."

"..."

Lie wasn't expecting Eren to be so honest. He was expecting attempts at covering up the secret, despite what he and Nora knew. And yet, Eren was explaining himself while offering a hand.

When he finally decided to take the hand and get off the ground, Lie began to probe even further. "So you've done this before," he said. "You've turned into... Titans." It seemed that was the name for the beasts he saw.

"That's right," Eren confessed. "I've done it dozens of times, I can do it whenever I need to. But when I transformed for a second time, I had no control and couldn't remember what exactly happened."

"..."

"Lie, what Cinder did last night was my fault. I didn't think what happened to me would happen again, but this was the first and last time it'll happen. 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 was blank, so she decided to try something else.

"I'm sorry, too," she said as she finally let go of Nora. She then picked up the wooden hammer the girl had dropped and handed it back to her as a token of sincerity. "I won't hurt you two or anyone ever again. I'll make sure what happened last night never happens again."

"..."

Nora looked at the hammer and looked at Cinder's face before she made a decision. The last time she saw a face like that was last night, when Ren offered the hammer to her and offered to keep her safe.

Cinder had the same look Ren had that night. So Nora took the hammer with a smile and nodded.

"It won't, Cinder," Eren promised. "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 decided to hold off anymore transformations unless it was absolutely necessary.

Eren turned back to Ren and Nora. "Do you believe us now?" he asked. "We're not going to hurt you guys."

Ren and Nora weren't entirely convinced, even though there was peace in the kitchen. They didn't believe they were in danger, but they had more questions other than their home's safety. "So... how were you able to do what you did last night?" Ren asked.

"And what does 'Titan' mean?" Nora asked.

Cinder moved towards Eren for a sense of security, since he defended her moments ago. "We'll explain everything, but we can't do it-"

The front door opened to reveal Carla, who had just come back from talking to the farmhands. "Eren, Cinder, I'll be leaving for town in a little while," she said as she closed the door. "Dina's getting some food ready if you still want to-" She stopped talking when she noticed how close together the children were to each other. Each of them seemed to be invading their 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!" Cinder falsely confirmed. "I just wanted to show her Vasilisa, is that alright?"

"Of course," Carla said.

"We'll come with you," Eren said as Lie followed behind him. "We'll come with you, Mom. Just let us know when you're ready."

"Okay."

As the children left, Carla 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.

And it would be nice for Eren and Cinder to have some new friends.

So Carla decided to clean up after Eren and Cinder. As she did so, she remembered what Dina was telling everyone at breakfast. She had heard the same thing from the farmhands who visited Kuroyuri and came back with news; there were indeed two monsters that resembled Titans last night.

Carla remembered what a Titan looked like from her dreams. She believed that she would never forget such a thing as long as she lived. And from what everyone was describing, it sounded like there were indeed Titans on Remnant. Carla shared her best friend's sentiments and curiosity as to how such a thing was possible. And whether or not Eren was aware of it.

Little did she know that Eren was not only aware, but he was dealing with a big problem at the moment.

Once everyone reached his room, Eren closed the door behind him. Before he could say anything else, Nora suddenly yelled again.

"Oh, she's cute!"

Eren and Ren turned around to see Cinder holding her doll in front of Nora. Before she went into Eren's room, she decided to keep her promise to Nora in an attempt 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!" Lie called out, waiting to get back at the subject that brought them to the farmhouse in the first place. Nora quickly remembered what was going on and put the doll back where Cinder left it. Cinder couldn't help but giggle at the little song and dance, since she hadn't thought about playing with Vasilisa like that. It actually looked like fun.

So she hoped that Eren could clear the air with the two children.

Now everyone's attention was back on Eren, and Lie 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

Ren and Nora were caught in the cold grip of Eren's Titan. They were both unbelievably scared and wondering what was going to happen to them, and they grew even more afraid when a large Nevermore came down with its talons close to their faces.

But Eren stopped it before it could hurt anyone.

Ren and Nora were surprised to see a Grimm fighting another Grimm once again. They saw it happen just moments ago, and they still couldn't draw any logical conclusion from what they saw.

Or what happened to them next.

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 before something extraordinary happened. 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 friend, 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.

"Ren?" Nora asked as she let go of her friend. "Wh... What was all of that?"

Ren didn't have an appropriate response for Nora, between his own confusion and the relief he felt when his parents embraced him.

Once order had been restored to Kuroyuri, Li and An took their child home. When they learned that Nora had nowhere else to go, they opened their house to her and let her sleep in their son's room.

But neither of the children could get much sleep.

"Ren?" Nora quietly called out in the dark room. She was currently resting on a comfortable mat and blanket that An provided her. "Are you awake?"

Ren perked his head off his bed and looked down at Nora. "Yes," he said quietly. "I can't sleep."

"Me neither. I keep thinking about all of those things I saw. Grimm, giants... giant Grimm? What was all of that?"

Ren sighed as he moved closer to the edge of his bed. "I don't know. But I know how we can get answers."

"How?"

"I know those people we saw. The boy and the girl. You saw them too, right?"

"Does the girl have black hair and orange eyes?"

"That's her. The boy is her friend."

"You know them?"

"Their names are Eren and Cinder. They live on that farm up the hill. Up until tonight, I thought they were kids like you and me. But something's going on."

"What do you think it could be?"

"I don't know. But we have to find out."

"Us?" Nora began to shiver at the idea, which caused her to grab her blanket. "What about your parents?"

"We were the only ones who saw all of that. Mother and Father might believe them to be bad dreams." Ren saw how scared Nora was, so he stepped off his bed and moved closer to her. "Don't worry. Remember what I said under the house?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll keep each other safe."

---

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."

Lie 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 remembered something. "Cinder, do you remember when I said I needed to unlock my Titan's powers? Darkness said that Salem gave it more abilities, I think I found one of them when I saved Lie and Nora."

"What did you do?"

"After catching one of those birds-"

"A Nevermore?"

"Right, a Nevermore. Well, there was something else I did with it before killing it. I think... I saw its life story."

"Life story? 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."

Cinder took the experience Eren had and made a theory of her own. "Well, it looks like whatever you did goes both ways." Cinder gestures towards Lie and Nora. "If you looked into a Grimm's memories, and if what they said is true, you might have let other people in your head."

"I think you're right. I mean, that's what happened." 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!" she said.

Lie stepped forward. "We said we saw what you did, but you didn't do a good job explaining what it all was."

"Yeah!" Nora joined her friend. "Why are you talking about the dark like that? And what's it got to do with salami?"

"..."

Ren's eyes briefly widened when he heard what Nora said. "Um... Nora, I think Eren said 'Salem,'" he corrected.

"Oh," Nora said as she realized her mistake. "Oops."

When the confusion was clear, Eren saw that he had little choice but to explain himself. They knew too much to forget about it all, and they wouldn't be leaving without an answer.

His only hope was that Lie and Nora would be as understanding about himself as Cinder was.

