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.

27. Chapter 27

Quick note: hey everyone, hope you're doing great. Thanks for being so patient for the next chapter. Before we start, we just want to mention one thing. Our poll for rewriting the first 10 chapters of the story is still open, so please vote. We'd really like to know if we can make the story better for you or leave it as it is. We don't have an official closing date yet, but we will announce the closing when a majority is clear.

So, without further ado, here's the next chapter.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."

Oscar Wilde

Chapter 27: An Imposter Among Us

The day after Blake Belladonna said her goodbyes to Eren and his friends, everyone realized how the battle with Hazel and the White Fang had left its toll on them. More specifically, how their weapons had sustained either minor damage or seemed to be past the point of no return.

Fortunately, and very surprisingly, Mercury went straight to work on everyone's weapons while taking a break every once in a while. In the meantime, Eren realized how this was the best time to explain to Midori what a Titan really was and how he was involved with stopping Salem. The story was a long one, given the fact that he chose to explain it rather than burden her with his memories. She seemed to understand it, more or less. But the ideas of Eren's story were enough to shake her to the core.

Both Mercury and Eren were hard at work throughout the day. When night came, Eren had finished telling his life's story to Midori. Mercury, however, had one last weapon to test out: his. Which was why he was out in the woods alone.

Despite Eren's name being cleared and the fact that they were in a different Kingdom, everyone had grown accustomed to camping in the woods, which was why the Dark Wing was outside the city of Vale. Not too far away, but far enough to make sure the sounds of Titans wouldn't reach any ears.

And certainly not the sound of Mercury killing Grimm.

*BAM*

*BANG*

*THOOM*

There were a variety of sounds as Mercury used his weapons to kill Beowolves, Ursai, and even Creeps out in the forest. All the while, the young man was having the time of his life. After he killed what felt like the millionth Grimm, Mercury took the lack of monsters as an opportunity to stop and rest.

As he took pride in his work with both the weapons he fixed and the monsters he killed, Mercury was beginning to feel better than he was yesterday. In fact, he was starting to feel rather good about himself. The past few days hadn't been easy for him, but he was still standing. He survived a near death experience with Tyrian, fought off multiple insane Grimm as a human and Titan, and he personally finished off Hazel in the Forever Fall. Whether it was skill or a crazy amount of luck, Mercury had grown a lot since he left Kuroyuri.

And now, he had decided to test his luck again.

Mercury began to walk back the way he came while he took out his Scroll. He tapped a few buttons until he saw a list of names and phone numbers. He then scrolled down the list until he came across a certain name: Vernal.

Despite the numerous fights and changes he had to endure, one thing that remained the same was Mercury missing Vernal. If she was with him now, there would be no question regarding the amount of support she could give. Vernal was strong, cunning, a special kind of force to be reckoned with. When he was recovering in Mistral, Vernal was there to help Mercury get back on his feet.

And for some reason, Mercury was missing that special kind of help. Of course, Eren and the others were more than helpful right now. But there was something about Vernal that Mercury needed right now. And so, he decided to test his luck by giving her a call.

And needless to say, he was feeling very lucky tonight.

"Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. At the tone, please record your message."

Each word made Mercury's spirit sink deeper than he ever thought possible. "Aw, crap," he said in disappointment. "Knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."

*BEEP*

Mercury quickly realized that he could leave a message if he wanted to. Despite the chances of Vernal hearing it were slim, Mercury didn't want to end it here.

"Uh... Hey, Vernal," Mercury said as he regained his train of thought. "It's Mercury. Was kinda hoping you'd answer, but I guess you're still out of it, huh?"

"..."

Mercury chuckled as he continued to talk. "Wish I could say the same thing. Man, I've had a hell of a week. First it was a land filled with Grimm, then one crazy Faunus... Well, more than one crazy Faunus. Would you believe me if I said I helped take down the White Fang?"

"..."

Mercury stopped laughing as he remembered why he was calling Vernal. "Yeah, it's been crazy. But I know it'd be better if you were here. Man, you would have had the time of your life out here. Besides... I miss you, babe."

"..."

"So, uh... if you're awake, give me a call. I'll see if we can swing back home and let you tag along. Catch ya later. Bye."

*BEEP*

"Ugh. Hell."

Mercury put his Scroll back in his pocket and kicked a rock in his path. The silence and his dampened spirits were enough for the young man to decide that it was time to go back to the car. His walk was giving him enough time to think, but the thinking was far from positive.

"What the hell were you expecting?" Mercury sarcastically asked himself. "That offing that Reiss guy would make her magically wake up? God, you're so fucking stupid!" Mercury kicked another rock in his path, and found himself growing angrier. "And what? Everything just supposed to be hunky dory if she's here?! No, screw that! I can take care of myself! I got my Titan, I got my weapons, and I got my head screwed on straight. Tyrian got one over me, sure. But not Hazel. Big shot got what he deserved."

"..."

All of a sudden, Mercury shouted into the sky. "You hear me, you son of a bitch?!" he screamed. "You got what you fucking deserved!"

"..."

Mercury let out a sigh when he realized that he was taking to the sky. "This is stupid," he said. "I gotta get some sleep."

*CRASH*

"What the-?!"

Mercury quickly looked back towards the woods and heard the same crashing again. But now, he was able to see that trees were falling over one by one.

"...Oops," Mercury realized as he looked at the trees. "Looks like I reeled in some more Grimm."

*CRASH*

Mercury let out a sigh as he began to swing his legs. "Alright, one more before bed."

*CRASH*

"Sheesh. Might need my Titan for this one. What is it, an Ursa?"

*CRASH*

"No, wait. It's gotta be a Deathstalker."

*CRASH*

"Hmm... maybe a Goliath?"

*BAM*

Mercury got his answer in the form of a large humanoid arm, one that hit the ground in front of him and caused him to fall backwards.

"Gah!" Mercury screamed as he scrambled to his feet. "What the fu-?! A freaking Titan?!"

The arm was soon followed by a large black body, one that towered over the trees as it emerged from the forest. After letting out a mighty roar and bringing its fists up into the air, the Titan looked down at Mercury and revealed its face.

"Eren?!"

---

While Mercury was out training, everyone inside the Dark Wing was performing a form of multitasking. The first task was eating their dinner; the second task was rooting for either Nora or Cinder, who were playing a video game on their Scrolls.

"Come on, Nora!" Ren cheered. "You can do it!"

"Go, Cinder!" Emerald shouted. "Take her down!"

"I play the winner!" Midori shouted back.

Nora and Cinder were able to block out the cheering as they played their game; it was a simple fighting game where a player controls a ninja with a katana as a weapon. Nora had played it dozens of times with Mercury, and this was the first time Cinder was playing.

Oddly enough, Cinder had proven herself to be a good player.

"Red wins!" an electronic voice from the Scrolls shouted as the blue ninja fell to the ground.

"Yes!" Cinder shouted as she jumped in victory. "In your face, Nora!"

"Nooooo!" Nora replied as she playfully fell to the ground and dropped her Scroll. "Have you no heart?!"

Everyone around the two players laughed as Ren helped Nora off the ground. And reluctantly, Nora handed her Scroll to Midori with a frown on her face. "I don't get it," she said to Cinder. "How are you this good at the game? I always beat Mercury when we played!"

"Well, I'm not Mercury," Cinder confidently declared. "As you can see, I'm better."

"Oh, yeah? How do I know you never played with Eren?" Nora looked around the area to interrogate Eren, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where is he?"

"He said he was going into town. Wanted to get some stuff Mercury needed after he fixed all our weapons."

"That doesn't change the fact that you've been practicing with him!"

"Sorry, Nora. I never played this game until tonight." Cinder smiled as she brushed her hair away from her face. "There's a new master in town."

"No way!" Nora began to reach for her Scroll. "I want a rematch!" she said.

"Hey, I called next game!" Midori said as she held on to the Scroll.

"She's right," Cinder said to Nora. "We can have a rematch later if it means that much to-"

*BUZZ*

*BUZZ*

*BUZZ*

The game on Cinder's screen disappeared when she saw that someone was trying to call her. The screen showed that the caller was Mercury, so Cinder immediately answered.

"Hey, Mercury," she said. "Are you coming back any-?"

"Cinder, what the hell is up with Eren?!" Mercury shouted from the other end. The shout was loud enough for everyone to hear, despite the call not being on speaker phone.

"What?" Cinder looked around again before she answered Mercury. "Sorry, he's not here. He said he went into town to get you some more supplies."

"No, he's not! He's trying to kill me!"

"What?"

Everyone in the car once again heard what Mercury said, which spread a cloud of shock and disbelief over them.

"He jumped me outside the camp!" Mercury explained. "He's going on a rampage with his Titan!"

"What?" Cinder asked again. While confusion at the claim was present, Cinder replaced it with a refusal to believe that it was true. "He can't be! Eren wouldn't do that!"

"He's doing it right now! I need some damn backup out here!"

*CLICK*

"Mercury?! Mercury!"

When Cinder realized that the call had ended, she turned back to all of her friends to see the same kind of shock and disbelief she was experiencing.

"Did he say... Eren attacked him?" Nora asked.

"No way," Emerald said. "It's gotta be a joke. I mean, this is Mercury we're talking about."

"..."

"Right?"

Nobody shared Emerald's logic, despite the fact that Mercury was indeed a prankster.

"I don't think so, Emerald," Ren finally admitted. "He may really need some help. Does anyone know where he is?"

*BOOM*

Everyone rushed over to the car windows when they heard an explosion. Sure enough, they saw red lightning in the middle of a field of trees; Mercury had resorted to using his Titan.

"Ren's right," Cinder said as she grabbed her gear. "Let's find out what's going on." Emerald, Ren, and Nora all rushed outside while Cinder stopped Midori. "Stay here. Don't open the door for anyone except us." She immediately took off before she heard any protests.

Fortunately for the team, Mercury wasn't too far from the camp. However, despite the protection he was getting from his Titan, he was losing the battle he had engaged with the other Titan. He was able to send a few kicks to its head and chest, but the Titan grabbed Mercury's leg and tackled him to the ground. After a few strong but slow punches, the Flashstep Titan's face looked like mush.

And right now, the Titan was about to bite down into Mercury's neck.

*BOOM*

The Titan's head moved away from Mercury's neck after a rocket exploded in its face. When pink smoke died down, it looked down to see Nora continue to fire rocket after rocket at its face. And her aim was nothing but true.

