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.

40. Chapter 40

"In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

Chapter 40: Called to Order

Eren couldn't remember what he said. He couldn't remember how or when he was finally able to divulge the truth about his experience in the Land of Darkness.

But remembering didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that Eren was able to keep the promise he made to himself. He had been able to look Carla Ambrose-Yeager in the eyes and share what plans Darkness had for him. The only thing Eren did remember was that each word made him feel sick, like he was choking on lumps in his throat.

The last time he felt something like that was when he lied to Mikasa about hating her.

And yet, he did it anyway.

Just as he always said, Eren just kept moving forward to tell his mother the truth, to tell her everything that happened to him. From now on, nothing was going to stop him from living life to its fullest. Nothing was going to stop him from trying to make a life in Kuroyuri.

Not even bad days like this one.

After he finished talking, Eren could see that Carla was shocked and dumbfounded by what Eren had told her. Not that she understood what he said, but more so that it actually happened. That he had been made into a literal plaything for a being who planned on world domination.

And it made Carla mad.

She was angry, there was no denying that, but this anger wasn't directed at Eren. She held great pity and sorrow for her son, who had been tricked and made to do something he had no intention of doing. But rather, Carla was mad at Darkness.

And herself.

Carla had only met the God of Darkness once in her life, when Eren used his Titan powers to prove the story of how he came to Remnant. Back then, Carla was deeply afraid of Darkness, as well as the power he possessed over Grimm and Titans.

But this fear was put aside when Darkness began to threaten Eren. That time, Carla's parental instincts took hold as she made an effort to protect Eren from the deity. She called Darkness out on many things, one of which was that it was clear he had more plans that she didn't want Eren involved in.

Part of being a businesswoman was being a good judge of character, which led to Carla's hunch about Darkness' bad intentions for Eren. She didn't know what they were, but she could have never imagined possession of all things. Such an idea seemed to only exist in the movies, but now it was real.

And there was nothing Carla could have done to stop it.

She promised that she would protect Eren, just like she did when Darkness threatened him. But now, knowing that Darkness had succeeded, if only momentarily, made Carla feel like a failure. She felt that she had failed her only son, someone who had devoted himself to protecting their shared hometown and world.

But just as Eren learned years ago, it wasn't too late for Carla to redeem herself.

The first thing Carla did when she stood up, after having enough time to process and understand everything she heard, was hug Eren. Just as she did the day he was born, Carla hugged Eren in a way that meant that she would never let him go. And just as Dina said, it didn't matter how or when Eren returned; it only mattered that he had come back to her.

And the parent within Carla recognized that the boy she was holding was her own son. She had no beliefs that Darkness or any other monster had any hold over Eren. He was really here, and he wasn't going anywhere.

Carla made Eren a promise as she hugged him. She declared that no matter what, she was always going to be there for him. It was clear that he needed something to get him through the pain he was obviously suffering through. Eren didn't know what he needed himself, but he knew he needed some help to overcome his experience.

This was something Carla was afraid of when Eren decided that he wanted to join the Survey Corps. While she feared for her son's life, Carla also feared that Eren would go through so much trauma and suffering that he would return home a complete stranger.

But that didn't mean Carla was going to give up on Eren. She was never going to give up on him. They would fight the pain together, and see it all healed one day.

After hearing this promise, and after seeing that Dina's earlier advice was true, Eren decided to go take a shower and rest up. He felt that he said everything he needed to say, and he had put his mother through enough horror for one night.

The strange thing was, however, that Carla didn't seem too horrified. She wasn't as scared as she was the day she met Darkness or the night she learned Eren was a Titan, which was rather odd. Carla said that she was just happy to have Eren back home, and that she had a surprise that she wanted to share with everyone tomorrow.

However, Eren believed that Carla's composure was a testament to her true strength. She wasn't a warrior like he was, but Carla was strong in her own ways. She was clearly strong enough to not let everything she heard change how she felt about Eren, or change her mind about wanting to help.

Even when she was at death's doorstep, Carla did everything she could to protect the ones she called family.

Now that Eren understood this quality, he admired it greatly. And as he washed himself in the shower, Eren discovered that he needed Carla's strength more than ever. It was clear that he still carried the pain of his experience with him, even though he didn't show it to his friends. But whatever help Carla was willing to provide, Eren would humbly accept it and hope that it would be enough to move past his experience.

And one day, he was sure that it would happen.

"See? That wasn't so bad."

That was the first thing Eren heard after he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. A voice in the room caused him to jump, but his next instinct was to look around and see if there was anyone else with him. But as soon as he looked in the mirror, there was no need for Eren to keep looking around.

Just like this morning, staring right back at him in the mirror, was the God of Darkness.

"Ah!" Eren yelled as his moved back. As soon as his back hit against the wall, Eren recalled that the same thing happened to him earlier. That he thought he saw Darkness in the mirror, and he jumped back in surprise. But there were two differences from this morning and right now.

The first was that Eren didn't hear a mocking voice repeating what he said to himself earlier. And the second was that Darkness wasn't disappearing.

"Even if it were, that is why my pride grows by the second, Eren," said the reflection that wasn't Eren's. "Why I know I made the right choice. Always moving forward. Always causing yourself the greatest harm to see your task complete. Believing that the ends justify the means."

Eren growled at the image as his brow furrowed and his fists clenched. His moment of fear had finally started to pass, and now anger was all that remained. Hate and contempt for the being who thought of him as a puppet, who made him feel helpless and alone.

And who ceaselessly mocked him every chance he got.

"Or perhaps because you know you deserve the pain," Darkness said with a laugh.

Eren didn't want to indulge what he perceived to be a hallucination, but his patience with Darkness had reached its end long ago. "You're not real," he said as he tried to make the image disappear. "You're not really here."

"Of course I am," the image replied. "Imagine it, Eren. Trapped in a place with the power to see and hear everything. To see you, anytime I please." Darkness laughed again. "I couldn't ask for a more perfect prison. A place where I will know your every move, every way you carry out my will."

Eren shook his head as he closed his eyes, not wanting to see anymore. "No. No, I'm not doing anything for you anymore. I'm not your damn puppet!"

"Renounce me all you wish, but that does not change who you are."

"I know, I know!" Eren sarcastically said. "Founding Titan, Attack Titan, all of that! I get it!"

"..."

The silence made Eren feel that he had won, that it was all finally over. He had accepted his identity as a Titan long ago, and there was no changing that now. He believed that by accepting this, the image had finally disappeared and it was safe to open his eyes.

He was wrong.

"But you forget," Darkness finally countered. "You are so much more than that. There is one more thing you are that being a Titan pales in comparison to."

"..."

"My son."

Eren became angry once more. He didn't know why Darkness had started calling Eren his "son," but he hated it. He knew that Grisha Yeager was his father, not the deity who only wished him harm. Darkness, however, had other ideas.

"I reached into the void and gave you life. I led Salem to recreate you in my image. I let you go forth into reality and watch you live your life. Is that not what every father does?"

"..."

"And does not every son know that everything they do in their life is because their father gave it to them? Is this not life at its purest?"

"..."

"Whatever you do next, Eren, will always be because of me. You cannot deny this, whatever you decide to do." Darkness leaned closer to the boy in torment. "And I, for one... cannot wait to watch."

Eren finally had enough. In his moment of rage, Eren decided to deny Darkness his means of watching. If he could watch him through the mirror, then there was seemingly one option.

Destroy it.

"Get out of my head!" Eren yelled as he threw his fist.

*CRASH*

The reflective glass scattered across the floor in an instant.

Warm blood began to pour out of Eren's knuckle.

And silence had finally returned to the room.

But the silence didn't provide any comfort for Eren. He couldn't determine if he was still being watched, if Darkness was truly trapped like he once believed.

But more than that... Eren didn't know that if what he saw was real or not. And that scared him more than anything.

---

There wasn't much sleep for Eren that night.

What was meant to be a time of letting pain go had led to a rather impromptu adventure in a person's mind and a terrifying vision of Darkness. The adventure had left Eren tired, but the vision had left him unmotivated to even get out of bed.

The deity's words ran through Eren's head over and over again, and his refusal to speak of it led to Eren overthinking and obsessing on what Darkness had said. Mainly, that everything Eren had done and will do on Remnant was because of him. And that he would enjoy watching him more than anything.

And if watching him involved speaking to Eren again, the young man's life would become a living Hell.

The experience began to make Eren feel depressed. He had stayed in his room long after the sun rose, simply ignoring the world going on around him. Carla had even knocked on his door when she noticed that he hadn't left his room, but her efforts were met with silence. She reluctantly left Eren alone, but not without telling him that she had breakfast ready downstairs.

Eren soon gave in to hunger and found himself leaving his room. He didn't bother to wash up this time, given what had happened the last time he went into the bathroom. All Eren wanted was to get through the day with nothing major happening. All he wanted was to be left alone with his thoughts and his habits. He had very little optimism that he would get what he wanted, but he didn't care either way. If push came to shove, Eren planned to simply tune out the sounds of the world as he confined himself to the troubles of his own mind.

But the plan failed the moment Eren heard something beautiful.

"Ever worry that it might be ruined

And does it make you wanna cry?

When you're out there doing what you're doing

Are you just getting by?

Tell me, are you just getting by, by, by?"

The singing and music made Eren stop in his tracks and search for the source. It wasn't hard, given that he was right next to it; Eren was standing outside Cinder's room, which was filled with the sounds of a guitar and Cinder's wonderful voice.

"Where there is desire, there is gonna be a flame

Where there is a flame, someone's bound to get burned

But just because it burns, doesn't mean you're gonna die

You've gotta get up and try, try, try."

Cinder wasn't singing to seek any attention. In fact, she didn't even notice that she had just attracted a fan. But rather, Cinder was reconnecting with a hobby she hadn't done in over a week. Everyone knew she was a great singer, but Cinder didn't have the time to sing while she was helping Eren fight Salem and her allies. But now that she did, Cinder didn't waste any time in practicing once more.

She couldn't take credit for writing the song, since she heard it on the radio. But something told Cinder that it would be a good song to try, that it had the potential to spread positive feelings like hope and courage. She had learned these things from Eren, and she had no idea that she had just started to teach them right back to him.

Cinder did, however, finally notice that Eren was leaning against her doorframe with a smile.

"Oh!" Cinder yelped as she stopped singing. "H-Hi, Eren!"

"Hi," Eren said softly. Despite the fact that the music had brought him joy, Eren was upset to see that he had interrupted Cinder. "Sorry. I just heard you from outside."

"Th-That's okay." Cinder was stammering over her words with reddened cheeks as she felt embarrassed by what had happened. "I was just seeing how I sounded. I, uh... haven't really done any singing for a while."

It was one of Cinder's favorite hobbies, but her recent lack of practice made Cinder believe that she wasn't as good as she used to be. And now, she was embarrassed that Eren heard what she believed to be bad singing.

But she was wrong.

"It's good to see you're picking it up again," said Eren. "I've missed it."

Cinder's face was still red, but she wasn't as embarrassed anymore. "Did it... sound good?" she asked. "I mean, it kind of sounded like everything I forgot."

"Heh. That's funny." Eren invited himself into the room as he kept talking. "I was just going to say that it sounded like everything I remembered. And then some."

With that thought, Cinder finally stopped being embarrassed and started being grateful. Not just that she hadn't lost her natural talent, but that approval came from the man that mattered most to her.

It was good to know that Eren was still a fan.

"Aw, thanks," Cinder said as she put down her guitar. "I definitely gotta keep practicing, though. Now that we got time on our-" Cinder couldn't help but stop talking and smiling when she saw the sunlight from her window shine on Eren.

Something was wrong.

"...What?" Eren asked.

"Eren... you don't look so good," Cinder replied. "Are you okay?"

Eren's lack of sleep had indeed impacted his appearance. Along with looking rather pale, Eren was having trouble keeping his eyes open. The circles under his eyes were telltale signs that he hardly slept, and Eren decided to confirm this.

"I... I'm fine," Eren began. "Sorry, I just... didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

Cinder could tell how tired Eren looked, but the paleness of his face made her believe there was more to his condition than meets the eye. "Are you coming down with something?" she asked as she moved her hand to feel Eren's forehead.

Eren didn't know why, but he instinctively backed away from Cinder. "No," he said. "I'm just tired."

"Oh..."

Cinder felt bad for seemingly invading Eren's personal space, but she focused more on the concern she felt for her boyfriend. As well as a desire for help.

"Why don't you go back to bed?" she suggested. "I could bring up some breakfast if you're hungry."

"..."

