It had been over half a year since the day Pokerface, and most likely many of the others, had found out what I really was. I was sat high in the canopy of the medic tree, watching the humans bustle about below on the new wooden deck.

Barker was talking with Mother as she nursed her little child on a grass mat. In her mottled arms lay a frail boy with soft, dark eyes and short podgy fingers. As of yet, he was unmarked by the world. Barker laughed in short sharp bursts as she chuckled lightly, obviously not finding his jokes that funny but playing along with the boy.

I watched but I did not join. I simply sat there until the child fell asleep and Barker was replaced by Fury and Flexer. They stood side by side but an empty space divided the two of them as they delivered herbs and roots they had collected together and spoke with Mother. I knew that the two of them rarely left each other's side in the past but I had noticed in the past this gulf between them where another could have stood. It had only got bigger in the time I had been away.

When they finally left, I followed after them, my form quiet and lithe in the trees, watching as they met with Far Eyes and the Oldman on the wooden platform now built around the main tree.

"How's Lilly and the baby?" I heard Oldma- no - Christophe ask.

"They both seem fine, well fed. Lilly said Barker was visiting earlier in his break from watch duty... I think he still misses her," Fury informed him, her voice lowering into a whisper at the end.

"So does Lil. Any- any new ideas where she's gone?" Asked Flexer hesitantly.

Christophe sighed, running his hands through his frazzled white hair.

"No, like I said: she just told me things would be bad if she stayed, that she was going to try and fix something."

"What could take six months t'fix?" Flexer asked confusedly.

"... I know you don't like to think about it-" started Far Eyes hesitantly, only to be cut off as Christophe raised his hand, palm flat to stop him.

"H- She's not dead. She will come back."

Silence fell again and I forced myself to turn away, jumping quietly from my perch to the next tree and the next until I reached the eaves of the forest.

"Eury! You're back!" Came a relieved voice as I dropped down in the midst of a small group of humans by the forest edge.

There were just over twenty of them, battle-worn and tired but all filled with a brittle, hopeful sense of excitement.

"I found them, the leaders haven't left the main tree. Keep on walking North and you'll find them in no time. Talk to the old man with the long silver hair, his name is Christophe, just tell them you saw smoke and followed."

The leader of the survivors, Marcia, stared at me strangely and shook her shaggy, blond head.

"Why can't we tell them about you? You need to go see your friends."

I chuckled lightly and shook my head. "No, it's fine. I need to go back out there anyway; see if there are any other tough nails like you lot."

"...Eury, we were the only ones left of ten thousand. It took you four months to find us , you're- you're not going to find anyone else."

I shrugged and turned away.

"Good luck you lot," I shouted over my shoulder as I walked.

"Wait! Eury, I just want to thank you ag-" Marcia said, grabbing at my arm to stop me. I quickly slithered out of her grip and interrupted her.

"It's fine. I'm only doing this bec-"

"-'because you made someone a promise', we know," recited Marcia's husband, Luca. I frowned as I detected the teasing tone in Luca's voice but was quickly distracted as the leader began to speak again.

"Still, thank you for saving us. When those things found our hiding place- well- you were amaz-"

" Marcia ."

"Please, I have to say it: thank you. And thank you for leading us here. We haven't seen a single Titan for three days now."

I puffed out a breath and looked away.

"It's fine, if you wanna make it up to me look after Oldm- well, look after Christophe. He needs to be safe."

"We'll do that," Luca nodded, taking his partner's hand in his with an intense look on his face.

"And tell Fury and Flexer to kiss already," I added to several people's amusement before nodding to them once more, shooting off my gear and leaving.

At least, that was the intention. As I shot up into the trees however, my attention was grabbed by the odd structures built along the forest canopy. Strange wooden towers were dotted in a diamond shape across the forest. I could see, in the one closest to me, several human figures standing, frozen in their vigil of the tree tops.

I wondered for a moment what else had changed in the time that I had been gone. Curious, I slowed in my movement and stopped on a tree jutting out of the canopy before looking down through the leaves. Far below I saw people walking along the forest floor, leading horses along to a row of rough but sturdily built stables. In the trees themselves, small sloping straw roofs had been constructed over wooden platforms that curled around the tree trunks and along the more sturdy branches.

I smiled as I recognised the distant figure of Whitehair, her remaining arm swinging a wooden pole over her shoulder with a crude carved stone at the end. It looked somewhat like a hoe. She and those around her were covered in mud and laughing together. I found myself smiling at the scene before me. That is until I heard the zip and clang of oncoming manoeuvre gear.

"Green Eyes!"

I spasmed and span around as a figure launched itself at me, clinging on like a monkey.

" Barker ?!"

"I knew it was you, the others said you were just a bird but they were wrong!"