After five more rockets to the face, the Titan dropped Mercury and began to run away. This served as the best opportunity for Mercury to exit the Titan while Emerald and Ren helped him.

"Did... anyone else just see that?" Emerald asked in surprise.

"It sure looks like Eren's Titan," said Ren.

"Yeah..." Cinder agreed. "But when was the last time Eren ran from a fight? This isn't right." Cinder immediately leapt into the air with Dancing Midnight, despite the protests from her friends.

"Cinder, wait up!" Nora yelled as she jumped into the air. She then placed Magnhild in a position that she could sit on before firing more pink smoke. Only this time, the weapon allowed her to fly through the air as if she was on a rocket. This was a feature recently added by Mercury, and she saw no time like the present to test it out.

Catching up to Cinder was no easy task, but it appeared to be even harder to find the Titan.

"Where did it go?" Nora asked as she scrambled to transform her weapon.

"I can't see it," Cinder groaned in frustration. "It's too dark in here."

Nora wanted to find out where her new enemy had gone, but this wasn't the only thing on her mind. "Cinder... that was Eren's Titan," she said. "You saw it too, right?"

Despite being unable to believe Eren could do such a thing, Cinder couldn't deny that the Titan was indeed Eren's.

"I-"

*CRASH*

"Look out!"

Nora looked up too late to see a dark fist coming straight at her.

*BAM*

---

"Ugh..."

"Easy now. Just follow the light."

A pair of aqua eyes opened quickly when their owner heard a voice calling her towards the light. "Huh?! No, I don't wanna go!"

"..."

Nora Valkyrie looked around to see that she was safe and sound with the rest of her friends. And the light that was being referred to was a simple flashlight that Midori was holding and shining in her eyes.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," said Midori, who put away her flashlight and examined Nora's face. "You feeling okay? You had a pretty bad bruise on the back of your head."

"Oh, I'm fine," Nora said with a smile as she began to stand up. "I hit my head almost once a day." The smile soon disappeared when she remembered what hit her head.

Or rather, who.

"But... I've never been hit like that by Eren."

"..."

Nora looked around the car. "You all saw it too, right?" she asked. Ren and Emerald nodded, but neither Cinder nor Mercury did anything. Midori, however, did not see Eren outside the safety of the Dark Wing.

"Was it really a Titan?" Midori timidly asked. "Did... Eren really do this?" Midori had just heard Eren's whole story, and the part of the Rumbling shook her to her very core. Of course, she didn't lash out at Eren; but it was still hard to be around him.

And tonight's story only intensified these fears.

"Of course he didn't do it!" Cinder defiantly yelled.

While the majority of the group remained skeptical of the whole thing, Mercury also had his mind set in stone. "Are you kidding me?" he asked Cinder. "Everyone saw him attack me!"

"Why would he do that?" Cinder asked. "It doesn't make sense!"

"I don't care if it makes sense! Eren tried to kill me!"

"No, he didn't! He wouldn't!" Cinder looked back to the rest of her friends. "When was the last time Eren ran from a fight?! Why did he run away when he could have taken us?!"

Nora was the first to speak up. "Well... I was knocked out when we split up," she said.

"Well... yeah," Cinder admitted. "But that... thing took off again. Then we brought you here."

"That's true, Nora," Ren said. "It just hit you into the ground and took off again. We didn't bother going after it."

"Okay... but it's face." Nora vividly remembered seeing the details of Eren's Titan, before and after she woke up. "How can we explain that?"

"I... don't believe we can." Ren turned to Cinder once again. "Cinder, it may be time for us to face reality. I don't know why he did it, but we can-"

"He didn't do it!" Cinder protested again. "Guys, this is crazy! He wouldn't do this, you gotta trust me!"

"Oh, my God!" Mercury screamed in frustration. "Listen to Ren, Cinder! Wake the fuck up and see what the fuck is right in front of you!"

Cinder turned to Mercury. "Mercury, I'm sorry this happened to you, I really am! But Eren just attacking you doesn't make a damn bit of sense!"

"I said I don't care if it makes sense! He attacked me! How is that so hard to understand?!"

"Because why would he go out of his way to get you more tools and supplies just to try and kill you?!"

"See?! He's not even here right now! Why? Because he could be out in the woods waiting to kill us!"

"Oh, of course! He's waiting for four other Titans to come out searching for him so he can ambush us!"

Midori saw something out of the corner of her eye, which caused her to look out the window. "Um, guys?" she asked calmly.

"It doesn't make sense, Mercury!" Cinder yelled. "Think about it!"

"Here's something to think about!" Mercury yelled back. "Ren and I tried calling Eren when we got back here! None of our calls came through! Doesn't that make sense?!"

"Have you seen where we are?! There's no way a Scroll could work out here!"

"I literally called you for help!"

Midori looked past the window towards Mercury and Cinder. "Guys," she called out again.

"So what do you suggest we do?!" Cinder shouted. "Go out there and kill Eren before he kills us?!"

"If he can kill an entire world, he can kill any of us!" Mercury impulsively yelled. "So, yeah; I'd feel a lot better knowing he won't come for us in the future!"

Cinder was shocked to hear that someone she knew for so long could even think about something like this. "You can't!" she cried. "I won't let you!"

"Oh, of course you won't!" Mercury shouted. "You wouldn't want some damn common sense to ruin your chances at sleeping with Eren, now would you?!"

*BAM*

After the shock of the insult died down, Cinder angrily grabbed Mercury's collar and slammed him against the wall.

"That is none of your business!" she screamed.

"Guys!" Midori called loudly.

Cinder and Mercury turned to Midori and screamed the same thing.

"What?!"

"Eren's here!"

"..."

Everyone scrambled to the window to see that Eren was indeed approaching the Dark Wing. He was unarmed and without Soaring Freedom, but he was carrying a large sack on his back while looking at his Scroll.

"..."

All eyes fell onto Eren as he stepped inside the Dark Wing. He didn't look at everyone at first, he simply put down the bag he was carrying and got himself a bottle of water. Mercury began to grow enraged at Eren's apparent apathy while Cinder stayed silent.

"Hey, everyone," Eren said as he finished drinking his water. "Sorry if I kept you waiting. Is there any... dinner... left?"

Eren finally saw everyone's silent and emotional glares when he turned around. Some of his friends even backed away when he moved closer.

"Is... something wrong?" Eren asked.

"We were just..." Nora began. "Wondering where you've been."

"We tried to call you," said Ren. "But we haven't been able to reach you."

"I just saw your calls on my Scroll," said Eren. "Sorry, I was on the far side of town. The Scroll range over there is on the fritz."

He began to reach towards the large bag he was previously carrying, which was close to Soaring Freedom. Unfortunately, this set everyone off and caused them to point their weapons at Eren.

"Whoa!"

"Easy!"

"Back away, Eren!"

The various commands scared Eren enough to back away from the bag and his weapon. "Hey, what are you doing?!" he asked. "That's just the stuff Mercury needed me to get him!"

"..."

Cinder immediately stood between Eren and the various weapons in an attempt to protect him. "Guys, stop it!" she screamed. "Look, this is our Eren, okay?! Can't you see that?!"

"..."

Everyone looked past Cinder to see that the look on Eren's face practically spelled the word "confusion" as clear as day. Slowly, they lowered their weapons and put them down.

"We're... sorry," Nora said quietly.

"Sorry?" Eren repeated as he moved closer to Nora. "Guys, what was that? What's going on here?!"

Before Nora could say anything else, Mercury stepped in front of Eren. "Hey, lay off her, man!" he said as he formed two fists. "This is between you and me, remember?!"

"Remember?!" Eren asked. "You're the one coming after me! What's there to remember?!"

"Guys, stop!" Cinder said as she pushed on both Eren and Mercury. "Eren, you didn't transform into a Titan while you were gone, did you?"

"A Titan? No, of course not. Why would I do that?"

"Mercury said he was-"

Mercury, who had begun to calm down after Ren told him to, took Cinder's place to explain himself. "Eren, I was attacked by a Titan earlier tonight," he said with a chip on his shoulder. "Your Titan."

"...What?"

---

Mercury drove the Dark Wing to the exact spot where he managed to lose the Titan. There, he was able to display proof that a Titan was indeed chasing him. While Mercury admitted that he was forced to use his own Titan to escape, the numerous footprints showed there had been two Titans at play throughout the forest.

"The trail goes deeper," Mercury said as he pointed at the field of ruined trees and destroyed grass. "That's where it saw me."

Cinder, while convinced that a Titan had indeed attacked Mercury, was certain that Eren didn't do this. While her heart was indeed in the right place, Cinder was forced to rely on logic to sway her friend.

"Mercury, the way to Vale is back the way we came from!" she noted. "Why would Eren leave the car, go to town, and make a giant circle just to attack you?"

"I don't know! I'm just saying, I saw Eren's exact Titan attack me!" Mercury looked back to Eren, who was staring at the destruction with everyone else. "Eren, what do you think?"

"..."

Cinder and Mercury walked closer to Eren, where Mercury snapped his fingers in his face. When he finally turned around, Mercury spoke again. "Look, I'm only showing and telling you what I saw," he said. "Just tell me the truth and I'll take your word for it; did you do this?"

"...No," Eren finally answered. "Mercury, I... I didn't do this."

"But another Titan was here, Eren. We all saw it, it was your Titan!"

"But I didn't do it!"

Cinder immediately pushed Mercury back from Eren. "What happened to 'I'll take your word for it,' Mercury?!" she angrily demanded.

"Hey, I'm willing to hear him out!" Mercury protested. "So let's say it wasn't Eren." Mercury turned back to his dumbfounded friend. "Did you give someone else a Titan? Maybe that Faunus we helped in the Forever Fall?"

"No, I didn't do anything!" Eren answered. As soon as he said that, Eren took another look at the ruined forest and remembered what everyone told him. "At least, I don't think I... No, I didn't..."

Mercury was starting to grow impatient. "Come on, man. Now you're saying you don't know? What am I supposed to think?"

Eren gripped his head furiously as he walked away from his friends. "I don't know!" he said as he formed a fist. "I just don't know!"

*BAM*

Eren threw a punch at a tree, inadvertently using his Semblance at the same time. The tree now had a deep impact on its bark, which everyone saw as they watched Eren leave.

"Let him go," Nora said to Cinder as she was about to approach him. "He's... dealing with a lot."

