"I wish I had a lamp. The moonlight isn't much to see this by."
The Beast Titan held a small contraption between its fingers. The man he encountered earlier – a soldier, he presumed – had been using the device to swing between trees with hooks and some form of rope or wire which extended from the contraption. It appeared to be an effective way to combat Titans, an otherwise foreign concept outside the use of heavy artillery fire.
"They're innovative," the Beast Titan said. "Perhaps I can take a closer look tomorrow, although I'd need to be mindful of breaking it."
The contraption was set aside. The Beast Titan's attention returned to the tower in the distance. At least half a dozen of the larger Titans about the tower had fallen.
"I only see four soldiers," the Beast Titan said. "That's impressive. Let's test them further."
A swift inhale was followed by a roar. The call echoed throughout the valley. A low rumble grew in its place as the sound faded, a number of Titans moving between the trees and heading in the direction of the tower.
"Hmm … they could use a helping hand."
The Beast Titan reached for one of the cannons at its side. It lifted the object up with the ease of a child picking up a toy building block. An arm was pulled back, and with a rush of air the cannon shot from the Beast Titan's grip. A distant crash could be heard a moment later.
"Oh, lucky," The Beast Titan said. "I hit the stables. I was afraid my aim would be off considering how dark it is. Let's see … how about I throw another?"
A second cannon was lifted. The Beast Titan drew back its arm. "Where should I aim next? The tower seems like the most logical choice, but there may be more people holed up in the adjoining building." The Beast Titan tilted its head.
"What do you think, Miss?"
Crouching next to the line of carts was a woman. She was holding a rifle in one hand and a handgun in the other. Her expression conveyed she thought she had been doing a decent job going unnoticed while slinking out from under the tarp. Up until this point, she had done well staying out of sight, although the Beast Titan had picked up the scent of sweat without too much trouble. The woman's fear had been more than enough to give her away.
"Let's do the tower," the Beast Titan said, looking away. "I know for a fact there are people up there. It's better to go with the sure thing."
"Wait!"
"Ah," the Beast Titan said. It lowered its arm. "I surmised this was why you decided to show yourself now. Although, how you planned on stopping me is an interesting question. You have firearms, but not this." The cannon emitted a clang as the Beast Titan placed it aside. It took care picking up the ODM gear in a delicate manner. "You don't seem to have this piece of equipment yourself. I've gathered it's used somewhat effectively to kill Titans. You would probably fare a bit better against me if you had this instead."
The woman shifted her weight in apprehension. To her credit, she kept eye contact and didn't try something rash like running or shooting blindly.
"If you tell me what you know about this," the Beast Titan said. "I'll let you go unharmed. How does that sound?"
The woman didn't answer. Her eyes darted to the side before she looked back. The grip on her handgun intensified. There was a possibility she'd called the bluff. This woman was going to die either way; if it would be the painless matter of having her skull crushed between fingers, or the more drawn-out option of splattering against the side of the tower in the distance, was entirely up to her cooperation.
"Perhaps you don't know?" the Beast Titan said. "That's unfortunate. If that's the case …"
The woman recoiled as the Beast Titan reached out.
"I know about them!" she said, voice cracking in desperation. "I know how they're built! I've built them myself!"
"Oh!"
The Beast Titan pulled back, exuding a sense of glee. "How very lucky for me to have run into you here."
The woman's expression suddenly went slack. There was no longer any sign of fear; no longer any sign of anything.
"Not really," the woman said.
She lifted the rifle and fired.
There wasn't an action taken on the Beast Titan's part to stop her; there was no point. Getting hit with a bullet from a rifle caused no more harm than a bug bite. It didn't allow so much as a flinch to indicate the bullet bouncing off the fur around its shoulder had bothered it in any way.
However, there was a failure to notice where the woman had aimed the handgun, a plume of dark smoke trailing behind a large canister as it flew to the Beast Titan's side.
A flare? the Beast Titan thought. Clearly it had been mistaken about the nature of the second firearm. However, a flare would do no more harm than a rifle bullet. Less, even. On top of that, the woman didn't hit an opponent which by all rights should be impossible to miss. The flare instead made contact with wooden planks with a loud crack.
. . .
