"Heavy is the head that wears the crown."
William Shakespeare
Chapter 22: Sic Semper Tyrannis
"Okay, how long has it been now?"
"Almost an hour since we woke up. Still nothing."
"Ugh, great."
Eren and Nora were talking about how long Ren must have been gone since they woke up. She had managed to calm herself after everyone decided to search the surrounding forest in case their friend lied to them. When they found nothing, they decided the best thing to do would be to trust Ren's note and wait for him to come back.
But the waiting, as it turned out, was the hardest part.
Cinder and Emerald quickly noticed three people that were affected by Ren's abrupt departure; Eren, Mercury, and Nora. Emerald thought the best way to help would be to follow Cinder's lead as she gathered the three teenagers together and allowed them to vent their feelings.
"I still can't believe he would just take off like that," said Eren. "What the hell is going through his head right now?"
"Who cares?" Mercury asked with a chip on his shoulder. "We didn't need his whiny ass anyway."
Emerald and Cinder were surprised by Mercury's disregard for Ren, how he didn't seem to care if he was coming back or not. However, their biggest concern was Nora, who had said nothing after she calmed down.
"Nora, you okay?" Cinder asked.
"..."
"Nora?"
The second time her name was called made Nora snap back into reality. "Wha? Oh, sorry," she said. "Were you saying something?"
"We were wondering if you were okay," said Emerald. "Cinder's really worried about you. She wants to know... what you think about all this."
"..."
While she was appreciative of the help, Cinder was slightly disappointed that Emerald seemed to only be thinking about what others wanted other than herself. She and Eren promised to help her see past this, but they hadn't been able to do much with everything that had been going on. Cinder began to see yet another problem that she needed to work on.
And along with that, Cinder could see that something else was bothering Eren. And there was; Eren had a lot of time to step back and think about recent events and how he made every executive decision in their quest. And now, all of those decisions had led them to hiding in a forest far from any kind of civilization. Eren couldn't help but feel that he had led himself and his friends to ruin.
But when he heard Nora begin to express her feelings, Eren decided to act now and perhaps do one good thing while they were stuck.
"I don't know what's going on right now," Nora began. "Every time I think the two of us are making progress, he..."
"..."
A soft sigh escaped Nora's throat before she continued. "We've been together our whole lives but I feel like I understand him less now than ever. And I don't know if that's his fault or mine."
Eren quickly spoke when he saw his opportunity. "I know how you feel," he started honestly. "I've had a couple of times where I didn't really understand my friends, and they didn't really understand me." He knew what to say here, and was confident that Nora could feel better about it. "Not too long ago, I learned that people become a part of you, when they're around for a while. But it's only a part, Nora. Do yourself a favor, and don't forget about the rest."
"..."
Eren learned this lesson with help from Ms. Fritz, and it was still one of the wisest things he ever heard. He hoped Nora would take the lesson to heart and learn not to rely solely on her relationships when she needed to focus on her own well-being.
"I don't even know who I am, without Ren," Nora said with an awkward laugh. "Pretty sad, huh?"
"..."
Eren could feel the hope he had fly away in a heartbeat. Cinder quickly saw this and tried to offer her own advice. "Maybe... you could find out without him?" she asked. "See what kind of things you can do on your own?"
"Like what? Be strong and hit stuff?"
Eren mentally sighed. "Goddammit, Ren," he cursed. "You better be alright."
Ren was far from being alright.
When the young man opened his eyes, he found himself in a large dark void. Which was far from being right, given that Ren specifically remembered being in the woods earlier. Although he couldn't remember what happened to him, he knew for a fact he should have been in the woods.
And to make matters worse, Ren was not alone in the empty space he woke up in. It was hard to make out, but when attempted to open his eyes wider, Ren could make out the image of a black humanoid shape; it had arms, legs, a head, all connected to a torso. And although he believed that his eyes were failing him, his ears heard an ungodly voice.
"You can't move," it said unnaturally. "Because I say you can't move." Ren tried to look at the shape's face, but found no source of the voice. He couldn't even find any distinct features, except for two white eyes. "Do you understand? You do... what I say."
Ren's memory began to come back to him. "The... The Chill," he thought, realizing that the thing before him could be nothing else, not even the God of Darkness. But then he remembered something else. "The... kid..."
A twinge of pain travelled through his chest and caused Ren to scream.
"I did not say you could talk," the Chill said. "Never mind the boy. He was foolish. Like you."
"..."
Ren refused to speak once again, to save himself from pain. He instead listened to the impossible ramblings of the Grimm. "He was a runaway," it said. "His parents took his sister's side in an argument, and punished him. Now, those will be his last memories of his family. Unless you help me."
"..."
"You can talk now. I want to know what you will do."
Ren was still trying to understand how this Chill, this Grimm could know all these details. Was it spying on the boy? Or worse, what if it was somehow in his head?
What if it was in Ren's head, right now?
Pain brought Ren back to reality. "I said speak," it ordered callously.
Out of all the questions he wanted an answer to, only one came to his lips. "What... do you want?" Ren asked.
"I want you... to take me to him," the Chill replied while still floating in the void. "Or rather, I want to take us to him."
"...Him?"
"Eren Yeager. The leader of your little band." The Chill leaned its head closer to Ren as it studied the expression on his face. "Yes, him. Let me take control, and I will leave the boy alone. If you do nothing, I will simply take you by force."
When his shock died down, Ren did his best to focus his thoughts on a way to escape as he looked around the void. But all he saw was darkness, the true absence of light.
His first idea was that this was Salem's way of bringing Eren back to her. And Ren had just given her an opportunity by trying to help the boy. Self-loathing returned to Ren as he realized how stupid he was, just like when he tried to save his-
"I'll always miss your father, and I'll never forget him. But I will never blame you for his death. I can't. Because no matter what you say, it was not your fault."
The words of his mother came to Ren like a light in the darkness. They brought him back to reality, and made him think back on all the times how his self-pity made things even worse. So now it was time for a new approach; a collected mind.
Ren looked away from the intimidating void and back to the Chill. "You want me to take you to Eren?" he repeated. "Okay, fine. It's your funeral." The Chill titled its head and said nothing, almost giving Ren a chance to continue talking. "I've seen him beat Grimm and people stronger and stranger than you. You're nothing special."
The Chill suddenly let out a dry chuckle, surprising Ren even more. "Eren is a child in a man's body," it said. "Someone worthy of neither compassion or pity. And you believe you can help him on his next endeavor, Lie Ren? A usurper who cares only about himself?"
Ren now knew that the Chill was somehow inside his mind. It was possible that the void he found himself in was his own mind, and the Grimm was trying to take control. This was surely enough to scare any person out of their mind; quite literally, too. The Chill seemed to break the minds of its victims and take it as its own, with Ren now standing in its way. The pain it could cause would be enough to make anyone give up their will to fight, as long as the pain would cease.
But not Ren.
He had a new will of his own, and now it was helping him more than he could ever help himself. And he was refusing to give up, because he had a new advantage on his side. One that he ironically learned from Ymir.
Seeing right through the enemy.
"You... gave yourself away," Ren said, beginning to smirk.
"...I what?" the monster asked.
"You... slipped up."
"...How do you mean?"
"You have no idea." Ren began to chuckle himself, happy that he gained an advantage over the thing trying to take his mind. "You called... Eren a... a usurper. Strange word, for a Grimm."
"..."
Ren once again took the chance to continue talking. "I don't know what... you want with him. But I can tell it's... it's personal."
The Chill couldn't see it, but Ren was using his Semblance now. Not to hide himself, but to see what the Chill was hiding. And all around the black shape, there were nothing but red flower petals. This was to be expected, but there was a mixture of violet as well. He couldn't prove what emotion violet was representing, but Ren had a good idea.
"Everything you've done, everything you've said... they all scream despair. Outrage. Vengeance."
"Quiet," the Chill ordered. But it merely fell on deaf ears as Ren continued his accusation.
"Eren did something to you... didn't he? Something to make you hate him."
"Be quiet."
"The only thing I can think of is him saving Vernal from you... but that's too easy. You could easily take someone else, like that kid. No, this is something else. Much worse."
"Stop talking!"