Eren would have agreed and accepted this offer with gratitude if he wanted to be left alone.

That was his plan for the day, to be left completely isolated from the rest of the world. But the moment he heard and saw Cinder, Eren realized that plan was utter nonsense. He now knew that the last thing he wanted to be was alone.

Cinder had taken Eren's mind of Darkness, as well as the haunting vision he received last night. Being alone would most likely result in something just as bad happening once again.

Mild fear and a desire for companionship became Eren's guides, and they began to lead him downstairs.

"That's okay," Eren said as he began to move downstairs. "I think I'd rather have breakfast with you."

"Really?" Cinder asked. She would normally be happy to accept an offer, but Eren's condition was very troubling. When she could see that Eren wasn't changing his mind, however, Cinder took the offer and followed him downstairs. "Okay..."

It didn't take long for the duo to reach the bottom of the stairs. And just as he heard, Carla had prepared a breakfast of sausage and scrambled eggs for him. Carla had already finished her breakfast, so she was doing the dishes until she heard the voice of her son call out to her.

"Hi, Mom."

Carla turned around to greet her son with a smile, to satisfy the mild concern she had for him when she knocked on his bedroom door earlier. But when she saw the state he was in, Carla's mild concern for Eren grew in an instant.

"Eren, you look terrible!" she said. Carla immediately regretted saying the first thing that came to mind, given how cruel it sounded. So she let her actions speak for her by gently touching Eren's forehead to see if he had a fever.

"Sorry," Eren said as he sat down. "I didn't get much sleep last night." He then rubbed his face in an effort to wake up completely, which caused him to miss the somber look Carla was giving him.

Somber, but also understanding.

After her talk with Eren last night, Carla didn't get much sleep either. She didn't have any visions or hear any strange voices, but Carla had a lot on her mind. The anger she had at Darkness was a contributing factor to her inability to sleep right away, but she was also attempting to determine how best to help Eren.

The promise she made was a promise Carla planned to fulfill, but she was just having trouble figuring out how to properly help her son. They were two different people, after all. But eventually, Carla decided that she would take things slow. Take one step at a time on any given day until Eren felt better.

This decision not only led to Carla getting enough sleep, but it helped her determine what Eren might need today.

"Why don't you go back to bed after you eat?" Carla asked calmly. "I don't think we have too much to do today."

Eren was still determined to be surrounded by the people he cared about, so he denied the offer. Fortunately, he had an opportunity to turn it down properly.

"Thanks, but I actually wanted to talk to you," Eren said after he opened his eyes. Cinder had joined Eren at the table, but that didn't change his mind. "About last night."

"You do?" Carla asked incredulously. "But... we already talked last night."

"I know." Eren recalled the conversation well, along with how the resolution was temporary. "But you never got a chance to talk to me. You know, about where you were yesterday."

In that moment, Carla's worries began to disappear. Not only was she glad that she didn't have to hear anything else about Darkness, but her excitement from the previous day had returned tenfold.

Just as she said, Carla had some very big news.

"That's right!" Carla said with a gasp. "Oh, I forgot all about it! And you're going to love it, Eren!" Carla took a seat in front of Eren and began to explain herself. "So, I had a meeting about the farm yesterday."

"In the capital?" Eren asked. "But... I thought our deal with the market was still going."

"Oh, it is. I wasn't meeting with them. No, I was meeting with an investor. And a few other consultants."

"An investor? What for?"

Carla began to remember how she felt the moment she left her meeting. She was a little anxious about the decisions she had made, but her anxiety was trumped by excitement and a desire to share what she believed to be the future of her farm.

"Well, first off, I'm sorry I didn't say anything when you got back," Carla began as her excitement grew. "I just didn't want to jinx anything. I wanted to make sure I could do actually it."

"Do what?"

This was the first time she actually said it out loud, and it made Carla all the more excited. "Eren... I'm going for the brand."

"..."

Carla was being rather vague, Cinder thought, when she said "the brand." Cinder was listening to the conversation carefully, but she immediately became confused by what Carla had said. To her, it was rather vague. She couldn't recall ever hearing anyone say something about a "brand," so confusion was Cinder's first response.

The same, however, couldn't be said for Carla's son.

"What?!" Eren yelled as he jumped out of his seat. He was fully awake now, and he could see why his mother was so excited. "Wait a minute? You mean the brand?"

"Yes!" Carla replied happily.

"The one you told me about before?"

"Yes!"

"The one that you've been trying to get? And your parents too?"

"Yes!"

"The one that-?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Carla moved closer to Eren as she spoke some more. "When I found out I had a shot, I wanted to confirm it with my accountant. And after I found an investor, I signed off on it yesterday." Carla gently grabbed Eren's shoulders before she spoke again. "I can do it, Eren. I'm going to do it."

"..."

It may have been Cinder's singing that made Eren want to seek companionship, but Carla's news, something that Cinder still didn't understand, that made Eren find the joy he needed. His attitude had made a complete turnaround, one that he accepted with open arms; arms that were now around his mother.

"Mom, that's great!" Eren said. "I can't believe it, this is awesome!" Eren suddenly let go so he could look his mother in the eye. "When do we start?"

"Pretty soon," said Carla. "I just signed off with the few villages we normally trade with. And I heard about some interest in the southeast, so my fingers are crossed."

Eren and his mother shared a laugh before they talked some more. They mainly spoke about what they needed for "the brand," and Carla was about to tell something else that she was sure Eren would like. But a small noise drew them back to reality and towards the young lady in their presence.

"Um..."

"..."

Eren and Carla suddenly remembered that Cinder was with them. And once she knew that she had their attention, Cinder finally asked the question on her mind.

"I'm sorry... what?"

"..."

Eren and Carla knew that they had been caught up in the moment, but they were surprised that Cinder seemed rather oblivious about the cause of their excitement.

"Wait, didn't I ever explain this?" Carla asked.

"Uh, I don't think so," Cinder replied, trying to be polite in the process. "Nothing about a 'brand,' no."

"Really?" Eren asked. "I could have sworn I told you about it."

Cinder took a moment to think about it, but her mind was simply blank. "No, sorry," she said. "I mean, I remember what you always said about your mom's job, but I don't think we talked about... whatever this is."

Carla laughed once more before she sat down again. "Wow, I must be bad at this," she jokingly replied. "I can explain. But first, I should probably tell you why this place is called 'Ambrose Farms,' even though there's only one."

"..."

Cinder was well aware of both the name of the farm as well as its singular existence. But she remained seated and silently listened to Carla's story.

"Back when Kuroyuri was first founded, my great-great grandparents helped establish the farm as a source of food," Carla began. "After some more villages came into existence, the first trade routes were opened. Food for clothes, transportation for tools, that sort of thing."

"..."

"Eventually, my great-great grandparents became ambitious. With more villages popping up in the outskirts, they decided to do more than just trade."

"They decided to expand the farm as a business," said Eren. "Each village would have their own farm managed by Mom's family."

"That's right. And that's how we got the name 'Ambrose Farms.'"

"Oh..." said Cinder, who was starting to understand the story. In fact, it was even starting to become familiar. "I think I remember hearing that now. Yeah, Mom talked about Kuroyuri's history in school."

"I'm glad somebody is," said Carla. "It's nice having history lessons about places like home."

"So, what happened? With the other farms?"

"Well, my grandparents' plan was... premature. They could manage this farm just fine, but they didn't have the resources or people to run separate farms across the outskirts."

"But it wasn't entirely their fault, Mom," said Eren. "I know what the Grimm can do to places like Kuryouri."

"I know." Carla let out a saddened sigh. "Those poor people."

"You mean the Grimm destroyed some of the other farms?" Cinder asked.

"The farms, the houses... even whole villages were being razed by the Grimm."

"A lot of those villages were smaller than Kuroyuri," Eren explained. "They didn't have a lot of manpower for defense along with farming, so they moved on. Or... you know."

"..."

Cinder was all too familiar with the effect Grimm had in the outskirts. And though she didn't have too many specific examples, Cinder knew that many villages and settlements had been irreparably destroyed by the Grimm. If they weren't resettled by newcomers, the debris was left to fester and rot like open wounds.

But the worst part was... it was still happening.

"Eventually, my great-great grandparents decided to give up what they had beyond Kuroyuri," said Carla, who helped make Cinder forget about the bad situation of the outskirts. "They focused more on trading and feeding the town. But they, like the rest of my family, one day hoped they could make Ambrose Farms a business again. To be a brand across the Kingdom."

Eren had heard this story multiple times as he grew beside his mother. He knew just like all of her distant relatives, Carla wanted to see Ambrose Farms grow past Kuroyuri and become a business. The multiple deals the Ambrose family had with the capital helped, but they were never enough to get things in motion.

Until now.

Even though he never had any intention of taking her job, Eren always admired Carla for having this dream. She was always one to be content with the life she lived, to have very few things change around her. So to hear that she had a dream, not unlike the one Eren had of seeing the outside world with Armin, was something the young man greatly admired his mother for.

And now, to know that this dream was about to come true, made Eren very proud of his mother.

And so was Cinder.

"Oh!" she said as she stood up. "You mean you're gonna open farms across the outskirts? Like your great-great grandparents did?"

"That's right," Carla said proudly. "A few villages that the SDC tore down are starting to rebuild, and they'll need farms for food. When they heard about what I was doing, they said they'd be willing to have me manage the farms we'll build. With some work and some luck, Ambrose Farms will be a brand again."

"That's great!" Eren and Cinder said together. After they shared a brief laugh at the coincidence, the duo began asking Carla more questions about how the plan was to be done.

"So who's going to manage the farms?" Cinder asked.

"I talked to a few people rebuilding the other villages," Carla replied. "They have an understanding for business and want to work with me. And Peter actually volunteered to manage one in a village not far from here. He's been doing a good job with coordinating the assignments here, so I think he's earned a chance to manage things abroad."

"So what's the plan?" Eren asked. "How are you going to build farms in the other villages?"

"We're going to start small," Carla replied. "They can't expand immediately, or look like the farm we have here. That was my great-great grandparents' first mistake. We're going to give everyone an equal amount of tools and seeds while they handle the manpower. Well... for the most part."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, with some villages rebuilding and others focusing on Grimm defense, they don't really have the numbers or time to build a farm. They're confident they can manage it, but they have to build it first."

"Oh..."

Eren understood this perfectly, but that didn't make him very happy. The last thing he wanted was for a repeat of what Carla's ancestors did. He knew how important this was to her family, so Eren wanted Carla to succeed.

"Can I help?" Eren immediately asked, which brought much joy to his mother.

"That's... actually something I wanted to talk to you about," Carla said as she put a hand on Eren's shoulder. "Eren, remember what I said about being wrong trying to make you a new manager? That's actually how I was reminded about you being the best landscaper here."

"..."

Carla was nervous about her question, given that she didn't want to make another mistake. But she wouldn't be asking what she was about to ask if she didn't feel Eren was the perfect candidate for her task.

"Eren... how would you like to help lay down the groundwork for our new farms?" Carla asked. "How would you like to help build them?"

"..."

Carla was well aware that while Eren wasn't very skilled in business management, his skills on the field were very clear. Eren had been called the best landscaper for field expansions by just about all of Carla's farmhands, and he knew how to care for the different kinds of food and crops the farm grew. So in Carla's mind, Eren was the perfect candidate for getting a few small farms started in the other towns; as well as a teacher for maintaining said land when the new farmhands would begin working.

The only thing Carla was unsure of was whether or not Eren would like the task. She didn't want a repeat of the last job she tried to give him, so Carla did her best to not make Eren feel obliged or that he was being drawn into something that he didn't want to do. Her only hope was that Eren would like how the job sounded.

However, Eren didn't like it.

He loved it.

Putting the skills he learned at Kuroyuri to use, doing it beyond the walls while exploring places he hadn't seen too often, every day being different... not only did it sound like a good job to Eren; it actually sounded exciting.

"That sounds great, Mom," Eren finally replied, while finally feeling the happiness and peace of mind he desired earlier. "Let's do it."

---

It was a little funny to consider, but Eren couldn't help but notice how today had actually started out like yesterday. He was feeling sad and anxious about telling Carla about Darkness, until seeing Cinder and the rest of his friends brought his optimism back. And today, he was depressed about his... incident last night, until the warmth of his friends and family returned Eren to the life he wished to have in Kuroyuri.

It wasn't much to think about at first, but the same pattern happening in two days helped Eren see what he needed. His experiences with Darkness, both real and what he believed to be imaginary, still haunted him greatly. However, this haunting feeling disappeared the second Eren was joined by the people who loved him.