And so, Eren told his acquaintances everything. He started with a brief description of his life on Paradis and ended with escaping Salem. Cinder took over and explained how she met Eren, as well as how she learned everything herself. The last thing she explained was how she chose to accept part of Eren's powers, all in the name of defending their home.

This story wasn't one Lie 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. They indeed saw a purple man claiming to be a god and a pale woman who possessed some kind of Magic. There was no doubt about it; Eren and Cinder were telling the truth.

Even so, the story left Lie and Nora with more questions.

"So you're saying the Grimm have some kind of... leader?" Lie asked as he felt chills travel across his body. "That someone is making and sending monsters 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," she confessed. "I want to help him."

"..."

A soft sobbing showed that Lie wasn't the only one affected by the truth. Everyone turned to see Nora crying and holding her legs in a fetal position. Lie saw the look before and knew what to do to help her.

"Ren... I'm scared," Nora confessed as she hugged her friend.

"Me too," the boy confessed, 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. Aren't you scared?"

"We're scared of what might happen if they found out," Eren said. "People didn't understand before. They won't understand me or Cinder."

"Yeah," said Cinder. "So please don't tell anyone. We're not Grimm, we want the same thing as you." Cinder turned to the crying girl and moved towards her. "Both of you."

"Which is?" Lie asked.

"...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." Eren looked at Lie dead in the eyes. "My mom's here too. I have to protect her."

As Nora's sobs disappeared, Ren made up his mind. The kindness Cinder showed and the honesty Eren shared helped him see what he should do from here on out.

"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."

"I think it's worse than that," Eren pointed out. "They'll try to kill us. And we might be the only ones who can help this place. What are you gonna do the next time the Grimm come?"

"..."

Lie couldn't think of a good counterpoint. Eren and Cinder may have looked like Grimm, but everything they did managed to save Kuroyuri. If they left now and the Grimm came back soon, there was no chance for the town. But Lie 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. "That's... possible," he said.

"Yeah," Cinder agreed. "And that's a good idea. How bad is the town damaged?"

"Pretty bad," Lie replied. "But everyone's more nervous about what to do if more Grimm come again." He looked over to Eren. "If you want to stay, then perhaps doing something to help could help everyone calm down. If you need to use your Titans again, they won't be as afraid as they were last night."

With each word the boy said, Eren found himself agreeing more and more with him. What Lie was proposing sounded a lot like Eren having to prove himself by plugging Wall Rose with a rock. And using his Hardening to seal Wall Maria.

It had to be done once. And now it had to be done again.

"I just have to be careful," he said. "I don't want anyone to know who we are."

"Of course."

"What do you think we could do?" Cinder asked. "How can we help?"

"Um... I'm afraid I don't know," Lie confessed.

"That's okay," said Eren. "My mom's taking us to town to hand out food. We'll see what we could do with our Titans when we're there."

"Hey, yeah!" said Cinder. "We'll get the lay of the land in no time! Thanks for the idea, Lie."

"You're welcome." Lie and Nora turned to leave, but the boy had one more thing to say. "Oh, actually... you two can call me 'Ren.'"

"Ren?" Eren asked for confirmation.

"Sure." Ren looked over to Nora with a smile. "That's what my friends call me." After Nora smiled back, Ren looked to Eren with a smile. "And I think I can call someone who saved my life a friend."

Eren liked the sound of that. "Yeah... friends."

Once they closed the door, Eren and Cinder sat on Eren's bed. "What are you thinking?" Cinder asked her friend.

"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 had to defend myself in court when people thought I was a Titan," Eren explained. "I was almost killed, but plugging the wall with a boulder helped my case."

"So Ren's right," Cinder concluded. "We can do something like that for Kuroyuri."

"We'll see what we can do when we help hand out food. And that town meeting should give us some ideas too."

"Are you sure you want to wait for that? 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?"

Cinder had to admit that people would mostly likely be afraid. However, she was hoping to clear the air as soon as possible, given what she accidentally did for the town.

"Are you sure you want to wait that long?" she asked. "That meeting could go on for hours."

"I just think we should hear what everyone has to say," Eren replied. "We'll listen and try to think of doing something they want. You know, learn as much as possible."

Cinder thought it over, and she decided that it sounded like a good idea. And Eren knew that gathering information and reporting it back was a typical mission for a soldier, so this town meeting shouldn't be different.

"Eren! Cinder!"

The children looked towards the door when they heard Carla calling. When they opened the door and looked down the stairs, they saw Carla looking up at them.

"I'm heading into town now!" she called up. "Are you two ready to go?"

"Yeah, we're ready!" Eren replied before he looked over to Cinder. "We'll tell Mom and Ms. Fritz we wanna go to the meeting."

"Okay," Cinder agreed. "I just hope food will be enough to help for now."

---

As promised, Carla led Dina and the children down to Kuroyuri with lots of food. Her farmhands carried more baskets as well, so there was plenty of food for everyone. And they all helped pass it out to anyone who needed anything.

Eren thought back to the day that he was taken to Wall Rose as he helped pass out food. He remembered the soldiers having to hand it all out on a day where hope was lost and refugees were immediately expected to fend for themselves. Fortunately, the small village was still standing. And there didn't seem to be a lot of people who were left all alone.

However, Eren couldn't help but notice three particular small children sitting by themselves and refusing to accept food.

Eren could have sworn he was looking into a mirror of himself, Mikasa, and Armin when he looked at the younger children. Despite the fact they didn't look similar in appearance, Eren could relate to them and how they felt.

Hardly anyone helped him that day, but Eren knew he could help these children.

"Hey," he said to get their attention after he walked over to them. When the girl and the two boys looked up at him, Eren held the basket of bread to them instead of handing each of them one piece. "Take as much as you want."

The children were all astonished by this kindness, and the immediately took the offer. The boys ran off with a lot of bread, and the girl eventually joined them after she said one thing.

"Thank you."

The seconds soon became minutes, and the minutes soon became hours. And yet, the town of Kuroyuri 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 the town meeting ended.

When everyone heard a bell begin to ring, everyone walked up the steps to a larger building where the bell tower was located. Carla and Dina took Eren and Cinder inside, which was how the children first became acquainted with the building. 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.

And speaking of people, 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. Carla and Dina noticed this too, but neither of them said anything. Instead, Carla found four seats and took one for herself. Just as Dina and the children joined her, a man in a gray robe walked up to the podium in front of the crowd and spoke as loud as he could.

"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. As they did, Eren looked over to his mother and gently nudged her. "Is that true?" he asked.

"Not all of Mistral," Carla replied. "The upper half of the capital is where you'll find most of Mistral's higher class and people who are well off. Unfortunately, the lower half of Mistral is the only spot affordable to everyone. But it's just as unsafe as living with Grimm."

"Who cares about what state Mistral's society is in?!" a woman asked. "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," he said. "We have reached out to Argus and Mistral in the past to no avail, and and we haven't 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 that doesn't mean we're like everyone else!"

"We can't even buy food in some places!" a Faunus with dog ears said. Some Faunus stood up and agreed with the woman.