The Chill suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Ren by the throat. It was at this point that Ren could see the monster more clearly. Its eyes were indeed just white pupils, but it appeared to be covering its lower face with something. It almost looked like a face mask, one made of bone. And it was wearing some kind of metal armor on its torso. Ren was almost in a mood to thank this creature for revealing something else in its anger.
Whatever was keeping Ren prisoner was no simple Chill.
It was something... else.
And it had just dropped Ren onto the invisible ground beneath him.
"...Impressive," it said slowly. "It's usually me who gets in people's heads, not the other way around."
Ren was once again shocked by the level of intelligence this creature had. And from what it described, its method of hunting sounded exactly like a Chill. But this was far beyond the capability of any Grimm.
So what the hell was it?
"What... are you?" Ren asked.
"You'll see," it promised. "Right now."
The black void immediately disappeared, along with the dark figure. With a gasp, Ren opened his eyes to see sunlight covering tall trees around him. He quickly moved off the ground and became aware of his surroundings. He became even more aware of his current physical condition.
"I'm... alive?" Ren asked himself. "But... Wait!" He quickly turned to where he saw the possessed child when he entered the forest.
And sure enough, it was looking up at him with pale skin and a twisted smile.
"There are more ways to control someone," it said in a deep voice as he picked up a knife. "Observe."
When Ren saw the knife, he quickly noticed that it looked like his father's knife, one that he inherited not too long ago. When he patted himself down and realized that this knife was missing, Ren looked back to see the spirit raising the knife to the child's throat.
"No, no!" Ren screamed as he grabbed the child's arm. The spirit, however, was just as strong. Despite being in a child's body, it was able to fight Ren effortlessly.
"Now do we understand each other?" it asked. It used the child's other arm to push Ren away. "Take me to your leader, or I'll find another host. If you still refuse, I'll find another. And another. And another. And-"
"Wait, wait!" Ren begged. When the spirit stopped talking, Ren calmed down. "Okay, you win." As a sign of trust, Ren drew his weapons and tossed them aside. "I'll take you to Eren. Just don't hurt the kid."
"Good. I knew you would see reason."
Ren was indeed seeing reason... but not in the way the Chill-like spirit was expecting.
"There's just one problem," Ren awkwardly began. "If you were in my head... you should know that I left them. I don't know where they are."
"Nonsense," said the spirit. "You left them in a forest like this one. Retrace your steps, or this child dies."
"If you know Eren, then you know he won't just sit in a forest when he has his mind dedicated to fighting evil. Right now, he's doing everything in his power to root out a corrupt man in Mistral." Ren slightly looked down. "With or without me."
"..."
His brief moment of sadness passed when Ren realized he had the spirit's attention. "My point is that he could be anywhere in Mistral now. With everyone looking for him, someone could have found him by now."
"What do you propose?" the spirit impatiently asked.
"I can call him," Ren said as he slowly reached into his pocket. "I'll even put my Scroll on speaker, so you can hear for yourself."
"..."
Ren took the silence as a sign to continue taking out his Scroll. When he saw the child nod to him, Ren quickly made a call and put the Scroll on speaker as he patiently waited for an answer.
"Hello?" a familiar voice finally responded.
"Eren!" Ren said, relieved that he answered. A dirty glare from the possessed boy, however, made him calm down. "Thank you for answering."
"Ren, where are you? We've been worried about you all day."
Ren could hear the frustration in Eren's voice, and felt a sense of guilt come over him. But that wasn't important at the moment. "I know, and I'm sorry," he said. "Like I said, I'm in Kuroryuri. I just finished talking to-"
Ren quickly became scared of talking about his mother next to this... thing. What if it changed its mind and went after her? Or worse, what if it decided to come back if Ren went through with his plan?
"Ren?" Eren called out. "Who'd you talk to?"
A dirty glare from the possessed child and Eren's voice snapped Ren's attention onto the Scroll. "Uh, sorry," he said. "Just buying an airship ticket. I finished talking to... to my mother. I'm ready to come back."
"Already? I mean, we started to think you'd be gone longer."
"I thought so too, but no. She was... really helpful. You're still where I left you, right?"
"Yeah, but... Are you sure you're okay?"
The child began to nod to Ren, ordering him to say that everything was fine. But Ren was more than willing to do so. "Of course," he said. "When I come back, it'll be just like the day Nora got Magnhild. You remember that day?"
"Yeah, of course I... Wait, what?"
"Sorry, I think I'm breaking up. I said it'll be just like that day when I come back. I'll see you later." Ren quickly ended the call and looked to the child. "Let's go," he said with a sigh.
Naturally, Ren had to get on an airship in order to get back to Mistral. But the possessed child standing in the corner next to him made for one unpleasant trip. That, and the continued news of searches being made for Eren and whoever he was working with. When he saw all of this, his heavy heart ached.
"Eren, I will do everything in my power to right this wrong," Ren silently promised himself. "But first, I have to stop... whatever this thing is."
The airship soon landed in Mistral, where Ren led the child to the woods with very little choice in the matter. He remembered the path they took to their escape, despite the fact it was night. But the Grimm was a different story.
"Take my hand," Ren reluctantly said to the child.
"Why?" the spirit impatiently asked.
"The forest is crawling with Grimm. My Semblance can camouflage us from them."
"Save it for yourself if you choose to. I am in no danger."
"..."
While they walked through the woods, Ren used his Semblance to hide himself from the Grimm. The child, however, walked past them without a care in the world. Ren silently wondered how this was possible, if it was a Semblance of sorts. Or rather, if there was more Grimm to this child than he thought.
"Don't run," it ordered. "I can still see you."
"..."
Ren silently continued his journey through the woods. The walk felt like hours, but they eventually reached the Dark Wing. Ren tried to look through the windows when he got there, but he couldn't see anything.
"Come on, everyone," he begged. "Do something, or we're-"
*BAM*
Ren felt a heavy punch to his back, which sent him flying on the ground and caused him to stop using his Semblance. The child simply walked past him and moved to the door of the car. It opened furiously when the child pulled on it and the spirit entered.
Silence soon followed as Ren stood up. Once his Aura healed the bruise on his back, the child furiously ran out of the car.
"He's not in there!" the spirit furiously screamed.
"He-He's not?" Ren asked in genuine surprise. Hope presented itself to Ren with this news, but the retuning memory of bounty hunters and Huntsmen looking for him came back. "Where is he?"
"You tell me!" The child walked closer. "How did you warn them? You must have done-!"
*WHOOSH*
*SNAP*
"AAAAUGH!"
The ground underneath the child, which was covered by leaves and untouched by either of them, fell and presented itself to be a large hole. And in the center of that hole were pieces of scrap metal that the child fell in.
Ren began to move backwards in shock, but his legs stumbled on what felt like a tight rope and caused him to fall. Ren quickly believed that the Huntsmen had found Eren and laid traps for everyone else. Fearing that he accidentally activated a tripwire, Ren curled into a ball and waited for an explosion.
He instead got a small tap on his nose.
"Boop!"
When Ren opened his eyes, he saw a hand sticking out to him. When he looked past the hand, he saw a sight that was definitely for sore eyes; Nora was looking down on him, smiling.
"Nora!" Ren said with a smile as he took her hand. "You got my message!"
"Of course I did!" Nora said as she pulled him up. "Everyone knew the first day I got my hammer was a disaster. And speaking of disasters..." Nora turned towards the hole that the child fell in. "Let's see what we got here." Before she moved closer, Nora turned to the rest of woods. "Okay, guys! Coast is clear!"
Eren was the first to emerge from the woods, coming down from a tree by his gear. Cinder quickly followed as everyone else instantly appeared; they were hiding behind an illusion that Emerald created.
"Ugh, I gotta get used to doing two people," she said as she raised a hand to her head.
"Well, look who's back," Mercury said as he stopped and leaned against the Dark Wing. "All that hiding better have been worth it."
Eren also wanted to know what Ren had brought to them, but he had another question first. "You okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Ren said with a smile. It quickly changed into a frown when he was surrounded by everyone that he hurt before he left. And he was sure they were upset about improperly leaving. "But there's a lot I have to tell you."
"How about we start with the kid?" Nora suggested as she looked down the hole. "Oh, God, are you okay?"