"This is bad," said Ren. "Could Eren really have done this and not remember?"

Cinder looked back to Ren. "It wasn't him, Ren," she said. "It couldn't have been."

While Ren didn't want to accuse his friend of doing something this terrible, he couldn't ignore the facts before him. "Cinder, I know Eren wouldn't want to do something like this. But maybe this is Salem's next attack."

"What do you mean?"

"She's part Grimm, just like us. What if she managed to find a way into Eren's head, to control him like she controls the other Grimm? This could be her next plan to get Midori."

Mercury quickly began to find the theory to be possible. But he also found a way to add to it. "If that's true... any one of us could be next," he said. "Anyone with a Titan, at least."

The idea scared both Emerald and Midori, but Midori's experience with Salem gave her another idea. "Guys, wait a minute," she implored. "I know what Salem's capable of, how she can create any Grimm she wants. What if that Titan wasn't Eren? What if she made another one like him to find us?"

"I don't know, Midori," said Ren. "When she created Eren's Titan, Eren attacked her and ran. Creating another one seems too risky, even for her."

"Ren's right," said Nora. "Maybe one of us could be next. But who could it be? How can we tell?"

"This is all just speculation!" Emerald shouted. "All we know is that someone or something attacked Mercury. We're not safe out here."

"Yeah, that's right," said Mercury. "The woods are practically a second home to a Titan. I think the Forever Fall taught us that. Maybe we should take the Dark Wing to Vale and sleep there."

"Are you nuts?" Nora asked. "If Eren or one of us turns, we could be putting everyone there at risk!"

"Okay, yeah. One of us should keep watch, then. After we move the car someplace else." Mercury looked back to Midori. "If there really is another Titan out here."

"Maybe two of us should keep watch," said Ren. "In case Salem can indeed turn one of us into a Titan. I'll take the first watch."

"I'll take it with you," Emerald offered. "If you turn into a Titan, I could use my Semblance to trick you."

"Maybe it should be three," Nora suggested. "We should keep an eye on Eren in case... in case something bad happens."

Ren looked past Nora and spoke. "I think we found our volunteer."

Nora followed Ren's gaze to see Cinder walking towards Eren, who was still by himself near the trees. As soon as she reached him, Cinder said nothing and wrapped her arms around Eren

"Man," Mercury said in surprise. "She really does have something for him, huh?"

"..."

Mercury turned around to see dry glares from everyone, all of which were saying the same thing. They all remembered what Mercury said to Cinder, and they knew that it crossed a line. Emotions were at an all time high back then, and now a semblance of rationality was restored. All that remained was for Mercury to apologize.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Mercury said as he began to walk away. Despite knowing what everyone expected him to do, Mercury was still mad about being attacked. And he was also annoyed that Cinder was defending Eren with everything she had, it was almost how Emerald was sucking up to Cinder. So he planned to say a fast apology and be on his way.

But he couldn't help but stop and listen to a private conversation he was beginning to hear.

"Cinder, I swear I didn't do this!" Eren said exhaustedly. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure it wasn't me!"

"Eren, I believe you!" Cinder said as she stood up. "It's alright, we'll figure this out."

"But you saw what Mercury said he saw, right?"

"Well... yeah, I did." Cinder saw Eren begin to pace as he groaned. "But Ren and everyone else were giving their own theories about it. The point is, we don't think you're behind this. And don't listen to Mercury. He's just being an asshole right now."

"Why, what happened?"

"He thinks you actually wanted to hurt us. Even after everything we did for him."

"That's not good. Maybe I should talk to him."

"I wouldn't. Not after that... thing he pulled in the Forever Fall."

Eren easily remembered the incident in the Forever Fall, despite the fact he didn't see what Mercury did to Hazel. But it was enough to shake everyone to the core, including him.

"First Tyrian, then Hazel, and now this," Eren thought aloud. "I don't even know how he's still thinking straight after all of it."

"Between you and me... I don't think he is," said Cinder. "It's like what happened to Ren, but worse." Cinder moved closer to Eren. "He's losing it, Eren. I don't think we're safe around him right now."

"..."

Words couldn't describe how Mercury, who was hiding in a place where Eren and Cinder couldn't see him, was feeling. Each word he heard made him feel more and more insulted. He was attacked by Eren tonight and they had the audacity to say that he was going crazy? When his only crime was protecting himself and everyone else?

"Fuck you, Cinder," Mercury mentally cursed as he walked away. As he walked away, however, everyone else came towards him.

"How are you feeling, Eren?" Ren asked calmly.

"Okay," Eren said as he walked over to his friends. "Sort of."

Nora sighed as he gently pushed past Ren. "Look, we're sorry we almost shot you," she said. "But we may have to take some precautions tonight."

"Like what?"

Ren spoke again. "We were trying to figure out why this is happening, and we may have a theory; she may have gotten into your head, Eren."

There was no question as to who "she" was. "Salem," Eren confirmed. "You think she can control my Titan?"

"Possibly. But if she can control you, it puts a majority of us at risk. Anyone with a Titan, that is."

Cinder nodded before she spoke up. "It's speculation like Emerald said, but it's the best idea we have."

The more Eren thought about it, the more sense all of this made. "So what can we do?" he asked.

"Ren and I are gonna take watch," Emerald replied. "If there was really another Titan out there or if someone else turns, I can use my Semblance to hide me and everyone else."

"Okay, yeah. What about me? You gonna lock me out or something like that?"

"What the-? No!" Nora quickly replied. "We're not just gonna leave you out for the Grimm!"

"Actually..." Ren began. "Perhaps it would be best to keep you where we can keep an eye on you. Emerald and I can see you from outside."

Midori and Nora immediately disagreed about this. "Ren, we can't do that," Nora protested. "It's not right."

"And it wouldn't change anything," said Midori. "Should everyone sleep outside if they turn into Titans?"

Before Ren could offer more of his logic, Eren put an end to the argument before it began. "No, it's okay," he said. "It might keep you all safe. I'll just get one of the sleeping bags we have."

Despite the assurance Eren was giving, there was still some negativity among the group. "Eren, are you sure?" Nora asked.

"...Not really," Eren confessed. "But it's for the best."

"Perhaps we should call it a night, then," Ren suggested. "It's been rather... eventful."

Everyone silently agreed and began to make their way back to the Dark Wing, where Mercury was already waiting. True to his word, he drove the car in a different part of the woods, where Eren took out a sleeping bag and stayed in Ren's eyesight. However, he didn't go to sleep.

"Maybe I should stay awake," Eren said as he stood up. "Salem might have a better chance at controlling me if I'm asleep." The mere thought of Salem enslaving Eren was enough to make his blood boil. "I shouldn't be surprised about this. Every day we fight her other slaves, she grows stronger. Maybe it's time that we-"

*PLOP*

Eren turned to the sound of something hitting the ground behind him. Again, he shouldn't have been surprised to see what he was seeing.

"You think I'm gonna let you sleep out here alone?" Cinder asked with a smile as she unfolded another sleeping bag. Once she sat down, she tapped the ground for Eren to join her.

"Not tonight," Eren said as he stretched his arms above his head.

Cinder stopped smiling. "What do you mean?"

"I can't sleep, Cinder."

"Well... have you tried counting sheep? That always helped me when I was-"

"No, not like that. I mean, I shouldn't go to sleep. If Salem is controlling me, she may have a better chance in my sleep."

"What? No way."

"Yes way." Eren began to walk in a circle. "I can't go to sleep. I'll just stay where Ren can see me, you go back inside."

"Eren-"

"Cinder, please."

"..."

Cinder remembered what she told Eren in the Forever Fall, how she now understood that Eren's needs don't deserve to be ignored. However, the whole plan to leave Eren by himself and Eren refusing to sleep sent an inhuman chill down her spine.

Fortunately, she came up with an excuse.

"I can't," she said. When Eren turned around, Cinder continued. "I... don't know if we should be around Mercury right now. Can I sleep out here with you? Please?"

"..."

While he didn't know what it was that made Cinder feel so uncomfortable around Mercury, Eren wasn't born yesterday; he knew that Cinder was staying out here for him.

And Eren knew that she wouldn't take "No" for an answer.

"...Okay," Eren acquiesced as he moved to his sleeping bag. "If I let you sleep out here, do you promise to let me do my own thing?"

"Sure, that's fine," Cinder said, although she didn't like everything the compromise offered. "But can you at least consider getting some sleep?"

"Fine."

"Alright, then."

"..."

As Eren reluctantly laid down with Cinder and closed his eyes, his fears only intensified. It was bad enough that he was endangering Cinder if Ren's theory was true, but he was also endangering all of his friends. If he transformed again, these could be his last memories of his friends, and he would be hunted down by the whole city of Vale.

And Cinder was expecting him to just sleep on it? How could he possibly sleep while putting everyone around him at risk?

"Sleep tight, Eren."

*SMECK*

Eren opened his eyes when he felt a soft pressure on his cheek. And sure enough, Cinder was laying next to him with closed eyes and an arm across his torso. It didn't take a genius to see what she had just done.

A genius would be better suited for explaining why Eren's doubts and fears had disappeared after one kiss.

But Eren didn't care why it happened. Instead, he felt happy that Cinder was with him once again, giving him all the joy and comfort she could. With that, Eren closed his eyes again and began to sleep.

---

"And you're sure you're okay out here?"

"I am now. This coffee should keep me awake for a little while. Thank you, Nora."

"No problem. You need anything else while I'm up?"

"Why don't you get some sleep? That'll help a lot."

"Okay, but I'm taking next watch. Just say the word."

Ren smiled as he watched Nora go back into the Dark Wing. "If you insist," he said calmly. "Good night, Nora."

"Good night, Ren," Nora said as she returned the smile and entered the car.

As he drank the warm coffee Nora generously provided him, Ren looked to see that Eren was exactly where he last saw him. However, he was slightly surprised to see that Cinder had joined him outside. But given the close bond the two shared, it wouldn't be the first time Cinder went the extra mile for Eren.

"Of course," Ren thought to himself after he made a short laugh. "But I hope you know what you're doing, Cinder." As he thought that, Ren looked back towards the Dark Wing. "Then again... perhaps putting some space between them and Mercury isn't hurting anyone. Besides, it's not like this makes my job harder or anything."