"It's not just the Faunus!" said a human in a red shirt. "Prices for just about anything are skyrocketing in the rest of the Kingdom! I can't even buy one of those 'studio apartments,' or whatever they're called in the city if I wanted to! It's like they're just leaving us to rot!"

More and more voices, human and Faunus alike, all shared the man's sentiments.

"That is also one of the factors I've thought about," said the Mayor. "I don't wish for anyone to leave as well, and I too have my disagreements with how things are run in the city. But the fact of the matter is, we don't have the proper defenses to ensure the safety of this town."

The Mayor and the Faunus were continuing to exchange in ideas and conversation. While they were doing this, Cinder had a question of her own; one that she asked Dina when she nudged her arm.

"Is that true?" she asked. "About the Faunus? And everyone else here?"

Dina sighed as she nodded. "I'm afraid so, dear," she said. "The situation with the Faunus is the same everywhere, but Mistral asks villages like ours too much of us whenever we come. Prices are unfair when they shouldn't be, and that's just part of it." Dina sighed. "It's like... the capital puts up this barrier between us. Like this giant..."

"Wall?"

Cinder and Dina turned to Eren when he asked this. "They put up a wall between us?" he asked again.

"Not a literal one, but yes," Dina replied. "That's a good way to put it."

"..."

Eren and Cinder shared a glance at each other while they thought about the idea. But their thoughts were cast aside when the Mayor made a good point.

"Once again, I have to ask everyone to calm down and lend me your ear," he calmly said. "Before any of us think about leaving or trying to get things we can't afford, it may be best to try and see what exactly we're up against out here."

"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."

"You mean the giants?" a citizen asked. "Li, there were two of them out there."

"I know," Li replied. "But I'm afraid I was speaking of another beast. The Huntsmen call it a 'Nuckelavee,' a horse and an Imp fused together. It killed more people than I could count. My party and I were useless against it. If we wish to continue our way of life, we need a Huntsman. A permanent Huntsman. Perhaps if we speak to the Council, they-"

"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" a woman called out. "Why don't we hire a Huntsman to live in Kuroyuri? You know, full time?"

"Yeah!" a Faunus replied. "Li's right about a Huntsman! The occasional Huntsmen only show their faces around 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 possible solution, yes," he said. "It's no mystery that Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral spend most of their time in Argus or the capital city. If we wish to seek out a permanent Huntsman or Huntress, first off, in order to pay this warrior, I will have no choice but to increase the town's taxes."

"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 that everyone made up their minds.

"Very well," he said. "Today, I'll be sending my swiftest messenger to Mistral about hiring a permanent Huntsman or Huntress. As for the matter of taxes, I'll schedule another meeting when we learn their expected pay."

Many people began to feel better, and already a little safer, when they heard that a Huntsman or Huntress would be coming.

Unfortunately, those people didn't include Eren or Cinder.

Both of the children were unsettled when they heard the idea. The last time they met a Huntsman, things didn't go too well. Cinder once saw the man as a potential hope of escaping the Glass Unicorn, but the idea was shattered when the Huntsman threatened to arrest her. Eren remembered this as well, and remembered how the man played off Cinder's torment and refused to lift a finger to help her.

Cinder couldn't help but lament as she relived the memories, and she couldn't help but think what would happen if she met another Huntsman. If he was from Atlas, would he somehow recognize her from what happened? And if he would really kill all the Grimm to protect Kuroyuri, that meant she and Eren would be targets.

Cinder hated all of this uncertainty, even while Eren tried to comfort her. And it got worse when the Mayor decided that he 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 as everyone began to look at each other. Eren and Cinder looked around too, noticing the fear written on everyone's faces. Cinder dreaded the uncertainty once again, as did Eren. However, Cinder wore her emotions on her face, which caused everyone close to her much distress. Carla and Dina simply assumed Cinder had seen the Titans and got scared, but Eren knew it was worse than that.

And things were going to be even worse.

The silence was eventually broken by Li Ren once again. "I saw the beasts," he confessed. "They had the appearance of Grimm, as well as their destructive capabilities. However, I do not believe them to be entirely like the monsters the Grimm are."

"How so?" the Mayor asked.

"One of them stopped a Nevermore from destroying my house. It could have been crushed had the giant not intervened. And according to what my son saw and experienced, it was the same beast that saved his life." 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."

"You saw this happen, Li?" the Mayor asked. He and others in the crowd were having a hard time believing such a thing.

"I saw the beast come to the wall and leave. My son and his friend were the first witnesses to this oddity. But they were not the only ones."

"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!"

Li spoke up again. "That is also true. However, members of my party said it also burned other Grimm like the Nuckelavee before it turned to our town."

More voices called out after Li spoke this truth.

"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?!"

After he spent some time listening, Eren felt something wet touch his hand. When he looked down, he saw what looked like tears hit the back of his hand. Cinder was the one who was crying, since each word sent a knife through her heart. Eren wiped her eye and told her it was going to be fine, which was before Carla and Dina stood up while extending their hands. "Mr. Mayor, we have something I'd like to say," said Dina.

"Dina and I think we know what we're up against," said Carla. "We'd like to share that with everyone."

"Very well," the Mayor said as he beckoned for the women to come up to the podium. "You have the floor."

After Carla whispered for Eren and Cinder to stay where they were, she joined Dina at the podium where they started to reveal what it was that everyone had witnessed last night.

"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 Carla in disbelief, as did the rest of the room. "Before I returned home, some of my colleagues in Argus informed me that the city of Atlas had been attack by Grimm. And not just any Grimm... but the same giants you all saw last night."

Gasps and whispers filled the room before Dina spoke. "When Carla told me about this, I tried to find anything I could about the attack on Atlas." Dina lifted her Scroll in the air. "Unlike the ones that sought to kill Grimm, the one in Atlas was determined to destroy anything and everything in its path. Right now, the officials of Atlas have named the Grimm... a 'Titan.'"

Eren and Cinder looked at each other as more whispers filled the room. Eren hadn't entirely forgotten about what he did in Atlas, about all the people he hurt and killed. He had told Ren and Nora about his exploits in Atlas, since they saw his memories about that place.

But Eren had no idea that news travelled all the way to Kuroyuri, and he wasn't expecting Dina to share all of it now. It seemed only natural for the people of Kuroyuri to be afraid now, regardless of what Eren and Cinder did next.

This was evident when An Ren suddenly stood up and asked a question. "Dina, Carla... do you think that we're in danger because of them?" she asked.

Dina looked to Carla, who nodded at her friend to go on. "...We do," she said. "Atlas hasn't disclosed everything the... Titan did, but there are images all across the media in regards to the aftermath. Given that we're all alive... I think we're very lucky to be here."

"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 we don't have all the answers," Carla said. This was somewhat untrue, since Carla was all too familiar with the destructive capabilities of the Titans. But since she didn't want to talk about her dreams, Carla focused on what Dina had told her. "All that we can tell you is what I've heard. And I think we've said all we need to." She and Dina stepped off the podium and the Mayor took her place.