When Ren saw how close Nora was to the hole, his instincts told him to get her as far away as possible. "Nora, no!" he cried as he pulled her away from the hole. He then turned and pointed to the truck. "Everyone get inside!" He took off running towards the truck with Nora, and everyone followed after a few seconds of surprise. As soon as everyone was inside, Ren quickly locked the doors and turned around. "Is everyone here?"
"What is your deal, man?!" Mercury asked. "More hiding with you?"
Eren could see that Ren was scared of something out there, and a hunch told him it was involved with the strange child that came with him. "Are there more people out there?" he asked as he prepared to remove a blade. "Hiding won't solve anything, Ren."
"Eren's right," Cinder said. "And we got our Titans too! Why are we just sitting here?"
"You don't understand," Ren replied as he began to calm down. This process was harder than usual, but Ren managed to relax after taking three deep breaths. "But I can explain."
Everyone listened as Ren explained his predicament; how he inadvertently encountered what he believed to be a Chill at first. He spared no details about its attempted possession of him and how it forced him to take him back to the Dark Wing. And he was sure it didn't give up from falling in a hole.
"Lemme get this straight," Mercury said when Ren finished. "You got attacked by a Chill but fought it off." A wave of anger quickly swept over him when he had a theory about the Grimm. "Was it the same one that attacked Vernal?"
"No, you don't understand," Ren replied. "It wasn't like the Grimm we've killed. It was intelligent, manipulative! And its anger... it had its own unique anger. Like you right now, Mercury."
Mercury began to calm down and had something else to clear up. "You're basing all of this on the fact that it talked to you? Emerald talks, you don't hear us calling her 'intelligent.'"
*WHACK*
"Ow!"
After defending her integrity from her annoying friend, Emerald looked back to Ren. "You sure this wasn't just some guy, Ren?" she asked. "All this sounds like a Semblance right up my alley. I've had to get inside peoples' heads too, you know."
"I don't know what to make of it, really," Ren confessed as he rubbed sweat off his forehead. "But I know one thing; it wasn't after me, it wants Eren."
"Me?" Eren asked. "What do you mean it wants me? How do you know that?"
"It's angry at you, it told me. It wants revenge."
Eren began to see how all of this was possible. "Okay, I believe you. Let's say it is a Chill. Maybe it's Salem's way of striking back."
"Possible, but not likely," said Cinder. "Why would it go all the way to Kuroyuri just to get you?"
"I was thinking the same thing, Eren," said Ren. "So hear me out on this; do you think it's someone you met before? Like Ymir?"
Eren's eyes widened as he softly gasped. "Someone from home?" he wondered. "But who? Who could hate me that much?" Eren thought the Rumbling was an obvious answer, but he couldn't narrow down anyone that was smart and manipulative. "Did it say anything else to you?" he asked Ren. "Something that could give it away?"
"Just one thing," Ren answered. "It called you a... usurper."
"Usurper?" Mercury repeated. "Okay, that rules out 'intelligent' for this thing, 'cause that's the worst insult I've ever heard."
"Mercury-" Cinder protested.
"No, this is bullshit!" Mercury argued with Ren. "First you go off into the woods to kill yourself, then you ditch us, and now you want us to believe this crap?!"
"Mercury!" Cinder screamed. "Don't say that! What the hell's wrong with you?!"
"No, it's okay," Ren relented. "Mercury... you're right." He let out a heavy sigh before talking again. "I should be apologizing to you." He then turned to everyone inside the car. "To all of you. And I will. But first you need to know that I'm telling the truth."
Mercury scuffed as he moved past Ren. "Whatever," he said. "Either way, I'm not hiding anymore." He opened the door and quickly ran out. He then made his way to the hole and looked inside. After a few seconds, Mercury threw a rock down the hole. "Oh, great! I think this kid is dead!" he said as he turned back to the car. "Let's quit acting like babies and-!"
*BAM*
An invisible force hit Mercury's chest and pushed him into the hole with the dead body. Everyone in the Dark Wing gasped in surprise and terror at the bad miracle.
Eren was about to run outside to help, but Ren quickly stopped him. "No, wait!" he ordered. "It did that to me to; it fought me when I couldn't see it. Any one of us goes out there, we'll be trying to find a needle in a haystack."
Eren knew that Ren was right, which only made him angry. He had no idea what to do at this point, how to best lead an attack against an invisible entity. This only reinforced the idea he had earlier, that all of his ideas and decisions had led them to absolutely nothing but trouble.
But what he didn't know was that everyone wasn't ready to give up.
"I have a plan," said Ren, who moved closer to the window. "Eren, forget about waiting. Get Mercury, but be ready to fight. I'll tell you where to strike."
"Tell me?" Eren asked. "I thought you said we couldn't see this thing."
"I may have been wrong. Just go outside and be ready to strike." Ren put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know I haven't earned it, but I need you to trust me. Please."
"..."
Eren wasn't sure what Ren's plan was, but it already sounded better than just waiting to do nothing at all. So he took out one of his swords and moved to the door. Just as he was about to open it, a hand gently took his arm and made Eren look at its owner.
"Be careful," Cinder said with concern. As Eren nodded and gently moved out her grasp, Cinder looked at the window while Ren stayed at the door.
Eren cautiously moved to the hole that Mercury fell in. The trip took almost half a minute compared to the five seconds it would have normally took, but Eren was able to see Mercury was alive and well in the hole. "You okay?" Eren asked as he looked down.
"The hell just hit me?" Mercury asked.
"Ren's ghost. We all saw it hit you."
Mercury's spell of disbelief wore off when he slowly realized that Ren was telling the truth all along. And based on the dead body next to him, this "ghost" wasn't taking control of the body anymore. "Where it is now?" he asked.
"No idea," Eren confessed as he began to offer a hand to Mercury. "Let's just hope it's not-"
"Behind you!"
Eren instinctively swung a sword behind him as he turned around. He couldn't see it, but he had made contact with something and caused it to bleed. Everyone soon came out when Ren said that it was safe. They helped Eren get Mercury out of the hole.
"You okay?" Nora asked.
"Fine and dandy," the boy sarcastically replied as he dusted himself off. "Get that kid outta there."
Cinder moved downwards and took the boy's cold hand. She dropped it when she made a startling realization.
"...He's gone," she said.
While everyone turned to the boy with pity, Ren silently mourned his passing while looking around the area. Nobody could see it, but he was using his evolved Semblance to see what was hidden in the woods. But other than the emotions of his friends, he couldn't see anything.
"I'm sorry," he said as he slightly looked back. "I tried to save him. But we have to go before it comes back."
"I never left."
Everyone turned when they heard an inhuman voice from the trees. Ren looked all around, but he couldn't see anything. He and his friends were at a disadvantage, one they tried to fix with taking out their weapons and waiting.
Their patience apparently paid off when two hands grabbed Nora's throat and began to choke her. The dark hands weren't connected to anything, they were simply in the shadows a tree was creating. Nevertheless, everyone pulled Nora and struck the hands. The hands, however, moved from one shadow to another and pulled on Midori's hair.
"Get away from the trees!" Eren ordered as he backed into the clearing of the forest. After she was freed, Midori followed Eren and watched everyone else follow. They soon formed a circle with their backs to each other. "Nora, blow those trees down!"
"Got it!" Nora said as she began to fire multiple rockets from Magnhild. A vast majority of the trees soon fell and left no shadows in the area. "Now what?"
"This thing has to reveal itself sometime," Eren said as he took out another sword from his equipment. "Be ready for anything."
"And be careful," said Ren. "It's fast, faster than you can imagine."
"Ren's right!" Eren knew that despite Midori being here, he needed to be ready for anything. So he reluctantly bit into his hand and watched his blood fall to the ground.
"..."
Silence fell throughout the forest once again as everyone scanned their surroundings. Mercury had his faith in Ren restored quickly after he fell into the hole, so he turned and asked a question. "See anything?" he asked.
"Nothing," Ren replied as he concentrated on both his Semblance and regular vision. His combined efforts were rewarded when he saw a dark shape reveal itself in the light. "Wait, there it is!" He, Mercury, and Eren turned to see a humanoid shape walk towards them.
"No, there it is!" Cinder shouted. Everyone followed to where she was looking and saw a similar dark shape moving towards them.