So, Eren got an idea from this pattern. He was learning an important lesson, one that he had forgotten when he left Paradis. It was a lesson he actually learned the first day he met Cinder, as well as the day he found his mother. And that lesson kept coming up every time Eren made a new friend.

And that lesson... was to never be alone.

As soon as Eren realized this, he spent the rest of the day surrounded by the people who loved him. He was with Carla when she made her announcement to the rest of the farm, he was with Cinder when they handled the day's chores, and he was with all of his friends who came to the farmhouse to see each other.

The only person who wasn't at the farm was Midori, who was still proudly working at Kuroyuri's hospital. But just like yesterday, Eren decided to pay the hospital a visit to see how Midori and her patient were doing. He was joined by the rest of his friends, even though Mercury was constantly bringing up Emerald's escapade along the way.

Despite the fact that she learned her lesson, and that she had been given the positive reinforcement she needed from Eren and Cinder, Emerald still felt sorry about what she did last night. She now understood how dangerous and reckless it was, qualities that didn't suit her one bit. She was determined to be better, to train with her Titan more before trying out its vast powers again.

All she needed now was for Mercury to shut up. But no matter how many times she hit him, Mercury just kept making jokes and wisecracks that were fun to laugh at. Eren normally wouldn't laugh as much, but it felt rather good to laugh after what had happened last night. And now that his friends were safe, Eren believed that he could look back on last night and have a good laugh.

Emerald would eventually be able to feel the same way, but not today.

The jokes and laughs were eventually put to a halt when everyone met Midori at the hospital.

"She's doing a lot better today," Midori told her friends, referring to a recovering Summer Rose. "Her vitals are rising steadily, and she said her memory's starting to come back."

"That's great," said Emerald, who took the news better than the rest of her friends. Everyone else was glad to hear about Summer's improvement, but Emerald was happy to see that her efforts had a good result.

"Can we see her?" Eren asked. "I'd like to talk to her some more." Despite the fact that she was defeated, there was much about Salem that Eren didn't understand.

Namely, why she kidnapped people and turned them into monsters.

"Just as long as she's up for a visit," Midori politely insisted. "She needs a lot of rest for a proper recovery."

"How about you?" Cinder asked. "We don't see you outside the hospital that much."

"Yeah!" Nora agreed. "They're not working you too hard, are they?"

"Well, there's always somebody who needs my help," said Midori. "But I'm okay. Just need some coffee here and there."

Nora was the one who laughed the loudest at that joke, given that a good cup of coffee helped her seize the day when she needed to. Ren had to monitor her caffeine intake, however, since an even more hyperactive Nora was hard to keep a handle on.

He had a few incidents were Nora had too much coffee that Ren couldn't speak of again.

"Careful with your intake," Ren advised. "People often crash when the caffeine wears off." Ren also had memories of Nora losing her energy when her coffee had worn off.

"Oh, I know," Midori insisted. "But I'm okay, really. I think all that training and fighting gave me some new stamina." Midori flexed a muscle for a moment for emphasis and humor. "I probably would have crashed a long time ago if I hadn't gone through all of that." After another laugh, Midori stepped aside to let her friends into the room. "Go ahead in."

Everyone stepped inside to see that Summer was indeed doing much better. Not only was she wide awake, but she was also out of bed. Midori had managed to find a wheelchair for Summer, since she wasn't quite ready to walk just yet. So, Summer used the wheelchair to traverse across the room, and see the world beyond the hospital.

And she had forgotten just how beautiful the green grass and blue sky actually were. The warm sun on her face was an even better reminder of the world she had been isolated from. Summer couldn't wait to touch the grass, to feel the cool breeze on her skin, and to simply embrace the world with arms wide open.

Though she couldn't do any of those things just yet, Summer was happy that she had made some new friends since her rescue. And now, those friends had just arrived for another visit.

"Oh, look who's here," Summer said with a humorous smile. "My heroes."

Eren and his friends briefly chuckled before Eren replied. "Nice to see you too, Summer," he said politely. "May I call you 'Summer?'"

"Of course you can. And you're... Eren! Is that right?"

"Yeah." Eren gestured towards the present company he had. "And you remember my friends, right?"

"I do, yes." Summer smiled at the large group behind Eren. "How are you all today?"

"Fine, thanks," said Cinder. "We actually came to ask you the same thing."

"Midori said that you were feeling better," said Nora. "You look better too."

"Thank you," said Summer. "Right now, I'm just happy Midori gave me this wheelchair." Summer rolled herself closer to the teenagers. "I know I need my rest, but I was going a little stir-crazy sitting in that bed."

Everyone chuckled once more before Ren spoke. "We weren't interrupting you or anything, were we?" he asked. "We can come later if you need to rest."

"I'm alright. And I'm actually glad you're all here." Summer rolled backwards to let everyone shuffle in without being cramped in the small room. "It just occurred to me that I never properly thanked any of you for bringing me here. Waking up was a bit of a shock, and we all had so many questions for each other." Summer smiled gratefully at the group before her. "So thank you. Thank you all."

Everyone smiled and accepted Summer's gratitude, either through words or a simple nod. And they each began to feel proud at what they had done. Stopping Salem was hard enough, but to know that they had saved a life in the process was even better. Cinder had even told Eren that he saved the world from what he had done, and now Eren could feel the weight of this truth. If things ended up differently, then Summer may not even be thanking him.

If things ended up differently, Eren wouldn't be with his friends, trying to move past what had happened and embracing life again.

Emerald also felt pride, even though she still felt foolish in her mission. But Summer's health and gratitude were very rewarding for the young girl, to know that she had done good after all. It even gave Emerald new resolve to not only do better in the future, but do as just as much good as she did with Summer. Whether it was in Kuroyuri or anywhere else, Emerald would strive to let her heart be her guide.

Summer was truly grateful for her life being saved, but she still had much to learn.

"Also, I wanted to talk to you about what exactly happened," she said. "I mean, with finding me and... and finding Salem too."

"..."

While nobody showed it, they were all rather reluctant to talk about their encounters with Salem. Between being Titans and Eren being possessed by the God of Darkness, there were so many things that Eren didn't think Summer would believe.

One thing he believed, however, was that continued silence would make Summer suspicious. So rather than giving answers right away, and rather than keep quiet, Eren decided to see what exactly Summer wanted to know.

"Okay," Eren began. "What exactly did you want to talk about?"

"Well, mainly what on Remnant caused all of you to go looking for her," Summer replied. "I mean, you all look a little young to be Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"Oh, we're not," Cinder immediately said. The last thing she wanted was to be mistaken for a Huntress. "We're just... people."

"I'm mostly a medic," said Midori. "But, yeah. We're just people."

Summer was surprised to hear this. She remembered that she was a Huntress, one of the most well-trained warriors on Remnant. And yet, all of her training had led to being defeated by Salem.

So to hear that she had been rescued by people who weren't Huntsmen or Huntresses was a shock. There was clearly more to these teenagers than meets the eye.

Rescuing her was truly a testament to their strength.

"But... how did you find her?" Summer asked. "Why?"

Eren knew exactly how to answer that question. "She attacked our village," he said. "With an army of Grimm."

"We didn't even see it coming," said Cinder. "But we knew she was behind it."

Summer felt that this was certainly something Salem would do, but there was something she needed to confirm. "Your village?" she asked. "You mean this village?"

"Yeah, this one," Nora confirmed. "Don't worry, we're safe. We fended off the Grimm and managed to rebuild."

"We set off after Salem to make sure she couldn't hurt us again," said Ren. "To make sure she couldn't... take anyone else from us."

"..."

Ren may have made peace with himself, he may have undone the hardness of his heart. But one thing that refused to heal was the fact that Ren missed his father every day since Li's passing. He was glad to have said his goodbyes, but nothing was going to be the same.

"Oh," said Summer, who saw that Ren was the one who suffered a loss from Salem's attack. "I'm... so sorry." Rather than ask who it was, Summer believed it best to offer her condolences. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"Thank you," said Ren, who decided to change the subject. "But what about you? How did you find out about Salem?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I mentioned that I was a Huntress. I mean, I am a Huntress." Summer moved her chair towards the window once more. "That's not going to change. As soon as I'm feeling better, I'll be right back where I started."

"Right..." Cinder thought to herself with unease.

"My memory's still a bit hazy... but I remember my team. My friends." Summer continued to stare out the window and reflect on her life. "I was a member of Team STRQ at Beacon Academy. That's... actually how I met Raven Brawen." Summer couldn't help but clench her fist and furrow her brow at the mention of Raven. But there was something else about Raven that made her feel better. "Well, her and Qrow."

"Qrow?" Mercury asked. He remembered hearing the name when he saw Summer's memory of Raven, but he didn't know anything about the man.

"Raven's brother," Summer replied. "He was younger than her, but Qrow was always his sister's keeper." Summer finally turned around to look at the teenagers. "You said you met her before? If that's the case, I'm sure you know how... hard to handle, she is."

Eren shook his head, but he wasn't denying Summer's claim. "You have no idea," he said.

"Oh, I think I do," Summer countered. "Do you know where she is now?"

"Probably six feet under at the capital," Mercury spat.

"...Pardon?"

Emerald decided to speak for Mercury after she gave him a shove. Raven was an enemy of theirs, but Emerald didn't think it was appropriate to talk like that.

Especially to someone who didn't know what was going on.

"Raven, uh..." Emerald began. "She's dead. A Grimm attack. It happened a few days ago."

"...Oh," Summer replied in understanding.

"..."

Summer didn't know how to feel about this. She knew Raven for a long time, and remembered more than she wished. Summer's memories of Raven and her team didn't feel complete, but she couldn't deny remembering Raven to be a very flawed person. And she also couldn't deny that Raven had indeed left her behind with Salem.

But did that necessarily deserve death? Was it karma catching up to the woman for everything she did and believed in?

Was Summer... supposed to be happy that Raven had died?

These were all difficult questions Summer was asking herself, but she didn't have any answers. And she didn't feel anything from hearing of this news. No joy, no sadness, no pity... just hollow.

"Well... given everything she did and believed, it was bound to happen sooner or later," Summer replied. "Was it a Grimm of Salem's?"

Midori, Ren, and Emerald remembered finding Raven's body with Summer. More specifically, the monster Salem had turned Summer in to. So it was fair to say that Salem was mostly responsible.

"Salem had a part to play in it," said Ren.

"We just saw the Grimm and Raven's body," said Midori. "That's about it."

"Yeah," said Emerald. "We stopped the Grimm, but we were too late to help Raven."

"I see," Summer replied. "And you stopped Salem too?"

"That's right," said Eren. "Is that why you were there? Were you trying to stop her too?"

"I was."

Summer closed her eyes as she tried to remember the exact details of her knowledge regarding Salem. She had been told about her existence by someone, but the details weren't exactly clear. Regardless, Summer explained what she remembered.

"I was told about Salem by someone," said Summer. "Not Raven. We actually found out together. Someone came to us, told us about Salem. He said... that he needed our help." Summer snapped her fingers as she tried to remember everything else. "It's on the tip of my tongue. Who was it?"

Between Summer's memories and his own knowledge about Salem, Eren had a good idea who Summer was referring to. "Do you remember someone named 'Ozma?'" he asked. "Or 'Ozpin,' maybe?"

Summer's eyes opened wide as she snapped her fingers one final time. "Ozpin! Yes, it was him! I remember now. Ozpin was our Headmaster, and he told us about Salem. He said that we could help him stop her."

"Wait, really?" Cinder asked. She had a hard time believing this, given that Salem was immortal. She was sure Ozpin knew as well, so hearing about a plan to stop her was strange. "When did he say that?"

"Not long before graduation," Summer replied. "When I was about to get my Huntress license."

"How long ago was that?"

"Um... that was-"

*BUZZ*

*BUZZ*

Summer paused when she heard an electronic buzzing in the room. Everyone else heard it too, and they saw that the source was Cinder.

Or rather, the Scroll in her pocket.

"Oh, just a second," Cinder said as she took out the device and looked at the screen. "Huh, coming from the CCT." Cinder couldn't remember the last time she received a call from Mistral's Cross Communication Transmit System, which was used for long distance calls. Regardless, Cinder answered the call and put her Scroll to her ear. "Hello?"

"..."

Nobody in the room could hear the other end of the conversation, but they all knew how serious it was when Cinder's face dropped.

"Oh! Councilwoman Redwood! Good morning!"

"..."

Eren and his friends looked at each other when Cinder revealed the identity of the caller. They soon realized that the time for talking about Salem was over; they had other issues to deal with.