Ren looked back towards Emerald, who was leaning against a tree while staring at Eren and Cinder. Despite the fact that she appeared to be performing her task, Emerald's face displayed a rather unfocused state.

"Wait..." Ren thought to himself once more. "She doesn't look unfocused. She... looks like she's trying to forget about something. Why?"

Despite being taught that invading others' privacy was wrong, Ren couldn't help but look at Emerald in a different manner; one that his Semblance provided with ease. There he saw that Emerald was currently surrounded with a strange multitude of emotions. There were blue, violet, and even red petals floating all around her. Ren didn't know what to make of these emotions, but there was only one way to find out.

The first thing Ren did was walk over to Emerald and hold out his cup of coffee to her. Given how she was rubbing her arms and blowing warm air at her hands, it was obvious as to how cold she was. Emerald confirmed this when she took a rather large drink of the hot beverage.

"...Thanks," she said as she handed the cup back to Ren.

"My pleasure," Ren said as he finished off the coffee and lowered the cup. "So... penny for your thoughts?"

"Eh, nothing too much." Emerald looked away from Ren and towards the woods. "Guess I'm still reeling over what happened tonight."

Ren doubted that this claim was entirely true, given the small amounts of anger he saw. Nevertheless, he decided not to pry too deep. "I think we all are, actually," he said. "It's not every night something likes this happens."

"Yeah, no doubt," Emerald replied. "You really think Salem's controlling Eren's Titan?"

"It seems more likely than Midori's theory. Creating another Titan seems too risky, unless she's certain she can control it."

"Yeah, I guess so. But the point is, Eren didn't do this on his own." Emerald looked back to Ren. "Right?"

Ren immediately seized the chance to see what was troubling Emerald. "Is that what's got you on edge?" he asked.

"I... I guess," she said. "I can't stop thinking about what Mercury said. Even if Eren's still on our side... he almost destroyed an entire world. It's hard to ignore that, don't you think?"

"I understand, and you're right. To this day, I still can't help but wonder if there could have been another way. But tell me, did Eren ever show you his memories? To explain why he did what he did?"

"No, Cinder told me all about it. Why, did you?"

"Eren once showed me some of his memories by mistake. When I confronted him, he explained everything. It wasn't until later that I asked him to show me the rest."

"Why, what for?"

"To draw my own conclusions."

"Oh." Emerald was slightly hesitant about her next question, but she asked it anyway. "What... What did you think?"

"A lot, actually." Ren cleared his throat before he continued his explanation. "Mostly that it must have been really hard for Eren. When he found out that the whole world was keeping him and everyone he cared about as prisoners... I can't really imagine what that must have been like. But you know, it happened before, even on Remnant."

"Huh?"

"Humanity tried to force every Faunus in the world to Menagerie. It was one of the ideas that sparked the Faunus Rights Revolution."

"Oh." Emerald smirked. "You certainly know your history."

"Especially what came after that. It was no wonder why Eren chose to fight against the people who insisted that he and his people should be killed."

"I... hadn't really thought about it like that. But still, crushing a whole world? It seems really extreme."

"I wouldn't dare try to argue against that. But did Cinder tell you that Eren didn't want to do it? Eren felt guilty even before he decided to go with it. He may have enjoyed his freedom, but he never forget what it cost."

"So why did he do it?"

"I'm sure you've heard the phrase 'It was the only way' before. I've read it a bunch of times in Nora's comics. But I never really knew it's impact until I saw what Eren saw. Before he left his friends, he had to sit and listen to the world leaders declare the island of Paradis and all its inhabitants as enemies. Nobody was willing to give peace a chance or even consider how stupid it was to blame them for their ancestors' crimes."

"What crimes?"

"Eren's people created a vast empire that lasted for centuries, comprised of numerous conquered lands and people. It was called the 'Eldian Empire,' and it was greatly imperialistic. But one day, the King of this empire decided enough was enough, and left for Paradis with a group of his people. But in turn, it created a strict anti-Eldian policy around the world. It seemed nothing would please them more than killing every Eldian that was born, before and after the empire."

"...Whoa."

"Indeed. It took some time, but I was really able to understand Eren's true motivation. He saw all the hate the world had poured onto the Eldians, so he decided to turn all that hate on him. And nothing deserves more hate than destroying a world."

Emerald had heard Eren's story in Cinder's words, and now she was able to finish Ren's thoughts. "That was why he let his friends kill him. To let other Eldians save the world."

"Yes. His actions, however genocidal, can all be mounted to a sacrifice. At least, that's how I've interpreted them."

"So... you really don't think he would want to do it again?"

"Certainly not. I've been Eren's friend for a long time, and I can see how happy he is to be here. And at Kuroyuri, no less. I'm proud to share my home with him."

"Wow." Emerald began to feel embarrassed for doubting Eren after she heard Ren's insight. "I guess nobody gave him a reason for doing it all again."

"But there are plenty of reasons to fight Salem. Eren realizes that she's like how he used to be; someone who deserves all of the world's hate."

"And that she has to be stopped."

Ren nodded. "Are you... feeling better about him?"

Emerald looked back towards Eren and saw that he was still asleep. He had the perfect chance to turn into a Titan since her back was turned, but he simply rested with Cinder. "Yeah, I guess so," Emerald confessed. Honestly, she was more impressed with Ren's wisdom and insight about Eren's history.

Which was why Emerald wanted to see what else he had to say.

"Ren, would you mind if I asked you something else?" Emerald nervously asked. "I mean, feel free to say no, but-"

"What is it?" Ren asked as he took note of her shift in emotions.

"Well, it's just that... You don't think I'm a slave, do you?"

Ren was immediately taken aback by the question. "What? No, of course not."

"Ren, you don't have to be nice," Emerald said. "Just be honest with me, okay?"

"Emerald, I am being honest," Ren insisted. "Oh, wait. Is this about the conversation you had with Cinder?"

Emerald let out a heavy sigh. "So, you heard all that, huh?"

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I was just... in the same proximity."

"So was everyone else." Emerald moved her back against the tree she was resting on and slumped to the ground. "And with everything Cinder said, it's easy to see where she was coming from, isn't it?"

Ren moved down towards Emerald. "Emerald, I don't think you're a slave," he insisted. "But we're just afraid that you've been... excessive with helping Cinder. I mean, I could see where she was coming from with what she told you yesterday."

"Yeah, but... I just don't know if what I do here will be good enough if she's not around."

"Why do you assume that?"

"Because I-"

"..."

Emerald was becoming a little too personal for her own comfort, so she stood up and began to walk away. "No, forget it, it's stupid," she insisted. "I was just-"

"Because you're an orphan."

Emerald stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Ren's bold claim.

"You were abandoned," Ren continued as he slowly walked towards Emerald. "Forgotten by the people who were supposed to love you. Left to fend for yourself."

"..."

"But all of that changed the day you met Cinder. You finally learned what it meant to have friends, to have family. And now... you're scared it'll go away if you do something wrong."

"..."

Emerald continued her streak of silence, but Ren knew that he was right when she turned around and revealed tears falling down her face. He immediately regretted making his friend cry, so he decided to focus on healing her emotions.

"Emerald, nobody thinks you're a slave," Ren repeated. "But I believe what Cinder was trying to say yesterday was to not let all of your actions steam from fear. Don't feel obliged to pour all of your heart and soul because you're afraid to lose everything. Trust me, nothing good will come from it."

Emerald dried her eyes before she asked another question. "Then... what should I do?" she asked.

Ren put a hand on Emerald's shoulder. "Be yourself, Emerald. It'll be the best thing you can do for you."

Emerald nodded before she looked down and continued to cry. Instinctively, she leaned closer to Ren, who in turn wrapped his arms around her. She stayed in this position for about a minute before she let him go.

"Ah, sorry, sorry," she said as she dried her eyes once again. "I just... wasn't expecting to hear all of that."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Ren insisted. "Why don't you get some-?"

*CRASH*

The sound of something falling over behind her caused Emerald to slightly jump as she turned around towards the woods. Ren too heard the sound, and he immediately turned to the woods as well.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I don't know," Emerald said as she too looked towards the trees. When silence followed the loud crash, Ren and Emerald looked to each other and thought the same thing.

"We better check it out."

The duo moved away from the Dark Wing and pulled out their weapons, ready to face whatever was outside their camp.

"That was too loud to be a normal Grimm," Emerald noted.

"And we already cleared out the area," Ren said as he moved closer to the trees. He then looked backwards where he saw that Eren was right where he was before. "Eren's still here."

"Good," Emerald said with a sigh of relief. "Maybe we can prove he's-"

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

Emerald and Ren looked towards the trees once again to see that some of them were being knocked over.

"There's something out there," Emerald said. One would say that she was stating the obvious, but her Semblance was detecting a mind that she could use it on. "I can use my Semblance on it."

"Can you use it without seeing what's out there?"

"I never tried that before-"

*SNAP*

Another sound reached the duo's ears, but this time it came from behind them. Ren and Emerald turned around fast to see someone they knew.

But it wasn't Eren. It was Mercury.

"Mercury?" Ren asked. "What are you doing?"

The young man remained silent, but he quickly raised his foot right over Eren's head. And his weapon appeared to be locked and loaded.

"Whoa, whoa, stop!" Emerald yelled as she whipped the end of her chain at Mercury. He hit the ground loud enough for Cinder to wake up and see Emerald and Ren pinning him down.

"Hey!" Cinder yelled as she got up. "What's going on?"

"Get the fuck off of me!" Mercury screamed out loud.

Ren turned to Cinder and answered her question. "He was about to kill Eren!" he cried.

"What?!" Cinder yelled as she joined her friends. "Mercury, have you lost your mind?!"

"I can't let him kill me!" Mercury shouted. "I won't!"

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

Emerald heard the same sound she heard earlier, and saw the opportunity to clear Eren's name. "Guys, stop!" she yelled as she stopped fighting Mercury. "Listen!"

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

One by one, everyone heard the same sound. Mercury was the first to recognize it, since he was the first to hear it.

"What is that?" he asked as he began to fear for his life again. The answer to his question came in the form of a mighty roar, one that sent chills down everyone's spines.

Somewhere, out there... there was a Titan.

---

[Play "XL-TT" on YouTube]

Titans.

Titans everywhere.

Titans as far as the eye could see.

Titans doing nothing but creating havoc and eating people unfortunate enough to cross their path unprepared.