"What's that?!" Nora asked with a gasp as she looked in a different direction. This time, three dark figures were walking towards them all. And soon enough, everyone was shifting their gaze to the five dark figures walking towards them.
And with a loud yell, all five figures ran towards the warriors. Ren didn't have his guns, so he threw a punch at the first figure he saw. While his punch made the dark shape disappear, two more took its place. Mercury found himself in the same predicament, with more figures taking the place of the ones he killed.
Midori tried to fight them off, but two figures grabbed her and pinned her to the ground. Eren and Cinder were able to cut down any figure that came towards them, but they knew this wasn't going to work.
"Cinder, we need to get in the air!" he yelled. The fallen trees around him wouldn't work with the hooks, but the duo managed to use their Volant to launch themselves in the air.
"Quick, shoot them!" Cinder yelled as she formed her swords into a bow. Once she fired two arrows, they each struck through a specific target. But one figure managed to run towards Cinder and jump in the air. Both of the teenagers were shocked at the ability, and Eren was even more shocked when it caught another arrow and kicked Cinder in the face.
"Cinder!" Eren yelled as he watched her fall. The dark shape simply moved its other foot and kicked Eren in the face, causing him to fall as well. When they fell to the ground, they were overpowered by more dark figures in a matter of seconds. And their friends were in similar situations.
"Eren Yeager. Finally, we meet again."
Eren felt his hair being grabbed as his head involuntarily moved upwards. When he saw the trees again, he also saw another dark shape. But this one was different. While the others had blank faces and completely surrounded by darkness, this one had two piercing white eyes and a face covered by what looked like a mask. It was wearing a sort of armor while the other shapes were seemingly naked.
Ren saw the new figure and instantly recognized it. "Eren, that's it!" he warned. "That's the real-Aaugh!" His head was being pushed into the earth by one of the other shapes.
Eren understood and screamed at the ghost. "Who are you?!"
"A deathly shadow," it coldly replied. "And your past come back to haunt you."
"What did I ever do to you?!"
"You'll see. But first..." The ghost lifted its hand towards its face. "Feel my pain."
*SNAP*
The figures that were hovering over Eren's friends suddenly leaned closer to their bodies. As they moved closer and closer into their personal space, the shapes soon moved closer and closer into their bodies. Each one of them felt an intense cold when their bodies were being violated by the figures. Whether it was by eye, ear, or mouth, each figure had entered everyone's bodies and began to make them feel unnatural pain.
Cinder was the first to scream as she convulsed on the ground. Her skin began to change into a pale white as she continued to cry and scream. And soon, everyone around her shared the same changes and movements.
All Eren could do was watch in horror as he was spared this fate. It seemed the ghost before him wanted the multiple Chill to spare him... for now.
"Wonderful things, the Chill," the ghost said as it moved a hand to its chest. Its fingers moved into its body and it soon pulled out a black spot. When it let go, the spot slowly changed and grew limbs. "Creating them is simple; having them do my bidding is even easier." The newly-created Chill quickly leapt into Cinder's body.
"Stop it!" Eren screamed as he moved everything he could. When he remembered the cut he made on his hand, Eren began to concentrate and felt electricity move throughout his body.
*SNAP*
Now it was Eren's turn to feel extremely cold. The multiple Chill surrounding him apparently decided to make his body into a home and surround his vision in complete darkness.
"Ah, that's better," the spirit's voice said. Soon enough, the darkness shifted to reveal the ghost standing in front of Eren, and to reveal a dark void beneath his feet. He could still see his body, despite the ghost creating a shadow. Before he could wonder how this was possible, the ghost apparently changed its mind. "No. We can do better."
Eren's ears quickly became receivers to the screams of his friends. None of them were coherent, but they were all saying the same thing; they were in pain and needed help.
"Okay, enough!" Eren screamed. "What do you want from me?! How do you know me?!"
"Perhaps I should shed some light on the subject," the Chill-like ghost said as it grabbed Eren's head. Cinder and everyone else's voices disappeared at once, and a bright light soon filled the void. Eren's eyes had to readjust to the change from dark to light, but they soon began to show the boy where he was.
Instead of an empty space, Eren was surrounded by large pillars of blue stone. The floor beneath him was now a smooth surface, almost appearing as glass. Eren hadn't seen this place in years, but he knew where he was once he stopped marveling at the sight.
"No way," he whispered. "The Reiss underground chapel?"
"I believe you mean my underground chapel, Yeager," a deep voice from behind said. The shadow soon walked in front of Eren and pointed straight ahead. "Look. There I am now."
Eren followed the dark finger to see a large crystal-like balcony in the wide space. On top of that shape was a different version of Eren, bound and gagged by chain.
"It's me," Eren replied. "Wait, I remember this. This was when Historia and I were taken by-"
Eren softly gasped when the rest of the memory came to mind. Ren was right after all, this spirit was indeed someone that he met on Paradis. And he was standing right next to Historia.
The young man looked back to the spirit, and then back to the man next to Historia. He repeated this action in shock of the revelation. After performing the act a third time, a name escaped Eren's mouth.
"...Reiss?" he asked. "Rod Reiss?"
"Yes," the spirit said as it moved its hands away from its torso. "It is I."
Eren's jaw dropped as the spirit chuckled as it raised its right hand. "Recognizing me in this form is impossible, I know. But it is not without benefits."
Eren finally found his voice. "How... How did you end up like this?" he asked. If this was indeed the King of the Walls, he should have been a short old man, not a powerful ghost. "Who did this to you?"
Reiss looked up from his hand and stared into Eren's eyes. "You did," he said. "You and that feckless father of yours." The light disappeared and left them both in the dark. "It is a long story, part of which you share with me. After all, you found yourself on this new world the same way I did, no?"
"Huh?"
"Yes, it was something I would not have expected. Reincarnation of all things. No Heaven above us, no Hell below. Simply a new life on Remnant, one with blissful ignorance of our old lives."
The settings changed to a city, with multiple stone buildings all around. People were going about their way, either shopping at markets or walking down the streets with friends and family. Eren stood still and watched the people go about their business without a care in the world.
"Welcome to Vytal, Yeager," Rod said with extended hands once again. "A prosperous city-state on the same island, far away from any Kingdom. Created not long after the Great War, and just as all were once ruled." The scene changed to another large room, with large windows overlooking the town square Eren was standing in. Not only did the mansion have exquisite furniture and tapestries, it also had a large family inside. Two parents and a group of children varying in age, one of which looked familiar to Eren.
"Frieda Reiss..." he whispered.
*BAM*
Eren fell to the floor when a fist collided into his face. "Speak her name again and I will break all of your limbs," Rod warned bitterly. "But you're right." He turned back to the children. "I didn't know it yet, but my family seemingly returned to me. Not all, but most. Our family ruled Vytal for decades, leaving the Four Kingdoms out of our affairs. When one of us died, we passed our right to rule onto a chosen one in the family."
"So you haven't changed," Eren boldly spat. "Still having and killing your own children, and shutting the rest of the world out."
"Nonsense. We died naturally, and chose our successors. As for the rest of the world, they didn't deserve what we had. Not when they used it for war and greed." Rod turned to Eren. "You know what I speak of. Huntsmen clawing for riches, Faunus left on the streets. It used to make me sick, people living on the pain and misery of others instead of their happiness. But I've learned to revel in this, as you can see."
Eren focused less on the idea of Rod Reiss returning and more on his physical appearance; the darkness of his clothes and skin indeed made him look and act like a Chill, but with differences. "How did you do it?" he asked.
"Some things on Remnant are inevitable, Eren. War, religion, and among all others... Grimm."
The scene changed from a mansion to a city on fire, with people screaming and running for their lives. And the source of this panic and terror was none other than the Creatures of Grimm. All kinds of Grimm, from Beowolves to Nevermores, were causing mayhem as far as the eyes could see. And in the middle of that chaos was a team of four Huntsmen, who were trying to evacuate people onto an airship.
"I didn't want to summon them, but I did," said Rod. "I went against our most sacred traditions; I opened Vytal's doors to outsiders, all in a vain attempt to save everyone."
An old Rod Reiss, currently looking like he did on Paradis, was running with his family towards said airship. They were so close, and surrounded by a group of Reiss' subjects. But one Huntsman saw a large Ursa running towards them as well. He did the only thing he could and used his Semblance to punch it away from the airship. But once the Ursa was defeated, it exploded and caused a crumbling building to finally fall.
