"I believe in You, I can show You that I can see right through all your empty lies"
- Breaking Benjamin
Chapter 7: Dance with the devil
Faraday was alone in a room; It was night and the only thing that separated the white-haired man from the darkness was a lonely candle on the table where he was. His eyes were lost, his cold eyes directed towards the cup he held in his hands; He had prepared Tea, the same tea that Petra had taught him to make.
Faraday took a sip, remembering the events of the last days.
Flashback.
Faraday felt his conscience return, heard voices that disturbed his rest. Slowly the white-haired man opened his eyes, meeting with a twilight.
"Faraday ..."
He heard the voice of what he thought was an angel.
"Mikasa…?" He asked with his choked voice. The brunette looked at the boy with anguished eyes. The light-blue-eyed boy could not react when the girl hugged him. Mikasa clung to him as if she let him go she would lose him. Faraday, although grateful for the gesture, could not help but let out a moan of pain because his body still had sequels.
"I'm sorry ... It's just ... Captain Levi told me you were dead and ..." The black-eyed woman excused herself with a broken voice. Faraday could not bear to see her in that state and the silence placing his thumb on her lips while caressing her cheek with his other fingers.
"Shh, it's okay ..." He reassured his dearest friend. Then Faraday realized something.
"Petra!" The white-haired boy exclaimed trying to get up, being prevented by Mikasa.
"Faraday, do not get up, you're very hurt. Petra is fine. She's here." Calmed the brunette; to be honest Mikasa had come to feel very jealous of the growing relationship of the white-haired and the redhead, but she was not so cynical as to simply repress the concern of her friend.
Faraday noticed that he was in a carriage, Eren on his left and Petra on his right, both asleep. The redhead had regained a bit of color on her face, although her expression of pain when she slept was noticeable. The light-blue-eyed frowned in concern.
"I'm sorry ..." He told the unconscious woman even though she was not listening. Mikasa looked sadly at the suffering of her dear friend, jealous or not, she could not bear to see him suffer in that way. The brunette took her hand trying to comfort him.
"Faraday, how are you?"
His captain's voice brought him out of his deafening. Faraday raised his face as far as he could see the black haired man beside the carriage riding his horse.
"Captain ... I ..." Faraday was going to apologize to Levi, but he did not let him.
"Do not say anything stupid like I know you're going to say it, what matters to me now is that you're alive and Petra too. Now shut up and rest, in a few minutes we'll get to Karanese." It was the harsh but sincere words of the captain.
The rest of the trip was silent, except for the awakening of Eren, who was surprised to see him.
"Faraday?! I ... I thought ..." The brunette said, stunned. The white-haired man smiled at him.
"I know."
Soon, they arrived in Karanese. The citizens waited for the legion, wanting to find good news; however, seeing the few who returned, the wounded and bewildered looks, the murmurs began.
Faraday had sat down despite Mikasa's insistence. He looked at the citizens, complaining that they lost their taxes on them. In spite of everything, some children still marveled at the soldiers, impressed with their perseverance. That only made Faraday feel more guilty.
"If only I had concentrated on capturing it instead of quenching my thirst for blood." The white-haired man was recriminating himself, thinking of that moment where he experienced that ability again.
Then, he heard a voice calling to Captain Levi.
"Captain Levi, sir! My daughter is in your squad, I am Petra's father, Peter Ral, my daughter sent me this letter; you can see that she admires him very much, sir, she is honored to be in your squadron. She doesn't consider her old father's worries, after all she's still young to get married. " The man said, following Levi who did not dare to look at him. Maybe Petra had survived, but in the state she was in, she still at risk.
Faraday froze at the sight of the man; Peter Ral is a loving father according to what the redhead told him; he took care of giving Petra all the education and support she needed after the death of her mother. He was an honorable father, and because Faraday could not protect her, his daughter was now invalidated and in danger of death.
