"Oh my – who's this?!"

Hange opened her arms wide, grinning from ear-to-ear. She spat out the loose hair from her ponytail whipping in the wind. She was regarded with looks of apprehension as three soldiers approached her atop Wall Rose. All three members sported Garrison Regiment uniforms, the older man in front separating from the young soldiers at his back.

"These are our new recruits, Commander," Captain Hanes said. He indicated the kids with a grin. "As you can see, I'm givin' 'em the grand tour."

"This is so stupid," the young woman said. She reached up to scratch her red hair, the hair in question shifting from under her goggles to reveal a flash of brown beneath.

"But it worked, didn't it?" Hange said. She took a grand step forward before swinging her arms around their shoulders. "No one followed you, right?"

"No, Commander," the young man said. The blonde wig certainly made a difference, but Eren's sharp green eyes beneath his goggles made his true identity obvious up close. "Captain Hanes was the only one who even seemed to give a shit when Ymir and I got to the top of the wall."

"Good; good," Hange said with cheer. "We took the extra precaution because your friend Marco made it sound like we should be on the lookout for a shady character today. Hopefully the new diversion wasn't too inconvenient."

Ymir let out a grunt. "We had to break away from everyone else and ride off into the woods on our own to get into these stupid costumes." She leaned away from Hange's radiant expression. "Of course it was a pain in the ass."

Hange pinched Ymir's freckled cheek, the girl swatting her away with a growl.

"Considering one of the alternate plans was to pack you in a crate of apples, someone like me would think you'd be happy to play dress-up instead," Hange said with a chuckle. "The convoys should draw out any attention on their way back to HQ. While we wait for the signal, tell me about your training. Could you show me a demo? Nothing big, you know – just like a little transformation so I can study the–"

"Commander!"

Hange lifted her head. She watched a group of Scout soldiers shoot from the side of the wall before running in her direction.

"The convoys are under attack!"

"What?" Hange said. She stepped forward. "All of them? How? By whom?"

"We don't know," the soldier said, catching his breath. "Some of 'em are wearing MP jackets, but the gear they're using … we don't recognize it. Convoys One and Three are holding their own, but we didn't get a check-in from Convoy Two. We think something happened to their surveillance squad."

Hange's heart dropped like a stone. "Who was the captain … in charge of Convoy Two?"

"Unit Captain Celine, Commander."

Hange dashed to the edge of the wall. "Captain Hanes – stay on high alert. Eren and Ymir will be defended atop the wall from anyone other than myself or one of the contacts we specified. If the enemy is disguising themselves as our soldiers, we can't trust anyone."

Hanes nodded, his expression grim. "Understood, Commander."

"Oi!" Eren said, alarmed. "What the hell is happening?! If we're under attack, I can help!"

"You can help by staying put!" Hange barked, looking over her shoulder. "The two of you are staying right where you are! That's an order!"

"Our comrades are in trouble, and you want us to sit on our asses?" Ymir said, baring her teeth. "Bullshit! If they're being attacked because of us, I ain't letting them die over that!"

Hange grinned. The gesture left Eren and Ymir appearing dumbfounded.

"That's right … you are members of this regiment," Hange said. "I'll send a signal if you're needed. But you also need to remember that you weren't the only ones working on getting stronger all this time. We've stood on our own before you both, and we'll do so after."

Hange turned away. She drew the blades from her hips. "Take me along the route of Convoy Two; send signals for any available Scout soldiers in the area to act as backup."

"Yes, Commander," the soldier at her side said. He leapt from the side of the wall toward the crowded streets of Trost, Hange quick on his heels.

Hange sat cross-legged on a small bed. She was surrounded by haphazard piles of papers and folders, some of which had escaped her clutches and scattered on the floor. She felt a little ashamed to admit there was no motivation for her to clean the mess; Moblit would be by soon to do it for her. He would make a fuss – 'humming' and 'hawing' while grumbling about her disorganization stemming from a lack of sleep. They both knew very well that even on a good day Hange was as organized as a herd of cats. However, they both liked to play the game of distracting themselves from reality in any way possible. For Moblit, it was playing the role of a mother hen. For Hange, it was flipping through an endless sea of reports and allowing the rest of her life to fray apart at the edges. It was surprisingly easy.

"You look … awfully comfortable over there."

Hange's fingers twitched. She closed the folder she had in hand, keeping her soft expression on the cover.

"I ran out of room on the desk in the corner," Hange said, doing everything in her power to keep her voice steady. "The bed next to yours was open, so I figured I'd make use of the space."

"Bullshit."

Hange didn't dare to turn her head. She was terrified of looking over and seeing something more along the lines of a hope-based illusion than reality.

