Hate 43

The next day, things were deceptively calm and normal around Trost. With the dead buried and the dead bats thrown beyond the wall, it was almost easy to forget that the battle had happened. But the absence of those they lost was a gaping reminder, especially without Boris's serpentine form flying through the sky.

That said, the Resienwache was collectively focused on Eren. Namely, what he had been doing for most of the day since he woke up.

"He really enjoys looking at his wings, doesn't he?" Connie asked idly.

Hannes chuckled. "Kid probably is still comprehending that he can fly."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around it," Marco said with a headshake. "I mean, he just grew wings, somehow? How did that happen?"

Armin shared a glance with Historia. She had told him and Mikasa, but... he wasn't sure how to explain that. He wasn't sure he wanted to, if Eren would want that shared.

"Commander Erwin and Commander Pixis are preparing a report about what happened," Mikasa commented. "They seemed...worried about how the people might react."

"Well, yeah, monsters just flew in and tried to eat us," Sasha reminded. "Without Eren and the other giants, we probably wouldn't have stood a chance."

"Yeah, and now the blockhead can make those monsters listen to him," Jean remarked, scratching his head. "I have no idea what to think of that."

"It is rather fascinating, isn't it?"

"Ahh, Section Commander," Hannes greeted Hange with a grin. "I thought you might be sketching Eren's wings!"

"Bold of you to assume I haven't already!" Hange retorted similarly before her tone shifted to a more analytical one. "Animals don't act like that. If something else kills their leader, they either flee or keep attacking. But the Giants are not what we would call "normal animals" in any sense. While many of them are primal in thought and behavior, they are not only capable of complicated thoughts and emotions, but also of inter-species communication."

"With Eren, Boris, and Ellie?" Connie started. "I thought it was just because they all used to be human. But after the bats and those wolf-things last night?"

“Not to mention the Moth,” Ymir commented.

"You're forgetting Grice," Armin pointed out. "He can understand each of them just fine, and other Crawlers, even though he can speak like a human."

Sasha groaned. "Are we ever going to stop having more questions? My brain is hurting just trying to remember everything we don't know!"

As the group shared some laughs, Eren turned his six-eyed gaze from his newest limbs to the blue sky above. He had often looked to it as some kind of symbol of freedom. But now, he could fly. He could reach those heights, where only birds might be free to roam....

{{{{Go.}}}}

Eren glanced back at the voice. The Voice of the Storm, of the One who is Many. It was strange, though. For once, the wrath and hate were cooled and smoldered by something else entirely.

{{{{Go, and glimpse at what "I" call freedom, Whelp.}}}} 

Eren's eyes dilated slightly as he felt the presence leave.

Eins had a petty temptation to refuse to spite the voice, while Drei was wary of anything it offered on principle. Zwei considered that it might be some trap or trick. And yet, no part of Eren could deny the siren call that was the winds flowing across the scales of his wings like a soft temptation.

There was no one too close to him. Good.

The group's chatter was silenced as Mikasa spoke up. "Eren is leaving."

"Hm!?" Hange suddenly looked at the golden dragon again, who was unfolding his majestic wings and beginning to flap. The wind from the beat of his limbs rushed over them, over all of Trost, as Eren headed for the sky. 

"I guess he finally decided to try flying just to fly?" Connie suggested with uncertainty.

"I'm amazed he waited this long," Armin admitted as he looked up at his friend's shrinking form, the gold scales shimmering against the sun. 

"Going to be really hard to keep an eye on him now," Hannes said with a scuff.

"Can....is it even safe to ride on him when he flies?" Marco asked uncertainly.

"All things considered, I don't think it'd be too much more dangerous than using ODM gear in general," Historia remarked. "...Anyone else want to ride after Mikasa, Armin, and Hange have the first turn?"

"What do you mean, after?" Connie asked with a snort. "I'm pretty sure we could all ride on his necks and head if we're careful."