And it fell right on top of Rod and his family.
The Huntsman stared in shock at the event he triggered, but he was quick to snap out of it and grab Frieda, who was desperately trying to pull the rest of her family out. She protested over and over again that she couldn't leave her family, but the Huntsman knocked her unconscious and ran to the airship.
"It's the only way we could get her out!" he said to one of his partners.
"I ain't complaining!" the partner said. "Let's get the hell outta here!" Both Huntsmen jumped into the airship, along with the third member of the team. One of them, however, looked back to the crowd.
"But... there are still people here," he said.
"We're saving who we can!" one Huntsman said as he pulled his partner inside.
"Goddammit, we don't get paid enough for this shit," another mumbled as he approached the pilot. "Get us outta here!"
The pilot obeyed and quickly took off the ground. As it did, pieces of the fallen building began to move as a hand desperately tried to break free of the rubble.
"They left me for dead," said Rod. "They stole my daughter, and left a majority of people to the wolves. Cowards."
A large Nevermore was descending from the sky, straight towards the airship. Before it approached any closer, a white light escaped from the windows and spread all across the land like a bomb going off. When the light disappeared, the Grimm had turned to stone and it disintegrated before Eren's eyes.
"What a Semblance," he thought to himself in awe.
"What a shame," Rod said aloud. "This was the last thing I wanted for anyone of my people and family. But if it hadn't happened, I never would have become this."
The old version of Rod continued to try and dig himself out of the rubble. He was bleeding in various places and crying as well. Grimm around him had turned to stone and were crumbling, but that didn't change the fact that the Huntsmen had left him for dead.
And to make matters worse, not all of the Grimm died.
Rod couldn't see it, but a dark, humanoid shape was crawling on top of the rubble. Slowly but surely, it was traversing the the small hill in what appeared to be a desperate bid for survival. Eren couldn't recognize what kind of Grimm it was, but it was obviously a Grimm. The darkness covering its flesh and the stone forming on its body gave that away.
And the icing on the cake revealed itself when the Grimm leapt onto Rod Reiss and disappeared into his body.
"A Chill," Eren observed. "That was a Chill."
"Yes, Eren," Rod confirmed. As he did so, the past version of Rod Reiss began to scream as the Chill did what it was meant to do. "The possession was painful, its assimilation of my body was terrible to endure. But had I known what was actually going to happen... I don't think I would have minded as much."
"..."
Eren watched the now possessed Rod Reiss do nothing but sit still instead of try to break free. He continued to stay still even when the sun went down. When the sun came back up; the possessed man continued to remain still. "A normal Chill would have taken my body and abandoned it the first chance it got. But this one was hurt, almost broken in a way. It only had enough strength for one more possession. Its plan was to wait until it was strong enough to free itself and find new prey. But this kind of bond was not without... consequences."
"..."
The sun continued to rise and set in a fast motion now, showing how long Rod was trapped like this. And soon enough, his skin changed from a pale white to a shadowy black. His face lost any trace of an old man as it turned into an abomination. "It corrupted my body in a way no one would believe was possible. I became more than the short old man you once knew, Yeager." Along with his physical appearance, the man's limbs began to grow, and and his weight began to change as well.
Soon enough, the past Rod burst out of the debris and stood on his legs once again. He was reborn, and appeared to be stronger than ever.
The scene changed from a ruined town to the woods, where a man was fighting Grimm. After the creatures were killed, Rod leapt from the shadows and tackled the man. And soon enough, Rod took possession of the body, killing the man in the process. And then, Rod showed Eren killing more and more people. Some of them were innocent humans and Faunus, others were Huntsmen and Huntresses.
And soon enough, it wasn't just a simple possession. The former king had grown strong enough to fight and kill Huntsmen and Huntresses.
"Each time I possess a Huntsman, I learn how to fight like they do," Reiss explained. "That was when I realized this was no curse. This is a gift." He turned to Eren. "My memories of my past came soon after I killed the Huntsmen who took my daughter. Specifically, how I lost her not once, but twice. Thanks to your father."
"I'm not my father," Eren spat as he clenched his fists. "Trust me, Reiss. I'm much worse."
Rod Reiss laughed once again. "Is that so? Not from where I'm standing. Besides, I remember a short little girl saving your life and slaying me, not you." Rod pointed at Eren's body and the boy felt pain once again. "Let's see how much 'worse' you really are!"
"..."
As Eren stayed where he was and did his best to block out the pain, Rod stopped pointing. "Strange," he said. "I can't see anything." Rod tried again to look into Eren's memories, but he saw absolutely nothing. "Your will is strong." Rod had an idea how to make his revenge all the more better. "Let's see exactly how you match this will."
The black void disappeared and left Eren feeling warm and painless once again. When he became aware of his surroundings, Eren saw that he was in the forest once again, and his hand was still bleeding. It was as if he hadn't really left.
But the same couldn't be said about his friends.
The Chill that Reiss had created left them painfully screaming and convulsing on the ground. Eren felt pity for each and every one of them, even though he couldn't understand what was happening to them.
"Do you know how it felt that day?" Rod asked while standing behind Eren. "The day your father destroyed everything I had built? I was alone. Helpless. Afraid."
"..."
Eren said nothing as his rage boiled and his hand bled on the ground.
"I had Kenny and the rest of his goons, yes. But they didn't substitute my wife or my children. Just like these pathetic children can't substitute your allies. So don't even try." Eren turned to Rod with anger and clenched fists. "I can see how helpless and afraid they are now. And when I let them go... I'll see how alone they are without you."
"Shut up!"
Eren lunged at Reiss with a raised fist and swung. But Rod simply stepped aside as quickly as Eren threw the punch. When the boy repeated the action, Rod moved his head once again.
And again.
And again.
And when he did it again, Rod swung his leg and kicked Eren in the face. The boy quickly recovered and remembered that Rod could fight. Even the Chill he created could fight on their own. Eren realized that anger wasn't going to help him win this fight. So he picked up the swords that he dropped and prepared to attack Reiss.
The former king prepared to fight himself, moving into a fighting stance similar to Mercury's. Only this one looked like it relied on hands instead of feet. Nevertheless, he and Eren lunged at each other and began a vicious duel.
Rod dodged the first sword that Eren sent his way and caught the second. He then swung his leg to kick Eren again, but the boy used his Volant to move upwards and avoid the kick. He then ripped his blade out of Rod's hand and landed behind him.
As he sent another swing towards his legs, Eren watched Rod perform a somersault backwards to avoid the sword. When he landed, he punched Eren in the face.
Eren's anger triggered his Semblance and caused him to swing his blades much faster than before. Each strike hit Rod Reiss, but the ghost didn't appear to be hurt. He instead threw his palm into Eren's chest and aggressively pushed him away.
"You've grown stronger," Reiss observed. "It wasn't this difficult to capture you the first time we met."
"You weren't the one who captured me," Eren spat.
"True. But times have changed." Rod charged again and sent his fists at Eren once more. Eren tried to dodge them with his gear, but his Aura had to block them. "As you can see, I'm faster. Stronger. And I am bound by no one's philosophy except my own." Rod laughed again as Eren fell. "I thought that was what drove you, Eren."
"It is." Eren quickly got up and fired his guns at the madman. "But I swore I wouldn't let people like you, Marley, or anyone take it again!"
As Rod ran past the bullets and disappeared into the shadows, Eren could still hear his voice. "Ah, so you figured that out? I was wondering if anyone would. Tell me, how did the lack of the Founding Titan help against whatever else the nation sent to Paradis?"
Eren shot more bullets at the shadows while Rod was talking, but nothing appeared to work. He needed a new plan, but he needed time. "There was no 'lack,' Reiss," Eren explained. "Marley came, you're right. But we won."
"Won?" Eren shot towards the sound of the voice but hit nothing. He knew his guns weren't going to help him now. "It seems I underestimated the chances of the people. Then again, I did underestimate my daughter. Was it Historia who won the war?"
Eren continued to stall while he thought of a plan. He could turn into a Titan, but that didn't help the fact that he couldn't see Rod. "No," he said. "It was just me. Me and Ymir."
