AN Hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and Happy New Years!

"Zeke!' Pieck exclaimed as she leaped onto a building near the Beast Titan. "They're coming!"

Zeke nodded. They'd have to let Eren and his comrades escape this time, the golden dragon already charging for the exit with the flying serpent wrapped around him. Luckily, Annie and Reiner remembered the plan and were cautiously making a run to Zeke's location.

He looked to the south and saw their true target.

Not just the crawling beasts that had been harrying them insistently, but also something else. Something new.

The Tusk-Hounds, the others had taken to calling them. Giant monsters with the likeness of canines, but with tusk-like fangs that reminded more than a few of warthogs.

Zeke had only seen them a couple times. But now as he watched several charging into the city while crawlers roamed over the top, he wondered if these monsters were not as wild and savage as he thought. Had these two separate kinds of beasts joined against them somehow? Some form of mutual alliance against a shared enemy? Were they intelligent enough for that?

It didn't matter, not really.

He waited until they got closer. The crawlers leaped across buildings, the hounds racing through the streets, both with fangs bared to rip into their prey.

He waited until he was sure it was the best chance, to potentially take all of them out at once.

He waited until now and gave a great roar of a shout.

It echoed over the city, and within many buildings, a glow started to form and lightning rained down from the skies.

There had been a number of...expendable Eldians brought along with this mission, those drugged up and ready to have some of Zeke's spinal fluid fed to them. There had been plans to make use of a gas containing the same, to use on the Eldians of Paradis, but given the current situation, that hadn't been an option.

Zeke wasn't sure why he had requested the extra bodies. It felt like a whim made out of caution at the time. But still, it was fortunate he had.

The crawlers and hounds were soon howling and screeching in pain from being caught in the explosions of the transformation. As they struggled to rise from their injuries, they were swarmed by the newly transferred Pure Titans that were trying to rip apart and devour them at Zeke's command.

The crawlers and the hounds were superior creatures to Titans in many ways, but even that could be overcome with enough Titans in sheer numbers.

The Marleyans cheered inside the fortress as they saw the monsters destroying each other.

"Don't let your guard down!" Pieck warned cautiously.

"She is right," Zeke said, watching as the monsters tried to fight the Titans off. They were wounded, some dead or dying, but they still posed a potential threat. "Reiner, you're with me. We will finish them off while Annie and Pieck guard this location."

The warriors took a breath and readied themselves, hoping this would be the end of this particular problem.

Hopefully, they could focus on the Eren-problem after this.

Meanwhile

{{{{Whelp.}}}}

Eren gritted every set of his teeth as the wrathful word echoed in his head, along with the image of that furry titan. The Voice of the Storm really wanted that one dead, for some reason. He didn't know why. Did it know that shifters could make Titans emerge like that? How did it do that exactly? And why would the Voice care?

[Titans are Eldians.]

[Huh?]

[!?]

[The people in the building. The enemy had a lot of Eldians set up as a trap, and transformed them all at once with that roar, somehow.]

[So they just...forced a bunch of people into being Titans, right then!?]

[Those bastards!]

["Eren, calm down,"] Boris requested, still wrapped around the reptilian giant as they ventured further north. ["We'll figure thisss out, but we need to find Griccce firssst."]

He was right, Eren knew he was, but that didn't stop him from feeling pissed off at the situation. The Voice of the Storm definitely wasn't helping.

[At least we know they can do that.]

["Yeah, that isss a new trick,"] Boris agreed with a headshake. ["I've never heard of Ssshiftersss being able to do that. The Founder isss the only one that'sss sssuppossse to be able to control the Pure Titansss."]

Eren nodded, filing that away for questioning later as his three heads looked around with concern. Where was Grice? He should have found them by now. He didn't get caught back there, did he?

["Wait, is that him?"] Boris spoke up as he partially unwound from Eren, looking back towards Wall Maria.

[Where?]

[I don't see him]

[There, on the left!]

["That will never not be strange,"] Boris murmured as they looked towards the wall, east of Shinganshina. It was hard to make out in the night, but there was a large figure on there, a crawler. One that it wasn't coming down, for some reason.

[You can't fly right now, right?]

Boris removed himself from Eren's person entirely, slithering on the ground like a snake as he unfolded his wings to examine the damage. ["They'll heal, but I'm grounded for a day, maybe three."]

So, they all had some manner of healing factor, but Eren had yet to see one as good as his own.

[The enemy should be too busy to be watching that far down.]

[Let's go see if it's him.]

The duo walked cautiously and made their way to the wall, watching the crawler as it prodded along the battlements.

"Eren! Boris!" Grice called down as they got close. "Boris, please tell me you can still fly?!"

["Sssorry, my wingsss are ripped up right now,"] Boris apologized, tilting his serpentine head up at the crawler. ["Why, are you hurt?"]

"No, but I found a friend!" Grice called down, looking to the side.