"Idiot!" Sasha said with a grin. "Obviously, the Section Commander will want a ride so she can study what it's like flying on him, or something like that."

"And then Mikasa will refuse to leave her alone with him," Jean followed up.

"And then Armin will get invited to not make him feel left out," Hannes finished knowingly. 

The three in question shared a look, none of them having a good counter for that.

Elsewhere, Eren soared higher and higher, and for once, he could truly take it in. There was no battle to distract him, no unburied comrades to grieve. There was only him and the sky.

It was truly surreal to him, watching the ground, the very walls themselves grow small beneath him. Like drawings in a book, whose pages he could reach out and touch. Gravity, that omnipresent chain that burdened all beasts, felt more like a mere suggestion than a law to obey now. One effortlessly brushed aside with every flap of his wings. 

He soon reached the clouds, those white and fluffy shapes he had often watched as a child. He flew through one and found himself covered in a thin coat of water.

He could almost hear the child he had once been, laughing in awe and amazement. Oh, how he would love to bring Armin and Mikasa up here.  

He looked around and-

Eren came to a halt, nearly falling for a brief instant. Even when he righted himself, he didn't climb higher. Because he could see it. That vast blue... 

[The ocean....]

It was there, just at the edge of what he could see in one direction. If he went much higher, he could probably see it all around this island they all lived on.

With a scowl upon all three maws, he began to descend back down.

{{{{????}}}}

[It was Armin's dream first to see the ocean. I'm not going to see it without him.]Eren.

He expected a scuff, some annoyance, or dismissal. Or, failing that, nothing at all.

{{{{It's not the same.}}}}

Eren blinked at the comment. What did that mean....?

{{{{You will see, when you find where this world cannot touch you.}}}}

That answered nothing. Yet this was the most civil the Storm had ever been. Why?

{{{{!!!!}}}}

Eren suddenly tensed and screeched, now free-falling from the air. He felt something painful and sharp radiating through his brains, all three of them. It was like needles were stabbed through his head, pouring a hot poison that was flooding through his very body.

His right-most head was suddenly acting on its own, and he squinted to see that its eyes were flashing red.

Eren gritted his teeth. He fought through the pain. He pushed it back, the sensation of the Storm trying to take control of him forcefully.  

He was halfway to crashing before he regained control of his body and pulled himself out of the dive. He hovered there, breathing heavily, not sure if he had won or if the Voice had simply given up.

{{{{One day, I will retake my full power. This body will be mine again. And I will finish what I started upon this world. But before that day comes, I want you to know the freedom only I have known.}}}}

Eren glared back. He didn't like the sound of any of that.

[Why?]Eren

After all, it didn't make sense. Why would he want to share something like that with Eren? Just to taunt him? 

{{{{....}}}}

No answer, he just left like he always did.

Eren shook his head clear of the pain and the distractions, soaring back to Trost.

It was time he shared with the others what he realized in that vision with the Founder.

Ymir Fritz. Now that something he was still curious about. Was she still in that sandy realm? Given everything else, he wouldn't be surprised if she were still a factor in all this.

Eren tried to focus on those thoughts, and not to linger on He Who Is Many, and the Freedom he wanted Eren to see.

He waited all these years; he would wait a bit longer. Long enough for him and the others to see the ocean for the first time.

Meanwhile

["Was that Eren's screeching?"] Ellie asked in concern.

"I think he's fine. Probably just getting used to flying," Grice answered idly. They both sat in a corner of Trost, Ellie having sought out whatever measure of privacy and solitude she could for herself. "Are you doing alright?"

Ellie whined and whimpered, her tail curling around her feet. ["We've already lost so many. Now Boris too. It seems like we never stop losing comrades and friends, even without Marley."]

Grice hissed softly as he looked out over Trost. "Yeah. This world can be really cruel, especially for Eldians. It takes and takes, and you have to fight to get anything back."