"It seems our next course of action is clear," the Mayor said. "My messenger 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 and Cinder found themselves next to Ren and Nora.

"What are you going to do?" Ren whispered.

"...I don't know," Eren replied. "I just... don't know."

---

The rest of the day was mostly spent helping the entire town. Carla's farmhands made good on their plan to help, and they were clearing debris and fixing houses for hours. When it was clear that everyone had enough food to last for a while, Carla and Dina took Eren and Cinder home.

Eren and Cinder kept to themselves for the rest of the day. Carla and Dina didn't notice when they got back to the house, but they noticed when the children decided to go straight upstairs upon arrival. Eren would usually spend some time with Carla after a long day and Cinder would usually spend time learning with Dina. But now, they apparently wanted to be left alone.

And so, Carla decided to make dinner for everyone after she made an inventory count of the farm's harvest. Once she was done with both chores, Carla went upstairs to tell the children that dinner was ready.

"Eren?" Carla called when she knocked on his door. "Are you in there?"

"..."

When she didn't hear a reply, Carla opened the door to see an empty room. Her next instinct was to go to Cinder's room and repeat the action. "Eren? Cinder? Are you in there?"

"We're here," Cinder called out.

"Okay, dinner's ready. You can-"

"We're not hungry," Eren said. "Thanks."

Carla looked at the door in confusion. She knew that Eren and Cinder had been quiet all day, but she wasn't expecting them to turn down a meal like so.

"Are you two okay?" Carla asked, unsure as to what was bothering them.

"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.

"..."

Carla 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 went back downstairs to find Dina preparing places for Eren and Cinder.

"I don't think we need those," Carla sadly reported. "Eren and Cinder aren't coming."

Dina looked up from the table. "They're not?" she asked.

"No. They just said they weren't hungry."

"Oh. Well, we should still fix them some plates. They might get hungry later."

"I'll grab some tinfoil."

After Carla gently wrapped two plates of food to keep them warm, she joined her friend at the dinner table. They were no strangers to eating like this, since they had done it dozens of times before. However, neither of them were accustomed to the silence that resulted during dinner. Eren and Cinder always found ways to start conversations during the month they had been at Kuroyuri.

Dina immediately grew tired of the silence and broke it.

"You had a great idea about bringing food to town today," she said to her friend. "I think we can count on all four of our hands how many families needed it."

"Me and Eren, actually," Carla reminded Dina. "He had the same idea. He really wanted to help everyone."

"That's nice. Well, sorry to ask this, but didn't you always say he was the opposite? In your... dreams?"

Carla wiped her mouth with a napkin before she spoke again. "Most of the time. He was always stubborn, but he had his own way of helping." Carla remembered how one of the fights Eren got in resulted in him making friends with Armin.

And how he was willing to risk his life to save her own.

"Oh, I see," Dina said after she took a bite of her food. "Well, he did a great job today. Cinder too."

"I saw," Carla said. "I guess they make quite the team."

"Mm-hm." Dina swallowed her food before she spoke again. "I just hope we were able to help as well."

"Oh, I'm sure. James and Peter are working the team non-stop with fixing the town. It's not farm work, but I'll have to pay them overtime for the work they're doing."

"It's not going to hurt the farm, is it?"

"Well, some of the other villages might get upset about the delays and shortage. But I'm sure they'll understand when we tell them what happened."

"Let's just hope what happened to us doesn't happen to them. Otherwise, they might have bigger problems on their hands."

"..."

Dina took note of the silence and looked up to see that Carla was staring at the table while poking at her food. Dina had known her best friend long enough to know that mannerisms like this told her that something was wrong.

And what she just said sounded like an obvious trigger.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean it like that, I-"

"No, it's okay," Carla insisted. "You're not wrong, either. Far from it."

"..."

Neither of the women could stop thinking about how the day went. Besides the food, their greatest contribution to Kuroyuri was informing Kuroyuri of the dangerous potential of the Titans to light without revealing their secret. Even though the solution would be a Huntsman, neither Carla or Dina knew if that was enough to be safe. But all they could do was hope that their warning had reached the right ears. Maybe then the safety of the village would increase.

"Is that what's wrong with them?"

Carla looked up from the table again when she heard a question. "I'm sorry?" she asked.

"Eren and Cinder," Dina said as she pointed to the ceiling with her fork. "You don't think we scared them by talking about the Titans, do you?"

Carla sighed when she understood the idea. "I wouldn't blame them for being scared. I wouldn't blame anyone who walked out of that meeting scared."

Dina nodded before she spoke again. "I don't want them to be scared, but we had to tell everyone. When I saw those things I found... I just had to tell you and everyone else."

"No, no. You did the right thing. We both did." Carla was about to take another bite of her food, but she had another idea. "Dina... you remember the Titans... don't you?"

Dina sighed before she replied. "Oh, yes," she said with emphasis. "My dreams were always a little vague, as you know. But I remember the Titans. Their height, their strength... their, um-"

"Their appetite?"

Dina sighed once more. "So you remember that too."

"Everyone always talked about it. That's why I hated Eren going outside." Carla also remembered what happened to her that day, but she didn't mention that. "But I don't remember anyone saying that those... things, ate anyone."

"I don't either. But I think it's safe to assume that those things and the Titans are one and the same. You saw the videos too, that's what they're calling them. Titans."

Carla put her fork down, since she had lost her appetite. Her mind, however, was hungry for more of this conversation. "I don't think they're exactly the same, Dina."

Dina put her fork down as well. One would think that she would stop talking or argue otherwise, but her education taught her to always ask questions.

"Meaning?" she asked inquisitively.

"Remember what Li said at the meeting?" Carla asked. "How Lie was apparently saved by one of them?"

"Oh, that's right." Dina indeed remembered what Li said, but her mind was too preoccupied by the memory of the Titans. "I wanted to ask him about that."

"I talked to An before we all came back. I would have told you earlier, but I wanted to get dinner ready."

Dina leaned forward. She was immediately interested and curious about the idea. "What did she say?"

"That we did the right thing by talking at the meeting. She and Li have children to look after."

"Oh, so she's still looking after Lie's friend."

"Yes, little Nora. She was with An, so I met her properly. We both like her." Carla smiled for the first time since sitting down. "She's just the sweetest thing."

Dina was happy for both An and Nora, but her mind automatically went back to the matter at hand. "So it's true? A Titan really saved her son?"

"It's true. I can't understand it either, but Lie saw it with his own eyes. He lived through the whole thing, just like Nora. And An was telling me they were gone one second, and then they were back the next."

"And he's sure it wasn't a dream or hallucination?"

Carla slowly shook her head. "An said he and Nora were wide awake when she and Li found them."

Dina leaned back in her seat and thought it over. "You're right... that's hard to understand." Dina immediately took out her Scroll and began to type on it. "I'm sorry, I'm taking some notes. I'm just trying to understand everything I can."