Darkness flipped to light in a second when the crates of ignition powder exploded. The Beast Titan was knocked from the wall, long arms flailing as flames clung to its fur and spread over its side.
Alongside the Titan flew Celine. She reached out wildly, finding the tarp attached to the crates. The crate of cannonballs was heavy enough not to be pushed back by the force of the blast, and Celine found herself swinging along the side of the wall as she hung on for dear life.
A loud crash caused her to whip her head up. She kicked off the wall, swinging to the side as a crate holding a number of metallic rods and other cannon cleaning equipment teetered off the edge. Celine dipped her head and squeezed her eyes shut against the sound of clanging metal and the rush of air from the crate falling past.
"Fuck!"
Celine was astonished she wasn't dead. She had been expecting it wholeheartedly the second the Abnormal Titan spotted her. The plan had been to sneak out of her hiding spot within the crate, gain some distance, then make a shot at the ignition powder.
Getting prematurely caught by the Titan meant she had to fire well within the blast radius. An internal debate decided being blown to bits would be a better option than getting eaten alive.
The tarp jolted as a tear formed where the material was being stretched over the edge. Celine began to climb in a panic. She had almost made it to the top when the wall crackled with a series of small objects crashing against the side. Celine whipped her head around. She took in the Beast Titan, the fur on over half its body burned away to reveal patches of pink and red flesh. There was a large hole in the ground at its side; with a start Celine realized the Titan had scooped up the rocky soil and hurled the entire clump in her direction.
The tarp jolted again as the rip lengthened. Celine looked up and scrambled to climb. Something struck stone with enough force to cause an ear-splitting crash, Celine slapping a hand over her ear as she watched a metal rod snap in two against the wall at her side before tumbling away.
"Why doesn't this asshole just roll over and die?!" She gripped the edge of the walkway, flinging herself over the top. She tumbled over the stone and came to a painful stop when her spine bashed against the tracks. A weak hiss escaped Celine as she fought to get to her feet.
A quake flung Celine to the side. Her attempts to stand were thwarted as the quakes repeated in rapid succession.
"Dammit!"
Celine fell on her face. She began to crawl.
"Dammit!"
Part of the wall behind her went crashing down as the Beast Titan crested the top with a roar.
"Dammit!"
Celine flung herself toward the cart with the gas tanks. She crawled up the rope strapped to the sides like a beetle on a vine. One leg looping through the rope was enough to suffice her need to secure herself to the tanks before she yanked on the cord for the regulators. The sudden jerk as the cart shot forward nearly flung Celine loose, but her free hand caught the rope and she pressed herself against the top of the tanks to keep steady.
The cart shuddered. Celine looked over her shoulder. A cannon was lying in the track where she'd just been. In horror she watched another object block the light of the moon as it came hurtling from above. A chunk of stone landed to her side, close enough for one of the tanks to make a squealing sound she could feel in her teeth as the metal scraped against the material. Celine dipped her head and could only pray it didn't cause a leak as she continued to speed along.
Maybe I'm far enough now?
That notion was shattered as an object landed ahead just right of the tracks. It was a cannonball. Another slammed near the first, and suddenly cannonballs rained down on either side of Celine. She ducked, eyes watering as she stared ahead.
Please … If nothing else … let the blast have damaged that bastard's aim.
The cart jerked upward. Celine's head whipped about to see a chunk of the cart fall away as a result of the cannonball now lying in the tracks in her wake. She lifted her eyes, terrified that a chunk of stone or another cannonball heading in her direction may be the last thing she'd ever see. The silhouette of the Beast Titan was easy enough to make out with the moon illuminating the creature at its back. Its arms were at its side as its form slowly shrunk in the distance.
It must be out of ammo. Did it … give up?
That appeared to be the case. Celine wasn't ungrateful the Titan wasn't approaching in pursuit, but she couldn't help but wonder why.
The blast from the ignition powder may've done more damage than I thought.
The Titan had also taken a fall fifty meters to the ground below. The fact it lived, much less was able to retaliate as much as it did, would've been impressive if Celine wasn't completely terrified.
"I hope that hurts," Celine said. Her lips pulled back in a snarl. "You assho–!"
Celine slapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from vomiting.