"Uh, yes!" Cinder said as she sat down in a chair behind her. "Yes, ma'am, we're all here in Kuroyuri. I'm actually with my friends right now."

"..."

"Oh, you called the Mayor! That's good, he knows we're here. So, um, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"..."

"Uh-huh."

"..."

"Uh-huh."

"..."

"Oh, that's... great! That's great news! Um, so we have a date?"

"..."

"Sure, let me grab a pen."

Cinder looked where she was sitting to se a clipboard with a pen on a table. She grabbed it without thinking and began to write on the first piece of paper she saw.

"Cinder, wait!" Midori whispered. She wanted to stop Cinder from writing on a hospital form, which was the first piece of paper on that clipboard.

But Eren stopped Midori from saying anything else.

"Shh," he requested. "I think I know what this is about."

"Okay, the capital building on Thursday..." Cinder said as she wrote on the paper. "Nine AM. Got it! We can come early if... Oh, you're sending an airship. Yes, we have a landing pad near the center of town."

"..."

"Uh-huh."

"..."

"Uh-huh."

"..."

"Understood. Thank you."

Cinder finally ended her call and turned to look at her friends. None of them had been expecting to hear from Councilwoman Redwood, but they all knew why she had called. Cinder didn't have to say anything.

But she did.

"We have a date for our hearing," she said. "This Thursday."

---

Councilwoman Redwood's call wasn't entirely unexpected. It was inevitable, but it came very quickly.

Eren and his friends hadn't been keeping up with recent news, given that all they wanted was to relax and let things go back to normal. While doing so, they missed the events occurring in the capital city of Mistral.

Not long after the arrests of Arthur Watts and Hazel Rainart, Councilwoman Redwood stepped down from her temporary position as Prime Minister. The investigation into her fellow Council-members had finally concluded, and now they were ready to return to work.

The only ones who weren't allowed to rejoin were Councilman Lionheart and Councilman Slate. Lionheart's secrets had led to his arrest, and was found to have taken part in bribery. Slate was also the Councilman who allowed the Schnee Dust Company to begin seizing land in the outskirts for Dust.

Though he was discovered, the legal team of the SDC denied ever bribing Councilman Slate in that incident. Nevertheless, Slate's proven accounts of bribery led to his removal from office.

Now, only three members of the Mistral Council remained: Councilwoman Redwood, Councilman Noire, and Councilwoman Blanca. Noire and Blanca were known to be very conscientious in their work, and their decisions were always by the book. Therefore, they were very skeptical about Redwood's decision to revive such an old tradition in Mistralian law. Though they were unable to prevent her from doing it, both Council-members wanted an investigation as soon as possible.

They couldn't deny the spoils of Redwood's decision, but they knew how disturbed the Atlas Council was when they found out that foreign agents worked on their soil. Everyone needed peace of mind, which was what Noire and Blanca intended to do.

The hearing couldn't be immediate, however, given that Noire and Blanca had a lot to catch up on. Councilwoman Redwood had done a good job with national matters and keeping the peace of the capital, but there were a few matters that required the attention of the entire Council. Though two members were missing, the three remaining members would be able to meet together and have a majority in decisions.

And so, the hearing was scheduled for Thursday. This was a short timeframe for Eren and his friends, but it was enough time to prepare.

The ones who arguably took the news of the hearing the most seriously were Cinder and Mercury. Cinder had been waiting for this hearing ever since Redwood said to would be inevitable, and she had been preparing for it as well. Cinder had taken plenty of notes on the Hunt Inquisitorius, what worked and what could be improved on. Cinder was going to say that the process wasn't perfect, and that she shared the same ideas as both the Mistral and Atlas Councils. She also planned to explain that it was a better alternative than Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Cinder made sure to practice and prepare what she would say and when, but there was something else that she needed help with: appearances.

Cinder hated to think about it, but the incident on the train in Atlas still lingered in her mind. Cinder recalled how she had been treated both verbally and physically, all because a few people were too lazy to find another seat. They were also prejudiced against people from Mantle, which led them to believe that Cinder's farm-clothes were telltale signs that she was beneath them.

Cinder didn't agree with this idea, but she decided that she would have to change her appearance in the presence of the Council.

Eren already understood this idea, given that he always had to wear his uniform in the presence of people like Keith Shadis and Historia. And Dina, while livid about the Atlesians who hurt her daughter, was willing to help Cinder pick out some clothes that were more suitable for occasions like meeting the Council. She even had some old clothes from her teenage years that Cinder could look at.

Mercury also took the hearing seriously, but not for the same reasons as Cinder.

Ever since Councilwoman Redwood talked about the idea of a hearing, Mercury hated the idea. He believed that the hearing would set him and his friends up as people to take the fall, should the Councils rule against Redwood's idea.

If they couldn't convince the two Kingdoms about the need for a Hunt Inquisitorius, Mercury knew that he and his friends would be in trouble.

The idea made Mercury feel betrayed, that he had been doomed right from the start. He couldn't think of a reason why Redwood would want to defend him and his friends if she was at risk of failing as well. In his mind, it was possible and very likely that he would be thrown under the bus.

Because of this, Mercury began to keep everyone at a distance. He wouldn't talk about the hearing with his friends, nor would he practice with them as well. This behavior reached the point where everyone knew that something had to be done.

Vernal said that she would be willing to talk to Mercury, even though she couldn't help with the hearing. Given that she was not present for receiving a license from Redwood, Vernal had no business in the hearing whatsoever. Midori was in the same boat as Vernal, given that she acted more as a medic instead of a soldier like her friends. So she and Vernal would stay behind on Thursday.

Neverthless, Vernal was willing to talk to her boyfriend about the hearing. She had asked Eren to join her, given that Mercury was currently engaged in an activity that Eren also liked.

Whenever Mercury was stressed, when he had a lot on his mind, the young mechanic would turn to physical activity to let out his frustrations. Rather than practice with his weapons, Mercury went to a basketball court Kuroyuri had built long ago. By the time Vernal and Eren had found him, Mercury was simply throwing an orange basketball at the hoop over and over again.

Eren knew that Vernal made the right choice by asking him for help. Because he knew just how to start such a conversation.

"Hey, Mercury," Eren called to his friend as he walked on the court. "Up for a game?"

Mercury turned around to see that he wasn't alone. "Sure, dude," he said. "One-on-one, or are you trying to use Vernal against me?"

Vernal let out a chuckle before she answered. "Don't worry, babe," she said. "I'm just here to watch." She then took out a piece of Lien out of her pocket. "If you win, I'll buy us some food."

"You're on, babe." Mercury passed the ball to Eren. "You can have first shot."

"How generous," Eren joked before he began to bounce the ball up and down.

Instead of immediately shooting it at the net above him, Eren watched Mercury move to block his way across the court. When he saw Mercury's right foot lean towards the left, Eren took a step to the right so Mercury would follow him.

This left Eren open to move to the left now, which was now free of Mercury's presence. But this freedom was momentary, since Mercury was quick to move back with Eren.

Eren knew how fast Mercury was. The Flashstep Titan granted him great running speed, but Mercury's speed on the basketball court was natural. He was able to move his body fast enough to leave Eren closed off from the hoop, as well as pass the ball to someone else when they played with teams.

However, Mercury's greatest strength was also his greatest weakness. Eren had played the game enough times with Mercury to know that he would always jump as fast as he could to block someone from shooting the ball. And as he moved towards the ground, that was the perfect chance to shoot.

And so, Eren used the trick to his advantage. Once he raised his hands to shoot the ball, Mercury jumped up in an attempt to stop Eren. But Eren didn't let go until Mercury was in the right spot, where his hands were too low to stop him.

Once that happened, Eren shot the ball and watched it go in the net.

*SWISH*

"Nothing but net," Eren said jokingly.

"Dammit," Mercury groaned as he caught the ball. "Lucky shot."

"I don't know, babe," Vernal said as she watched Mercury dribble the ball. "You fall for that trick all the time."

"Yeah," Eren agreed as he prepared to block Mercury from shooting. "And we all know you're a little stressed right now."

This was true, but Mercury wasn't willing to admit it. "I'm fine," he said as he shot the ball.

*THUMP*

Instead of going in the net, the ball hit the backboard and fell to the side. Mercury groaned as he watched his second failure of the game, and also watched as Eren got the ball.

"No offense, but you're definitely distracted," Eren said as he dribbled the ball. "It's about the hearing, isn't it?"

Mercury groaned again, but he decided to explain himself to Eren; just so he could stop talking about it. "Okay, fine. It's just giving me a bad feeling." Mercury jumped to prevent Eren from shooting the ball, and even managed to hit it out of Eren's hands. Once that happened, Mercury got the ball for himself. "It's like we're damned if we do and damned if we don't."

"..."

Eren remained quiet as he watched Mercury dribble the ball and talked some more. "If this goes bad for Redwood, there's no way she won't throw us under the bus. It's like no matter what we do, we're being set up to fail." Mercury jumped once more and shot the ball at the net.

*THUMP*

Mercury not only missed again, but the basketball was now stuck between the rim of the net and the backboard. Both of the boys couldn't help but stare at the ball in surprise, but Mercury became even more frustrated. "See?!" he asked rhetorically.

Vernal had to stifle a laugh before she offered her assistance. "Chill out, Merc," she said. "I got it." Using her enhanced gymnastics skills, courtesy of her Grimm mutation, Vernal jumped high and hit the ball with her hand to free it from the backboard.

Eren decided to take the ball again so Mercury could focus on him. "Mercury, I know this sucks," he said honestly. "I'm gonna hate this too, believe me. I've been put on trial before, it's not fun."

"Oh, yeah," Mercury said as he recalled Eren's story from Paradis.

"Wait, for real?" Vernal asked. "I don't remember hearing about that."

"It's true," Eren said as he dribbled the ball. "After I used my Titan to help seal the broken wall, I was arrested and put on trial. The government wanted to know what to do with me."

"Is that right?" Vernal asked as she leaned against the metal pole that held the net up. "What, were they gonna lock you up for helping?"

"They had a few ideas." Eren moved with Mercury as he dribbled the ball. "One of them was killing and dissecting me."

"Damn," said Mercury. "Who suggested that?"

"The Military Police. The same people who chained me to a pole so I wouldn't escape. I spent that whole trial on my knees."

"Hah!" Vernal laughed. "Hope they didn't try to make you swallow anything on your knees."

"Ha, ha!" Mercury laughed. "You walked right into that one, Eren!"

Eren hated the memory of being chained and called a monster, but he laughed with his friends. "Yeah, yeah," he said as he acknowledged their dark humor. "But I don't think this hearing is gonna be like that. I know it's gonna suck, but they're not gonna kill us." When Eren shot the ball once more, he suddenly remembered when one soldier pointed a gun at him. "Actually, come to think of it... the Military Police were setting me up to fail."

"Seriously?" Mercury asked as he moved to catch the rebound.

"Yeah. That was back when Rod Reiss was ruling the island. Back when he didn't want anyone finding out about anything. The Military Police wanted to kill me to keep that secret."

"And you got out of it?" Vernal asked. "You must have had a really good lawyer."

"Not really. To prove that I didn't want to hurt anyone, Captain Levi just walked over to me and kicked my ass."

"..."

Mercury and Vernal froze when they heard this. Mercury had heard all about how Captain Levi was a great soldier, that he was "Humanity's Strongest." But today, this was the first day that the man was rather cruel.

If he didn't know any better, Mercury could compare Eren's incident to what Marcus Black always did to him.

"Damn..." Mercury said as he stopped dribbling the ball. "Captain Levi sounds like a total dick."

"Yeah," Vernal agreed. "He just walked over and started pounding the shit out of you?"

"Kicking me, actually," Eren corrected. "My hands were chained to a beam, so I couldn't fight back. I think I lost a tooth that day."

"Whoa," Mercury and Vernal said together.

"Yeah, it wasn't fun." Eren hated having to be beat like a dog that day, but he couldn't deny that it helped him avoid death that day. "But it worked. When everyone saw that I wouldn't hurt them, I was allowed to join the Survey Corps. I had to be watched by Captain Levi's squad, but I still won the trial."

"..."

Mercury and Vernal were still surprised with Eren's story, but they were starting to learn from it. Mercury could relate to Eren's troubles with the trial, even though he hadn't even gone to Redwood's hearing yet. And Vernal knew it must have been hard for Eren to convince everyone that he wasn't trying to hurt the people of Paradis.

Eren actually combined both of these thoughts with what he said next.