Carla understood Dina's sentiments, but she couldn't help but find a very small amount of humor in the idea. "New school project?" she asked sarcastically.

"You could say that," Dina replied in a similar manner. "I just don't want the same thing that happened to Atlas to happen here."

"I don't blame you. You know, I should have taken some notes too. An was telling me she overheard Lie and Nora say something that was strange."

Dina looked up from her Scroll. "Something from last night?"

"No, this was today. An said she could have sworn she heard them say something about 'telling the truth.'"

"Telling the truth? About what?"

"I don't know. When An asked about it, the children changed the subject."

"Hm. It's not like Lie to keep secrets." Dina had many teaching sessions with Ren, so she knew much of his personality.

The same could be said about Eren and Cinder. Or so she thought.

"Carla... what did Eren say Lie and Nora wanted when they came here this morning?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing important," Carla replied as she tried to regain her appetite. "Jus that they were introducing themselves."

"You didn't notice anything out of the ordinary?"

Carla wanted to say that she didn't, but just a moment of reflection was enough to tell her that something was off.

"Well... when I came back into the house, everyone was close to each other. Like, really close. It was almost as if they had no sense of personal space."

Dina knew Ren well enough to know that he respected personal space, so she could tell something was off. And when she put her mind to the task, the teacher found one idea that could explain a disregard for personal space.

"Almost like they were whispering?" Dina asked. "So nobody could hear them?"

"..."

Carla knew Dina well enough to know that being inquisitive like this wasn't abnormal. She was a teacher, and a very good one at that. Her parents said that Dina always asked the right questions, that she wanted to learn everything and anything she could. That was one of the reasons she was sent to school in the capital, after all.

The behavior had helped Carla see a bigger picture a few times in her life, with one of them finding the perfect home in Argus during her departure. While she welcomed it before, Carla wanted to put the matter to rest.

"Dina, I don't think I like what you're implying," she said. "We can't just accuse Eren or Cinder of keeping secrets like that. Eren got in trouble before, but he never hid anything from me."

"I know," Dina said. "I'm sorry, I was just-"

"Eren's my son. And you've seen how close he's been with me ever since he came here. I can't recall a time when he lied to me since we came here."

Carla wasn't planning on hurting Dina's feelings or grow angry at the moment. She was simply defending her son, since she genuinely believed he was innocent. Just like she said, Eren never kept secrets from her before. He wasn't very good at lying, since the truth was always written on his face.

That, and bruises from the fights he would always get into.

So it was easy for Carla to think that Eren wasn't keeping secrets from her. It was true that the past twenty-four hours hadn't been normal, and Eren was acting a little strange when he got home. But none of this was any indication of secrets or lies.

And like she said, Carla couldn't remember a time when he lied to her after they arrived at Kuroyuri.

"He's lied to me."

Carla put down her fork again when she heard Dina say this. "What?" she asked. "What did you say?"

Dina let out a sigh of regret as she made a confession. "Eren lied to me before," she said. "He may not have lied to you... but he lied to me."

"...When?"

"The day he came here. He said that he never saw me before. That we never met."

Carla remembered this experience, since she was excited to introduce her son to her best friend. Eren indeed said that he never saw Dina before, so Carla didn't give the idea a second thought.

Until now.

"Did you?" Carla asked. "Did you meet him before?"

"That's what he told me," Dina confessed. "He wanted to thank me for helping Cinder. And he said that we had met before. That he knew me."

"And... did you know him?"

Dina grabbed her forehead as she groaned. "I can't remember," she said. "I want to remember, I tried to remember. But I can't."

"..."

Carla immediately became just as inquisitive and concerned as Dina. She knew her friend long enough to know that Dina would never lie about something like this. Dina was one of the kindest and honest people Carla had ever met.

So why would Eren deny something as simple as meeting her?

"But if that's true... why would he lie about meeting you?" Carla asked.

Dina groaned again as she tried to remember her vague past. While she did possess some memories, she couldn't make out any specifics or details about Eren.

"I... I don't know," Dina replied honestly. "But maybe... he didn't want me to know?"

"..."

Carla still didn't like what Dina was implying. However, she was in the same mood as her friend; she wanted answers as well. So she got off her seat and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Let's just talk to him," she suggested. "There's got to be an explanation for all of this."

"Right," Dina said as she joined her friend. "You're right, there has to be. There always is."

Carla was glad to see that Dina was agreeing with her. Being on the same page was always something she strived for, which was why the two rarely had arguments.

However, Carla was disappointed that Dina unfortunately couldn't remember much about her past life.

"Dina, wait," Carla requested before she walked up the stairs. "Before we go up there, are you sure there's anything you can't tell me? About your life and how it might connect to Eren?"

Dina shook her head. "I'm really sorry, Carla," she said. "I wish I could. But most of my dreams are just vague. Whatever that doctor did for the two of us really worked for us."

Carla couldn't argue with that, since her trip to the therapist in Mistral helped her sleep without much trouble. But she wasn't ready to give up.

"What about before we went to her?" she asked. "Do you think you can remember anything about that?"

"Maybe," Dina replied. "Like what?"

"Well..." Carla took a moment to think about what Eren told her. "I know you remember the Titans."

"Yes, I do." Dina suddenly remembered something else. "I don't know why, but... whenever I think of them, I can see them clearly. Like, I was standing among them."

Carla didn't know what to think of this idea, so she moved on. "What about a war? Do you remember a war?"

Dina shook her head. "No, I don't remember a war."

"The Survey Corps?"

"No."

"What about a place called 'Marley?'"

Dina froze upon hearing the name. "...Marley?"

"That's the nation that started the war. Does that sound familiar?"

Dina thought long and hard about the name and the nation. As she did, Dina began to have chills all along her body. She felt scared, cold, but she also felt familiar with that place.

"It does," Dina finally replied. "Don't ask me how, but... I know that place. I think something bad happened there."

Carla nodded as she accepted the answer. "Eren said that they hated him. Well, him and everyone inside the walls."

Dina suddenly shook her head. "I don't think that's it, Carla. I mean... something bad happened to me there. Something horrible."

Carla believed she had an idea as to why Dina felt this way, since there was one detail Eren shared with her about Marley.

"Eren said that people like him lived there," she recalled. "That they were treated like slaves. The, um... Eldians! Right, that was their name. Do you remember that?"

"..."

Dina began to feel even colder, which ironically told her that Carla was getting even warmer. The names "Marley" and "Eldian" weren't jogging her memory, but she knew she was involved with both.

As well as something else.

"Did I... ever mention anything to you before?" she asked. "Those names, maybe? And any other name?"

Carla shook her head. "No, sorry," she said. "Are there any other names you might remember?"

"...Only two." Dina took a deep breath before she spoke again. "Zeke... and Founder."

Carla couldn't remember Dina ever mentioning someone named "Zeke," but the title of "Founder" was familiar.

"Founder..." she whispered. "Wait, do you mean 'Founding Titan?'" Eren had told her the names of the special Titans, but not what they did or how they were different from the rest of the Titans. But Carla was sure the name meant something.