"Oh, and she also mentioned the new member of her squad, Faraday is called. She says he is a young man who tries too hard but is very strong, even close to your level, Captain. I'm skeptical, but she talks so good of him that leaves me no doubt; she is like a proud mother ... By the way, Captain, where is Petra?"
Faraday only felt a cold abysmal in those moments. He felt a shame and a grief that he had never experienced before; he wanted to hide under a rock, but that would not be honorable, he had to face the consequences of his actions.
Levi finally looked at the man.
"Mr. Ral ... Your daughter is alive, but she is at risk of death and although she lives she will never be able to walk again." It was Levi's cold words. Peter's smile faded and his eyes changed from joy to horror.
"My little ... She?" The man's voice threatened to break.
Mikasa saw how the white-haired had a dark look, his hair fell on his face.
"Stop the carriage." He told the rider, who looked at him confused, but seeing the frivolous eyes of Faraday decided to pay attention. Levi noticed how the carriage where Eren, Faraday and Petra were standing stopped; Knowing what was going to happen, he also stopped, so that Mr. Ral would do it too.
Peter looked at the carriage and noticed a couple of Youngsters sitting on it; a white-haired and a black-haired. He noticed the scar on the white-haired man's cheek and remembered the description in his daughter's letter.
"Are you ... Faraday?" The chestnut asked when the young man got out of the carriage, standing in front of him looking into his eyes.
Suddenly, Faraday got down on his knees and put his eyes to the ground, to the surprise of Mikasa and Eren; Faraday had never bowed to anyone.
"I ask you and I beg your forgiveness, Mr. Ral. I am the cause of your daughter's critical condition ... Because of my indecision she was about to die." Those were the dead words of the light-blue-eyed. Peter looked at the boy kneeling before him, the same one that his daughter had apparently come to love fraternally and almost maternally. He did not understand how he could be the culprit.
"Tsk, do not listen to him. I'd say it's just the opposite, he almost died to save your daughter. I had given her up for dead, but he carried her in spite of everything; without him, Petra would have died." It was the words of Captain Levi, surprising the white-haired and Peter.
Suddenly, Peter knelt in front of the white-haired man and put his hands on his shoulders, making Faraday look at him. Peter could see the suffering in the boy's eyes.
"So young ... And You had to see so much death." Thought the chestnut tree.
"If the captain says so, then it has to be true. I see in your eyes your real concern for my daughter. I want to thank you, son, for saving my daughter."
Mr. Ral gave a hug to the white-haired man, who was still surprised. Peter was supposed to hate him for what he did.
"Petra ... she's in the carriage, do you want to see her?" The white-haired man asked in a choked voice. The father nodded.
End flashback.
After that, He was in the hospital during Petra's intervention. When the doctors said that she would live, although she could not walk again, Faraday left the hospital without saying a word. It was enough for him to know that she would live, but he could not see her face after causing her to be bedridden.
With all the pain in his being, Faraday had to swallow all his sorrows. The situation was critical; he had to be a war machine for the good of humanity.
Faraday took his diary from the table.
Diary of a soldier.
After returning from the failed mission, we took advantage of the day that Eren was in our facilities to trace our next move. Erwin and I had already anticipated the different situations that would arise from the possible failure of the mission, and this, although at a very high cost, was the best of situations. We had information.
I was not wrong to trust Armin to be attentive, since he confirmed my few doubts about the identity of the female Titan. Already the near death of Petra and the death of my squadron had disturbed me, but nothing compares to how I was when, while carrying Petra dying the memories came to my mind and I fit the pieces.
I would recognize where those movements were, that defense, that look of fear before death. I spent a lot of time trying to break that physical and emotional defense. The fact that the enemy had gone right for Armin as I had predicted, checking his face and as soon as Armin managed to decipher Eren's position somehow she had changed his direction to the place, only confirmed all his suspicions.
- There were more infiltrators in the legion; possible suspect: Reiner Braun. After surviving almost being crushed by the Titanide she changed her direction. Reiner was also present when Eren left his titan's body the first time.
