Of all the dangers Celine thought she'd face hurtling along the wall, she didn't account for other soldiers. The manned outpost Hannes mentioned would take the better part of the day for Celine to reach by foot was within sight less than an hour after Celine started her voyage atop the tanks.

She had begun the process of relaxing her arm to close the flow of gas from the regulators when the soldiers in the distance scattered using their ODM gear. They were on top of her a moment later, blades drawn and with every intention of slicing whatever was behind the cloud of vapor into pieces. One of the soldier's swords ended up shattering against the side of the tank before her eyes went wide when she met Celine's gaze.

No one knew quite what to make of Celine or her bizarre mode of transportation. They watched her eat a can of rations with a heavy level of suspicion as they relayed they hadn't seen or heard anything indicating a breach. This was followed by a reluctant nature to help Celine use the pulleys to move the cannons off the track so she could be on her way.

"I can do it myself," Celine had said, adjusting the braid on her shoulder to ensure the Military Police crest was visible. "But I'll need to take note of all of your names before I go. My commanding officer, Nile, would be interested to know which soldiers hindered the first voyage of the experimental Emergency Cart System."

It wasn't technically a lie, Celine had thought later as she was leaving the outpost behind in a trail of steam. They're the ones who assumed I meant Nile Dawk, who certainly is my commanding officer … albeit many levels up the chain.

Celine learned from her mistakes. Whenever a manned outpost came into view over the hours that passed, she'd use her free hand to lift the flare gun from her belt and fire a green flare into the sky. From there on out her receptions consisted more of curiosity than suspicion.

The friendlier responses, and the addition of a spare pair of goggles, made Celine's journey along the wall almost enjoyable. She was moving at a speed faster than any running horse or ODM pilot. By the time the sun disappeared behind the mountains in the far distance to her left, she had already traveled a quarter of Wall Rose. In theory she could span nearly the entire length of the wall in less than half a day – hours ahead of anyone with ODM gear.

It was a pity the innovation was lost at the moment. The number of manned outposts Celine came across thinned significantly after she passed Trost District, and so did the likelihood of her coming across a breach.

It doesn't make sense, Celine thought. She speculated she'd arrive at Krolva, the outlying district on the western side of Wall Rose, within about four hours. That was still a considerable distance, yet …

If the breach was that close, wouldn't the Titans have gone for the inhabitants of Krolva? Why would they wander so far away from a large populace to head toward Sina? What's more … Why would there be a breach so far away from a district? It's possible an intelligent Abnormal is trying to catch us off guard, but creating a hole in an isolated area like this would be easier for us to contain than if it was in one of the districts.

Drifting clouds caused the tracks before Celine to shift in and out of darkness as they blocked the moonlight. The danger of colliding into an unseen obstruction had multiplied substantially. Celine's heart was racing under the stress of making a poor judgment call on whether approaching shadows were objects in disguise … or just shadows.

Celine decided not to take any more risks the moment she spotted the metallic gleam of a pulley system ahead. This turned out to be a good call, since a series of three carts covered in a large white tarp had been left on the tracks of the unmanned outpost.

"Are you serious?" Celine said.

The tarp over the three carts was fastened in place by thick cords of rope, and Celine gave them a good yank until enough of the underlying crates were uncovered for her to take a look at their labels.

"If I have to go through the trouble of moving these things, one of these better at least be food."

They weren't. The stamped labels indicated the crates held a combination of cannon balls, flint starters, and equipment used to clean and load cannon barrels. A few feet away was a large stack of even more crates full of ignition powder.

Someone's going to get written up, Celine thought, noting the cannons secured around a yard further down the track. This place is a mess. The ignition powder should've been covered and moved to a storage shed, and all this other crap got left on the tracks. Moving all this with the pulley is going to take me nearly an hour … should I just turn around?

Celine looked about with a frown. The clouds had blocked the moon again, leaving her basically blind to everything on either side of the wall. She pressed her back against the crates of cannon equipment. It was a small comfort having something to her back while she felt so exposed.

Wait!

There was a light. Within the blackness of the inner side of Wall Rose there was a faint, flickering light.

A fire?

Perhaps she'd come across a group of soldiers surveying the walls. Celine brought a hand to her chest, sighing in relief.