"You were just trying to make enough noise to wake me up," the voice said, sounding like a breeze rushing through a dry canyon. They coughed. "I heard all the shit falling off the bed earlier."

"Did you?" Hange asked. She kept her gaze on her lap as a tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry; that was thoughtless of me. Can you find it in your heart to forgive this hapless fool?"

The apology was for more than just the tumbling of a stack of papers. Hange leaned forward in her seat, squeezing her eyes closed. "I should've told you about Marco and the Female Titan. I should've–"

"You saved my life."

Hange opened her eyes, slowly turning toward the voice. She took in a pair of brown eyes blinking as if they were having a hard time making her out. They left Hange for a moment, wandering around the stone walls and tall glass windows of Trost's infirmary. The gaze returned alongside a small, pale hand reaching in Hange's direction.

"You're not supposed to risk your life for someone you're mad at, dummy," Celine said.

"Is that so?" Hange said. She let out a watery chuckle as she lifted her glasses to wipe her eyes. "I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Hange sprung from the bed. Papers flew up in a whirlwind, falling like autumn leaves as she flung herself toward Celine. She wrapped Celine in a tight embrace, squeezing her with all her might.

Celine was slow to return the embrace, but she nestled her head into the crook of Hange's neck. She took a few strained breaths before speaking.

"Hey, Hange?"

"Hmm?" Hange said, unable to get out much else.

"Is my foot really gone? I'm afraid … to look."

Hange slowly opened her eyes. There was the impression that Celine picked up on the dip to her shoulders. Hange's heart sank as her friend began to tremble.

"The rest of you is still here, Celine," Hange said. Her grip on Celine tightened. "That's what matters."

Celine buried her face further into Hange's shoulder. "I'll take your word for it. Although … I'd like to live in ignorance … for just a while longer. I suppose if I don't look, there's always the possibility it isn't real."

"Spoken like a true woman of science," Hange said with a watery chuckle. "You can never know anything for certain unless you see it with your own eyes."

Hange felt the grip Celine had on the back of her jacket intensify.

"What … happened?" Celine asked.

Hange gave the crown of Celine's head a reassuring pat. "The mission overall was a success – Eren and Ymir are safe and sound. The convey decoys worked and the enemy were nowhere near finding their real location. When the attack happened … your group was the only one who didn't receive aid right away. We found out later the surveillance we had trailing your convoy was intercepted by a member of Kenny's group. I wish … I made it a little sooner."

Celine nodded. "I do, too. Things may have … gone differently." She let out a long exhale. "I think … I remember seeing Levi."

"That's right," Hange said. "He sliced Kenny's head right off."

"He did … didn't he?" Celine said. She fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"That was too quick a death for him."

Despite the statement, there was a trace of sadness to her voice. It was quickly corrected. "How is everyone else?"

Hange noted the deflect. A frown touched her lips. "Moblit's beside himself with worry over you. I thought he used to get anxious before … but I can practically see his hair thinning."

Celine flinched. The reaction caused Hange to chuckle.

"It isn't … funny," Celine said, her voice growing stern. "Moblit doesn't deserve … half the shit I put him through."

Hange regained her composure. "Sorry – I'm sure that didn't come off right. I was just imagining how relieved he's going to be when he sees you."

Celine's hands began to shake. It caused Hange to grab her by the shoulders and get a better look at her face. She found Celine keeping her eyes lowered as her breaths grew shallow.

"How many … people died?"

Hange let out a long exhale through her nose. She glanced at the dozen or so empty beds lining the walls. At one point they'd all been full. In the passing days since, the soldiers within them had either been discharged and sent home … or were in a position where they'd be trading their bed for a pine box.

"We took our own losses, but not anywhere near as hard as we hit the enemy," Hange said. "That group was using ODM gear I hadn't seen before. They had also taken the build for thunder spears and fashioned them into a compact firearm. A lot of the Military Police soldiers had trouble, but the Scouts were able to gain the upper hand once we had a grip on the situation. They may have had guns, but we're better pilots overall."

"Heh."

Celine began to laugh. It turned into a racking cough, Hange looking down on her in confusion as Celine fought to catch her breath.

"I'm really bad at … making decisions, huh?" Celine said. "I'm such … a fuck up. More people died because of me."

"Celine," Hange said. She made to pull Celine forward into another embrace. "What happened to your convoy–"

"Anti-Personnel Mobility Gear."

Hange froze. She attempted to piece together the meaning behind Celine's words as she held her crazed stare.

"That's the name of … the ODM gear Kenny's group was using," Celine said. "I didn't … design it … but I modified it to work out the kinks. I just didn't … I didn't know it would be used like that. I thought it was for rooting out spies … or acting as a defense if there was a coup."