- The possible identity of the female Titan is, at 90%: Annie Leonhardt.
End Diary of a soldier.
In other site.
Annie looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes were tired.
She had had an encounter with Armin today; he wanted her to help him rescue Eren from the hands of the police. She, without knowing why, accepted.
She should not have done it. She put himself at risk by doing something like that. But she could not help it; her guilt won her over.
The last days had been hell for her. She could no longer see the sky without remembering her near death. The torture sponsored by that man, by that beast; the storm of humanity, her dear friend: Faraday Furorem.
She was tortured and massacred by the one she considered her friend left conflicting thoughts. She had always known that Faraday was a beast, but she never imagined that he would be a monster; Annie had to inform the others about white-haired's abilities, he was more dangerous than he was before.
Annie could not help but feel nausea of guilt. Yes, just remembering her torture in the woods left her dizzy; remembering the devilish look of Faraday enjoying tearing her flesh to shreds made her ill; but remembering the tears that came out of his blue eyes made her nauseous. She never thought that someone like him could cry. Annie was traumatized and scared at first after that massacre, but now, although she maintained the other sensations, she also felt that she deserved it.
Maybe that's why she had decided to help; it was because of it, Armin's kindness, his interest in Eren beyond just capturing him.
"In the end I was never made to be a warrior ..." The blonde thought while going back to her bed.
The next day.
"Why will not I be at the front of the battle?" The white-haired asked curiously. Erwin, Levi and Faraday were at the central base, wearing formal clothes.
"Darius Zackly asked for your presence, Faraday, and since Levi is injured, I need you to be there to keep the military police at bay if they try anything." The commander explained, making Levi snort. You could see how the black haired subtly recharged more weight on his right foot than the left.
"It's just a broken ankle, Erwin, I can fuck up all those useless police even in this state." The gray-eyed man complained.
"A fracture that does not allow you to jog, Levi; your single presence will already put the police nervous, but this time Faraday is necessary to back them up, after all there were rumors of his confrontation with the female titan." The blonde argued, leaving Levi silent.
"Sir, I let three of my companions die and my confrontation did not work out. I told You that I let myself be carried away by the blood thirst when I could have captured her." The white-haired said solemn.
"We're here because of that, Faraday, catching her there and catching her here makes no difference if we do it in the end. Remember, thanks to your words at the trial, Zackly managed to get us more time before the police executed Eren. Don't undervalue your contributions for feeling guilty for your failures." The commander said seriously.
"Yes, sir." The white-haired boy nodded a little more motivated.
The three got into the carriage to go to Stohess.
Faraday spent the whole trip looking out the window, reflecting on what was going to happen today.
Annie Leonhardt, the main suspect of being the female titan. The white-haired had spent the past few days wishing it were not like that, wishing to be wrong; He did not understand why his friend had betrayed him in that way.
"No ... maybe she did not betray me, since she was never on my side, on our side ... if she did five years ago, she did not join the army hoping to make friends, so why did she open up with me? Why was she happy when she fights with Eren? Why did she have a crush on him? Why did she feel comfortable training with me? I do not understand, Annie ... Was it all an act? Or did you just become attached to us without realizing it?" The white-haired man thought anguished. After today, the world would see Annie Leonhardt in another way.
They had decided to leave Reiner out of the operation, and given his friendship with Berthold, he was also left out. Faraday hated with all his being distrusting so much of his friends, but as much as his heart refused to believe him, his mind was more reliable; He can have honor, but he is also pragmatic when the situation warrants it, he is able to swallow his emotions for the good of humanity.
"But ... Will I really be able to kill a friend?" The light-blue-eyed man wondered, looking askance at the maneuvering equipment they had hidden in the carriage, specifically his swords; he remembered how he had tortured the female titan, he should not have done it, he should have used that inexplicable power in his being to capture her. No, from before he should have fought with her, without that power the fight would have been difficult, but with the help of Eren and all the squadron they could have subdued her, and if Mikasa and Levi had arrived then it was a double checkmate. But it was useless to think of the "would have" at this point.
