Strings Attached

Chapter 12

"Celeste, we have to take him to a safe place." Newt said to Celeste in urgency, to which Celeste looked around and nodded her head.

"Credence is too fragile to apparate with. I will distract Graves, you take him out of here."  Celeste said, as she peaked out from the pillar, and watched Graves approaching them.

Without giving Newt a chance to say anything, Celeste jumped out of her hiding place and faced Graves.

"Who are you?" Celeste asked as she twirled her wands, and kept a protective look out to Graves' move. "Whatever do you mean by that?" Graves asked, as he was in an attacking stance.

"Graves I know isn't capable of so much evil. And he wouldn't want Credence to be harmed as well. So, I will ask again, who are you?" Celeste asked, before a flurry of attacks were thrown at her.

She effortlessly dodged every single spell. "You have to do better." Celeste mocked Graves as she sent her own set of spells that were blocked as well.

Graves sent a rock sailing through air, making Celeste dodge out of the way, and momentarily distracted, and taking it as his sign, sent a series of cruciatus curse towards Celeste, which she couldn't defend herself from.

She writhed on the ground with silent scream as she had dealt with curse a lot, and now she knows how not to scream. Graves kept sending the curses as Celeste kept writhing without having a way to break from it.

"Come on, tell me Celeste, how it feels?" Graves asked, as he crouched in front of her, the assault seizing as she shakily looked at him.

"I know how to endure the pain Mr. Graves. You can't break me like this." Celeste spat and kicked Graves in the chest, sending the man flying back.

Celeste, wandlessly and verblessly, started her own assault, as she glared at the older man. Graves got control over his body soon and deflected the oncoming assaults and stood up.

"Impressive Ms. Fischer, but not that incredible." Graves said, looking into Celeste's eyes. Before Celeste could utter or use the defensive spell, she was thrown against the wall, hitting her head hard enough to render her unconscious.

"Celeste!" Newt exclaimed, as he noticed the girl faint as he was just about to make an escape with Credence. "Credence, I can offer you everything you can ask for. Just listen to me once." Graves started to speak, walking towards the duo.

Credence turned into obscurus, making Newt duck away from the boy, as the assault began to take it's worse form. Credence kept attacking Graves, who kept Disapparating.

Newt desperately tried to reach Celeste, who oddly enough was saved by the Obscurus onslaught. Credence screamed loudly before lifting in the air then came down with force that would have killed Graves, but it wasn't just his luck today.

Newt finally reached the unconscious Celeste, who was unharmed in all of this. "Renervate." Newt mumbled under his breath, and Celeste woke up with a start.

"Shh, you are ok." Newt whispered to her as he helped her to sit. Celeste groaned as the dull ache in her increased to a point where her vision started to blur again.

"That son of a bitch." Celeste mumbled as her fingers massaged the sore spot behind her head.

The couple were reminded of the presence of Graves and Obscurus as the obscurus screamed loudly, but this time, someone else interrupted.

"Credence No!" Tina's voice rang out in the subway. Newt helped Celeste to stand up, for Celeste's leg gave out as she almost collapsed, but Newt didn't let her fall.

"Keep talking to him, Tina, he is listening to you." Newt said as he set a firm grip around Celeste, who gave him a weak apologetic look.

Tina stood a few meters away from Credence and Graves. "I know what that woman did to you, I know that you’ve suffered, You need to stop this now, Newt and I will protect you." Tina said, as she tried to calm down the boy, who miraculously started to calm down.

Celeste's eyes were growing heavy as the pain in her head was growing, and it made her groan lightly, making Newt look at her in concern. "I think I have a concussion." Celeste said, her speech was slurred.

"This man, he is using you." Tina said, as Newt's focus was once again directed to Credence. "Don't listen to her. All I want you to be is free. It's alright." Graves said, and through the pain, something clicked to Celeste.

"Grindelwald." Celeste said in a whisper that even Newt couldn't listen to her. Once she was sure she could stand on her own, and not collapse, she gave a light tap to Newt.

Newt looked at her, she just gave a nod and stepped out of his grip. But before she could make any decision, Aurors started to pour in the subway.

"No! Please, you will scare him." Tina exclaimed, making them halt for a bit. "Please don't do anything. We can help him." Celeste said, stepping beside Tina, Newt following the lead.

Credence let out a terrible moan and shrieked. Celeste looked at the obscurus. "Shhh...it's going to be ok. You will not be harmed. You will be fine." Celeste said, with credence starting to calm down again.

Aurors, not heeding anyone's words, started to pelt Credence with the spell, making Celeste duck down, Newt and Tina doing the same.

"No! Stop!" Celeste screamed as she watched Credence's obscural face scrunching in extreme pain as the spell kept pelting him.

The pressure and the brutality of the spell finally seem to end the misery of Credence as he explodes, the charge sending the trio crashing into the track, Celeste hitting the injured part of the head again against the track.

She blinked twice because of the increasing pain and blurriness against her vision. She had to take several minutes to acknowledge what was going on as the dizziness grew to a severity.

By the time she got ahold of her brain and consciousness, Graves seemed to be attacking the Aurors.

Newt has already stood up, and removed Swooping evil from his pockets and distracted the man.

Celeste stood up from the ground, wand in her hand, and rested her hand against Newt's shoulder as he attached something sticking on his arms.

"Accio." Celeste calmly said the spell and caught the flying wand. Newt gave her a curious look as Celeste shakily made her way to the defeated man.

Celeste just twisted her wand hand and Grave's hair started to turn from charcoal black to icy blond, just like hers.

Graves looked forward, and when he looked back up, it was not Graves at all. Celeste was now standing in front of him.

"You are intelligent, and so patient." The new voice spoke up, sending shivers through everyone's spine.

"I have been told that so many times Mr. Grindelwald. At last on your knees, aren't ya?" Celeste smiled as she twirled her wand in her hands.