It was now Celine's turn to grip Hange by the shoulders. The intensity behind her stare grew as she raised her voice.

"Kenny said he was working … working for the king! He had official documents and everything! I didn't know, really! I swear! I didn't think he would … that he would–"

"Oi!"

Hange put Celine's face between her hands, holding her gaze in an attempt to mitigate Celine's rising sense of panic. Celine tried to jerk her head away, but Hange held her grip firm.

"Calm down," Hange said, eyes narrowing. "I don't blame you for any of this, Celine. However … if you were working alongside Kenny on something … it'll fill in a lot of the gaps we have about what was going on. You're going to have to tell me everything."

There wasn't a chance for further explanation as the sound of running footfalls came from the hall. A figure soon appeared in the doorframe. Their shoulders heaved as they stared down Celine with a wide-eyed expression.

Hange regarded Marco Bodt in the doorway looking every bit like he needed to be in the hospital just as much as his sister. A trace of color returned to his pale features as he gulped for air and his brown eyes gleamed with the foreshadowing of tears. The corner of Hange's mouth tilted up as she turned away to give Celine a final embrace.

"I'll be back in a little while," Hange said. She rose from the bed, taking steady steps in Marco's direction. The young man looked right through her as if she weren't there. Even placing a reassuring hand in passing on Marco's shoulder didn't seem to garner any attention.

"Oh," Celine said.

Hange looked back. She noted Celine staring at the noticeable lack of a rise in the covers where her right foot and the lower half of her calf should have been.

Celine reached out as if to pull back the powder blue sheet. Her hand stilled. The hand dropped limply to her side as her expression crumbled.

Marco was across the room in the blink of an eye. He wrapped Celine so tightly in his embrace she was nearly hidden from view entirely. What gave away her presence was the sound of racking sobs as everything she'd been holding in rushed out at once. It was a side of her she'd been hiding from Hange … the part of her that now made her seem like nothing more than a frightened child who needed soothing.

"I'm sorry, Celine," Marco said. He leaned against the crown of her head, tears of his own falling into her hair. "I'm so sorry. I won't leave you alone like that again. I promise. I'm so sorry, Celine."

The scene disappeared when Hange closed the door with a soft click. She looked over to the figure now standing at her side. A smile accompanied her taking in the heavy tears running down their cheeks.

"You're so tender-hearted, Moblit," Hange said, patting him on the back. "It's a relief that our little girl is back among us, huh?"

Moblit let out a rough exhale, wiping his face. "I feel like a cart of boulders has been lifted off my back. Geez … I need a nap."

A few breaths left the pink marks around his eyes being the only signs of Moblit's previous distress. He looked to Hange with a gentle smile.

"I better head out," Moblit said. "I've got a list of people I need to inform about Celine's condition, including the former Commander and the Premier."

Hange frowned, taken aback. "Pyxis? Really?"

"I have no clue about it, either," Moblit said with a shrug. "But he requested it. Although Celine's father will be first, of course. And Captain Levi was next on the list, but luckily he was here up until a moment ago so that saves me a stop."

Hange's brow furrowed in confusion. "Levi was here? Did he have other business? He isn't the type to just stand around."

"Ah …"

Hange had a hard time piecing together what Moblit was thinking based on his expression. He appeared somewhat sheepish as he contemplated something.

"The Captain … he was standing right outside this door when I came to deliver your morning reports," Moblit said. "It wasn't unusual for me to see him hanging around the hospital every now and then. But this had been the first time he didn't ask me about any updates on Celine's status. He just left without a word. Then I heard you and Celine talking when I got closer."

"Oh? Is that so?" Hange said, placing her hands on her hips. "My, my … was he worried? I guess the two of them started getting along in my absence, huh?"

Moblit let out a nervous chuckle. "Something like that. How Celine feels is pretty obvious, but the Captain is a little harder to read. Although I think you're right that he was worried."

Hange looked down the corridor with a hum. "I was worried about him myself after he lost his old squad a little while ago. It's good to know he hasn't shut himself off from making connections with his peers. Levi isn't the type who does well with being alone." She looked back to Moblit. "Anyway – when are the doctors getting here?"

Moblit flinched. "Doctors?"

"You told the doctors she's awake, right?" Hange said, using her thumb to indicate the offices down the corridor.

"When would I have done that?" Moblit said, taken aback. "Oh, shit! We need to tell them!"

"Oh," Hange said, scratching her hair. "Yeah, probably."

She watched Moblit sprint down the corridor.

"Would you look at that?" Hange said, a grin taking over her features.

There are so many people now who worry about you, Celine. It's pretty different than it used to be, huh?