Before the appearance of Mikasa in his mind, He does not take long to digress in his memories about her. The brunette was really sympathetic, contrary to the opinion that most had about her unstoppable and implacable. After all, when he told her about the secret mission in which he had to protect her, she did not get mad at him; in fact, she even thanked him for saving her.
"Lately I'm thinking a lot about her, even now that the situation is critical ... just thinking about her calms me down." The light-blue-eyed boy was thinking while he sighed.
"Hey, brat, you know Petra woke up, right? Did you go to see her?"
The captain's voice woke the white-haired man. Faraday looked at him for a moment before looking down. Levi was upset with that, something that had always admired the white-haired is that he kept his eyes steady no matter the context, situation or person, but now it was enough to mention Petra to decay.
"I'll take that as a asked me for you when I went to see her. Don't be an idiot and go visit her after all this is over ... And if you dare to say something stupid that she hates you or anything like that I swear I'll throw your teeth with a punch. " Threatened the dark haired at the end, seeing the intentions to the light-blue-eyed. In spite of everything, Levi admired that the boy, even with everything that was happening in his mind, could focus enough to be one of the main minds behind this mission.
"If the union of the minds of Erwin, Faraday and Arlet are not enough to give us the victory, then humanity is doomed." I thought the gray-eyed.
The hours passed and soon they were in Stohess, where the commander of the military police, Nile Dawk, was waiting for them.
"Commander Erwin, Captain Levi, Soldier Furorem." The black-haired man greeted, watching the white-haired man with suspicion. Nile climbed into the carriage, and they all left for the court.
"So, your plan did not work out as you expected, Erwin." Nile spoke with a certain mockery. The blond smiled.
"You do not always have what you want." The commander said calmly.
"But if you try hard enough you may get what you need. Do not you think so, commander Nile?" This time it was the white-haired man who spoke, looking with icy eyes at the man.
"There was a rumor that this child faced the so-called female titan in solitude, which even gave Levi problems. This brat is not just talk, I do not know if it's safe to kill Levi and Erwin now that this child is here, although, on the other hand, he is not armed. " The commander of the police was reflecting.
"I heard you had a great performance on your first expedition, Furorem." Nile flattered, although you could tell he was not sincere. Faraday never stopped seeing him in the eyes. Levi noticed that and smiled internally.
"It would have been a great performance if I could have accomplished the mission, sir. Without counting the innumerable casualties." The light-blue-eyed man said coldly. Nile then tried something.
"It's a shame that those lives ended that way, don't you think? They could have lived a long life if they had chosen another purpose." The raven began to say, before the attentive look of the three of the legion.
"I do not like the fact of having to sacrifice soldiers, although I understand the need. But, sir, there is no better purpose than to fight for the right, and humanity deserves the freedom to choose its prison." The white-haired argued peacefully. Nile smiled.
"I see that you have a good sense of justice, Faraday, someone with your skills would be very useful to us in the police. I'm sure you would ascend to sub-commander in a short time." Nile released.
Erwin and Levi looked at Faraday, aware of what Nile was trying to do with him. Faraday never stopped looking into the eyes of the police commander.
"Thank you, sir, but I'm not interested, I'd rather be in front of the battle, and I'm good at slicing meat." The white-haired boy finished with a small smile, pointing his cold eyes at the commander.
Nile would never say it, but a drop of sweat went down his temple.
"This boy is terrifying ... Levi rightly accepted him in his squadron, both are fucking monsters. There is no other way, we have to kill them, all three." The dark haired man thought darkly.
"It is a pity." Simply said Nile. Nobody spoke after that.
Faraday noticed something strange in the environment; He looked from the corner of his eye to Erwin and Levi, both had more serious expressions than usual; He looked at Nile, his gaze going from the window to the floor, and from the floor to the window; He was anxious.