Cautiously, a wartdog came to the edge and peaked down. ["He-hello!"]

Eren blinked at the feminine voice from the creature.

["Ellie!? You're alive? And sssane?"] Boris exclaimed in surprise.

["Yes, long story, but can we just focus on me getting down?"] Ellie requested pleadingly.

[...Is she scared of heights?]

["He-hello! You must be Grisha's son, Eren,"] Elli greeted nervously. ["And yes, I am."]

[How did she even get up there...?]

"I dragged her up before the Titans and Shifters could get to her," Grice answered. "Look, just help me get her down."

[We can't exactly catch her.]

[We only have our fangs.]

Einz snapped his jaw for emphasis.

["I know you're ssscared, but that fall won't kill you,"] Boris pointed out helpfully.

["That doesn't help me!"] Ellie yelled back down.

A giant dog with a fear of heights. Eren knew his life had been strange since he transformed, but little things like this still weirded him out somehow.

Meanwhile

Jean yawned deeply as he and Marco stood watch outside a home in Trost. "We still have people wanting to try and find things to salvage from here?" Jean asked groggily.

"It's not like there is much else they can do, Jean," Marco said sympathetically. "A lot of people have no place else to go."

"I know that. I just thought they all came and sifted through everything already, that we were finished with these trips," Jean remarked idly. "Then again, I'm sure a few of them ran for Wall Sina before hearing the news."

"Just about, actually," a voice admitted as a young man stepped out of the door, carrying a cloth bag that was only halfway filled.

"Sorry, Sir, I didn't mean anything by that," Jean apologized, grimacing at being overheard.

"It's fine," the man said with a sigh. "The place was pretty well picked clean. Someone must have been dumb and lucky enough to loot the place before getting out of Trost."

Jean and Marco shared a look. There had been an issue with people pretending an address was their own to loot the place. It was entirely likely the military had unknowingly let someone pick this man's home clean. But telling him that wouldn't help anyone at this point, so neither said a word.

The man was too busy looking at the damage around the street to notice their silent exchange. The bent wooden walls, the giant footprints, the caved-in building across the road.

"So, the uhh, RUMOs or whatever you call the big creatures, they're not here right now?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah. They're outside, stretching their limbs," Jean answered, as it was the official cover story. "Among other things."

The man nodded absently, hesitating for a moment. "Is it...true, the rumors? The Golden Beast was a human before he turned into that, somehow?"

"We're not allowed to talk about them currently, Sir," Marco answered reluctantly.

Plenty of soldiers had heard Eren's name used a few times during the battle against the shifters, and it didn't take long for the idea that the Golden Beast was something similar to the Titan-Shifters to spread among the people. It was already a theory in more than one of the newspapers.

"The soldiers don't bother denying that these "Shifters" exist, these people that can turn into Titans. Why hide anything about these creatures?" the man asked with a frown.

Jean sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Honest truth? They're still trying to piece together what they know, what it means, and how to tell people," he answered casually. "From where I stood, they were more worried about routing out the shifters infiltrating us than they were about the clearly friendly bastard in gold that helped us deal with the Colossal."

The man stood there for a moment before nodding. "I suppose that makes sense. It's just so...confusing and scary. I'm just glad humanity finally has some allies in this insanity."

Marco and Jean deliberately didn't respond to that as the man put the bag over his shoulder. "You ready to head back, Sir?" Marco offered, getting a nod. "Come on, we'll-"

They paused as they heard a pop in the air, looking up to see a green smoke flare from on the wall, above the blocked-off hole.

"That means they're back," Jean remarked, nodding to his friend. "Marco, escort him out while I go take a look."

"I don't suppose I can stay and see them?" the man asked with a chuckle.

"Sorry," Marco said with a friendly smile. "It's very unlikely, but it's a precaution in case abnormal Titans rush into the city before the boulder is put back in place."

The man shivered at that. "That is all you had to say to get me moving, Soldier. I'm glad I live near the wall now."

Jean was already taking off on his ODM gear, heading for the boulder as the other members of the Riesenwache began to gather.

"Welcome back, Handsome!"

Among others, like Hange, who was waving up at Grice as the crawler slid down the side of the wall. Whereas others stepped back instinctively when Grice landed, Hange just smiled wider.

Grice, however, didn't retort to the greeting. He just grumbled a bit to himself as he moved to the boulder. It was only now that Jean noticed the bloody wounds on Grice's arm and the scorch mark along his hard skull.

"Ahh. It didn't go well, I take it?" Hange asked knowingly.

"Hey, Grice? You okay?" Jean called up with a frown.

"I'm fine," Grice answered, and it was obvious he was lying. The boulder started to shift and Jean could hear the growls and muffled roars of Eren's head. "Look, we brought back some of my comrades. We're not in the best shape, so tone it down, Giant-Fetishist."

Hange grew silent and observant as Grice helped Eren push the boulder aside. The golden giant trotted through and...