"..."

Dina didn't get a sense of familiarity or coldness when she heard that name. What she got instead was something she had been hoping to find.

A memory.

"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!"

"Dina?"

The blonde woman looked up at Carla. "We need to talk to Eren," she demanded. "I just remembered something."

Carla was about to ask Dina what she remembered, but her friend quickly moved to the stairs before her. So Carla followed and found Dina knocking on the door.

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

"Eren!" Dina called out. "Eren, Cinder! Open the door, I need to talk to you!"

"..."

Dina knocked on the door again, but much louder this time.

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

"Eren! Open the door!"

Carla sensed much distress from the action, so she gently pulled her friend aside and told her to calm down. After that, Carla tried to open the door, only to find it locked. In order to remedy this situation, Carla reached to the doorframe to retrieve a key that would unlock the door.

Once she did, Carla opened the door to find an empty room with 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 the farm house, they split up to look 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.

"So the plan is to kill the Grimm as soon as they get close to the city?" Cinder asked.

"That's right," said Eren. "Back on Paradis, I had to prove to everyone that I wasn't a threat or looking to kill any people. And everyone's afraid of the Grimm coming back. We can make them less afraid."

Cinder understood the plan, but she was reluctant to carry it out. "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."

"...Are you sure? After everything I did already?"

Eren and Cinder had been over this before, but Cinder refused to forgive herself for almost hurting people. And that was causing her to have doubts about using her Titan again.

Eren understood Cinder's fear, and he 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. "I'm sure, Cinder. Trust me, I believe in you."

"..."

Cinder had heard the request before, and trusting Eren had never led her down a wrong path before. So she took Eren's hand and let him lead her closer to the walls of Kuroyuri.

Eren was happy to see that Cinder was trusting him again, even though it was evident that she was still afraid. He could hear her breathing heavily and whispering to herself. He would have tried to do more to reassure her that things would be okay, but the incoming Grimm told Eren that time was of the essence. So 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 villagers 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.

*BAM*

*BAM*

Eren immediately began killing Grimm once again, which resulted in black ash rising and small imprints being made on the ground. Many villagers ran back to the wall, but a few stayed behind to watch what the Titan was doing.

Not only was Eren doing a good job of killing the Grimm, but he was also giving Cinder her confidence back.

She was able to see that Eren was in full control of his actions, that he wasn't trying to hurt anyone besides the Grimm. It was clear that he had learned self-control, so it was possible for Cinder to do the same. And she had seen holes like the ones Eren was making before, both inside and outside the town of Kuroyuri.

She was getting an idea on how she could use her Titan to help.

And so, after being inspired by Eren's actions and remembering the faith he placed in her, Cinder decided that it was time to join her friend.

*ZAP*

*BOOM*

Both Eren and the nearby villagers saw a second flash of red light, and they saw the second Titan rise from the ground. The villagers became afraid at the sight, but Eren had no trace of fear within him.

Because it was already clear that Cinder had control.

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, but then she did the same thing.

This was the first thing she willfully did, without any impulse or any lose of control.

Cinder moved both of her arms and legs as she approached closer to Kuroyuri. It was clear that Cinder had full control over her Titan, just like it was clear to her and Eren that she wouldn't hurt anyone or anything if she didn't want to.

*WHOOSH*

*SHICK*

Cinder's 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 stepped in front of Cinder to shield her from more arrows. But once they stopped firing, due to the fact that Li noticed them killing Grimm instead of people, Eren and 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.

"I just shot one of them," said another archer. "Shouldn't it be fighting back?"

"Well, they're not," said Li. "That should be good." He turned towards the nearby Beowolves. "Let's focus on the Grimm in front of us!" The archers obeyed and let arrows fly at the creatures.

*WHOOSH*

*WHOOSH*

*WHOOSH*

Li's aim was true, as was the aim of his fellow archers. Some of the townspeople who ran away came back and brought guns, which they used to help their friends.

*BANG*

*BANG*

"How do we know they didn't send those Grimm here?!" one of the defenders asked. "They could just want to watch the town be overrun!"

"The bigger one was killing Grimm before you got here!" another person said. "It's not making sense, but that's what we saw!"

"What about the other one?! What's it doing?!"

One man with a rifle, a Faunus with cat ears, saw that Cinder's Titan doing something when his friend asked that question. "There it is!" he said. "Look!"

Li Ren and his comrades turned 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 awed and impressed by the ability, specifically that of killing Grimm. They couldn't help but relax as they watched each of the smaller beasts disappear. However, they were confused when they saw the giant move its arms left and right, to pieces of land where there weren't any Grimm.

And then they watched the giant burn the ground.

*WHOOSH*

*WHOOSH*

"What's it doing?" a warrior asked.

"I don't know," Li replied. "But be ready for anything."

The fire stopped after a few minutes, Cinder's hands met together. Nobody was hurt, but the fire revealed a linear hole that sank beneath the ground. Dirt and burnt earth was visible in the line, but it didn't seem to serve any purpose. Li decided to ignore the strange hole for now, since there were new Grimm approaching that he needed to kill.

"Li, wait!" the second archer said. "Look at that!"

Li did as he was told and looked to see the giant holding its hands out to them. They weren't going to attack, it almost looked like a request to wait a few seconds. So Li reluctantly lowered his bow and watched the Grimm come closer. The beasts suddenly leapt to get closer to the wall and the people trying to defend it, but the linear hole the giant had made was too wide for them to make the jump.

Instead of landing close to the village, the Grimm all fell into the hole and scrambled in vain to get out.

"Huh," said the first warrior. "Well that's... convenient."

"..."

The villagers were surprised to see what they were seeing, and so was Eren. The plan was simply to kill Grimm and show that Cinder had gained full control over her Titan, but this was something new. Not only that, but it was beneficial as well.

Cinder got the idea about using holes in the ground when she saw numerous holes inside and outside Kuroyuri. They were deep enough for a child to get trapped in without the proper help, which was why the townspeople tried to cover them all up. But Eren's actions showed that holes in the ground would be inevitable when it came to fighting Grimm.

Cinder simply decided to use them to her advantage, as well as Kuroyuri's.

When Eren saw what Cinder had done, and what the results were, he stepped back and let the villagers see as well. 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 to see that the Grimm were still there. However, 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, who were doing nothing but desperately trying to escape the trap. Some of the Grimm began to pile on top of each other, but the soil was too loose for any of the beasts to get a form grip and climb out.

The predicament was hopeless for the Grimm, but extremely 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," one of the warriors warrior said in amazement as he scratched his head. "Why didn't we think of that?"

"Hey, check that out," said another warrior. Everyone 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 all drawn to the sounds of fighting, and they were all still incredibly afraid. However, when they saw and heard what had happened, nobody bothered to run away. Ren and Nora were among the crowd, and they were pleased to see that their initial idea was working.

Everyone else, mainly the warriors, were pleased to see what had happened as well. But they were confused when they saw the Titan moving its arms and pointing to the town.