"There's nothing set in stone about this hearing," he said. "We don't know what's gonna happen, even though we know we were trying to help. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to convince the Council. We owe that to ourselves and each other." Eren stepped out of Mercury's way so he could shoot the ball into the net. "That's all we can do, Mercury. Just try."

"..."

The point Eren was making was actually a combination of both his experiences on Paradis and a recent event on Remnant. At his trial, Eren knew that he had to try and convince everyone he wanted to fight for them. And quite recently, Eren heard a song from Cinder that pointed out the necessity of trying.

Mercury was beginning to understand that himself, as was Vernal. In order to show that he understood what Eren was saying, Mercury decided to try and shoot the ball in his hands once more.

And this time, it hit the backboard and went in the net.

*THUMP*

*SWISH*

"There you go!" Vernal said with a clap. "About time, too!"

"Heh, heh," Mercury chuckled as he passed the basketball to Eren. "Alright, let's play some ball."

With his mind now at ease, Mercury was able to play a much better game with Eren. He won by a single point, which raised his confidence even more. Mercury promised that he would do better preparing for the hearing with everyone else, so Eren decided that his work was done.

And so, Eren decided to go back to the farmhouse. He still had a few chores to do along with preparing for the hearing, but Eren decided to get some water after playing a game with Mercury. While he drank, Eren's attention was caught by sounds behind him.

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

"Hi, Eren."

Eren didn't recognize what sounded like glass hitting the ground, but he easily recognized Cinder's voice. "Hey, Cinder," he said while looking at the sink. Instead of getting more water, Eren put the cup on the side and began to turn around. "I just talked to Mercury, I think he's gonna be-"

Eren's jaw dropped the second his eyes landed on his girlfriend.

Cinder's efforts to find new clothes with Dina had led to a rather stunning result. Instead of her gray jeans and sarashi under her tan jacket, Cinder was wearing a red dress that fit like a glove. The dress was a rather short one with golden accents at the sides and a brooch at the waist, starting off the shoulders and ending just above Cinder's knees. And instead of her boots, Cinder was wearing a pair of high heels that appeared to be made of glass.

In fact, they actually were glass. Dina had forgotten how she had gotten a pair like those before, but the shoes didn't exactly fit her anymore. So she let Cinder have them when she saw that they were Cinder's size.

Both Dina and Cinder were debating if the dress Cinder was currently wearing was appropriate for a meeting with the Council. Dina had another red dress in her closet, one that was also red with golden accents. The dress was much longer, but Cinder didn't like that it had one sleeve that was too long; the dress she was wearing now felt much more comfortable.

Cinder decided to get a second opinion on the dress she was wearing, and the first person she found was Eren. She was confident that she would get an honest opinion from him, but she was immediately taken aback by Eren's reaction. Given that she wasn't used to wearing clothes like her dress, and that it was rather short, Cinder believed that Eren didn't like how it looked.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it too much?" Cinder looked to the side and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "I, uh, haven't really worn a dress like this in... I don't even know how long. But if it's-"

"You look beautiful," Eren blurted out. This was the first thought he had on his mind, but it took a rather long time to reach his mouth. But given that Cinder was smiling now, Eren could see it was better late than never to say something.

"Really?" Cinder asked. When she saw that Eren was being serious, Cinder giggled when she realized that there wasn't anything to worry about. "Thank you."

"..."

While Cinder was grateful for the compliment, she remembered why she was wearing the dress in the first place. "I mean, I'm just wondering if it looks professional," she said. "Mom has another dress upstairs, but I just wanted to get a second opinion on this one. The other one's a little longer, and has only one sleeve."

"I, uh, I think it looks good," Eren replied as he snapped out of his daze. "I mean, I think it's supposed to be hot on Thursday. Maybe your shorter dress will help?"

"Yeah, good point. Also, this one just feels comfortable." Cinder made a quick spin and moved her arms to emphasize her point. "You know, like I can actually move in it."

"It looks good. You might actually be able to fight in something like that. I mean, if you needed to."

"I probably could, but I think Mom would kill me if she saw me fighting in this." Cinder laughed with Eren before she asked a question. "So, uh... what are you going to wear?"

---

News of the Council's hearing with Eren and his friends spread all across Kuroyuri. Reactions were mostly mixed, given the lack of involvement the Council mostly had with the town. Some were worried that they would try to do worse than try remove them from the land like Councilman Slate did. Others, however, had confidence in the teenagers' ability to defend themselves.

After all, Cinder had given a remarkable speech about the flaws of Huntsmen and Huntresses.

There were individual reactions as well as collective reactions among the people. For example, Carla was surprisingly confident her son would prevail. She couldn't deny that she was nervous, but everything he had done assured Carla that Eren would be fine.

Dina was also confident with the group, specifically her daughter. Though she preferred the dress Cinder turned down, Dina respected her daughter's decision and looked forward to the result of the hearing.

An was somewhat nervous like Carla, but she was sure that Ren knew what he would be doing. And Nora would be perfectly safe under his watch.

Confidence and anxiety was spread across Kuroyuri, but there was only person who was more confused than anything else: Summer Rose.

When she heard about all the commotion, and when she heard about her new friends having a hearing with the Mistral Council, Summer was the only one who had no idea what was going on. Fortunately, Midori provided enough context to help Summer understand everything. Midori told her patient about the town's trouble with Huntsmen and Huntresses, Salem unleashing a new kind of Grimm called "Titans", and how Eren's group had tracked down a member of Salem's faction in Atlas.

Midori even explained that they had a previous encounter with the Mistral Council; namely, about arresting the Headmaster of Haven Academy.

Unfortunately, this proved to be a misstep of sorts. Summer could understand Salem and her work, but she refused to believe that a Headmaster of all people was working for her as well. She knew many Huntsmen and Huntresses, and the idea of even one of them working for Salem was ludicrous.

Not only was Summer unable to believe it, but she soon demanded proof that such ideas actually existed.

Fortuantely, Midori had a plan to confirm the truth. After asking Eren and the rest of their friends to come see Summer once more, Midori and everyone else provided the story they had about Lionheart. Eren had the news article detailing how he was framed and subsequently released while Emerald still had a copy of Watts' list of Huntsmen and Huntresses with her.

That was everything Summer needed to be convinced.

"He... He really did this?" Summer asked after she finished reading everything. "To all of those people?"

"Lionheart gave that list to Watts," Eren confirmed. "We found it when we all met Salem together."

"I stole Watts' Scroll and found out Lionheart gave him all those names," said Emerald. "And when Salem had the list, she decided to get rid of them."

Summer couldn't detect any lies from her friends, but this was still hard to believe. "This... This is unbelievable," she said. "Those poor people. Leo... how could you?"

"..."

Everyone was a little wary of Summer, given her background as a Huntress and a Grimm hybrid. But when they saw Summer begin to cry, they all came to believe that she wasn't like any Huntress they had met. The news and gravity of the situation had a real and lasting effect on the woman.

Something that surprised Cinder.

"You... never saw anything like this before?" she asked. "While you were a Huntress?"

"...No," Summer replied after she dried her eyes. "Never. Never in a million years did I ever hear about Huntsmen betraying one another like this."

"Sorry you had to find out like this," Nora said sincerely. "It hit us pretty hard too."

"That's why we're having a hearing with the Council," Ren explained. "We did things differently, and now they want to see if our methods were warranted."

"I see," Summer said after she handed Eren and Emerald back their Scrolls. "Is this why you're... wary about Huntsmen and Huntresses? Because of this?"

"Well... yes," Eren replied. "But this isn't really the first time we've had unnecessary problems with them."

"Some of us more than others," said Mercury, who recalled the experiences he had with his father.

Cinder stepped forward and made things simple for Summer to understand. "The Huntsmen and Huntresses around here... aren't fair to the outskirts," she said. "To places like Kuroyuri."

Though she wasn't hearing any specifics or detailed experiences, Summer had a hunch that Cinder was genuine with her feelings. "Is it that bad?" she asked in disbelief.

"It is," Cinder confirmed. "You never heard of any kind of problems like ours? While you were a Huntress?"

"Well... no. Not in Vale, at least. I heard that Mistral was tough to handle at times but... I never heard anyone say things were unfair." As soon as those words escaped her mouth, Summer realized that there was so much that she didn't know. "How... unfair have they been for you?"

"Too unfair," Cinder replied.

"..."

The answer was rather vague, but Cinder stood by her opinion with firm resolution. And she had the support of her friends, who suddenly began to emphasize this point with examples.

"Huntsmen don't always answer the call," said Eren. "Missions sit on their boards for hours until there's nobody left to help."

"They're also the ones who decide payment from the ones who called them," said Ren. "Those payments can be more than the villages can afford."

"There aren't any patrols or security in the outskirts," said Nora, who heard the story from Li Ren. "People die before they can even call for help."

"People can forge their licenses too," said Mercury. "Or go rogue while on the job. Sometimes, the answer is actually both." Mercury knew that his father always had the chance to prove that his license was fake. However, what nobody knew was that Marcus had actually gone rogue before, as a Huntsman.

One night, in a drunken fit, Marcus threw away the license saying that it made him sick. When he recovered the next day, Marcus got himself a forged license so he could continue his work as an undercover assassin. And he never spoke of the real license, or his time at a Huntsman Academy, ever again.

But Mercury knew the truth. He knew, just like the rest of his friends, how corrupt the Huntsman system was. And now, he wished for a change to commence. If not for him, then for any other innocent person who had been tricked by frauds.

Eren and his friends all had their reasons to distrust Huntsmen and Huntresses while believing the system they established was susceptible to corruption. And now, they were going to have the chance to prove this to the Council. If they could defend their actions as Hunt Inquisitorius, then they would have the chance to bring up the Huntsmen and Huntresses later down the line.

And Summer, while reluctant to say that she couldn't trust Huntsmen and Huntresses, was starting to understand what her new friends were talking about.

"I know we just met..." she began nervously. "And I know I'm still a Huntress. But... can I help?"

"..."

That was the last thing anyone expected to hear; especially Cinder.

"...Say what, now?" she asked.

Summer moved closer to Cinder in her wheelchair. "Can I help?" she repeated. "I'm sorry you've had such a bad time like this. What you've described and shown to me sounds horrible. But I promise, not all of the Huntsmen and Huntresses are like this. And I certainly wasn't in the field."

Cinder realized how accusatory she must have sounded a few minutes ago. While she still had her reservations against the system, Cinder's intention wasn't to accuse Summer of any wrongdoing. But before she could correct herself, Summer continued to talk.

"Let me talk to Professor Ozpin," Summer requested. "Or whoever's managing Haven now. If I put in a good word, maybe it'll help your case."

Cinder was humbled by the noble request, to hear that she and her friends had gained an ally, of sorts. She felt proud, happy that she had touched someone's heart and drew her to their cause.

Eren was satisfied as well, but he didn't want to involve anyone else; especially Ozma.

"Thank you," Eren said as he moved closer to Summer. "But this hearing will be with the Council, actually. I don't think we're going to be meeting any Huntsmen or Huntresses."

Cinder was sure Eren had his reasons to turn down the offer, but she didn't want to be rude. "If we do, we'll definitely let you know," she said. "As long as you're fine with it, I mean."

"Are you kidding?" Summer asked. "You saved my life. All of you. It's the least I can do, really."

"..."

"Oh, and if you're talking to the Council, talk to Councilwoman Lilac. She still owes me a favor."

Summer laughed at her own joke, but nobody laughed with her. They weren't being rude, and they weren't skeptical of Summer's claim. But rather, they were confused by the name she said.

"Um... I'm sorry?" Cinder asked. "Councilwoman..."

Summer looked back up to Cinder. "Oh, Councilwoman Veronica Lilac," she said. "Last time I was in Mistral, I protected her transportation from Grimm. That was one of the few missions I took here."

"Veronica Lilac?" Ren repeated. "Oh, that name does ring a bell. I don't think she'll be able to help us, though."

"Really?" Summer became just as confused as her present company. "Why not?"

"I don't think she sits on the Council anymore. She must have served her full term."

"...What?"

"..."

All eyes fell onto Summer as she was apparently struggling to comprehend this information. Ren was confused by this, given that it was relatively minor news. But Summer was insistent that it wasn't true.

"No," she said. "No, that's impossible. She had just started when I met her. And I didn't meet her too long ago."

"Well, nobody named 'Lilac' is on the Council now," said Emerald. "Maybe you mean someone from Vale? I'm actually from there, I think I heard the name 'Lilac' tossed around."