"Ymir?"
"The Founder. I met her, Reiss. I found her in the place that connects all Eldians. Frieda would have met her too, if she used the Founding Titan like she needed to."
"...I see. So Historia did help you, then. She was the only one capable."
Eren's foot backed into a body behind him. He quickly looked down to see Ren still moving erratically on the ground. Eren quickly moved his gun towards where he heard Rod's voice last, causing blood to fall on Ren.
And it was at this moment that an idea came to mind.
"Not quite," Eren said as his blood dripped onto Ren. "Why don't you come out and I'll tell you more."
"I'm fine right where I am, thank you," said Reiss. "It doesn't matter how you won. What matters is that you're here, with me."
"Maybe, maybe not." Eren looked down at Ren and saw the color coming back to his face. "Alright. I guess you don't want to hear how Historia helped me then."
"..."
Eren was so close, and his plan was working. The blood that had fallen onto Ren served as a connection between Eren and the Chill inside, and it was responding when Eren said "come out." Now he just needed Rod to come out of the shadows.
"You might actually be proud of her," said Eren. "She's following in your footsteps. Ruling the island and waiting to be a mother."
"..."
"She's pregnant, Reiss. She's going to have a baby. And that baby is going to rule the world."
"The world?" Rod sarcastically asked. "I see time has done nothing for your delusional fantasies."
"No, I'm serious. When I met Ymir, she gave me the power to control the Founding Titan. And I used it to destroy Karl Fritz's legacy." Eren stopped walking and lowered his weapons. "I broke the walls, and took control of the Titans inside... and I made them march."
"You what?"
"I made them march," Eren repeated. "I... I killed everyone outside the walls. They're all dead."
"..."
"And not just the soldiers who attacked us. But the civilians. And the oppressed Eldians too. I didn't stop until the whole world was gone."
Reiss appeared out of the shadows and tackled Eren to the ground, similar to what the Chill did earlier. "Bastard!" he screamed. "You little bastard! You think I'd believe Frieda died just so the world could follow?!"
"I'm... not lying," Eren grunted. "I took... the world's freedom... to achieve my own. And I took the Reiss legacy with it."
Reiss angrily grasped Eren's head in a headlock. "Then killing you would be doing a favor. Our game ends here, Yeager!"
"Not like this."
Rod turned to the sound of a new voice and received a stab to the eye. Instead of feeling pain, he blindly charged at Ren and began to fight him. He repeated the same attacks, but more aggressively. And Eren had managed to gain distance between him and Rod.
"You think you can kill me, fool?!" Reiss yelled at Ren as he threw away the knife.
"I don't need to kill you," Ren said. "I just need to waste your time."
*BOOM*
A shockwave blasted both Ren and Reiss away and made them tumble on the ground. Ren was the first to recover and he bit into his hand.
*BOOM*
Another shockwave blasted Reiss into a tree and injured him. For the first time in a long time, Reiss felt pain outside a physical body. When he felt his face, he could see black blood escaping his face. His rage came like a whirlwind, and he was prepared to fight when he turned around.
But he saw nothing.
Eren and Ren had disappeared, leaving everyone else where they left them. Rod looked towards the car, and then back at the people he was torturing. But still, he saw nothing.
"They'll be back," he said. "Whatever Semblance they used to escape, they won't abandon-"
*BAM*
Rod felt a heavy strike to his body, as if a large tree or arm had struck him. He screamed as he flew into more trees and felt intense pain all over. When he looked to find the source, he saw nothing again. But trees were crashing all around him before he was struck again, this time with what felt like claws.
Black blood escaped his body again as he was injured, but he still refused to die. While he was still angry, fear became a strong emotion when he had no idea where his enemies were.
This fear intensified when he suddenly felt that he was being crushed in a vice. He could feel something around him, even touch it when he tried to break free. But his prey was still invisible.
However, there was one thing that stopped being invisible; a large, black Titan hovering over him with the intent to kill.
"No..." Rod said before he saw the Titan lift its foot. When he realized what was happening, Rod tired again and again to free himself from the invisible grip. But when he saw the foot come closer and closer at tremendous speed, Rod gave in to fear for the first time in years. "No! No! N-!"
*SLAM*
The Founding Titan's foot had crushed Rod into the ground. When it lifted, all Eren could see before he freed himself was a large black puddle of mush.
Ren too decided to free himself, as he stopped being invisible and left his Titan. Although he was missing a hand from Eren crushing it, this was a small price to pay for what they accomplished.
"Good riddance," Ren said as he looked at the mush before him. He then looked back to his friend. "Nice work, Eren."
"Nice work, yourself," Eren said with a smile. "Uh, sorry about the hand."
"Don't worry. It'll grow back." Ren looked at the steaming arm and quickly lowered it. "Eren... I-"
"We'll talk about it later." Eren turned back to everyone else. "I should be able to free them too. But you think you could lend a hand?"
"Um..."
Eren turned back to Ren and quickly realized what he said. "Oh..." he said with an awkward laugh. "Sorry."
When the situation was finally under control, and everyone was sure that there were no more Chill in the area, everyone got to work. First, they gave an appropriate funeral for the boy Rod Reiss had killed. And then, everyone helped set up camp for the night. While the food was cooking, Eren decided to see how Cinder was. Everyone else had calmed down and physically recovered from Reiss' attack, but Eren wanted to see how she was doing regardless.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
Cinder was sitting away from the fire before Eren came to talk to her. She chose to stay where she was, but looked up at Eren with a smile. "Better," she said. "Much better."
"..."
Eren could tell that Cinder was wearing a forced smile, so he simply stared at her with a serious expression. The smile disappeared and a heavy sigh took its place.
"I'm sorry," Cinder apologized. "I know it's over, but I was just... I feel so... violated."
"Join the club," Eren said as he sat down. "Reiss got in my head too, just like he did with everyone else. I didn't know what I was expecting, but... it wasn't that."
"Yeah, no way. You said he showed you how he changed from a short old man to a Grimm?"
"Yep. You didn't see that, did you?"
"No. I, uh... saw something else."
Eren quickly realized he shouldn't have brought it up. "Shit, I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't even thinking."
"No, it's fine. I'll tell you later, I'm just... still processing."
"For sure. I'll be here when you're ready. Besides, Reiss won't hurt you again. I'll make sure of it."
Cinder leaned on Eren's shoulder and smiled a genuine smile this time. "My hero." As she sat and reflected on what Rod made her see, Cinder thought about how it was unspeakable. Although she promised to tell Eren what she saw eventually, there was one thing she wanted to say now. "Eren... I didn't think I was going to see you again. So... I just need to say that..."
"Yeah?"
Cinder moved off Eren's shoulder. "Well... I, uh... I-"
"Could I have everyone's attention?"
Eren and Cinder turned back to the campfire to see Ren standing in front of it while everyone was sitting.
Eren looked back to Cinder. "I know we had a lot on our plate, but he really seems different," he said. "Think we got the old Ren back?"
"Hard to say," Cinder replied. "Let's just see what he wants."
"Wait, didn't you still want to-?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Come on."
When all eyes were on him, Ren cleared his throat as he stood up. "I, uh... I have a lot to say." He then turned to the first person next to him. "Like I said, I owe you all a real apology. Mercury, I'd like to start with you. You have every right to be upset with me for leaving like that."
"Yeah, sure, whatever," was Mercury's first response. But a nudge on the shoulder from Emerald made him change his mind after he sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I got mad too. I kinda went overboard when you were just trying to help. And, uh... yeah, leaving like that sucked. Let's just say I'm not used to people bailing like that."
"I understand, really. So if I ever try to leave like that again, you can just knock me back to my senses." Both of the boys slightly laughed before Ren moved a hand towards Mercury. "No hard feelings?"
"Nah, we're cool." Mercury settled for a fist-bump instead of a handshake, however. "But, uh, same go for you?"
"Of course." Ren looked over to Emerald next. "Emerald, I don't quite recall upsetting you personally, but I regret any distress I may have caused you recently."
"No worries," Emerald said calmly with a slow nod.
Ren turned to the person sitting next to Emerald: Midori. "Midori, I actually have to thank you for saving my life," Ren said with a smile. "I wouldn't be standing here if you didn't do what you did."