Faraday looked out the window; there was not a soul. It was very strange, usually if the cops knew that two branch commanders were in a carriage they would stay close and alert; There were not even civilians. They were going to an ambush.
"I see, that's why you tried to sweeten my ear, you wanted to see if it was worth leaving me alive or killing me along with the commander and the captain ... How will he do it? We're in broad daylight ... Unless ... The super soldier! Only she would have the skill and the ability to kill in broad daylight and still not cause a fuss. I know because I checked it first hand. The commander noticed that something is happening, but I do not know if he has reached the same conclusion as I have given that neither he nor the captain had ever seen the soldier and although he has informed them of his abilities, it is not the same as if they will experience them, it seems that we will have to advance the plans. " The boy reflected, he had to make the captain or the commander aware of the possible presence.
Suddenly, Faraday giggled, drawing everyone's attention.
"Captain, do you remember that titan who gave us so many problems? The one who appeared to us from nowhere?" He asked with a slight smile the dark haired man, who kept his gaze impassive.
"What are you talking about?" Levi thought, however, seeing the cold eyes of Faraday decided to follow the game.
"Yes, what about that?" Levi asked with his usual tone.
"It's funny to remember how Auruo thought he had killed him, but it turned out that the cut had not been deep enough, the fool put Petra in danger, although she did not even know it because I intervened in time. I'm just nostalgic, I miss that weird one. " The white-haired counted with a solemn smile. Levi and Erwin then caught what Faraday was telling them, and they looked at Nile who was still looking out the window. Captain and commander looked at each other.
"Nile ... Given the circumstances, I should warn you that a mission to capture the female titan is currently underway, because we were able to deduce her identity." Erwin started suddenly, surprising Nile.
"What, Erwin, again with your weird plans, Zackly will get very angry with you if you do something silly ... Even though I do not understand, why is Furorem here? I understand that Levi is injured, but if they are in the mission now, he should be there, right? " The dark haired asked confused.
"I'm already there, commander." The light-blue-eyed confessed. Nile opened his eyes in surprise and looked at Erwin for answers.
"We have every reason to believe that the female titan is infiltrated into the military police; her name is Annie Leonhardt, she graduated along with Faraday in the troop of recruits 104. Right now we are leading her into a trap using Eren as bait ." The blond explained.
"Here in Stohess? What do you mean You are using Eren? He was reported half an hour ago on his way to court." It was enough for Nile to look at the three men in front of him to see what was happening. The black haired man grabbed his head in despair.
"Damn Erwin! You and your damned suicidal and crazy plans, do you want to cause people to die?" The commander recriminated him.
"It is our best bet, Nile. In this district, she will not be able to use her cry to attract the titans, she will be cornered; a part of the civilians was evacuated in absolute silence an hour ago, what we need now is to tell your men who help in the protection of civilians while we capture the female titan." Erwin explained the action plan. Nile grunted, if he killed these three now the entire district would be at risk. Nile now understood why the strongest soldier in humanity and the one everyone said was his successor were together in the carriage when at least one of them could be preparing.
Nile noticed the street he was on; It was the place where he would be supposed to be. The commander made a very subtle signal with his hand, visible through the window; the sign was noticed by the three present, but they did not say anything. A few minutes passed and a very familiar rumble sounded.
Soon they arrived at the meeting point, where Eren had supposedly arrived. Nile came down grumbling and ordered his men to go to the aid of civilians while Erwin, Faraday and Jean (now discovered the farce) placed their equipment.
"It is a pity that He did not resist, I have a lot of accumulated adrenaline." Faraday mentioned to no one in particular, being only heard by Levi who was at his side.
"Hey, Faraday ... I know she's or was your friend, but ... Cut off her feet for me." Levi asked. The white-haired could notice the anger hidden in the man's eyes, he wanted revenge for his squad.
"I will capture her, Captain." He answered with a firm look.