That was the current predicament a certain city had found itself in one peaceful morning, when a wall had been partially destroyed. The town's initial defenses had failed, and now it was up to its military to purge this threat.

The military, and a certain young cadet.

Eren Yeager was joined by a group of his fellow cadets as they soared through the air with their vertical maneuvering equipment. Unlike the citizens below, who were trying to go deeper into the walls, they were on the hunt for the Titans that broke in.

Unfortunately, one of them had just been painfully devoured by an abnormal Titan.

As he was flying and feeling ready to fight, a young cadet named Thomas had crossed paths with a Titan that had jumped right in front of him and grabbed his legs with its jaw. And all Eren and the other cadets could do was watch as poor Thomas was sucked into the Titan's mouth as if he was a slab of beef.

Everyone who had watched Thomas die, including Eren's friend Armin, responded with silence and unbreakable stares.

Everyone except Eren.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Eren yelled as he used his gear to chase after the abnormal Titan. Armin and the other cadets called for him to come back, but the cries fell on deaf ears.

Eren continued to chase the abnormal Titan with everything he had while cursing it for killing Thomas. He would be damned before any more Titans came though the wall and killed his-

[End music]

"Wait a minute," Eren thought as he naturally flew through the air. "Didn't this happen before?"

*THWIP*

Eren mindlessly activated his gear again as he took another look around him. Despite the fact he could see multiple burning buildings and Titans eating people, Eren felt that his eyes had been opened.

"What am I doing here?" Eren asked himself. "Am I dreaming? Yeah, I've done this before." Eren let his gear take him through the city as his mind became more and more clear. "This was the day the Colossal Titan broke the walls again, when I turned into the Attack Titan for the first time."

*THWIP*

"But all of that happened when I was about to die, when I lost my-"

Eren's senses and memory helped him realize what was about to happen. He looked down just in time to see another abnormal Titan leap off the ground and towards him.

And it was just about to rip Eren's leg off his body.

"Heads up!"

*SWISH*

The Titan that was about to shut its jaws onto Eren's leg did nothing for a split second. It then began to fall back to the ground after a fast-moving shape cut the back of its neck and flew towards a building. Eren watched the Titan fall back down to the ground and locked his eyes onto the shape.

"What was that?" Eren asked as he stopped flying. He had to catch himself onto a building, but it was easy since he still had two legs on his body. "That didn't happen before." Eren looked towards the other building to see that the shape was humanoid, wearing a military uniform and carrying two swords.

On top of her head was nothing but black hair.

"Mikasa?" Eren assumed. "No... she was by the gates when I was here." When Eren realized this was true, his curiosity about his apparent savior grew. And so, after he looked down to see if there were more Titans, Eren used his gear to travel to the building the girl was on.

"Hey!" Eren called out to the girl. "Thanks for the save back there." He began to move closer as the girl turned around. "Mikasa, is that-?"

"Hi, Eren!"

Eren stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized the smiling black haired girl with amber eyes. Now he knew he was dreaming.

"Cinder?" Eren asked as he moved even closer to his friend. "Wha-What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you, I guess," Cinder replied as she looked at her swords. "Killing Titans and trying to survive."

"You guess?"

"Hey, this is your dream, isn't it?"

"..."

Eren had to admit that Cinder made a valid point. This was undoubtedly another dream, but why was he dreaming about a Titan invasion? All of this happened in the past, so what purpose would it serve?

"I know that look," Cinder said as she studied Eren's face. "You're upset about something. Spill it."

Eren sighed as he backed away. "I know," he said. "I guess I'm still thinking about what happened tonight."

"Aw, I'm sorry. Did what I say not help?"

"No, it helped a little. But I guess..." Eren began to have an idea why he was here, in this particular place. "I guess I'm just wishing things were different. I hated knowing what the future was going to be like... but at least I knew what was going to happen." Eren spread his arms. "I mean, this was where it all started. I just didn't know it yet."

"Guess that explains why we're here," said Cinder. "But I don't think that's a really good wish."

"How come?"

"I mean, come on." Cinder pointed at Eren. "You're not the same person you were when all of this happened. You're better than you were."

"I... I don't know." Eren looked towards a herd of Titans roaming through the town. His first instinct was to go out and kill them all, but now he was talking with Cinder. "I mean, I've gotten better at fighting, yeah."

"Especially on your own," Cinder said as she joined him.

"Yeah. The Grimm, Tyrian, the White Fang... even with other Titans I can hold my own. But if I really was the one who attacked Mercury-"

"You weren't."

Eren looked back to Cinder. "If I was... then nothing's changed." Eren suddenly realized something. "I'd be fighting for the wrong reasons, just like the White Fang are." Eren then remembered something else. "That's what happened to me here. I know the Titans are eating people, some of them were even my friends. But I didn't want them dead so I could save or protect people; it was always personal for me. Fighting on Remnant may have been personal too. Just some stupid vendetta... like how Salem wanted to get back at the Gods for cursing her."

"..."

Eren wasn't sure if Cinder, or the dream version of her, was understanding his plight. He knew that this wasn't the real Cinder; it may be how he perceived her, given what he remembered about her earlier insistence that he was innocent. Nevertheless, he was grateful he got the chance to open up like this. He was vulnerable, he was susceptible to any physical or emotional damage.

But he was honest with himself.

"Well... what if you changed your reason?"

Eren looked back to Cinder, who was looking at him. "Say that again?" he asked.

"What if you changed the reason why you fight?" Cinder repeated. "Forget about why you hate the Titans, forget about how they took your home." Cinder pointed towards the Titan-filled streets. "Let's say you wanted to save everyone and anyone you could. Do you think this day would have been different from what happened?"

"..."

Eren looked back towards the Titans once again and quickly realized the opportunity before him. He had his weapon, all of his blades, and a considerable amount of gas in the gear. Not only that, but he was still in one piece. If he could find a new reason to fight, to be a protector instead of a failed agent of vengeance... maybe he could be a better fighter.

Not only that, but Cinder was once again by his side.

[Play "Guren No Yumiya" on YouTube]

"Now I know why you're here," Eren declared with a smile. "We'll do this together."

Cinder smiled back. "I was hoping you'd say that," she said. "I mean, I am dressed for the occasion."

"I noticed." Eren looked at Cinder from head to toe. "The uniform looks good on you, Cinder." A heat suddenly rose to his cheeks. "Like, really good."

"You think so?" Cinder looked at the uniform she was wearing. "I mean, I like the colors and all, but these pants are really tight. I mean, come on."

Eren laughed at Cinder's opinion. "You'll get used to them." He then walked to the edge of the building and prepared to fight the Titans once again. "You ready?"

Cinder immediately joined Eren. "When you are."

Eren took out a fresh pair of blades from his gear while Cinder did the same. With that, the duo ran to the edge... and jumped.

Eren and Cinder immediately used their gear to fly over the other buildings and houses as they went on the hunt for more Titans. Rage and recklessness had completely left the young boy, and now he was prepared to use nothing but skill.

"Two Titans dead ahead!" Eren yelled as he saw two Titans reaching up for members of the military.

"I got the one on the right!" Cinder said as she moved ahead of Eren.

Eren focused his entire sights on the Titan in front of him when he made sure there were no other monsters preparing to ambush him. Once he knew that the Titan was wide open, Eren's gear moved at top speed at once.

*SWISH*

Eren's right blade struck the Titan dead in the nape, which caused the behemoth to fall with its prey. When Eren saw the cadet had crashed into the ground with the Titan, he immediately moved down and helped her stand.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Ugh..." the cadet groaned as she rubbed her head. When she realized that her encounter with a Titan had left her with a simple scratch, she knew that it was better than being eaten. "I'm... I'm okay. Thank you!"

Eren nodded as he rejoined Cinder, who had killed her Titan. "Is she alright?" she asked as she saw Eren.

"She will be," Eren replied as he cursed himself. "I guess I should've helped her escape rather than let her fall with the Titan, though."

"Live and learn, Eren." Cinder looked back ahead. "Looks like you'll get another chance!"

Eren looked in the same direction and saw another Titan reaching towards civilians who didn't make it to the gate in time. Rather than killing the Titan immediately, Eren decided to take Cinder's advice and see if he could save them without harming them. And so, instead of cutting the nape, Eren cut the Titan's arm. The creature howled in pain as its hand fell limply in front of the civilians, and then made one final roar as Cinder cut its nape.

"The path we just came from should be clear!" Eren said. "Stay on it and find the gates!"

"We will!" a man said as the group began to move down the road Eren was referring to. "Thank you!"

Cinder shot her hooks onto a building and looked down at Eren. "Good save!" she said. "But don't you think they need an escort?"

Eren considered the idea, but his ears caught the sounds of screams and more Titans beyond the point where the people were going. "I think the cadets need more help!" Eren called up to Cinder. "Mikasa should be at the gate, she'll clear out the Titans there!"

"Got it!" Cinder prepared to soar through the air once again and she was immediately followed by Eren. Soon enough, he was ahead of her and looking at more Titans killing soldiers and cadets alike. "Whoa, you weren't kidding!"

"You never joke with Titans. Especially when they're-Look out!"

Cinder looked to the right to see another abnormal Titan jump towards her. Fortunately, she was able to latch onto another building to avoid its open jaw. Along with that, Eren was able to kill it without a problem.

"You okay?" Eren asked.

"Yeah," Cinder replied as she looked up at Eren. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks."

Eren looked firmly at Cinder. "Always be aware of your surroundings, even when someone talks to you."

Cinder nodded quickly as she understood the situation. "Got it."

When he realized that he had just saved another life and taught someone in the process, Eren smiled and nodded as he soared off to kill more Titans.

One by one, Titans fell by the blades of soldiers. And if they weren't killed by Eren and Cinder, the soldiers they saved helped even the score. Civilian and soldier alike, the duo saved and protected everyone they could. There were some failures along the way, but the good outweighed the bad. And while Eren wasn't using his Titan, he couldn't remember the last time he wounded or killed this many Titans.

But now, it was time for the finishing touch.

"Cinder, I'm going to turn into my Titan!" Eren called to her as she killed another Titan. "It's the only way I can plug the hole in the wall!"

Cinder looked back towards Eren. "Got it!" she yelled. "You gonna use that boulder?" Cinder pointed to a familiar large rock, the same one that Eren used to seal the wall many years ago.

But Eren decided not to use it.

"Not exactly!" he answered. "If this is a dream, and I just changed what happened today, maybe I can use my Hardening ability!"