"No, no, I'm pretty sure it was Mistral." Summer looked at everyone in front of her, and saw they were unconvinced. "Well, you all must have heard of her! She's pretty popular in Argus. What, with that train she wants to build between there and the capital."

"Train? You mean the Argus Limited?"

All eyes turned to Midori, who was apparently familiar with the train Summer was talking about.

"I know that train," Midori continued. "It connects the capital to the north of Mistral. Has a few stops in between, but that's the only train system in Anima I know about."

"Oh, wow!" Summer said. "You mean she already built it? That's great!" Summer turned her chair to the window once more to look at the people. "You all worked fast to get that finished! I wonder if this hospital didn't take long to build too."

"..."

Once more, everyone was confused by Summer's claims and sentiments. As they all looked upon each other, seeing the same perplexed faces, they could tell that something wasn't adding up.

"Guys?" Eren whispered. "What is she talking about?"

"I've heard of Councilwoman Lilac," said Ren. "I think Mother and Father voted for her."

"But she's not there now," said Cinder. "Councilwoman Redwood said Blanca and Noire are the only members now. Before that, it was Lionheart and Slate."

"That doesn't make sense," said Nora. "Em, you really think she's talking about Vale?"

"Maybe," said Emerald. "But that wouldn't explain the train."

"Yeah, I know the Argus Limited," said Mercury. "Midori's right, it's the only train we got here. But between the Grimm and the length of the line, that must have taken ages to finish."

"Definitely not anytime soon," said Midori. "My mom told me about it once, how long it is."

Between the retired Councilwoman and the time it took to build the Argus Limited, Eren's confusion remained persistent. His idea of what this meant, however, immediately led to distrust and skepticism.

"So, what?" Eren asked, quiet enough for only his friends to hear. "Summer's lying? Has she been lying to us the whole time?"

The idea spread quickly among the band of teenagers, but Ren was the first to dismiss it. He looked back to Summer with skepticism, but with a different perspective.

Using his Semblance, Ren looked upon Summer Rose to see exactly how she was feeling. Ren could see green petals mixed with yellow falling down the woman, showing that she was at peace and rather happy. Nothing about these emotions seemed to display regret about keeping secrets or overconfidence in lies.

Summer had been telling the truth... but that didn't make what she said right.

"I don't think she's lying," Ren insisted. "It's like... she actually believes what she's saying."

"But it's not adding up," said Mercury. "How can she believe it?"

"Maybe Salem brainwashed her?" Nora asked.

"That might be possible," said Emerald. "There may have been more stuff in her mind I couldn't get out."

"Hmm..." Cinder hummed as she took some time to think. "She doesn't look or sound brainwashed. The things she said don't seem dangerous, but it's like she's talking..."

"..."

Silence followed Cinder's brainstorming because the young girl had an idea. The idea was very strange, but it made sense to the given situation. However, Cinder wished that she was wrong.

Because her idea... sounded like the worst thing imaginable.

Cinder moved away from her friends and walked towards the patient once more. "Um, excuse me, Summer," she said to get Summer's attention. Once she had it, Cinder asked a question she should have asked a long time ago. "How... How long did Salem keep you prisoner? At her castle?"

Summer frowned when she heard this question, since she didn't like talking about Salem. "...Why do you ask?" she countered. "Salem's gone, isn't she?"

"Yes, she's gone. She's not gonna hurt us again. But... can you tell me how long you were there?"

Summer didn't know why it mattered, but she prepared herself to answer the question. She needed a few moments to think about it, given that her memory was still a bit hazy at times. "I... I don't know," she said. "It... It feels like months, to me. Maybe... nine months?"

Summer's answer was hard to believe. Not just in the sense that she had spent months in that terrible place, being made into a monster from somebody's nightmares. But also, that Summer may not be correct again. Ren could see that she wasn't lying, but something still wasn't making sense.

However, Eren was able to see where Cinder was coming from. Because of this, he followed her lead and asked another question.

"Summer..." he began slowly. "What year do you think it is?"

Eren had Summer's attention now, as well as her confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Behind Eren, everyone could see what was going on. Nora covered her mouth in shock, while everyone else stared in anticipation. But Ren was the only one to speak.

"Oh, no," he said sadly, right before Summer gave her answer.

"It's... 2001," Summer confidently replied.

"..."

There were many differences between Paradis and the rest of the world. One thing that stayed the same, however, was the system of a calendar. Because of this, Eren knew that he had been born in the year 835. And he also knew that he died in the year 854.

Remnant, however, had their own calendar system. The days and months were the same, but the major difference was the year. When Eren first arrived at Remnant, he was in a ten year old body. And according to his mother and Dina, who both taught him Remnant's calendar system, he arrived in the year 2006. Seven years had passed since that day, so now the year was 2013.

Not only was Summer a prisoner of Salem's prior to Eren's arrival... but she had been trapped there for twelve years.

"...What?"

Eren and his friends needed to let go of their collective shock when they heard Summer speak to them once more. And now, between the silence and numerous glares she had received, Summer was starting to see that something wasn't right.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Why the long faces?"

Everyone was still surprised by what Summer had just said, but Ren tried to take it upon himself to answer the question; as well as deliver the bad news.

"Summer..." he began awkwardly. "I don't know how to say this... but-"

"You were at Salem's castle for twelve years!" Nora blurted out instinctively.

"Nora!" Ren said to make her calm down. But there was nothing he could do at this point. The truth was out, and now it was Summer's turn to be surprised.

"W-What?" the poor Huntress uttered. When she heard silence and saw blank faces once more, Summer knew that they all seemingly shared Nora's belief. However, it was hard to believe it herself. "But that's... Wait, is this some kind of joke?" Her disbelief was making Summer attempt to defend herself and what she believed was true. "Are you trying to mess with me?"

"No, we're not," Cinder sadly replied. She was the one who started this conversation, and now she felt responsible for finishing it. "Summer, today's date is August 17th... 2013."

"..."

Summer was at a loss for words when she heard this. There weren't even words one could find in a dictionary that could truly express the feelings of shock, disbelief, and sorrow Summer held in her heart. The disbelief she had was her strongest emotion, but it was fading quickly when Cinder offered her Scroll to the woman.

Summer took the device without hesitation, and she could see the calendar app she had to look at. There, she saw that Cinder had been telling the truth; today's date was indeed August 17th, in the year 2013.

Summer could look at every other Scroll in the room if she wanted to, but something told her that it would be pointless. All she did was drop Cinder's Scroll and repeat one phrase as tears fell down her face.

"Twelve years?" she asked herself. "Twelve... years?"

Cinder picked up her Scroll and backed away from the poor woman whose world had just been completely and utterly broken. Knowing that she had missed over ten years of her life was simply too much to bear.

And what was worse, Summer had remembered something very important before everyone came to see her.

Summer remembered that during her time at Beacon, along with Qrow and Raven, she had another teammate named Taiyang Xiao Long. She remembered him before today, but now she was remembering that she had fallen in love with him ever since they met. He was kind, loyal, and he always made her laugh.

Taiyang's eyes, however, had fallen onto Raven first.

Their relationship was a rather passionate one, and it even resulted in Raven bearing Taiyang's child. But this relationship became complicated after the child's birth. It eventually led to Raven leaving the duo to fend for themselves, cutting whatever ties they had left.

Summer didn't remember exactly how it happened, but she recalled falling into Taiyang's arms while his daughter, Yang, grew up. Summer not only took the father and daughter into her heart, but she also bore the man another daughter: Ruby.

Each member of Summer's family was fairly young the last time she saw them... and now twelve years had passed.

"Tai..." Summer whispered as more tears fell down her face. "Our girls..."

"..."

Eren and his friends were feeling sorry for Summer. But now, after hearing that she apparently had a family before her capture, everyone was devastated. Nora was even starting to cry, which led to Ren holding her.

Midori had to hold Summer, after she did something rather reckless.

"I... I have to go!" Summer insisted. Rather than push her wheelchair, Summer began to push herself off the seat and try to walk. "My family! They don't know I'm here, I have to-"

*BAM*

"Augh!"

Instead of walking, Summer's legs gave out and caused her to fall face-first on the hard floor. That was when Midori rushed to the woman's side and tried to help her up. She also called for nurses and aides to help her, all while Summer cried her eyes out.

"No!" Summer cried out, wishing that her present reality was simply a dream. "No, no, no! This can't be happening! It can't be! Nooooooooo!"

---

The conversation with Summer had left everyone dejected and disappointed. What they learned about her imprisonment was heartbreaking, and Summer's reaction was even worse. Nevertheless, they stood by their decision to tell Summer that Salem had unjustly locked her away for twelve years.

They may have been hiding their identity as Titans, but Summer deserved to know the truth about Salem's dark deeds.

They didn't have time, however, to think about this decision for too long. Eren and his friends still remembered that they had much to do before their hearing with the Council. Vernal and Midori were still going to stay behind, but they were giving their friends all the support they could.

Cinder had taken the lead in the preparations, helping everyone practice what they would say and the list of events they would get straightened out. Nobody had really placed Cinder in charge, but between her speech and closeness to Redwood, everyone was fine with letting Cinder do most of the talking.

The plan was rather straightforward. First, everyone would talk about how they discovered and killed a Titan themselves. Then, they would show all the evidence of a controller that was built with SDC parts. Mercury still had photos and a good understanding of the mechanism, so he could explain it better. Next, they would talk about how Winter helped them examine the mines and discover metal was missing. Finally, after discovering where metal was being taken, they would discuss how they found Watts in an abandoned part of Mantle.

The plan was sound, but there were a few points of debate. First, Eren pointed out that they killed the Titan in Vale. Surely, there would be questions as to why they were in Vale to begin with. But after Cinder reminded everyone that they had a lead on Midori, a citizen of Mistral, being taken to the Forever Fall, it wouldn't hurt to explain their presence in Vale.

Next, Emerald pointed out that she had entered the headquarters of the SDC without permission or authorization to see if any metal had been stolen. She claimed to have avoided cameras, but there was a chance that someone might have seen her. This point was rather risky, and Cinder decided to only talk about it if it was brought up.

Finally, there was the point of Winter Schnee. Cinder recalled how Winter had been arrested and broken out, which casted a lot of suspicion on them. Without proof that Raven had used her Semblance to break Winter out, fingers would be pointed at the group of teenagers. Cinder decided that Winter, who would be joining them, might be able to defend the truth that Raven had helped her escape.

So while a plan was made... it was sadly imperfect. Cinder took this the hardest, given that she had taken the reins for leading her friends. She had spent day and night practicing what she would say while taking "crash-courses" in Mistral law, in order to know what to expect.

For the past few days, Cinder would end up falling asleep on a desk instead of her room. Notes and her Scroll were with her, which were clear indications as to how hard she was working. Dina made sure to put a blanket over Cinder rather than disturb her, but Eren would also carry her to bed.

The work was hard, but Cinder was grateful to have people like her mother and her boyfriend to help.

Eventually, the day of the hearing finally arrived. Councilwoman Redwood had indeed sent an airship to Kuroyuri, where its pilot found six well-dressed teenagers waiting. Cinder was wearing the dress her mother let her borrow while her friends were wearing presentable clothes the local tailor had made for them. Ren, Nora, Mercury, and Emerald weren't quite used to what they were wearing, but Eren grew accustomed to it. His suit wasn't exactly a uniform, but he treated it as so.

Just like the trip back home, it would take approximately a half hour to get to Mistral's capital building. There, Councilwoman Redwood would be waiting with her fellow Council-members, Winter Schnee, Detective Montoya, and a representative of Atlas. The Atlas Council hadn't told Redwood who they would be sending, perhaps as a form of penance for sending foreign agents into their Kingdom.

Nevertheless, everything was ready for hearing to commence. Councilwoman Redwood would only have a few minutes to prepare the former members of the Hunt Inquisitorious, so everyone did some practice in the airship. Everyone practiced what they would say and when, either in pairs or by themselves.

Cinder was by herself, but she had hoped that she would be practicing with Eren. While she had just about everything she felt she needed, Cinder had been grateful and reliant on Eren's support for the past few days. She was hoping for a little more today, but Eren had secluded himself from the others. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but Cinder believed that Eren was practicing what he would say, so she left him alone.

However, unbeknownst to the passengers and pilot, there was someone else who was carefully observant of the airship. Someone who was most certainly unwelcome.

"So... a hearing, then. A mock-trial. Very well. Let us see what it has in store for us."

"..."

Eren hadn't told anyone about his visions of the God of Darkness. Carla suspected something had happened when she found a broken mirror, but she decided not to probe further when Eren said that he slipped in the bathroom. Because of this, Carla and the rest of Eren's friends were unaware what Eren was going through.