"Jean, go see what happened with Eren, I do not see it or hear it, I'll go for the female titan." The white-haired ordered. Jean nodded, recognizing that the light-blue-eyed was on top of him in terms of rank.
Faraday rushed to the location of the changing titan; He noticed how all of the military police stood on the rooftops doing nothing, only some of them were helping the civilians. Faraday, with anger accumulated in the last days, got fed up.
"Hey, did you not hear your commander's orders?! Protect the civilians, do not just stand there and do nothing." He decried with calm fury the soldiers who saw the soldier of the imposing Legion in a tall building, looking at them with icy eyes.
"Yes, sir!" Several soldiers reacted to the white-haired man's words and prepared to do their job. Faraday turned his eyes to his target, noticed how a squad fought with maneuvers used for normal titans.
Faraday rushed fast like a tornado; everyone saw a white flash cut part of the titan's forearm, preventing him from killing two soldiers.
"You are not fighting normal titans! Remember, she's smart! If you can not adapt your fighting style then stand by and wait for your chance!" Exclaimed Faraday, tired of watching soldiers die. All of the legion reluctantly complied with his orders, recognizing the only active member of the special operations squadron.
Annie looked at the cause of her nightmares the last few days. Her body trembled a little at the sight of those frivolous blue eyes staring at her emotionlessly.
Faraday noticed Armin and Jean on the ground, there was no sign of Eren. He supposed that something like that would happen.
"I understand you, Eren, if I'm having trouble keeping myself sane, I can not imagine how you are, the woman you love is your enemy ... She's also my friend, but even though it hurts, I can not doubt anymore, the proof is my eyes." Faraday quickly shot up at the blonde, dodged the fist she sent him spinning like a tornado all around her arm, cutting it deeply. The white-haired man stuck a sword in her forehead while he recharged himself on the nose and looked into her eyes.
"Annie ... You have information that will help humanity to prevail, and you're also my friend, only that's why I will not kill you for what you did." The light-blue-eyed was still thinking about.
"Annie ... Run." He told to the blonde.
Flashback.
"You are a beast."
"And you indifferent."
"Huh? What kind of insult is that?"
Faraday and Annie were on the floor, panting and their clothes dusty and messy. Both had bruises on parts of their bodies; They were quite bruised in general. They had just finished a training session that lasted almost an hour, before Faraday's resistance surpassed that of the blonde.
"Did you expect something more vulgar?" He asked with an arched eyebrow. The blue-eyed shrugged her shoulders.
"It's normal." The girl answered without apparent interest.
"I do not see any point in insulting your opponent that way, courtesy in battle is what distinguishes us from an animal fighting for its territory, you have to respect your opponent, even when he is your greatest enemy." He calmly responded to the girl.
"You're a corny ... Do you respect the titans?" The blonde asked suddenly.
"The titans have no use for reason, and if they have it, they do not bother to communicate with us. I admit that my hatred towards them is great, and yet I admit that it is partly irrational to hate them because they apparently act by instinct; beasts without a soul, however, they have no reason to devour humans, they can only live on sunlight; biologically speaking, their instincts should not guide them to eat, but they do it, which is the origin of our hatred towards the titans. " He finished philosophizing the white-haired, always staying calm. Annie saw him with some surprise.
"You're weird ..." She said. Faraday smiled.
"Look who says it." He replied playfully. They both stood up, and suddenly a strange smile appeared on Faraday's face. Annie recognized that smile.
"Annie ... Run."
And Annie ran being chased by a smiling Faraday. The blonde gave a small smile.
End flashback.
Annie ran scared. She knew she could not fight against Faraday; Mikasa had already been a big problem, but the white-haired scared her to the bone.
Faraday chased the blonde, leading her into the trap. Behind him they saw Armin and Jean.
The white-haired made Annie turn to the right, charging against his shoulder, cutting deeply as it twisted like a tornado. The blonde was diverted in an effort to escape the one of his friend happened to be his possible executioner.