"That should work!" Cinder replied. "Let me go first, I'll cover you!" Eren obeyed and soon followed Cinder towards the hole that the Colossal Titan had made. Sure enough, there were more Titans to kill along the way.

But Eren and Cinder had arrived just outside the hole.

"Get to the top!" Eren called to Cinder. "I'll meet you there when I'm done!" Cinder wordlessly made her way to the top of the wall, safe from any harm the resulting transformation would cause. When Eren saw that no other members of the military were in the way, or any that could see him, Eren bit into his hand and transformed into a mighty Titan.

And just as he predicted, he was able to use his Hardening abilities to plug the hole and prevent any more monsters from coming in.

[End music]

Eren exited his Titan and examined his handiwork. "Not bad," he thought to himself. "Looks like anything can happen in a dream. And it looks like I'll be ready for Salem." When Eren realized that the threat was now over, Eren used the remaining gas in his gear to climb to the top of the wall.

Only to find that he was alone.

"Cinder?" Eren called out as he looked around the top of the wall. He took a few steps along it before he called out again. "Where'd you-?"

"Here I am!"

Cinder jumped up from the other side of the wall and tackled Eren, causing him to fall over. When he realized that the act was a practical joke and that she was hugging him, Eren laughed out loud and hugged her back.

"That was great!" Cinder said as she sat up. "We did great!"

"Yeah," Eren agreed. "Yeah, we did." He then looked away from Cinder and towards the other side of the wall. He knew that Trost was safe, so he shifted his attention towards the part of the wall that was infested with Titans. Memories of going outside the wall and retaking Shiganshina came back in a flash, and made Eren feel less concerned about the future. If the city could be taken back once, it could be done again.

But not today.

"Wow," Cinder said as she looked at the same distance. "This is a really great view. Strangely beautiful, actually."

Eren turned to Cinder. "You think so?" he asked.

Cinder looked back. "You don't think so?"

Eren looked back. "I mean, it's nice and all. But it was a lot better when it wasn't filled with Titans." Eren decided to turn around and look back at Trost while guiding Cinder to join him. "Don't you think?"

Cinder looked at the city of Trost begin to regather itself. There was smoke and steam rising, but the city was still standing. "Was Shiganshina like this?"

"It used to be. I honestly didn't think I'd see it again. With or without Titans."

Cinder moved closer to Eren. "So, uh... did it help?"

"Did what help?"

"Changing your reason for killing Titans."

"Oh, that."

Eren thought back on each Titan he killed and how he managed to save people in the process. Mistakes were made at first, such as the cadet falling with the Titan. However, Eren was able to pick up the pieces and do better. He learned that saving people didn't always mean killing Titans, Grimm, or whatever else was in the way; what mattered was that there were people who survived.

"You know... I think it did," Eren admitted. "Thank you, Cinder. This was... This was a good thing."

"You're welcome," Cinder said as she leaned against Eren's shoulder. "And I got a feeling there'll be more to come."

"I'll hold myself to that."

Eren found himself enjoying the sunset that was falling over Trost. While he was sure that Cinder was enjoying it as well, he was beginning to wonder more about her presence here. He knew that this wasn't the real Cinder, but there was so much about her dream version that was just like her real counterpart. Was this supposed to be how Eren saw her? Was she meant to be some kind of driving force in this dream? What did it mean?

It didn't take long for Eren to decide that maybe it didn't matter too much. Surely, he would be waking up from this dream soon; so perhaps it would be for the best if he enjoyed it while he could.

Unbeknownst to him, however, it was about to get a lot better.

"You know..." Cinder began as she stood up. "You beat me back there."

"How's that?" Eren asked as he also stood.

"I was keeping count back there. You killed more Titans than me."

Eren chuckled to himself. "Shut up, I didn't kill more."

"Yeah, you did. And I think talent like that deserves to be rewarded." Cinder moved closer to Eren. "Let's see... I don't have any money to give you... and I can't buy you anything..." Cinder smiled as she had an idea. "I got it. But first... close your eyes."

"What, really?" Eren playfully asked.

"It's a surprise," Cinder insisted. "Come on, close them." This time, Eren obeyed. "No peeking."

"..."

"..."

Silence filled the area and made Eren feel tempted to open his eyes. However, two hands on his cheeks made him keep them closed. He couldn't help but laugh a little as his curiosity grew by the second.

"Cinder, what are you-?"

Eren was silenced by a pair of soft lips touching his own.

Eren couldn't help but open his eyes and jump a little when he realized what was happening; but the one thing he didn't do was move away. It seemed that his body had frozen in place due to Eren being beyond surprised, beyond shocked, and beyond any idea as to why Cinder was doing this, dream or not.

Despite the surplus of emotions resulting from Cinder's kiss, Eren soon began to relax as a sense of instinct started to form within him. The instinct told him to close his eyes again and lean forward, which was exactly what he did. He even put his own arms around Cinder's neck while moving closer. It was at that moment that Eren knew he wouldn't give this up for the world.

Just like all of the times Cinder kissed his cheek, Eren felt happy. Each passing second like this, sharing this wonderful experience with Cinder, made Eren feel an innate sense of happiness and joy; a unique feeling that he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

Which was why he was almost heartbroken when Cinder broke the kiss and let him go.

"Cinder..." Eren began as he smiled. "That was... It was... Why did you-?"

Cinder immediately dropped her smile and grabbed Eren's shirt. "Eren, wake up!" she said.

"What?"

"Wake up! We need you!"

---

"Eren! Eren, wake up!"

The sound of his name and the sensation of being pushed caused Eren to wake up. He immediately opened his eyes and moved his head forward to see a frightened Cinder.

"Huh?" Eren asked as he was still waking up. "What is it?"

"It's here, Eren!" Cinder screamed. "It's back!"

"What?"

"The Titan! The Titan's here!"

Eren moved his entire body as he sprung of the ground. "Wait, what?! You mean-?!"

*ROAR*

*BAM*

Cinder tackled Eren just before a large fist crashed onto them. When she got off of him, Eren was able to see a large Titan was indeed standing before him. It was still dark out, but the moonlight was able to reveal a terrible truth; this Titan looked exactly like Eren's Titan.

It was real.

"Oh, no," Eren thought as he backed away. "It's true! Another Titan?! But how?!"

"Eren, come on!" Cinder yelled as she grabbed his hand. Eren immediately came off the ground and joined Cinder as she ran out of the clearing and away from the Titan.

"Where's the car?!" Eren yelled.

"Over there!" Cinder pointed at a source of light in the trees. Sure enough, the lights came closer to reveal the Dark Wing. It was currently driving away from the Titan, but close enough to Eren and Cinder to allow them to jump inside.

Which was why Ren was standing in the doorframe with an extended hand.

"Hurry!" he yelled as he reached to Cinder. Eren watched as she jumped aboard the car and followed suit. Ren grabbed on to Eren's hand with a firm grasp and pulled him inside.

The first thing Eren did when he was inside was look around the car. "Are we all here?" he asked as his eyes landed on Ren and Cinder.

"We're here!" said Nora, who huddled over the front seats with Emerald and Midori.

"Eren!" a voice called out to him. Eren looked past the front seats to see Mercury looking back towards him. "Eren, I take back everything I said tonight!" he shouted. "You were right, I was wrong, and now we're gonna die!"

Before Eren could reply, Cinder stormed over to Mercury and screamed. "Oh, shut up and drive, you asshole!"

*ROAR*

*BAM*

The car swerved to the left when something hit it from behind, but Mercury was able to take control and continue to drive.

Eren felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Ren holding Soaring Freedom. "We all came back to wake everyone up and get your weapons," he said as he handed Eren the weapon. "We thought we'd try the car's weapons too, but the Titan was fast."

"And strong!" Nora joined in. "It threw two trees at us before we drove off! We're sorry we did that, though."

"That doesn't matter now," Eren said as he scrambled to put on his gear. "We gotta take this thing down."

"You know Titans better than us!" said Midori. "What's the plan?"

Eren moved towards the door again. "Mercury, can you get the weapons on here working?" he asked.

"They're almost done warming up!" Mercury called back. "We'll be ready to go in one minute!"

Eren began to open the door. "Whoever's in there is gonna be protecting its neck," he said. "I'll go out and distract it and you shoot it from behind."

"Is that a good idea?" Nora asked. "We can turn into Titans and break this thing's legs!"

"No, Eren's right!" said Ren. "It's too dark out here, even with the headlights! And these weapons could do a number on Titans!"

"Ren's right!" Emerald said. "Eren, I might be able to cloak you with my Semblance!"

"Anything helps!" Eren said as opened the door. "Mercury, turn around as soon as the Titan stops running!" When he saw Mercury nod at him, Eren looked over to see Emerald nodding. With that, Eren leapt out of the car and used Soaring Freedom to fly towards the Titan.

The first thing he did was an inspiration from his dream. As he got close to the Titan, Eren cut its hand with his swords. The impact wasn't as deep as he had hoped, but the monster indeed felt a surge of pain.

Once Eren saw that he had the Titan's attention, he began to do everything in his power to keep it that way. It seemed that the best way was simply flying with his gear, since the Titan's only kind of attacks were swinging either its open palms or curled fists.

"Something's not right," Eren thought to himself. "This Titan, it seems... stupid."

As Eren watched the Titan attack him again and again, he knew that he was right; the Titan didn't seem to be learning from its failed attacks or concerned for its own self-preservation. All it wanted to do was to catch the flying boy, but it was failing.

Was the person inside inexperienced with a Titan? Or were they just stupid?

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

A snap back to reality was given to Eren when he heard rapid gunfire. He couldn't see where it was coming from, but he had a good idea when he saw the Titan stop attacking him and scream into the sky. It wasn't like the screams before, which were filled with rage and animalistic nature.

This scream was a response to pain.

One of the Dark Wing's built-in weapons, a turret with six barrels at the end, was firing nonstop at the Titan's back. The mighty beast finally fell to its knees when the turret stopped to cool off, which left Eren a chance to fly back towards the windshield to talk to Mercury.

"Aim for the nape!" he screamed as he pointed to the back of the Titan's neck.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

The shots rang out just as quickly as last time, but the Titan stood up faster. It even managed to swat the car away like it was a fly. While the car crashed into a few trees, Eren flew off the front before he caught himself with his gear.