"I suppose I can't get down," she said. "But when the moon comes out again, I can put up a flare. Hopefully it won't be–"

Moonlight swept across the valley like a curtain had been drawn. Celine froze. Her eyes widened in horror.

"What …?"

There was a tower in the distance; the fire at its peak the source of light Celine had seen earlier. Around that tower, clawing at the walls, the small windows, and the large door to its base … were Titans.

"But … it's night," Celine said. She pinched her cheek, wondering if hunger or dehydration was making her see things. In a desperate attempt, she lifted up the goggles over her eyes. Nothing about the scene changed.

"I don't understand. Titans shouldn't be moving at night. And if there's a fire … does that mean there are people?"

Celine's question was answered as shouts rang in the distance. The tower began to twinkle with specks of light. It took a moment for Celine to realize the cause was moonlight reflecting off tiny objects zipping around the Titans. Two of the Titans fell from the tower in a heap.

There are still so many …

"Shit," Celine said. Her eyes darted to the cannons. They'd need to be moved to the inner track, but she had more than enough equipment at her disposal to get them operational. The question was whether the castle was in range.

"I guess I'll find out."

The cart with the crate of cannonballs was sitting on the junction where the cannons could be pushed from one side of the wall to the other. Without a horse or a team of soldiers at her disposal to move it, Celine had to get creative. She used the pulley system to lift her cart of tanks, turn them around, and place them back on the track. Borrowing the hooks and rope from the pulley created a decent lead, and Celine slowly ramped up the flow of gas coming from the regulators before the line of carts lurched forward.

"Alright," Celine said, hopping from the tanks. The carts were off the junction, and now all she needed to do was loosen the peg holding the cannon's wheels in place and give them a quick adjustment. She figured they'd be in position and ready to be loaded within ten minutes.

Just hold out that long, Celine thought, shooting a worried glance at the tower as she began to walk.

The wall shuddered. Celine froze, her eyes darting about in confusion.

"What the–?!"

Celine crashed face first onto the stone. She tried to stand, another quake bringing her to her knees. This pattern continued to repeat itself, Celine finding she could only stay on her feet when she clung to the tarp at her side.

"What the hell is it now?!" Celine said.

A massive hand stretched into the sky, putting the area in shadow as it blocked out the Moon. Celine stared in horror as the hand crashed down a few yards away. The hand looked like it belonged to a person … but the arm it was attached to was covered in a thick coat of dark fur.

Another hand appeared matching the first. It slammed down near the cannons, pointed fingernails digging into stone. The arms flexed; the head of the creature climbing the wall coming into view.

. . .

The Beast Titan pulled itself up with a grunt. The cannons at its side rattled from the force of its immense, ape-like body taking a seat. Beady yellow eyes took in the surroundings.

"I swear I heard someone," the Beast Titan said, a low baritone resonating between pointed teeth.

Something moved to its right. A white tarp was fluttering from where it had come partially loose over a line of carts. The Beast Titan reached out, pinching the fluttering cloth and lifting it aside.

There was nothing under the tarp other than the carts and their cargo.

"Hmm."

The sound was like one in contemplation. The Beast Titan lost interest in the tarp and turned to look ahead. From its spot atop the wall, it had a perfectly good view of the havoc being wrecked upon the trapped group of soldiers in the distance. It smiled, content.

"Hey."

Marco raised his eyes to the doorway. A weak smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Eren," Marco said. "I was thinking you were another medic. I feel guilty they keep checking on me when they have others who need the attention more than I do."

"They're checking on you because you're not eating," Eren said, his tone a mixture of concern and exasperation he'd inherited from his mother.

He closed the door at his back in a smooth motion and picked up an untouched tray holding a bowl of broth and a small loaf of bread. "Armin and Jean said you weren't talking to them, either. Acting this way isn't helping anybody."

"Sorry," Marco said. His hollow gaze moved to the sheets covering his lap.

Eren had a feeling Marco was sitting in the small bed more because he'd been told to than because he wanted to. He'd gone through a similar process himself after Annie had been taken away; having been handed off between the Scouts, the Military Police, then the medics. It wasn't until a written order from Hange arrived that Eren was allowed the ability to channel his restless energy into wandering the halls instead of pacing the length of his room. Marco probably had fewer restrictions than Eren did, but he was the type to feel it wasn't his place to speak up.