"Barker, lower your voice," I hissed as the boy continued to shout out and hug me. He suddenly and sharply pulled away from me.

"What the hell Green Eyes!? We went looking for you and everything! Where have you been?"

"Think I can answer that," came another voice, accompanied by the clang of their gear.

"Hey Old- Christophe," I sighed warily.

"Hey Little One," Christophe returned quietly, eyebrow raised at my use of his real name. "Sorry that Far Eyes won't be joining us. He's busy welcoming the group of asylum seekers you sent our way."

I felt Barker's surprised and relieved gaze at this, and frowned.

"It's fine, I'm not here for long," I needed to go see if there was anyone else still out there.

"What? Why?!" Barker asked, almost slipping from his tenuous grip of the branch we were on as he stepped forward.

My arms shot out as I helped him regain his balance before stepping back and turning to Christophe.

"I'm not needed here anymore. If I stay it's just going to cause problems. I'm going to go out there and help as many humans as I can."

"Green Eyes, we do need you!" Shouted Barker, his hands encircling my arm as if he could physically pin me down.

And just like that, I snapped.

"Child, I am not your friend!" I growled out, spinning to look at Barker in his stupid wide eyes. "I am not your mother to coddle you or someone to look up to and I'm not safe! You know how I was the day that we arrived in the forest? I was out of my mind. I gouged out Pokerface's eye for no fucking reason. I've been like that again though. When I found that lot, refugees as you call them, about to be eaten I became so angry I lost myself; I did things that you do not want to think about, things I cannot remember, could not control. You. Do. Not. Need. Me!"

Barker's eyes widened again and he took a step back, gulping dryly as I steadily stared through him. Then he was gone and it was just me and Christophe. He opened his mouth to speak but I quickly cut him off.

"I know..." I said, gazing after the retreating figure of the ginger haired boy.

There was a long moment of quiet between the two of us as the sun beat it's warmth across our backs and we stared out at the unmoving golden green forest. Eventually Christophe opened his mouth.

"Eren, you need to go back."

I looked at him in surprise.

"But I can't. They don't seem to know about me now but everyone will eventually figure out I'm not mortal, that is, the ones who haven't already."

"You will tell everyone what you have done, or I will."

I looked down at my hands, pulling one of the leaves off the nearby branches and twirling it through my fingers.

"They don't know," Christophe assured me, in what he probably thought was a calming tone. "No one knows why you left and no one knows what you are."

"But they will if I stay. Some will get angry that I didn't help more of them, some won't, and then they will divide and fight. It's happened before, a long, long time ago, and I don't like the idea of it happening again much. It's better if I don't come back," I said, crushing the soft green leaf in my fist.

"I know..." murmured Christophe and I had to fight a smile as I thought back to that night more than a year ago when we had just started this, when he had taken the fight and the rage and the pain out of me with those two little words.

"I don't mean back here," the man continued. "I mean back to Trost. Back to Mikasa and Armin."

The crushed leaf fell out of my slack hands as I slowly turned to face Christophe head on.

"I can't," I said.

"But you-" started the man but I quickly cut him off, placing my hands on his shoulder to meet his eyes.

"No. I can't. What if I hurt them as well? I can't-"

"You need them Eren, you need people who care for you and that you care about. You won't hurt them."

I started shaking my head and made to pull away but his hands quickly caught mine and he spoke again.

"I want you to smile properly again. The last time I saw a truly happy smile from you was when you held your sister in your arms. Go back to them and tell my grandson that I'm alright. Look after him for me."

I fell silent, just looking at him as he slowly raised his hand to my cheek, rubbing a rough thumb across it.

"So you cry gold huh? The wonders never cease," he murmured softly with kind, tired eyes.

I turned away, roughly rubbing the palms of my fists over my eyes.

"Not crying. I- I'll think about it Ol- Christophe."

"Call me Oldman, Little God," he said as he ruffled my hair, thick brow raising as I stayed still and let him do this, just for once.

"...Goodbye Oldman," I whispered and turned away, only looking back at his small, hardy figure once before flying away on wind and cable.

Heeeeeeeeey guys! So, this is the last chapter of part two of this series, it's a bit short but I felt like it ended well there. I hope you're all enjoying it and that you'll want to keep reading when I get around to the next bit. I am going to most likely go on a bit of a hiatus with the third part though as I have been putting off 'The Hunter' for far FAR too long. I also have a lot more of the Labyrinth fic to update and a whole new Undertale story soon to come out which I hope you'll check out if you're in the fandom.
So yeah, a lot going on here. I've got the plot of the final part all sorted in my head, it just takes a lot of time to write it properly. I also need to up on my art skills a bit since I think I may need them to tell parts of the story right, I suppose we'll have to see if I'm up to the challenge.
Anyway, thanks so much for all the kudos, comments and support with this. You guys are the best :) xxxx