Ellie looked at him sadly. ["Then why even bother? Is there even going to be a point, in the end?"]

Grice looked at her sharply. "You have to decide that for yourself, Ellie. Me? I want to see this through. To either make a world where all our comrades could have lived in peacefully.... or, failing that, make Marley and everyone else bleed for every inch they take from us."

Ellie grew silent at that, seeming to shrink into herself.

Grice paused and looked away in shame. "I'm sorry. I'm not really good at this, comforting stuff. You were never one of the fighters amongst us. That's not a bad thing, it's just how it is. Do you...regret joining us? Would you rather have just kept your head down and avoided all this?"

Ellie shook. ["No. Never. I...."] she trailed off. ["I never told you why I joined, did I?"]  

"I can guess. I won't say it, though," Grice promised, knowing anyone could be eavesdropping and understand him.

Ellie shook. ["I was considered one of the... prettier Eldians by some local captain. I heard horror stories about what they did to women like me. Sterilized just to keep them without risk of 'breeding' more of us, like we were dogs. And that was a tamer story. I didn't know how true those rumors were, but I didn't want to find out.]

"And then you joined us to hide," Grice summarized softly. "I'm sorry."

["I've never been anyone brave or strong. But it's weird, this...beast in my head? It's more worried about me than some of our own kind ever did,"] Ellie mused.

"Lucky. Mine just wants to take over and eat all day," Grice said with a chuckle. "....Do you know why the others lost their minds? The ones who turned into wartdogs like you?"

["I....I think they're taking over when we just don't have the will to go on. Like it's our turn to rest,"] Ellie explained carefully. [Only, it feels like if I go to sleep, I might never remember how to wake back up again."]

Grice glanced up at the sky in thought. "Hunger, dominance, just picking up the slack for packmates. But what does Eren's want?" he wondered out loud.

He was brought out of his musing as a familiar golden figure swooped down from the sky, landing amidst Trost's cityscape.  

"Speak of the devil," Grice remarked. "Come on, let's go see how his flight went."

Ellie nodded mutely, following after if only because she'd rather not be alone with her mind to wander."

They crossed down the streets and buildings to Eren, other members of the Rasenwache already present, standing on top of the headquarters' castle-like structure. And they seemed more on edge than they expected.

["Eren? Historia? Is something wrong?"] Ellie asked the only other two that could understand her.

Historia was the one to answer. "Eren wants to talk with Commander Erwin and us. He says it's something important. Hange is getting him now."

Grice looked at him in concern. "Did you see anything out there, while you were flying?"

[No, it's not that. It's about that fight with the bat, and what happened during it.]Eren 

Ellie cocked her head. ["Is this about how you were able to grow wings?"]

[Yeah, among other things.]Eren

"Is it about his beast?" Mikasa asked suddenly.

Eren snapped his heads to her in surprise, which was answer enough.

"How'd you know, Mikasa?" Armin questioned curiously.

"Maybe her Eren-instincts told her?" Connie suggested with a chuckle, getting a slap on the back of the head from Jean. "Hey!"

"After the fight, when Eren passed out, his Beast took over for a moment," Mikasa answered.

Histoaira and Ymir exchanged awkward looks. They weren't exactly given a gag order, but they weren't sure Hange wanted that being spread around.

[He did?!]Eins

[Did he try anything?!]Drei 

[Obviously not. Everyone is fine.]Zwei

"No, no, it just glared at us all for a moment," Historia assured quickly.

"So, it can take over when Eren sleeps....?" Sasha asked uneasily.

"I doubt it," Jean remarked. "The idiot was less sleeping and more passed the hell out."

Despite giving him an annoyed look, Eren admitted that Jean had a good point. Even just recently, when the Voice tried to take control from him, it had just been painful.

He just hoped that was the extent of that thing's influence for now. 

Meanwhile

Frieda breathed heavily as she left the crystal chapel, gritting her teeth as she used her good arm to support herself against the wall.