Just like they were unaware that Darkness was watching Eren on the airship.

Eren received a "visit" last night from Darkness, where he was asked why he was wasting time with talk and diplomacy. And today, it wasn't very different.

"This bickering is pointless, Eren," said Darkness, who was talking to Eren through a reflection on the ship's metal frame. "You already know how corrupt and weak these 'Council-members' truly are. They know nothing of true power, like we do."

Eren had more than enough of Darkness at this point. He had told the god last night to leave him alone, but now Darkness wasn't going to do anything until he had an audience with Eren.

So whether he liked it or not, Eren had to entertain Darkness. Or a vision of Darkness, which was what Eren still believed.

"If you think I'm going to kill them for no reason, you're wrong," Eren insisted. "And I'm not going to waste any more time talking to a figment of my imagination."

"Still under the illusion that I'm no longer with you?" Darkness asked. "Very well. Have your delusions of grandeur if they make you comfortable. But you would do better than to deny the truth you learned on Paradis."

"What?"

"There's never 'no reason' for violence." Darkness chuckled as his "image" moved closer to Eren. "Violence saved your friends. Violence brought you before me. And violence is what brought Salem to ruin. You have restored peace to Remnant, but you would be unwise to forget the violence that brought peace."

"..."

If there was one thing Eren hated more than talking to Darkness, it was listening to Darkness remind him of the past. More specifically, when Darkness used the past to correctly describe what Eren had done and who he was.

However, Eren meant what he said when he said that he wanted to change. He meant that he was ready to live a better life on Remnant, with his family and his friends.

Nothing was going to stand in his way; but Darkness was getting awfully close.

"I know you can hear me, Eren," Darkness insisted. "Ignoring me won't make any difference, you know."

This time, Eren decided to fight back. "Maybe I wouldn't ignore you if you actually wanted to help me," he spat. "Or if you didn't make me hurt my friends while you-"

"HELP YOU?!"

The voice was not only loud and angry, but it was right in both of Eren's ears. The pain from the noise caused him to lower his head and close his eyes. Darkness spoke again in a quieter voice, but the pain in Eren's head remained.

"All I have ever done is help you!" the deity insisted. "I gave you the Founding Titan! I showed you the kind of Grimm to use against Salem! And what about the time I spared your mother's soul and yours from burning in the Hell you so justly deserve?! Is that not help?!"

"..."

Darkness' tirade had definitely gotten under Eren's skin. Rather than being silent to ignore him, Eren once again couldn't deny that everything Darkness said was true. It made so angry that he wanted to punch that faceless head and do whatever he had to do to make Darkness shut up.

It took all of Eren's willpower and someto prevent him from unleashing his rage. If he did that, then everyone in the airship would know something was going on.

The sight pleased Darkness, and it gave him an idea.

"Tell me, is it the pain?" he asked. "Is it the pain you feel, or want to feel that makes you acknowledge my presence? Reminds you that you are not alone?"

"..."

"Or is it all those times I did help you? Is that what you require now, my son? Do you beseech me in your time of need with this 'hearing' of yours?"

"I don't need your help," Eren spat as he looked back at Darkness. "We have a plan. We have each other. We have Cinder. We're gonna be fine."

Before Darkness finally disappeared, the god let out one more chuckle and said one more thing. "We'll see, Eren. We'll see."

"..."

This was the first time that Darkness had disappeared without Eren having to hit anything or scream at him. But instead of reveling in this victory, Eren leaned against the wall in exhaustion while letting out a long sigh. He had hoped returning home and talking to his mother would make all of this stop, but it never did. Eren was still haunted by Darkness, and there didn't seem to be anything to change that.

Just like the night he punched the mirror, Eren was scared. He still couldn't determine if what he saw and heard was real or his imagination, though he kept insisting the latter. And yet, Darkness' image and voice were as constant as the air passing through Eren's lungs.

All in all... the reminders and the trauma were here to stay.

"You're a little nervous too, huh?"

Eren flinched at the sound of another voice, but he was able to relax when he saw that it was just Cinder this time. And judging by what she had just said, Eren's body language and demeanor were signs that he was troubled.

But he wasn't alone.

"Uh... yeah," he said. "Just trying to wrap my head around... a lotta things."

Cinder was oblivious to Eren's visions, so the hearing was the first thing that came to mind. "Yeah, me too," she said. "I'm still going over what I learned from those crash courses in Mistral law I found online. I mean, I'm no lawyer, but I think I have basic understanding."

"Heh, heh. I don't think we're gonna need a lawyer, though. Far as I know, we haven't really been charged with anything."

"That's true. Let's just hope it stays that way." Cinder leaned against the wall with Eren to talk some more, which she did after she took his hand in hers. "Eren... no matter what happens today, I just wanted to say 'Thanks.' You know, for everything you've done over the week."

Eren accepted the small embrace and gratitude the only way that seemed appropriate. "You don't have to thank me, Cinder. If it weren't for you, we'd probably be going in there blind. But we have a solid plan, and an even stronger voice. Yours."

Cinder blushed as she twirled her hair. "Yeah, but you were the one who talked to Mercury."

"And you made Summer believe you and offer some help." Eren slightly frowned when he remembered Summer. "I know she's going through a lot, but she did offer her help."

"Yeah, I know." Cinder let out a sigh as she remembered Summer's situation. "I hope she's okay."

"Me too."

"..."

After a brief moment of silence, Cinder remembered what she was saying in the first place. "But also, you guys didn't have a problem with me taking the lead," she said. "That was normally your thing with you-know-who, and I kind of just slipped into your spot."

"No, you didn't," Eren insisted. "I know I was usually at the front of all our battles, but we were still working together. And that's what we're doing now, whether everyone's listening to you or me." Eren gently squeezed Cinder's hand. "We have your back today, Cinder. I have it."

Cinder once again had to thank Eren for his support, which she did as she leaned against his shoulder. It was hard for Eren to give this support, however, given his recent encounter with Darkness. But after that encounter, he still meant every word he said when he said that he wanted to live better in Kuroyuri with his friends. And he still meant what he said about how their plan and Cinder was all Eren needed.

It was fair to say that Cinder did need Eren's support, but now it was better to say that she had enough to last for the day. In order to repay Eren for this kindness, Cinder decided to offer some in return. Their plan was good, but there weren't any assurances in it. So, Cinder decided that if she couldn't find any assurances that today would end well, she would make one instead.

"Hey, Eren," she said to get her boyfriend's attention. "I just remembered that we haven't really been around the capital in a while. How about we grab some dinner after we win, just you and me?"

"Just you and me?" Eren repeated. When he saw Cinder nod, Eren decided that it sounded like a great idea. However, given their evolved relationship, Eren had one more question. "Oh, are you asking me out on a date?"

Cinder laughed, albeit a little nervously, when she saw Eren smirk as he asked his second question. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Eren continued to smile, one that was warm and genuine instead of sarcastic. "That sounds great. We'll ditch the others and find that noodle place you love."

Cinder hugged Eren's side with a laugh before she responded. "Perfect. It's a date, then."

"Yeah. It sure is."

---

Just like the time they returned to Mistral from the Land of Darkness, everyone arrived at a landing pad close to Mistral's capital building. The Mistral Council decided to keep this hearing as quiet as possible, so there were no reporters or press waiting for everyone. Instead, they saw Councilwoman Lila Redwood waiting for them like she did before. Unlike that night, however, Redwood had a much more friendly demeanor and more welcoming attitude.

"Welcome back, everyone," the Councilwoman said with a smile. "Thank you all for coming."

"Good morning, ma'am," said Cinder, who extended her hand to shake with Redwood.

"Good morning to you too." Redwood shook Cinder's hand while examining the change of attire she had. "That's a very lovely dress."

"Oh, thank you." Cinder gestured to her friends behind her, who let Cinder do all the talking for now. "My friends and I decided that a hearing like this calls for a change of attire. I, uh, suppose I looked a little too casual last we met."

"Well, you all made a rather wise choice." Councilwoman Redwood suddenly turned heel and began walking towards the building. "I hope you can forgive me for meeting you here again rather than my office. But everything is prepared for our hearing, so we'll be going there immediately."

The news made everyone mildly alarmed, since they didn't have much of a chance to sit down and talk things out. Each of them were slightly nervous with every step they took, but they remained as calm and collected as they could.

Eren decided that the more they knew about the hearing, the better they would feel.

"Thanks for meeting us so quickly, ma'am," Eren began. "Is there anything else about the hearing you can tell us? What to expect, maybe?"

"Ms. Fritz may have already told you that I'll be joined by Councilwoman Blanca and Councilman Noire," said Redwood. "We'll each be evaluating the actions you took in Atlas individually and as a collective. Naturally, I have to remain impartial, just like them."

"We understand," said Ren. "Have they seen the same evidence we showed you?"

"They have. They took the threat very seriously, but they're skeptical about the Hunt Inquisitorius being the answer to the problem. They're a little more... traditional, when it comes to problem-solving."

Despite the description of her fellow Council-members Redwood gave them, Nora became rather optimistic. "Don't worry, guys," she said to her friends. "If we convinced her, we have a good chance at convincing the others."

The sentiment was shared and agreed by everyone, but they still had more questions. "So, what do they need to hear from us?" Mercury asked.

"The hearing will mostly be getting to know each and every one of you," said Councilwoman Redwood. "They'll need to determine if you are loyal citizens to the Kingdom, if you conducted your work within the law, and if the Hunt Inquisitorious was truly necessary."

"Um... loyal citizens?" Cinder asked skeptically. "With all due respect, ma'am, I think we already proved that."

Councilwoman Redwood stopped walking and turned to Cinder. "I agree, Ms. Fritz. Between your help in arresting Leonardo, stopping Tyrian Callows, and brining evidence of Grimm being controlled by people, I believe you have undoubtedly proved your alliance to the Kingdom of Mistral."

Eren recalled how he needed to prove his loyalty to Paradis when they discovered he was a Titan. This memory led to the insight as to why his current loyalty was being questioned. "But we need to prove it your fellow Council-members, don't we?" he assumed.

"I'm afraid so," Redwood confirmed before she began walking again. "But don't worry; I'll do everything in my power to convince them like you convinced me. Your actions regarding the Hunt Inquisitorius, however, we all have to hear for ourselves."

Everyone followed Redwood while feeling grateful for this assistance, especially Mercury. Given how he believed Redwood would try to save herself if the hearing fell apart, hearing how she believed him to be a loyal citizen was reassuring.

"So, who else will we be talking to?" Emerald asked. "Cinder mentioned that there was going to be a representative of Atlas."

"There is," Redwood replied. "And I'm afraid... that's going to be the more challenging part."

This time, everyone behind Redwood stopped walking. Their nerves began to rise when they heard the prospect of a new challenge, which seemed to be somewhat concerning. But once again, everyone stayed calm as they sought more information.

"Well, have you met this ambassador before?" Emerald asked. "What are they like?"

When she noticed that the group behind her had stopped walking, Councilwoman Redwood turned around and spoke once more. "Well... that's the thing," she said. "Atlas didn't exactly send an ambassador."

"Oh?" Cinder asked.

"No, the Atlas Council wanted to take part in the hearing... personally. So instead of an ambassador, they sent one of their own here."

When he heard this, Ren suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Lieutenant Infrigdando. Namely, how she wished for her superiors to meet with the Mistral Council and have the Hunt Inquisitorius be temporary. The latter was already dealt with, but it seemed one of Infrigdando's superiors was here.

And they were apparently sitting on the Atlas Council.

"A member of the Atlas Council is here?" Ren asked. "For the hearing?"

"Indeed," said Redwood. "But he's not just a member."

"Who is he?" Eren asked.

"...General Ironwood. The commander of Atlas' military."

"..."

At first, everyone was simply anxious when they heard more details about the hearing. But now, the same amount of worry and concern Councilwoman Redwood had was being spread all across the group.

Councilwoman Redwood was upset when she heard the news, since she knew Ironwood to be a very stubborn man and a firm believer of whatever came to mind. She was well aware that he was unhappy with the Hunt Inquisitorius, which was why she felt sorry for the people who had to defend themselves.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I only found out last night. I'm surprised he actually arrived without much of an introduction. James always takes his work with him, I was expecting to see airships and soldiers left and right. It's amazing he wanted to keep this quiet as well."

Eren was just as disappointed as his friends, but he made sure to keep calm and keep a level head. "We understand, ma'am," he said. "Thank you for letting us know."