Faraday saw Annie fall into the trap, several cables surrounded her and harpoons embedded in her skin. The titan shifter lost his balance and fell flat on the ground, only to be covered by a net with metal points.
Faraday landed with Armin and Jean next to Mikasa.
"Mikasa, are you okay?" The white-haired asked her, being received with a smile and a nod from the raven girl.
The white-haired man turned his gaze towards the Titan. His eyes stopped being frozen to have a sad tone. Faraday approached Annie's face, where Hange was making her face crazy.
Annie watched the white-haired, and was surprised to see something that was not expected in his eyes: Sadness.
"He's sad?" Wondering the blonde.
"Annie ... Tell me something, ¿everything was an act? ¿Our friendship? ¿You and Eren? ¿Was all that part of your alibi?" He asked the big blue eyes that looked at him with care. Faraday did not expect her to answer him, he just needed to get that out of his chest.
"I'm sorry, Faraday." Hange, who was at his side, tried to comfort him. She understood that this was difficult for the white-haired; her friend killed his squadron and left invalid the one he had come to consider like a sister.
Suddenly, the Titan destroyed the machines by moving her legs that had not been so well secured. Faraday and Hange jumped back, watching with disgust as their plan failed again.
"We never stop underestimate it." The white-haired man growled under his breath, setting aside his sadness and turning back to the war machine.
"Mikasa, come with me! The others, form a perimeter around the female titan! She will try to escape by climbing the wall." The light-blue-eyed ordered. All obeyed their orders.
Faraday and Mikasa went behind the blonde, dodging the rubble of the houses that Annie destroyed to try to repel them.
"I'm sure Mikasa and I could beat her with effort, I know that Annie fears me because of what happened in the forest, she doesn't know that I can not control that power and it should continue like this. If Captain Levi were here, among the three we could redeem it easily. " The white-haired man was thinking of trying to devise an attack plan against the Titan; the biggest drawback was the hardening, the only weakness of that ability is that apparently it could only harden very small spaces of his skin.
A rumble accompanied by the flash of a falling ray made everyone stop and look at the origin. Faraday knew what was coming, and smiled sadly.
"Eren ... Thank you for ignoring your feelings." The white-haired man was thinking bitterly, feeling in the distance the furious steps of his friend.
"Mikasa, Achilles heels." The order was enough for the brunette to throw herself along with her beloved friend.
Annie had stayed still, she also knew what was coming; She had intended to escape, but if Eren went to her then she would try to catch him again. However, she forgot for a few moments the two beasts that followed her, and that was her mistake. The Titan did not know how to react when she felt deep cuts on her feet; Unable to stand erect, the blonde lost her balance, just in time for Eren, furious, to arrive and give her a punch that almost blows his head. The blonde fell, partially breaking a chapel that was behind her; however, there were no deaths. Everything had been foreseen by the white-haired, who knew that Eren in a state of anger would not hold back against Annie and civilians now ran more danger than before.
"Mikasa, you and I will control their battle, Eren is furious and could kill civilians without wanting to. Hange, order everyone to get ahead and quickly evacuate the surrounding citizens!" He shouted at the sub-commander, who nodded. Mikasa and Faraday headed towards the battle of the titans.
Both titans were face to face, Annie was placed in combat position while Eren had a street position. Faraday realized that his friend was too angry to fight properly.
"Eren, calm down, I know you're furious, I understand, but if you do not keep a cool head, she'll win again!" The white-haired man who had landed on his shoulder yelled at him.
Eren recognized Faraday's voice.
"I ... Faraday, you do not know what I'm feeling ... No, yes you know, Annie was your friend, right? ... She hurt us both, we who trust her until the last moment ... Annie ..."
Eren left his wild position, and slowly placed his right arm extended with the palm of his hand facing up; He held his left hand and placed the arm behind the back while placing his left foot slightly behind the right.
"I will defeat you in your game ... and you will have to answer for the death you have caused."