"Ma'am!" Trauute Caven called out as she moved to help her up. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"No, just help me get to my room to rest," she instructed with a haggard look.

Caven nodded and led the queen along, one arm over her shoulder. "I thought you would have taken longer," Caven opined idly.

Frieda chuckled weakly. "Things are turning out better than I feared," she said softly. "Kenney will be returning soon."

Caven frowned. "I take it that our little captive is no longer a concern?"

"The Colossal Titan is no more, yes," Freida said idly. 

They said nothing more for the rest of the way to Frieda's room. The blonde gingerly put the queen down to sit on the bed.

"Thank you," Frieda said, grabbing her crippled arm. "It comes and goes, but the moments of pain get worse as He grows stronger. Those foolish children might not realize it, but he has drained much from the Armor and the Female Titans, and much of the Founder has already been reclaimed by him. Every clash with the Nine makes him stronger and the shifters weaker." 

Caven studied the marked limb for a moment, seeing the veins pulsing beneath the skin. "Are we sure killing him isn't an option?"

"He is already dead," Frieda reminded with a sigh. "The ghosts of dead gods are not so easily defeated."

Caven sighed. "I still barely believe that some days. If not for everything you and Kenney have shown me..."

"Trust me. Despite the restrictions the vow put on me, I sometimes long for the relative simplicity of how life used to be," Frieda remarked with a sad look about her. "I sometimes wonder how things would have been if Grisha's people hadn't found the Lake of Death. But then I'd probably be dead or just leading us all to our extinction at Marley's hands."

"This life at least seems more interesting than that," Caven opined grimly.

Freida snorted. "Thank you for entertaining my rambling. Ever since I lost much of the Founder's power, I've enjoyed talking with others. It helps me... ground myself and not slip into the Path.

Caven nodded, even if this was all in territory she barely understood most of the time. "You said things are going well, though?"

Frieda smiled knowingly through the pain and tiredness. "He tried to take over Eren."

Caven furrowed her brow. "How is that good? Aren't we trying to avoid that?"

"He wasn't trying to succeed, just inflict pain, for some reason. From what I can tell, he exhausted himself a good deal. He shouldn't be a problem for the near future," she explained before sighing deeply as she looked up. "He'd have an easier time with another host. Ironic. Despite how otherworldly his nature is, the one thing keeping him trapped is his pride. How strangely human for a creature like him."

"I suppose some things just apply to everyone, even these creatures," Caven said idly. 

"Eren seems to have figured out the connection between The Golden Demise and the Titans, at least in part," Frieda mused.

"We have one Titan shifter on our side," Caven noted. "How do you think that'll go over?"

Freida laughed softly. "Ahh, poor Ymir, just wanting to live the time she had left for herself. But if it was to save my sister, she'd jump into Eren's maw without hesitation,"  she mused. "Oh well, let's hope it doesn't come to that. After all...."

She raised her arm, the lightning-like marks marring her skin. 

"One can survive losing their titan, at a painful price." 

Caven let that hang heavy in the air before speaking again. "Is there anything else, Ma'am?"

Frieda lowered her arm as she considered the question. "Don't let me sleep for more than an hour. I need to finish some paperwork, to send some aid to Krolva."

"Krolva. Where the bats first attacked," Caven said in understanding. "I'm surprised you don't make more use of the powers you still have. You could just send orders to anyone in the Walls."

"I could, but I'd rather not have us rely on that," Frieda said with a grimace. "I'm not sure if I'll have it for much longer."

Caven conceded the point and made her leave to give the queen some peace.   

Frieda lay down on the bed, but when she looked up, all she could see were golden scales soaring through the skies. "It's good that you haven't ventured to the ocean yet, Eren Yeager," Frieda said softly. "But the day will come when the Storm will strike the Mountain once more. Even in death, even after death, some wars never truly end."