"You're not a little kid," Eren said, taking a seat on the bench beside the bed. He picked up the spoon in the broth and held it up. "That doesn't mean I'm against feeding you like one if you're not going to eat for yourself."

Eren's steadfast expression remained as Marco looked up. The corner of Marco's mouth seemed to lift despite himself.

"I have a little sister," Marco said. He held out his hands, and the tray was transferred to his lap. "Sometimes we have to teach through example and be eating ourselves to encourage her to finish a meal. It would make me a hypocrite if I couldn't hold myself to a standard we're trying to teach a one-year-old."

Marco lifted the spoon in a mechanically slow fashion as he ate. Eren stayed at his side as the minutes ticked by, gazing about the modest room identical to his own down the hall. His attention eventually settled on the window.

Eren leaned his head into his hand. "This reminds me of the time you came to visit while I was out at that castle. We're being put up in a much better spot, though."

"I suppose so," Marco said. He picked up the loaf of bread, tearing it in half and offering some to Eren. It was refused with a headshake.

"I appreciated that visit," Eren said, watching the thin curtains flutter in the night breeze. "Until the others in our class came and joined the Scouts, that was the first time I talked to anyone after the tribunal who didn't look at me like I was a freak. Even the members of Squad Levi took some time to trust me."

Eren sat up, knitting his brow as he continued to stare out the window. "And I trusted them. I should've trusted myself. I could've fought the Female Titan before they died; I could've saved them before she killed them like it was nothing."

"Eren."

The drained nature to Marco's features had returned. Eren's frown deepened.

"Can you tell me …" Marco said. He paused, seeming to consider his desire to continue. "What happened with Annie outside the walls?"

Eren sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. "It won't be easy for you to hear. Armin told me how you guys were close. It pisses me off she used you like that to keep her cover from being blown."

Marco didn't speak for a moment. He looked to his lap, his hands forming into fists. "I can't … I can't claim to know what Annie was thinking. I can only make my own conclusions based on what I saw. When Annie was captured, she was scared. And alone. All I could think to do was tell her everything was going to be alright, even though I had no power over the situation at all. I didn't think it was a lie … but what they're probably going to do to her … her suffering will be because she trusted me."

"She's going to suffer because she's a traitor to humanity," Eren said. "You have no reason to beat yourself up for someone who would betray us all in a heartbeat."

"Then why didn't she?"

Eren didn't know what to make of the question.

"Do you think she would've surrendered …" Marco said. "... If there wasn't something connecting her to us?"

There had been a line in Mikasa's report concerning the Female Titan which Eren had a hard time understanding. He had read her report recounting the 57th expedition from front to back. The part he zeroed in on was the chunk of time he'd spent unconscious after the Female Titan had knocked him out, kidnapped him, and attempted to flee. Mikasa and Captain Levi had caught up, slicing at the Female Titan from among the trees before her defense slipped and they were able to retrieve him. While Mikasa had been carrying his unconscious form away, she'd looked back. The Female Titan hadn't followed in pursuit. Instead, it simply sat with its back against a large tree.

It sat, and it cried.

"I was wrong," Armin had said.

It wasn't often Armin was wrong. But he took back his statement about Eren needing to lose his humanity; needing to will himself into giving up everything in order to destroy the ones standing in his path. Armin had witnessed firsthand the result of a scale tipping toward the side of humanity when the Female Titan melted away to reveal Annie underneath. Eren had thought Annie had made that sacrifice – thrown away all connections in order to act in a cold, ruthless manner.

She didn't kill Armen when she had the chance … And maybe she did listen to Marco. Even so …

"There are a number of other reasons she may have surrendered," Eren said. "It's not that I don't believe you and Armin; I've just witnessed first hand what she's capable of. Annie is a monster. Not because of what she is, but because of who she is."

Marco opened his mouth as if to protest. Something flickered behind his gaze, causing his form to deflate.

"I'm going to tell you, Marco, everything I know about what happened on the 57th expedition," Eren said.

It was like Eren was a parasite, his frustration feeding and multiplying off the defeated nature radiating from Marco. That pain was unwarranted; unfair. There was no reason for Marco to suffer for the sake of someone far from deserving his pity.

"I'm going to tell you about Eld, Oruo, Gunther, and Petra," Eren continued, eyes narrowing. "I'm going to tell you how each of them died."