Everyone began to shuffle out as the Titan recklessly threw its fists down near the car. Eren joined them and was first addressed by Cinder.

"This Titan's quite the brute," she said as she began to create her bow.

"I know..." Eren said slowly. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Eren was beginning to piece everything together. But he was also praying that he was wrong about the Titan. "Cinder, I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Save me."

Eren launched himself towards the Titan again, but cast his blades aside. He then presented himself to the beast, who had begun to reach down with an open palm.

"What is he doing?" Ren asked.

"What the hell?" Emerald wondered.

"He's gonna get himself killed!" Nora screamed. And sure enough, the Titan had grabbed Eren and raised him towards an open mouth. Just like the Titans on Paradis, this Titan was about to eat Eren.

"Oh, my gosh, no!" Cinder screamed as she flew behind the Titan and raised her bow at its nape. When she fired a single arrow, the weapon landed in the flesh and began to give off a series of beeps.

*BOOM*

At a moment's notice, the arrow exploded along with the back of the Titan's neck. The reckless monster fell along with Eren, who freed himself from the grip when he was on the ground.

And then, he was immediately greeted with a slap to the back of his head.

*SMACK*

"Eren, what the hell?!" Cinder screamed as everyone ran over to check on him. "Are you trying to get killed?!"

"Yeah, what were you thinking?!" Mercury asked.

Eren stood up and looked past everyone. His eyes fell on the Titan's nape as he answered the question. "Nothing good," he said as he walked over to the neck.

"What does that mean?" Cinder asked as Eren climbed up the Titan.

"When I was fighting this thing, it wasn't like fighting a person," Eren explained. "I had to fight you and Nora when you two transformed for a second time. And I had to fight the Shifters on Paradis. This wasn't like one of those times." Eren looked at the smoking nape. "This was... familiar."

Everyone looked at one another in confusion before Ren broke the silence. "Come again?" he asked.

Eren motioned for everyone to come and see the nape. Everyone reluctantly obeyed while they gripped their weapons. Since Midori didn't have a weapon of her own just yet, she stayed behind Nora as she turned Magnhild into a hammer.

As they approached the opening in the neck, everyone expected to see a human or Faunus at their mercy. They didn't know if it would be another servant of Salem, but they were ready to face whatever was inside.

But what they saw turned out to be even scarier than they imagined. For inside the Titan's nape... was nothing.

"It's... It's empty," said Ren, who looked deeper into the Titan's neck.

"What?" Nora asked as she joined Ren. "That's... impossible!"

"...No," said Eren, wiping nervous sweat off of his forehead. "No, it's not."

"How do you know?" Emerald skeptically asked.

Eren let out a heavy sigh as his fearful instincts were proven true. "This is a Pure Titan, just like the ones I had to fight when I went outside the walls." Eren gently kicked the nape of the Titan. "Nobody drives it, it drives itself. Its sole purpose is to eat everyone in its sight."

Cinder moved closer to the Titan's head with Eren. "You're saying this is like the Titans you killed?" she asked. A dark thought soon entered her mind when Eren nodded. "You don't think this used to be a person, do you? Like how people were turned into Titans?"

Eren quickly found the idea credible, but he didn't have enough evidence to back it up. "Anything's possible. Salem might have kidnapped people since we last saw her."

"So Salem is making her own Titans," Midori concluded. "I knew it! Eren, I'm sorry we doubted you."

Before Eren could reply, Ren spoke the question that was at the back of everyone's minds. "But why would she do something so risky?" he asked. "After Eren attacked her twice?"

"We did kill two of her slaves," Eren reminded Ren. "She must be getting desperate. That just makes her more dangerous."

"Well, that doesn't explain how she made an obedient Titan," Cinder pointed out. "It didn't take long to stop Tyrian and Hazel."

"Maybe she was working on it longer than that?" Emerald asked.

The question of how Salem made this Titan soon turned into one theory after another. Some of them were even wondering what the point behind making it look like Eren was. But while these questions and theories were being tossed around, the Grimm revealed something as it began to decompose. Something that was caught by Mercury.

"Hey, guys," Mercury said as he kneeled down. When he realized that he didn't have their attention, Mercury called out louder to make them turn around. "There's something here!" Everyone began to huddle around Mercury as he moved decaying black flesh off the Titan's neck. When he did, he saw something much clearer: metal.

"What the heck?" Nora asked. "Is that part of the bullets?"

"It doesn't look like a bullet," Ren said as he looked closer.

Eren and Cinder followed suit and saw the same thing everyone else was seeing. "Is that supposed to be there?" she asked Eren.

"...No," Eren replied. "That's... That's not right."

Mercury tore at the other side of the neck. "Look, there's more!" he said as he revealed more metal. "Jeez, what the hell is this thing?"

While he couldn't say for certain, the discovery was beginning to make Ren answer the question he asked earlier. "Mercury... try cutting near the head," he said as he took out a knife. "Here, use this."

Mercury took the knife and began to cut. It wasn't easy at first, but he was able to cut the parts that were already turning to black smoke. And sure enough, there was more metal beneath the skin. When he stopped for breath, Mercury heard a question from behind.

"What is it, Mercury?" Eren asked.

"Looks like some kinda harness or something," Mercury replied. "I dunno, maybe it's supposed to hold the Titan together?" Mercury stood up and looked at the rest of the body. "There might be more metal underneath."

"So, it's definitely man-made?"

"For sure."

Nora and Ren looked at each other when Mercury made this declaration. "Someone helped Salem make this?" Nora asked.

"Who would do a thing like that?" Ren wondered.

While Eren also wanted to know who would want to create Titans like the ones on Paradis, he found himself to be more interested in the purpose behind the metal. "Mercury, are you sure this stuff is meant to keep things in place?" he asked.

"Uh... fifty-percent sure," Mercury awkwardly admitted. "Lemme guess; you think Titans shouldn't need it either?"

"No way. Our Titans hold up just fine as they are. And the Titans on Paradis always had flesh and bone in their napes."

"Well, I can't really see it better until this piece of shit melts away. And some pieces might've been blown to kingdom come with that arrow."

Cinder, who was still angry at Mercury for what happened earlier, easily took offense to Mercury's claim. "Oh, so it would have been better to let it eat Eren, then," she sarcastically replied.

Mercury looked over to Cinder. "That's not what I meant," he said exhaustedly.

"You sure? 'Cause you seemed ready and willing earlier." Cinder moved away from Eren. "Look, here's your best chance! C'mon, show me what you were doing before I woke up!"

"Cinder, I admit I fucked up, okay?! Now, can we just-?!"

*ROAR*

An inhuman roar across the winds silenced any further attempts at an argument as fear spread across the entire group. Eren and his friends looked around the woods, but it was too dark to see anything.

However, the roar was all too familiar.

*ROAR*

*ROAR*

*ROAR*

Weapons were drawn and eyes were shifting from one part of the woods to another.

"Guys?" Midori asked. "You don't think... Salem made more than one... do you?"

*ROAR*

*THOOM*

*THOOM*

*ROAR*

"Sure sounds like it," said Cinder.

Eren's experience in Paradis served him once again. Normally, Titans would be affected by the night and be less aggressive; but the same could not be said about Grimm Titans.

The trees could provide a safe place for people, but only with vertical maneuvering equipment; something that only Eren and Cinder possessed.

"So... run or fight?" Mercury asked.

"..."

As soon as Mercury asked for the plan, Eren saw the first Titan emerge from the trees. Instinct was telling him that being outnumbered was very likely, and these Titans could destroy or devour them if the right opportunity presented itself.

But the city of Vale wasn't too far away. Not only that, but they were ill equipped to stop Titans of all Grimm. In other words, a Titan outbreak wasn't a chance Eren was willing to take.

"Run or fight?!" Mercury asked as more Titans emerged.

"Both!" Eren said as he drew two swords. "Stray them away from the city, and kill them along the way!"

Bullets, rockets, and arrows all flew at the Titans that came close to the humans beneath them. All the while, Eren and his friends made their way back to the Dark Wing. Each projectile made an impact at the Grimm, but steam escaped the wounds as they began to heal.

"Great, they can heal too!" Eren said as he stopped outside the Dark Wing. "Mercury, get Emerald and Midori outta here! Me, Cinder, Nora, and Ren will slow them down and meet you when we're done!"

"I can turn into a Titan too!" Mercury protested as Midori and Emerald got in the car. "Let me help!"

"Help by not helping!" Cinder yelled as she stood in Mercury's path. "Just get outta here, already!"

It was obvious that Cinder was still angry with Mercury, and justifiably so. But Mercury wasn't sure if he could just leave everyone while they were fighting Titans; he even had trouble taking on one when he used his Titan.

"Mercury, come on!" said Emerald, who began to pull on his arm. "I'll mask us outta here!"

As he felt himself move deeper into the car, Mercury said one more thing. "Eren! Try to get one of those harnesses before you get outta here!"

Eren, Cinder, Ren, and Nora all formed a circle as the Dark Wing's engines sounded. The car then took off into the forest with two Titans chasing behind it.

"The weapons can hold them off," Ren noted as he reloaded his guns.

"So what's the plan?" Nora asked. "Do we follow them?"

"Not until we knock them down a peg," said Cinder.

"You read my mind," said Eren. "Use your Titans, but be careful. We shouldn't risk making a wildfire."

"What about you, Eren?"

"These Titans look just like me. I don't wanna blend in." Eren spun his swords as he crouched down and prepared to launch into the air. "I guess I'll have to do it the old fashioned way." Luckily for Eren... he managed to get some practice in beforehand.

"Sounds like a plan," said Ren.

"Good luck, everyone."

When Eren launched himself into the air, he heard three explosions and saw three flashes of light from beneath him. When the light and smoke disappeared, three new Titans, all of different statures from each other and the Pure Titans, were standing and ready to fight.

Ren was the first one to attack. His smaller stature allowed him to jump at the Titans at the speed of lightning, where he tore at the front and back of the Titans' necks. The ones who were hit in the front were damaged enough to kneel, but the ones who were hit in the back died immediately.

Cinder was the next to attack, and she used her fire powers to blast her opponents in the face. She hadn't used her Titan in a while, but she was no stranger to its abilities. The faces of the Titans were burnt to crisps, which blinded them in the process and left them to recklessly throwing their fists. The lack of sight made them easy targets for Eren and his blades.