"You're welcome," said Councilwoman Redwood. "And, I'm sorry. I can't be there to help you defend yourselves against the General, but I'll do whatever I can to help throughout the hearing." Councilwoman Redwood looked towards the capital building. "We should go, they'll want to start as soon as we arrive."

Everyone followed Redwood once more, but much slower than before. They all had their own thoughts and reservations about talking to a member of the Atlas Council, and a General for that matter. Convincing the Mistral Council would be hard enough, but the Atlas Council may be close to impossible now.

Cinder took this news the hardest, given her failure at talking to Infrigdando in Atlas. Eren, however, told his friends not to worry. He had plenty of experience talking to military personnel, so Ironwood wouldn't be much different.

He hoped.

---

When they finally arrived at the capital building, Councilwoman Redwood separated from the rest of the group. It was a part of procedure that she would enter the room with the rest of her Council-members, so she would be joining them.

But first, Redwood wished the teenagers good luck, before asking her secretary to show them to the room.

As they walked down the hall, everyone did what they could to assure themselves that things would be fine. That they would succeed in proving themselves to the Council and dismiss any ideas about arresting them. Mercury wished that Vernal was with him, but he took it upon himself to assure Emerald that they would be fine. Emerald did the same for Mercury, which made him feel a little better.

Ren and Nora whispered to themselves about what would happen, and that they would still be there for each other no matter what. Nora even reminded Ren that An had complete faith in them, which the young man agreed.

Eren remembered that his mother had wished him good luck as well. She also had faith in success, and that one way or another, Ambrose Farms stood with him as well. It was nice to hear all that support, and Eren reminded himself that his future was with that farm and his family, that he would help Carla achieve her dream no matter what. Cinder was a bit more nervous than Eren, but she felt better when he held her hand walking through the hall.

They didn't exactly gain more confidence by the time the doors to a large meeting room opened, but Eren and his friends knew they were ready for whatever came their way.

When they stepped inside, everyone saw two desks in front of curved table, where numerous seats were vacant behind said desks. At the curved table, formed in the shape of half a circle, was Councilwoman Redwood with her fellow Council-members. Councilwoman Blanca was an older woman with white hair and an aged face, signifying her age and experience in politics. Councilman Noire was a middle-aged man with jet-black hair and glasses over his piercing gaze. Both members adopted the traditional attire in Mistral, which was a long dress for Blanca and an overcoat over a business suit for Noire. The only thing these clothes had in common was a dull gray color.

The seats behind the desks would normally be filled with reporters and people who wished to see the hearing for themselves, but this was a strictly private meeting. However, only one a few seats on the right were taken by two uniformed police officers and Detective Montoya. Detective Montoya had been invited to deliver her report personally and share her own testimony to the hearing, and she greeted the teenagers with a simple nod, one they all returned.

The officers, however, had the task of bringing in and guarding Winter Schnee, who was currently sitting in a chair behind a plane of glass.

As she promised, Winter allowed herself to be taken into Mistralian custody pending the hearing. Councilwoman Redwood was able to place her in protective custody, so Winter was quite safe and apparently unharmed. Her only source of discomfort was anxiety, given her uncertainty about the hearing's future.

Cinder felt guilty for being unable to visit Winter while she was in custody, but the Atlesian didn't seem to have any grudge with her or her friends. Winter simply nodded at the group like Montoya did, and watched as they began to sit down.

Everyone moved to the desk on the right, where Eren and Cinder sat together. There wasn't much room at the desk for everyone, so the rest of their friends simply took the empty seats right behind the desk. The desk on the left, however, was taken by a man in a uniform. The man also had black hair like Councilman Noire, but it was graying just above his ears. He was wearing a white uniform with a red tie and gold pins at the neck, something that Eren immediately took note of. The uniform didn't look like one he would see on Paradis, but its vague similarity to a Marleyan uniform disturbed Eren.

The only details about the man that looked out of place were a piece of metal on the right side of his forehead and a single white glove on his right hand. Eren didn't know what to think of it at first, but then he remembered Watts telling him a story about an Atlesian with metal prosthetics on the right side of his body.

Between that story and what Councilwoman Redwood had said earlier, Eren deduced that the man was General Ironwood. He noticed that Eren had been staring at him, so he glanced over to the boy in order to observe him as well. But Eren simply looked away and turned his attention to the front of the room.

When the doors closed behind everyone, the hearing finally began.

"Good morning, everyone," said Councilwoman Blanca, in a more neutral manner rather than a sincere one. "This Council hearing is now called to order."

"Today, we will be hearing the case of the revival of an outdated tradition in Mistralian law: the Hunt Inquisitorius," said Councilman Noire, also in a neutral manner. "A decision carried out by the former-acting Prime Minister, Lila Redwood." Noire gestured to Redwood when he said her name, right before Blanca took over. They soon took turns presenting the known facts of the hearing.

"As the current parties are aware, Councilwoman Redwood saw it fit to revive the Hunt Inquisitorius in response to a Kingdom-threat involving the Grimm."

"This team was consisted of Eren Yeager, Cinder Fritz, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Winter Schnee." Noire looked towards the box where Winter was sitting, who was remaining completely calm.

"This hearing will determine many factors. Namely, the loyalty of the team's former members, the necessity of the law's revival, and the legality of their actions carried out in another Kingdom altogether."

"And though she was the one to revive the tradition, Councilwoman Redwood sits with us as an unbiased member of this Council." To prove this point, Blanca and Noire let Redwood speak next.

"While I have my opinion about the loyalties and nobility of the former Hunt Inquisitorius, I am indeed sitting as an impartial judge of this hearing," said Redwood. "Like my colleagues, I will listen to what each party has to say in their defense, and make a choice." Though reluctant, Redwood proved her impartiality by turning to the man in the uniform. "Therefore, General Ironwood, you may proceed first."

General Ironwood rose from the table almost immediately after Redwood said his name. Once he did, the General made his point as clear as possible.

"Council-members of Mistral," he said without thanking them for giving him the chance to speak. "I come before you as a representative of Atlas. Perhaps one of, if not the, most trusted friend and ally of your Kingdom. It is no stranger how often and close we have worked together over the years, how our interests continually align in terms of trade and safety from the Grimm."

Cinder was immediately impressed by the man's confident opening, one that sounded true while seemingly being unrehearsed. Eren would have been impressed too, if he didn't believe that Ironwood was playing directly to the interests and values the Council-members held; Willy Tybur had done the same thing to the representatives of the world, right before he declared war.

And now, General Ironwood had just declared war on Eren and his friends.

"Which is why my own Council and I were profoundly surprised and disappointed by the decision to send foreign agents within our borders," Ironwood continued. "Threat or no threat, it is our belief that uninvited agents, supposedly acting in the name of justice, was completely uncalled for. The Kingdom of Atlas prides itself in its own agents of justice, whether they be Huntsmen, Huntresses, or our military elite." Ironwood turned to the group of teenagers. "Not in people who overstepped their bounds."

"..."

"Or their accomplices."

Everyone could see that Ironwood was looking at Winter, who looked away from the General in disappointment. Whether it was disappointment in herself or the General was currently unknown, but Ironwood finished his opening with one more point.

"In light of our continuing partnership, and in light of Councilwoman Redwood honoring her word in regards to the suspension of the children's 'licenses,' my presence today will not aim to question or challenge what... remains of the Mistral Council." Ironwood was talking about the absence of Lionheart and Slate, which everyone easily noticed. "But rather, I intend to show the repercussions changing one's law has." Ironwood turned to the teenagers one more time. "And to ensure the consequences that follow such a choice."

"..."

It was easy for Eren to take the last sentiment as a threat, along with the rest of his friends. Mercury was just as angry as Eren, and everyone else took an immediate dislike of General Ironwood. Ren compared him to Lieutenant Infrigdando, but with much more authority and power.

Arguably, it was Cinder who took Ironwood's words closest to heart. Like Ren, Cinder remembered her meeting with Infrigdando. She couldn't defend her speech or beliefs that night, but Cinder intended to do so today.

The Mistral Council also took Ironwood's words into account, even though they remained silent. They expected a challenge to the idea of the Hunt Inquisitorius, and the accusation of acting with too much power wasn't completely unwarranted. However, they all had a duty to remain impartial in this case, so they turned to the next party in order to continue.

Rather than call on a direct member to speak, given the size of the group, the Council-members waited for someone to stand up and begin to defend themselves. It was Cinder who took this stand, and immediately began her opening.

"Council-members, thank you for giving us this chance to defend ourselves," Cinder began calmly. "And allow me to be the first to say that our choices and actions within Atlas' borders was not an attack on the Kingdom's laws and practices. It was an attack, however, on global-scale terrorism. We all are aware that breaking laws has consequences, but that is why we came directly to the Mistral Council rather than act solely on our own. We understand the skepticism of reviving such an outdated tradition but we believed it necessary to combat such a threat; a threat that we have experience with."

"..."

Though it was still too early to achieve her dreams of reform in society, Cinder deemed it necessary to close her argument with her opinion on Huntsmen and Huntresses. It was a risk, but Cinder honestly believed she and her friends could defend the point she would make.

"It is true that this threat involved the Grimm, and at the time, we were also under the impression that the Kingdom of Atlas was involved. Therefore, we decided that it was a matter that called for the need of our Kingdom's government, rather than a common Huntsman or Huntress. It is true that I have made it known that I do not fully trust Huntsmen or Huntresses, but I do acknowledge that their purpose is to defend the world against the Grimm. However, it is no secret that their allegiance expands beyond a specific Kingdom; that their only mission is what's on the academy's mission boards."

"..."

"Therefore, it is our belief that this matter called for government intervention, which is an unfamiliar practice to most Huntsmen and Huntresses. We stand by the actions carried out in the name of Mistral, as well as the peace and safety of citizens here and abroad. We intend to defend that opinion today, and prove that our individual and collective actions were necessary to keeping the peace of the world, as well as the Kingdoms of Mistral and Atlas."

"..."

Cinder sat down once more and let everyone in the room process what she had said. Eren was the first one to do so, given that he agreed with everything Cinder had said. He took her hand once more and smiled, which provided more warmth than Cinder could have made with her Semblance. Everyone behind her either nodded or patted her back, but remained as silent as the Council.

It was Ren who decided to analyze this silence, with the help of his Semblance. He first turned to the police officers close to his side, where he saw numerous green petals falling off them. They seemed at peace, and rather comfortable with what Cinder had said.

Ren then turned to the Council, who had their own feelings towards Cinder. Councilwoman Redwood also had green petals signifying her calm demeanor, but the other Council-members had white petals. This was the first time Ren had seen such petals, which was a mild surprise. He hypothesized that the other members were still neutral to them, and then Ren turned to Ironwood.

Ironwood also had a few white petals falling from him, but the amount of red was shocking. Ren could see past the man's demeanor, and knew that the General was very upset with what was going on. Perhaps it was Cinder's thoughts on Huntsmen or Huntresses, or it was matter of this hearing, but it was clear that Ironwood didn't like being here.

His thoughts and words had made it clear how much faith Ironwood had in the system of Huntsmen and Huntresses, along with the system of law in Atlas. So to hear what he perceived to be a challenge to this idea must have been enough to upset him. But along with that, Ren could see resolve within the man; resolve to settle this case and make sure another one doesn't happen again.

Eren couldn't see any petals, but he knew what Cinder had said meant a great deal to Ironwood. There weren't any weapons or combat, but this hearing was definitely going to be a fight. And now, with the first shots having been fired, the battle had begun.

"Very well," said Councilwoman Redwood. "Let us proceed."

---

Author's notes: hey everyone, hope you're doing good. Sorry this chapter took a little longer, life just got in the way for both of us. We were originally going to make this chapter a little longer, but decided to expand into the next one so it won't seem rushed. AT and I think you'll like where the next chapter goes. You've seen how Eren and his friends fight on the battlefield, and soon you'll see how they fight in court.

Exciting, isn't it?

This will lay down most of the groundwork we have planned for this arc, and it's a big one. AT and I can't wait to show you what happens next, so stay tuned.

One other thing we wanted to mention was the choice of calendar dates you saw. 2013 is the year RWBY V1 was released, where Ruby goes to Beacon later around the fall. So AT and I are being consistent with the real world timing (also, 2,000 years is a recurring theme in AoT, and we didn't want to pass up that chance).

Also, we have officially passed the three year mark for our story! Attack on Titan: A New Path turned three years old last month. AT and I wouldn't have lasted this long without your support (especially during the rewrites), so thank you all very much. Your support keeps this story going every day.

We hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments, we always love to hear what you have to say.

Hope you have a great day. See you next time!