The world was blurry. Celine's eyes hurt. Her back hurt. Everything hurt.
"It looks like she's awake," a familiar voice said. "Go inform her commander."
The sound of footsteps echoed before fading away. Celine sat up in bed. Her vision wasn't perfect, but she certainly recognized the person regarding her with a weary expression.
"Of all the people I'd expect to be at my bedside …" Celine said.
"... the last one I'd guess is you."
Levi didn't react. He continued to watch her from where he sat across the room. It took Celine's rattled brain a moment to register he was observing her through a set of metal bars.
"Huh?" Celine said. Clarity slapped her across the face, jolting her fully awake. She twisted in her seat to take in the bare stone walls, small cot, and lack of windows. Celine's eyes widened. "Where …? Am I in prison?!"
"You're being detained for questioning on a number of accounts," Levi said, seemingly indifferent to Celine's distress. "The most pressing being your suspected role in the creation of a massive hole in the southwest quadrant of Wall Rose."
"A … what? Hole?" Celine said. She inhaled sharply as memories swam to the surface. "But it was at the top along the walkway! The explosion shouldn't have been somewhere Titans could get through!"
Levi sat back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. "Getting you to admit fault was easy enough." His eyes tracked over Celine's face as she flinched. He appeared to be looking for something, but it was unclear if he found what he was searching for.
"The hole isn't considered a critical threat since it isn't toward the base," Levi continued. "The issue is what we found inside the wall."
Levi paused, offering Celine a slow blink before continuing. "The hole appears to be from an explosion triggered by the emergency ignition powder stores. This theory is corroborated by statements from the soldiers who were in Utgard Castle early this morning and witnessed the event. You wouldn't be connected to these incidents under normal circumstances due to the distance between Utgard Castle and the time you were last spotted in Trost. However, multiple reports state you modified ODM gas refill tanks in an unauthorized manner to travel the length of the wall at a faster speed than normal. A handful of Garrison soldiers also claim you coerced them into allowing you to pass their outpost through a threat stemming from a false statement of rank."
Celine gripped the sheet over her lap, balling her hands into fists. "I never said I was a higher rank!"
"If you think implications don't count against you," Levi said. "You're even more simple minded than the soldiers who fell for it."
"I–!"
"There was a five-hour gap where your whereabouts were unknown after the last witness report," Levi said, speaking over Celine's protest. "The explosion took place during this gap, then you were discovered around dawn still atop the wall on the outskirts of Trost. You were unconscious, and had pissed yourself."
A flush rose up Celine's cheeks. "You could've done a perfectly satisfactory summation of events without mentioning that last part."
"I assumed you'd want an explanation for why your pants are missing," Levi said, his eyes drifting to the side as a door opened down the hall.
Celine lifted the blanket. Her posture grew stiff as she stared at what was beneath. The blanket was returned over Celine's lap, the warm sensation on her cheeks quickly spreading over the rest of her face. "Why in the walls has no one given me new pants?!"
"Celine!"
Marco appeared, wrapping his hands around the bars of the cell. He looked to be nearly out of breath and on the verge of tears. "Thank the Walls! Section Commander Hange told me you just needed some rest … but I was so scared. How are you feeling? Do you need something to eat? Did anyone give you water?"
"What I need is–" Celine said. Her inability to hold Marco's gaze left her looking about the room in an awkward fashion. "Can you … bring me a change of clothes? A full set. If Hange is around, she'll … be able to help you out with that."
"Absolutely!" Marco said. "I'll be right back! And … and I'm glad you're alright."
Celine looked back to Marco. The embarrassment melted away as she smiled. "Thank you for being here, Marco."
Marco's expression brightened. He disappeared from sight, his footsteps indicating he was moving at a jog.
"Your brother will be acting as your council," Levi said, watching Marco go. "Hange volunteered, but was overruled since he's your next of kin. A medic and someone with a meal should be arriving shortly. I've completed briefing you on the charges, so once you're cleared fit, I'll be escorting you to the tribunal."
"Tribunal?"
Celine's eyes grew wide. "You mean me? I'm having a tribunal? For what?!"
"You blew a hole in the wall, dimwit," Levi said, his gaze moving back to her. "Did you think you wouldn't be held accountable?"