Nora seemed to unleash the most powerful attack of all; red lightning formed through every cell and muscle of the Electro Titan and soon found their way at the Titans who had lunged at her. The lightning either hit limbs or the Titan's heads, which caused the device in their necks to overload and explode.

While he was the first to attack, Ren was also the first one to take damage. A well placed punch and kick had done a number on his smaller body, along with a foot crushing his arm. When the foot released him, Ren took a calculated risk by turning the Predator Titan invisible so he could escape. Once he did, he used his other arm to slowly climb a tree so he could remove the napes of more Titans. And what he couldn't pull, he bit instead.

Nora was the first to see that Ren was in trouble, so she launched more lightning at the Titans near him. When she saw the attacks weren't having an effect like she wished, Nora allowed the lightning to travel down her arms slower than usual until they met her hands. More lightning followed and began to drop to the ground. Soon enough, Nora had created two lightning whips, whips that she used to grab the Titans by the arms or necks to pull them away from Ren.

Cinder became inspired by Nora's action and created whips of her own. The action was a little harder, given that Titans had begun to grab her and take hold. But when they were struck by a fire like any other, the Titans released Cinder and suffered as they burned.

Throughout all the action, Eren found himself forced to take shelter from the fire and the lightning around him. Luckily, Cinder and Nora were careful enough not to ignite the trees around them, which was where Eren moved to rest. As he put out a small fire on his shirt by aggressively parting it with his palm, Eren looked at the battlefield with pride and confidence.

However, he also looked at it in fear when he saw more Titans coming towards them.

"This is bad," Eren thought to himself. "If this is anything like the Titan Forest, there's no telling how many Titans are out here." Eren used his gear to fly towards the Electro, Predator, and Incinerator Titans and was successful in getting their attention. "It's time to run!" he said. "We gotta get far from the city!"

Everyone silently agreed as they finished their last Titans and fled in the opposite direction of the city. Cinder offered a giant hand to Eren, who jumped on it and felt himself rise up to Cinder's shoulder. He then grabbed her hair as the Incinerator Titan took off running.

The running proved itself to be rather fortunate; Eren was able to see how many Titans were chasing after them. Sadly, the number was enough to make a rather large army; Eren had counted at least a dozen Titans, and they wouldn't be obsessed with him for much longer.

"I gotta do something!" Eren thought. "But all any of us can do is fight them! It's not enough anymore!" Eren angrily groaned as he cursed his inability to stop the Titans. "If only I had the Founding Titan, maybe then I could control them like-!"

Eren suddenly had an idea as he wished for things to be like they were back home. His new Titan was the Founding Titan.

A Founding Titan for Grimm.

And right now, he was staring at an army of Titans made of nothing but Grimm.

"Well... let's hope I have enough fuel."

With all the strength he had left, Eren leapt off the Incinerator Titan's shoulder and used his gear to latch onto a tree. Acting quickly, Eren cut his hand and felt warm blood begin to pour out. Instead of taking chances, Eren cut his other hand as well. And then he used his gear again, as soon as the line of Grimm Titans was as close as possible.

While the jaws and teeth were extremely close, Eren knew that he needed to be as close as he could to the Titans. When he knew his chance had come, Eren flew past the Titans and threw his blood at any Grimm he could. His hands moved like the engines of an airship as he flew from one tree to the next, and his blood had touched about four Grimm. Whether it was enough or not could only be found out in one way.

"Attack!" Eren cried as he pointed behind the Grimm he touched.

The four Grimm that had come into contact with Eren's blood soon stopped running and felt the army behind them crash into one another. They didn't continue the chase, but they turned around and threw their fists just like before.

And they were throwing them at the other Titans.

Eren sighed in relief as the result of his plan revealed itself. He had done the same act before when he was in Salem's castle, against a pack of Beowolves. He was unsure the trick would work since he wasn't in Titan form, but now he was sure it would work. And now, he could watch as the Titans destroyed themselves rather than any humans or Faunus.

And just for extra measure, Eren used the remaining fuel in his gear to fly towards the Titans and throw blood on the ones who were previously untouched.

Cinder, Ren, and Nora were also watching Eren's handiwork. While they were worried and confused by his actions at first, they were happy to see that there was a plan behind it all. And they were just as happy that their ordeal seemed to be over.

Cinder was the first to congratulate Eren; she did so with a hug after she exited her Titan.

"Eren, you genius!" she said as she let him go.

"Well done, Eren," Ren said as he joined the duo.

"Yeah, way to go!" said Nora, who had also abandoned her Titan.

"Well done yourselves," Eren said to congratulate everyone. He knew they deserved it, after they all had lost parts of their bodies and faces. Steam was escaping all their wounds, and all three of them were tired beyond belief. He wished it hadn't come to this, but this battle was truly a job well done.

"So this is our plan?" Ren asked. "Let them all kill each other?"

"Are you kidding?!" Nora screamed as she hit her new fists together. "I'm just getting warmed up!"

"I think I've warmed up enough," said Cinder, who smelled her shirt. "I still smell like ash."

"I'm with Cinder," said Eren. "We'll rest up as they kill each other." Eren turned back to the Grimm. "If any of them try anything, I'll just throw more blood at them."

"Too bad we didn't get Mercury that metal he wanted," said Nora.

*CRASH*

A Titan, killed by a broken neck, fell limply in front of the humans. And by the looks of it, the harness was still intact.

"Never mind."

---

Despite the battle being long and arduous, Mercury had finally managed to find a more suitable specimen than the first Titan. And just like before, the bottom half appeared to be some kind of metal harness.

The upper half, however, looked like something out of a horror movie.

Mercury was carefully examining a series of sharp, needle-like objects protruding from the device. Given that the harness was located at the neck, Mercury believed that the needles were once located at the back of the Titan's head.

"Did you guys pull these... things... outta its head?" he asked Ren and Nora.

"Nora did," Ren replied. "There wasn't really much I could do on that end."

"Aw, don't beat yourself up, Ren," Nora said with encouragement. "Do you have any idea how deep those things were? I think I almost pulled a muscle getting them out."

Eren walked over to see the needles for himself. "Any new ideas?" he asked.

"I hate to say it, but you got me," Mercury replied as he rubbed the back of his head while pondering any kind of explanation. "This stuff looks almost medical to me. Mechanics are one thing, but I ain't no doctor."

"And this is no kind of medicine I want to explore," said Midori. "What kind of person would permanently stick needles in someone's head?" As Midori looked at the spikes closer, she noticed something that Mercury had missed. "Huh, that's weird."

Mercury moved over to Midori. "What's up?"

"Medical needles have a small hole so they can inject or extract fluids. But look." Midori pointed to two needles. "These ones are just sharp at the ends. I don't think they were extracting or injecting something."

Mercury was about to agree, but then he saw how certain cables were extremely close to those spikes. "Maybe not in the conventional sense," he said as he looked at one of the cables. He then followed it where it met other cables, where those led towards the harness that they found last night. Since everyone was careful not to damage it, Mercury was able to see that the cables were attached to some kind of box. On top of the box was a red bulb that would likely be on if the Titan was alive. "Uh-oh."

Everyone heard Mercury say the phrase, which immediately put them all on edge. "Uh-oh?" Nora asked. "What uh-oh?"

"Um..." Mercury knew what he was about to say sounded preposterous, but it seemed to be the best kind of answer to why Salem would do something so risky. "I think I found out what's going on. Eren, you attacked Salem the first day you met her right?"

"After she made me fight some Grimm," Eren said. "But, yeah."

Mercury looked over to Ren next. "You were right, Ren. Salem wouldn't make a Titan she couldn't control. Unless she found a way to do so."

"That's exactly what I think," Ren agreed. "Wait... what are you saying?"

Mercury looked back to the device. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this, and I know I haven't looked too deeply, but... I think this is some kind of... mind-control."

"..."

One look at everyone's faces told Mercury that his idea was very close to being thrown out the window. Everyone was either too shocked or too skeptical of such an idea, but Mercury was able to think of another explanation rather quickly.

"At the very least, it might be some kind of inhibitor," he continued. "To make sure the Titans don't attack Salem. I don't know, maybe it sends an electric shock to their brains if they don't follow orders?"

"..."

This explanation was far more likely, but it was also enough to make the mind-control theory less ridiculous. The first one to actually believe it was Eren, who had enough experience with Pure Titans to back up Mercury's ideas.

"Mind-controlled Pure Titans..." Eren repeated to himself. "I think you're right." He then looked at everyone else to explain himself. "Titans back home rarely followed orders. The only time this happened was when I had the first Founding Titan. Since Salem doesn't have that... this could be the way she's doing it."

"But... But it's a Grimm!" Emerald pointed out. "Salem shouldn't have a problem controlling it!"

"I don't think she'd wanna leave that to chance," Cinder pointed out. "Better safe than sorry."

"Can this get any worse?" Nora asked as she processed the news.

"Only one way to find out," Mercury said as he approached the box with the unlit bulb. "Let's see how this thing was made." Mercury grabbed the box, but found himself unable to open it. "Ren, can I borrow that knife again?"

"Sure," Ren said as he handed over a small blade. Mercury took it and used it to pry the metal box open, where he saw smaller circuitry. After he returned the knife, Mercury looked at the smaller wires, circuits, and the board they were all connected to.

"Hmm... not much to talk about here," Mercury said as he began to turn around. "I'm not really sure how I can see this thing's programming."

"Let's not worry about that," said Eren. "We have a good idea about what it is. Now, we gotta find out who made it."

"Uh, guys?" Nora asked as she looked at the small door again. "I think I found a clue." Nora quickly felt everyone come closer to see what clue she had uncovered.

What they saw shook them to the core.

SDC

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Author's notes: hey guys, this is The Avenging Titan. On top of the aforementioned poll, I wanted to also remind everyone that A New Path is also cross-posted on Archive of Our Own (AO3), so for anyone who also has an account there on top of the one here, or if they simply prefer AO3 more, then you can check the story there as well.

The second thing I wanted to add is a more tragic one. The 2020's have been terrible years and we've lost amazing people, from the Black Panther Chadwick Boseman himself to HM Queen Elizabeth II, and now they have claimed another one. Kevin Conroy, the legendary Batman himself, passed away nearly a week ago now due to cancer. This message is a tribute in honor of the man who brought the Dark Knight to life in many a media.

Kevin Conroy

November 30, 1955 - November 10, 2022

He was Vengeance, He was the Night, He was Batman.