"What's it doing?" a Faunus asked. "Trying to create more fire?"

"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, to make sure no Grimm can hurt us."

"Wait, you think it's trying to talk to us?" a warrior asked. "Li, they're Grimm. Grimm don't talk to people like that."

Li would normally agree with the idea, since it was common knowledge that the Grimm only sought to destroy mankind. However, Li knew that this situation was different.

"Do they look like just Grimm to you, Joshua?" Li asked his ally. "No. They're... They're something else."

The one known as "Joshua" looked back up to the Titan, who was clearly showing signs of intelligence and communication that no Grimm had ever been known to do. Li was right when he asked the rhetorical question, but he was still uncertain about what to do next.

"So what do we do?" he asked. "Let it build the moat?"

"I don't think we could stop it if we wanted to," Li pointed out. "Maybe we should just let it be."

"No, that wouldn't work," said a man holding a musket. Instead of explaining himself to the other villagers or Li, the man put down his rifle and looked up at the Titan. His friends would think that the idea he had was crazy, Li had said that the Titans weren't like any other Grimm. They were intelligent and clearly capable of their own form of communication.

If that was true, then it was possible that they could understand human speech.

"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, and he also drew a circle in the air as he hoped the beasts could understand.

And when they looked at each other and the moat, they did seem to understand.

Inside her Titan, Cinder began to feel sad. She was so sure of her plan when she thought of it, she believed it would be the best line of defense Kuroyuri could have. But to think that it had the capability of trapping them as well, Cinder knew that she had to stop. And she began to think that she had just made things worse instead of better.

Eren, however, seemed to think of the opposite.

He was impressed by Cinder's intelligent move and her experiment with her fire. It reminded him of all the times he experimented with the Survey Corps, and he too believed Cinder's idea would work. He was saddened to hear that it would also trap the citizens of Kuroyuri, but he had no intention of giving up on a great idea like the moat.

When he looked over to the nearby forest, Eren grabbed a tree and began to pull on it. The roots loudly broke away from the ground, which made Eren capable of carrying the tree on his shoulder. And when he found himself back in front of the village, the Titan 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, they could travel across the moat and avoid the Grimm below them. Kuroyuri would be safe from any ground assault from the Grimm, and they were clearly safe in the presence of the Titans.

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, but the wall would take some time. The present wall Kuroyuri had already took its founders enough time to build, and the resources they had were already being used to rebuild the houses and buildings that were demolished.

But like Eren, Li didn't want to abandon Cinder's idea either.

When he looked across the field, Li noticed one of the crystal spires Eren had made last night. Everyone was amazed by it when they saw it the next morning, they even mistook it for a new kind of Dust. But when they saw that it wasn't Dust, and that it couldn't be destroyed by anything they had, everyone left the spire alone. It wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

Fortunately, Li saw this as an opportunity.

Following his friend's lead, no matter how crazy or dumb he looked, Li stepped forward and began to communicate with the Grimm. Some of his comrades tried to call him back, but the others remained silent and waited to see what happened. And so, after he nodded to the man who began communicating with the Titans, Li followed the idea by pointing to the nearby crystal-like structure.

"We need... two more of those... here and here," he said as he pointed to two sides behind the moat. "To connect.. the bridge." He moved his hands in a motion that he hoped would show a bridge connecting to two spires. "Can you... do that?"

"..."

Eren was slightly annoyed at being patronized by the people, even though he could understand why they were speaking slowly. But he accepted the request and threw his hands down.

*BAM*

*BAM*

*THOOM*

*THOOM*

When Eren quickly punched his fists into the ground, every villager in the nearby vicinity were knocked of their feet. They even stayed on the ground when they felt it shaking. But once they stood back up, they could see that two more spires like the one Li pointed to had been created. Everyone was impressed by what they had seen, and Li knew that his plan had worked. A bridge and a moat could be made in no time thanks to the Titans.

When Eren realized that he had been weakened by overworking his Hardening, he saw that now would be a good time to leave. The spires he had made were partially able to hide the village's view of him and Cinder, so he beckoned for Cinder to join him and disappear into the woods.

Li was the first to discover that the Titans were gone, but he was more captivated by what he had just witnessed. He couldn't think of a time when he felt safer than he did now. It was almost as if what happened tonight was a miracle ordained by Heaven itself.

The future was looking much brighter for him, his family, and Kuroyuri.

"Make way! Make way!"

Everyone turned to see the Mayor rushing through the crowd. For security measures, two of Li's comrades were hiding him in his office when word spread of the Titans' return. 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. And all of his questions were generously answered by Li and the villagers who had witnessed the handiwork of the Titans.

"So... these things are actually trying to help?" the Mayor asked.

"Yes, sir," said Li. "We saw it, all of us." The voices of his friends and allies all confirmed the story Li was sharing.

"Even the one who almost burned down our village?"

"That was the one who started building a moat. It was trapping Grimm like flies."

Mayor Fa took a look at the moat once more so he could see the trapped Grimm. "Amazing," he said before he turned around. "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. My wife always said to never question a miracle." A few of Li's friends laughed, since they shared the idea that this was a miracle.

"Do you think we could expand?" one of the warriors asked. "If we built another wall, we could cover even more ground without having to worry about the Grimm! Maybe we could even build another moat!"

"Hold on, hold on," the Mayor said before anyone could get too excited. "These gifts and ideas are impressive, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. I still believe having at least one Huntsman around is for the best." Mayor Fa formed a smile. "But this is all truly wonderful. Where are the giants now?"

"They disappeared, shortly after we asked them to make these pillars," Li said. "They understood what we asked for, and they delivered it."

"So they can communicate." The Mayor turned back to the crowd of people, who were talking and looking at the new creations. "Calm down, everyone. I think we've all had enough excitement for one night. Go home, and I'll arrange for a nightly watch." As the crowd began to disperse, the Mayor asked Li to lead a watch party in case any of the Grimm creatures, Titan or not, came back. Although everyone believed they weren't in much danger anymore, Li and his friends all agreed to keep watch.

The only ones who were skeptical of all of this were Carla and Dina.

When they discovered that Eren and Cinder had disappeared, Carla and Dina became more suspicious as well as concerned. They searched the whole farm, but they couldn't find any sign of the children.

And when they reached Kuroyuri, they only found talk of miracles and moats that could protect the whole village.

Carla and Dina saw the spires and heard that the giants had returned. Neither of them doubted any idea that the Titans had indeed returned, and they grew more afraid by the second.

"Why is this happening?" Carla asked as she rubbed sweat off of her forehead.

"I don't know," Dina insisted. "But I know who does."

It didn't take a genius to see that Dina was talking about Eren. But this time, Carla knew that Dina was right. Eren and Cinder disappearing around the same time of the Titans' return couldn't be a coincidence. Eren knew more than he had said, and both women wanted to find out what it was.

"Let's think," Dina suggested. "Where would Eren go?"