"Don't mention it," Midori said with a smile. "I think I can say the same to you." Midori stopped smiling and stared at the fire. "I gotta get better fighting."
"You will. I have a few lessons from Eren I could help you with."
"I'd like that. Just promise me you won't be hurting yourself again."
"You have my word."
Ren looked over to Cinder next. He could tell that his apology for her was going to be difficult. His newly evolved Semblance was allowing him to see a mixture of feelings in her. The amount of red petals over green and violet showed that she was still harboring a grudge against him. But Ren couldn't blame Cinder for feeling this way, after everything he said. Nevertheless, he finally prepared a worthy apology.
"Cinder, I have a lot to say to you and Eren," Ren began.
Cinder was doing a good job of hiding her feelings from everyone so far, but her distaste of recent events showed themselves when she spoke. "Ren, I can accept an apology, but-"
"Please, let me finish," Ren calmly requested. "I didn't get a chance to tell you yesterday, but what I said to you was wrong." Despite this being true, Ren was quick to backtrack on his words. "No, not wrong. It was... the worst lie I've ever told anyone. I knew Ms. Fritz before you and Eren met her, and she was a different person back then."
Ren quickly regretted putting his words like that when he saw Cinder flare with red petals. "Ren, don't bring my mother into this again!" she warned.
"No, no, not in a bad way! She always hid her feelings, but it was easy to see that she was... lonely before meeting you. I mean, she had a big house and a big farm, but nobody to share it with. And then you and Eren came along. No offense Eren, but it's clear that Cinder was special to her." Ren pointed to Cinder. "You changed her life when you came to Kuroyuri. I've never seen her happier than calling you her daughter."
Ren began to regain his confidence when he saw the red and violet disappear from Cinder. "...Really?" she asked as yellow flowers invisibly floated around her. "I, uh, I don't know about all that, but-"
"No, that's exactly how it is," Ren politely argued. "Again, no offense, Eren."
"None taken," Eren said before he let Ren continue.
"And it's clear how much being a part of a family changed your life too," Ren said with a smile. "Loyalty, bravery, and strength are a lot of things you can learn from that. You have all those qualities and then some. And in a way, you and Eren became the older siblings I never knew I needed, that I still need." Ren frowned again. "And I had no right to say the opposite. I'm not sure if I made you believe in my lie or not, but I'm sorry."
When she finished letting all of those words sink in, Cinder stood up and walked over to her friend. "Ren... what you said was messed up," she said. "I don't think I really believed what you said, but it still hurt." Ren lowered his head as she said this. "I mean, that could be a little biased. I still miss Mom."
"She misses you too," Ren said as he lifted his head. "Mother was telling me about her when I came back. And before I left, she said she would tell Ms. Fritz you were doing fine." He then lowered his head once more. "Either way, it doesn't matter. You should be angry with me. Even about the stuff before I said that."
"Yeah... but I think we've all had our fill of anger for a while," Cinder pointed out. "It's just gonna get us nowhere fast."
"Agreed." Ren held out a hand to Cinder. "Friends?"
After a few moments and a soft sigh, Cinder smiled and took Ren's hand. "Friends," she said as she shook.
Despite the apparent peace between them, Ren could see a few red petals falling with all the yellow ones. It was obvious that Cinder still harbored some anger about all of his actions, but Ren was expecting this from everyone. So if she needed more time to forgive him, all Ren could do was be patient until Cinder was ready.
With his mind set in stone on this idea, the young man turned to his next friend. "Eren, you were right," he said. "You were right about me last night, all of it."
"Ren, I-"
"I was pathetic, I was holding us back from fighting Salem. I was just so... angry, at myself. Not just angry, but I was ashamed too. I'm sorry I let it all out on you and let my actions lead us astray."
Eren had a hunch as to where this shake came from. "Nobody blames you for your dad's death, Ren," he said. "You don't need to be ashamed about that."
"I know that now, but it doesn't matter. The point is that I've let my shame and anger do the opposite of what I should be doing; helping you stop Salem, by any means necessary." Ren moved closer to Eren and stuck out a hand. "Which is why I'm done calling my own shots, why I'm done arguing with you. From now on, let me know what to do and when. And you won't be seeing or hearing any more trouble from me."
Despite the sincerity of his apology and promise, Eren felt a little unnerved about Ren's request. "Ren, I... I appreciate the apology," he said. "But I don't want to put you on a leash like that. Isn't that going overboard?"
"Maybe, maybe not. But my trip back home taught me something; I lack discipline. I've let my feelings take over and let them lead me to making one mistake after another. From now on, I'm going to teach myself how to take control of my feelings, to prevent them from jeopardizing what we need to do. Until then, I need the right person to lead me in the right direction."
Eren found it hard to argue with that point. And the looks everyone gave him showed that they too couldn't argue with the idea. Nevertheless, Eren had to make sure that Ren's mind was made up. "...Are you sure?" he asked.
"I am," Ren replied. He could see that Eren was uncertain with the idea, so he decided to change his perspective. "Don't think of this as putting me on a leash, but by making sure I don't veer off the road." Ren smiled and pointed back at Mercury. "Unlike some of our drivers."
"It was one time, dammit!" Mercury retorted, causing everyone to laugh.
When he stopped laughing, Eren accepted Ren's logic and took his offer. With his burden now softened once again, Ren needed one more thing before it was finally off his shoulders. "Nora... I know that-Nora?"
Everyone looked to where Nora should have been sitting, but the spot was empty. "Hey, where'd she go?" Mercury asked.
"Just need to pee, guys!" a familiar voice called out. Everyone saw Nora moving into the woods, far away from where she was sitting. "I'll be back!"
"..."
Everyone simply accepted Nora leaving and began to eat. While doing so, Ren was preparing to talk to her when she returned. And he was growing confident that he had done a good job at apologizing to everyone, given how happy they all seemed while eating dinner.
However, both his Semblance and the normal eye were telling Ren that Eren seemed to be upset about something.
"Hey Eren, your food is getting cold," he pointed out, seeing that Eren hadn't eaten too much. Eren looked down at the bowl and simply put it to the side. "Is... something wrong?"
"I'm sorry," Eren said as he turned to Ren. "I'm just thinking, that's all."
"How we're going to stop Lionheart and clear your name?" A surprised expression from his friend told Ren that his guess was correct. "I may have an idea about that. Unless you have one that's better."
"I'm all ears at this point." Eren turned back to the fire everyone was sitting around. "Cinder and I were talking about it earlier, but every choice I made for us just led us to hiding out in the woods. Things could get worse regardless of what we do, what I make us do." Eren let out a sigh. "I'm not really sure I'm cut out for this, Ren."
Ren was easily seeing what it was that Eren believed he wasn't ready for. And his request earlier may have contributed to this feeling. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown, Eren," he said calmly. "I'm sure it's normal to feel this kind of pressure."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"And don't sell yourself short. Remember that I was the one who got us in this mess. Your plan was perfect. Not to mention the evidence we have on Lionheart."
"That's true." Eren looked back to Ren. "What was your idea?"
"Well, do you remember when we took Mercury to the hospital? After his father broke his legs?" Eren nodded. "Well, perhaps we could try and reach that officer who helped us that day. She has some experience with corrupt Councilmen."
"Huh... that's a good point," Eren said. "If she's still on the force, she might be able to hear us out. And we'll have enough evidence to support it when we-" Eren quickly felt that he was getting ahead of himself. "I mean, if we do that," he finished.
"I think we should," said Ren. "Not because it was my idea, but because you can get behind it." Eren slowly nodded. "Besides, win or lose, we have your back. Together, we can make any plan we think of work out."
Eren smiled at the idea, grateful for some idea as to how they could pull off stopping Lionheart. Although he wished everyone would stop looking up to him like this, he was glad that someone had better ideas than him; and that they were willing to support him by any means.
But there was someone else he was concerned with other than himself.
"I think we're almost out of food tonight," Eren said as he looked out towards the woods. "Is Nora even gonna eat tonight?"
Ren looked at the remainder of the meal and Nora's empty seat. He too was concerned, it was unlike Nora to not eat anything. Even if she didn't like a particular food, Nora always cleaned her plate of any food.
And it was even more concerning to see a trail of invisible blue petals in the direction she walked away in.