Instantly, Hange inhaled and nearly bit her tongue as she laid eyes on the two newcomers, resisting the urge to ask a million questions.

Jean wasn't sure what to make of them. One was some kind of giant snake that slithered in through the hole, with the other was something more akin to a dog with overgrown teeth. Neither of them looked to be in a happy mood, their eyes somber and sad.

"So, umm, can any of them talk too like you?" Connie of all people asked, breaking the silence as the two new monsters looked around curiously while Eren put the boulder back in place.

"No, that's just a Crawler benefit," Grice answered, pointing his snout at each of them. "This is Boris. And the other is Ellie."

"That dog is a girl?" Sasha asked in surprise. "I wonder if the guys like her have bigger tusks?"

["Wow, they are...really calm about this,"] Ellie said in surprise as she studied the humans around her.

["Well, they have been living with Eren and Griccce for a little bit. I don't think we compare much to that,"] Boris mused calmly.

"Huh. I wonder if Historia can understand them too?" Hange remarked, tapping her cheek in thought. "Where is she anyway?"

"With Ymir, probably. Armin went to look for her when he saw we had new arrivals," Mikasa said as she landed nearby. "Eren."

The three heads nodded in greeting, but not even Einz could give more of a greeting than that.

"Did something go wrong?" Mikasa asked in concern, looking them all over.

Grice growled a bit, sitting down a bit to rest his injured arm. "On the way back, we ran into some of my other comrades. The ones who lost their minds," he remarked grimly. "They took us by surprise. Eren killed one of them while I and Boris dealt with the other."

["I'm sorry...,"] Ellie whimpered sadly.

["No one issss blaming you, Ellie,"] Boris promised as he coiled up to her side.

["I thought for sure they were still...there, mentally,"] Ellie murmured with a troubled look.

"Well, they weren't!" Grice snapped in frustration, making Ellie wince and whine. "They're gone! Just like the rest of them!"

Boris hissed and glared at Grice. ["Leave her be, Griccce! Ssshe did nothing wrong!"] Boris defended hotly.

["Please don't fight about this..." Ellie pleaded apologetically.

"Oh boy. Are they about to start fighting?" Connie asked in concern, the other watching the exchange cautiously.

[Settle down, all of you.]

The monster trio looked to Eren, who wasn't gazing at them at all. His eyes stared across the buildings to the north, watching a figure approaching with ODM gear.

[Commander Erwin is coming.]

Meanwhile

Being the official Queen was a lot different from being the hidden Queen.

Frieda didn't truly appreciate that until after she had stepped out of the shadows and taken the throne. Before, she was just another noble, and a rather lowkey one as far as most people knew. Now?

It was already hectic enough trying to covertly and overtly restructure the government into something that could strive for a future beyond the walls that her craven ancestor had pinned them within. If she wasn't getting petitions, complaints, and inquiries? She was getting suitors and marriage requests. Her scared arm managed to unnerve most enough for her to politely decline or rebuff.

And all of that under the threat of a larger, much more ancient threat than men or Titans looming over her.

Sitting behind her desk, signing a document, Frieda winced as she felt a phantom pain in her arm as a reptilian roar echoed in her memories.

"Frieda, you alright?" Kenny asked, leaning against the door.

She raised an eyebrow. "How long have you been there?" she questioned.

"Long enough," Kenny answered. "Old wounds acting up?"

"It's nothing," Frieda promised. "What brings you here?"

"Yeah, about that. It might not be nothing," Kenny said meaningfully.

Freida narrowed her eyes as she rose and followed him out the door, heading to a place only very few knew. The real reason why she still lived at the Reiss manor instead of the capital.

In the crystalline walls of the underground chapel, Frieda tried to ignore the scenes from her memories. Of her parents and siblings slaughtered by the golden form of Grisha, of being torn from her Titan like she was mere prey, and of the burning sensation in her arm.

She ignored this all as she reached near the back, where the crystals became jagged as they jutted out of the floor and wall.

Unlike the rest of the cavern, which was shining and blue, these glowed with a soft white light.

"How long have they been like this?" Freida asked with a frown.

"Caven found some putting on the light about an hour ago," Kenny answered with a grunt. "Now the entire wall is brightening up the whole place."

A bit of an exaggeration, but Frieda didn't disagree all the same as she gently placed a hand on one of the shards.

There was a long, long silence until she finally removed her hand.

"Bad news?" Kenny asked expectantly.

"Possibly, possibly not," Frieda answered as she turned to look at him. "Though, I think I will be taking a trip soon."

"Hmm? What for?" Kenny questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's just say the Queen may need to make an appearance."

End of Chapter

Well, there went the first skirmish Zeke leading the warriors. On one hand, Eren and company didn't manage to kill any of the warriors. On the other, they go another ally and they know about Zeke's power to transform and control titans. Meanwhile, Frieda is up to something.

Early viewing of chapters 32-33:

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