"I would think he would do what he did the last time he snuck off," Carla said as she tried to think. "Here. To see the Titans and try to help."

Dina agreed, since that was the story Eren had when he snuck away from the farm with Cinder. In fact, it was this agreement that gave her an idea.

"Wait a minute," she said. "You're right, Carla! This is just like last time!"

"What do you mean?"

"When Eren snuck out, he didn't stay out for long! He didn't try to run away or stay somewhere else! As soon as the danger passed, he came-"

"Home!" Carla looked in the direction of her family house. "Come on! Maybe we can catch him!"

---

Carla's farm was on top of a hill, at a considerable distance from the rest of Kuroyuri. Because of this distance and the nearby forest, it was the perfect place for Eren and Cinder to abandon their Titans.

After they crouched down as close to the ground as they could, Eren and Cinder exited their Titans and welcomed the cool night air. It would take time for the larger bodies to disappear, but Eren was confident that they would be gone before sunrise. Either way, the children decided to walk their way back to the farm.

They would have been at the farm sooner, if Cinder hadn't convinced Eren to stay in the forest close to town for a moment.

When she heard all the praise from Li and the Mayor, Cinder could feel all of her confidence return to her. She was more than happy to hear that the people of Kuroyuri had a different opinion about her and Eren now. Eren was happy to hear what he heard as well, that his mission had been accomplished.

"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 dangerous."

"I think we can leave it in their hands now," said Eren. "They know what to do next. But if there's a bigger problem with the Grimm, we'll fix it."

"Okay."

Eren gently nudged Cinder as they walked so she could look at him. "That moat was a great idea," he said with a smile. "I knew we were going to kill Grimm, but you really took it up a step."

Cinder smiled as she felt a strong heat rise to her face. "Thanks," she said. "But it was nothing."

"Nothing? Cinder, I would have killed to have a moat around the walls on Paradis! Do you know how many Titans we could have trapped with that? How'd you get the idea?"

"Uh, from you, actually." Cinder rubbed the back of her head as she continued talking. "I saw the holes you were making in the ground when you were fighting those Grimm, and I saw a bunch of holes in town that we made last night. They're gonna be inevitable, so I figured why not use them? You know, make them work for us?"

Eren was amazed that he had inspired Cinder, even though the holes were completely by accident. Nevertheless, he was both impressed and proud of her.

"And I told you that you can control your Titan," he continued. "Now you should be able to do whatever you want with it. No problems or anything."

"Great!" said Cinder. "Do you think I could try it out again sometime? I mean, in case the Grimm don't come? We could help the town with something else!"

Eren took a moment to think about the future. "They'll need time to actually make a drawbridge around the moat. And they'll have to actually dig the rest of it. Let's give them time before we do anything else. You know, see if they want the Titans to help. But if more Grimm show up, we'll definitely take care of them."

Cinder liked the sound of the plan, but there was just one thing on her mind. "So, uh... do you think we can actually tell everyone?"

"What?" Eren stopped walking. "Cinder, we can't tell anyone else."

"Why not?" Cinder stopped walking with Eren. "They know we want to help, they should know who we are."

"I just..." Eren sighed as he pushed his hair back. "I don't know, Cinder. I can't stay here and help them forever. When I'm ready, I still need to fight Salem."

This time, Cinder nudged Eren so he could look at her. "We," she corrected. "We're going to fight Salem."

Eren smiled again as he appreciated the loyalty. "Right, we," he said. "But we may have to go soon. Or at the very least, be ready for anything."

"Really? How come?"

"Well, Mom and Ms. Fritz know that we escaped Atlas. The news came to them all the way out here. I'm just thinking that if people across an entire ocean can hear that news, Salem might hear about it too. And I think she'll want to pick up where we left off."

"You mean after you fought and escaped her?"

"Yeah. I just hope she only hears about Atlas. You know, not anything about Kuroyuri."

Cinder nodded. "Me too. But maybe we should, you know, have a backup plan."

Eren slightly titled his head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Ren and Nora found out about us. What if Salem or anyone else find out too? Do you think we should be prepared?"

Eren couldn't argue with Cinder's logic. They were caught off guard when Ren and Nora found out about them, and that was something Eren couldn't afford to be again. He needed to be ready for anything, just like he said.

"Yeah," he finally said. "How about we-?"

"Eren? Cinder?"

The children turned around with a gasp to see Carla and Dina staring at them. The women had managed to make it back home quickly, which led to Dina pointing out what appeared to be smoke rising from the woods. Carla had a bad feeling about the sight, so she traveled to the nearby forest to see what was going on.

First, Carla and Dina found two dead Titans that had steam escaping their necks. Then, they found footprints in mud that led towards the farm. And lastly, they found Eren and Cinder also covered in steam with lines beneath their eyes.

This was not good.

---

*SCREECH*

The sound of Nevermores in the sky, flying and screaming, had made the last part of the journey quite unpleasant. A well dressed man was sitting next to a grinning Faunus while flying a small airship, and he was quite annoyed by the sound. However, he knew he would just have to learn how to live with it. Fortunately, the man believed the sound would hopefully disappear now that the ship had landed near the top of a crystal-like mountain and in front of a large wooden door.

The Faunus was the first to jump out of the small airship. Despite the fact that he was more or less a passenger, since he couldn't fly an airship, 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.

Fortunately for him, the recent tragedy in the city of Atlas had proven to be the chance Watts was looking for. The numerous deaths and bodies littered on the streets made his first plan of faking his death in a laboratory accident perfect. After he created fake evidence of his demise and fled to the city of Mistral, Watts waited for one of his new partners, one Tyrian Callows, to arrive and send him to his new home.

Doctor Watts knew it would be wise to find Salem before he got comfortable and 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 newest servant with a smile. "Welcome." She stepped aside to and gestured for the scientist to come inside her castle. Once he entered of his own free will, Salem led the way to Watts' new room. "You have everything you need, I trust?"

"Oh, believe me, I was able to take everything I could have wanted." Watts tapped the briefcase he was carrying with a smile. "I have a few more cases inside my ship. Soon, I'll be able to create anything and everything you need."

Salem continued to smile. "Wonderful. How about first things first?" The witch stopped in front of a room 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," he decided.

"Then I will leave you to your work." 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," he reported. "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 files I have yet to examine. I would have broken their encryption sooner, but your distraction showed up. It's no problem, 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, since 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 month ago," Watts replied. "Just a moment." The doctor pulled out a black Scroll from his pocket and handed it to Salem. "It was all over the news, and the city is still reeling from the effects. Have a look."

Salem took the Scroll without a word. When she did, she found videos and images of a devastated Atlas that was trying to get back on its feet again. Buildings were destroyed, bodies were on the streets, and there appeared to be a skirmish at the very edge of the city.

A skirmish involving a large Grimm that walked like a person.

"...Interesting," said the witch. "Very interesting."

---

Update: hey, everyone. So this is the rewrite for Chapter 8 that we promised, sorry it took us a little while. Please let us know what you think in the comments, hope you enjoy!