"I'll see if she's hungry," Ren said as he quickly moved into the forest. Haunting memories of his suicidal actions came back to him, even though he doubted Nora would try anything like that. He imagined that this was what Nora was like when she found him like that, given that the blue petals were an unexpected sight.
Ren also remembered that Nora was the last person he needed to apologize to for his horrible actions. His mind raced with a million questions, mainly about what was bothering Nora and how he could make it up to her.
The search for Nora wasn't a long one. He found her in another clearing, one where she was continuously pacing from left to right and muttering to herself.
"Maybe I can try to stop being funny," she said to herself. "No, how would that help? I could try fighting without Magnhild. No, not against Salem. Maybe I could..."
After a few seconds of silence, Nora kicked a rock in frustration and sat on the ground. Ren could see the blue petals continue to fall, and he could even hear the sound of soft weeping. This was when Ren stopped being a passive observer.
"...Nora?" he softly called out.
"Gah!" Nora screamed as she stood up and turned around. "Ren!" Nora quickly put a smile on her face and wiped her eyes. "So-Sorry for screaming like that! How-How are you doing?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing. What are you doing out here?"
"Oh, no-nothing! Just, uh, trying to figure out how I can help Eren."
"We actually got a idea for that. Like Emerald said, we can bend the truth to the authorities. And we can look for that officer who helped us when you were kidnapped by Mercury's dad."
"...You did?" Nora looked down to the ground. "That's... That's a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Are you coming back? Dinner's almost gone."
"Uh, yeah, yeah. I'll be there in a few."
"So you're not going anywhere. Good." Ren found a large rock close to Nora that he could sit down on. "I can leave you alone if you want. But I just want to say a few things first."
Nora remembered all of Ren's apologies vividly. To say that they all came from the bottom of his heart, and that they were all sincere and very thoughtful, was nothing but the whole truth. She knew that Ren was in no mood to lie to her or anyone, not with a matter like this. But she didn't want an apology.
She wanted... she needed something else.
"Ren... I know you do," Nora began quietly. "And I need to hear a few things from you too."
Ren took this request as his turn to apologize. "Of course," he said calmly. "I think I should start by-"
"No, let me finish."
"..."
Ren was taken aback by the interruption, but he realized that Nora wanted his apology to be on her terms. So he remained silent and waited for Nora to finish talking. But when he saw her back up a few feet and spread her arms out, he immediately became confused.
"Ren... whatever apology you have for me isn't necessary," Nora said when she stopped moving her arms. "I was angry at you for shoving us out when things went wrong, for shoving us out so you didn't need to feel things that are hard. But Cinder was right; being angry won't solve anything. So I'm ready to forgive you. I just need you to do something for me."
"Um... okay," Ren said as he snapped out of his trance. "Okay. What is it?"
"Look at me. Tell me what you see."
"..."
Nora hoped this question would help relieve her spirits, and maybe see what she was all about. But all it had done was cast new spell of confusion on Ren. "Ex... Excuse me?" he asked.
Nora mentally sighed as she repeated her question. "What do you see when you look at me? I wanna know."
"I... I don't think I understand, Nora."
Nora lowered her arms and turned away. "Forget it," she said as she gave up and turned back to her thoughts. "I can't even ask a simple question right. Now what am I good for?"
"No, wait a second," Ren said as he moved closer. "Why are you asking? What do you want me to see?"
Nora quickly turned around and saw Ren much closer to her, very close in her personal space. But she never cared about that, and she certainly didn't care now. "Anything, Ren," she said. "I wanna know what you see in me." Her next questions became sporadic and crazed. It was hard for Nora to take a breath in between them. "Like how much of a good thing am I? What am I good for?! What have I done to you other than being strong and-?!"
"Nora, Nora, calm down!" Ren said as he caught her hands, which she had been throwing in the air while ranting. "Where is all this coming from? What are you talking about?"
Nora sighed as she relaxed in the embrace around her hands. "Ren... did you know that this was probably the first time... in a long time... that we've been apart?" she asked.
Ren took a few seconds to think about the question, and quickly realized that she was right. "I... It seems that way, yes," he confirmed.
"Ren, I'm glad you're starting to figure yourself out. Really, I am. But since you've been gone... I realized that there are some things about me that I need to figure out."
"Like what?"
"Exactly what I asked you. I need to know if there's anything about me other than the girl who makes dumb jokes and smashes things with a hammer."
"What? Of course there is."
"Then tell me. What else is there to me?" Nora lowered her head down to the ground before timidly asking another question. "What... am I to you?"
One would think that this would be a hard question to answer on the spot. But given that Ren finally understood what Nora was talking about, and that he had known her practically his whole life, Ren knew exactly how to answer his friend in no time at all.
"You're the girl who puts everything she has into what she does," he began. "You support everyone around you, you help without worrying about how it might hurt. I mean, sure, you may be the muscle of our group, but there is so much more than that." Ren pointed to her chest. "Under the jokes and hammer swings, you have a heart of gold, Nora."
Nora looked to where Ren was pointing and put a hand over her heart. It was definitely something that she needed to hear, and something that made her cheeks red. "Come on," she said with a smile. "It can't be that great." Instead of seeking more praise, Nora truly thought Ren was exaggerating.
"Of course it is," Ren said with his own smile. He began to feel a sense of satisfaction from his description of Nora, which led him to happily continuing. "It's something that made Father love you, something that makes our friends love you, and something that makes me love-"
"..."
Ren quickly stopped talking when he said that word. He wasn't lying, but he was getting caught up in the moment and realized it too late. Nora looked up at him with a slightly dropped jaw and wide eyes. Ren couldn't take back what he said, but he decided to try and spin it around.
"It's..." he began nervously. "It's what makes you my best... I mean, that's why I..."
"..."
Ren realized that any attempt to continue his sentence other than how he began it would be a pointless task. But more importantly, he knew it wouldn't be fair to Nora. After everything she said, how she questioned what she was good for, she of all people deserved to hear the truth.
"Nora... I'm not as blind as you might have guessed," Ren said calmly. "Truth be told, I'm not really sure what you see in me. Especially after this week." Nora shared a soft chuckle with Ren before he continued talking. "And it didn't really happen fast. Not like how it happened with you. But... it still happened. I still..." Ren mentally ordered himself to stop beating around the bush and spoke his mind. "I love you."
"..."
To say that Nora was waiting her whole life to hear those three words would be an accurate guess. Ever since she met Ren, she knew the day she heard those words would be the best day of her life. That every up and down along the way would be obsolete compared to the day she heard Ren's confession. A part of her always doubted that she would hear them, but now that part had vanished without a trace.
It was true, Nora was happy beyond any comprehension. And thanks to his Semblance, Ren could see just how happy he made her. A sense of pride began to fill him when he saw yellow petals floating around his best friend, and he too was sharing the same amount of joy.
This joy, however, disappeared when he saw that Nora's was beginning to fade as she looked away.
"When my mom ran from the Grimm and left me behind... you found me," she said calmly. "We became Ren and Nora. And when we found out about Salem, we all became a team. A team with individual strengths that make it the best. Eren wants to free everyone and himself from Salem, Cinder wants to follow her own destiny, and I... I don't know who 'Just Nora' is. And if I'm ever going to find out, then I have to do it alone."
"..."
Nora was glad that Ren was generously giving her his undivided attention, but she was afraid of his reaction when she made that decision. Nevertheless, she continued to open her heart to her friend. "Because I've always loved you, Lie Ren, and that pretty head on your shoulders seems like it's doing a lot better." Ren couldn't help but chuckle again before Nora finished. "But I still got to get mine sorted out before I can be the... the uh..."
Ren had a feeling what word Nora was looking for, given her pause and the red on her cheeks. Nevertheless, the invisible pink petals around her was telling him that Nora made up her mind on the subject.
Of course, Ren had no idea what was going to happen when he confessed his feelings. And he certainly wasn't expecting this. Nevertheless, he was more than willing to put his feelings aside if it meant helping Nora. So he wrapped his arms around her and spoke again.
"Take all the time you need," he said. "I'll be right here." When he let her go and saw her smiling and softly crying, Ren brushed the tears aside and tapped her nose with his finger. "Boop."
Nora laughed as she hugged Ren once again.