Faraday turned away from Eren when he launched at full speed against the blonde. He threw a kick that the blonde intercepted with her hardened calf, leaving more damage to the chestnut; Eren reacted quickly by turning on himself to hit her squarely in Annie's face with his elbow.
Faraday and Mikasa stood aside, trying to guide the battle as far as possible from places with more civilians. The white-haired was not naive, he knew that many had died due to the flying debris.
"They do not deserve to be called soldiers." The light-blue-eyed was thinking how several policemen preferred to flee to their duty, leaving to die civilians who could have saved or at least tried.
The battle of Annie and Eren was fairly even despite the hardening advantage on the part of the blonde. The blue-eyed and just wanted to flee, it was not worth kidnapping Eren, she just wanted to see her father again. The chestnut was again letting his anger come to the surface, his broken heart demanded vengeance.
Annie managed to hit Eren several times on the head with her hardened fist, leaving him slightly stunned. Annie took the opportunity to run to the wall, however, Faraday, who had ordered Mikasa to watch over Eren, chased her. Seeing the albino only caused the blonde to accelerate her pace. But that did not stop Faraday from coming as a tornado and making a deep cut on his back knee.
Annie threw several hardened punches at him; the white-haired, knowing that he could not cut the crystallized skin, pointed towards the thighs and rushed towards it with a rapidity that did not let the blonde react; Faraday made a large horizontal cut on both thighs, preventing the blonde from standing erect.
A scream interrupted the confrontation. Eren came running at full speed. Faraday noticed something different: Eren's eyes were no longer green, they were purple.
Annie did not have time to react when Eren pounced on her with a kick that sent her several meters crawling on the floor.
The soldier of the legion wasted no time and rushed towards her, however, was received by a hardened kick straight in his chest that left him paralyzed for a few seconds, time that Annie took to run as best he could to the wall. He hardened his fingers and pinned them to the wall, beginning to climb.
She was about to achieve it, but Faraday and Mikasa stopped her, cutting off his fingers from where they were not hardened. Mikasa landed on her forehead.
"Annie ... it falls."
It was the last thing Annie heard before crashing to the ground, being immediately approached by Eren, who was already quite angry. The chestnut snatched the skin from the back of his neck, revealing the blonde inside the titan.
Eren was paralyzed. She was crying.
"Forgive me, Father. Eren, Faraday ... I'm sorry." It was the girl's last thoughts before starting the full crystallization process. Faraday, who had also been stunned by the blonde's tears, shook his head and rushed to the back of Eren's neck, rescuing him from possible imprisonment.
Minutes later.
Annie's body was covered with crystal, nothing seemed to penetrate it. Mikasa and Armin were next to Eren, while Faraday was talking to Captain Levi who had come to see the situation.
"Once again he put us in check with an ability impossible to prevent ..." Levi said noticing annoyed.
"Where is the commander?" The white-haired asked. Levi looked to another place and Faraday followed his gaze, there was the blond commander handcuffed with Nile at his side.
"I should have imagined ... We are lucky that his fear of the titans has prevailed over all things, but he would have executed us all with the excuse of treason if he did not do it with that soldier." Reflected Faraday in a low voice. They both noticed Jean banging Annie's glass with fury, Levi decided to go with him. The light-blue-eyed man looked at the three friends, surrounded by the military police.
"Hey, do not come near." A MP tried to stop, but he swallowed his words when he saw the look of the soldier of the legion.
"How is he going?" Asked the light-blue-eyed kneeling next to Mikasa who was holding Eren.
"He's tired, I doubt he'll wake up until tomorrow." Said the brunette, looking at the chestnut with concern. Faraday put a hand on her cheek, drawing the attention of the girl who met the albino smiling.
"Take care of him, not physically, but emotionally. I know you do not like the idea, but it is undeniable that He felt something beyond friendship for Annie. He's very affected." The light-blue-eyed man said sadly. Mikasa knew this and did not like anything that Eren had noticed in a traitor, in fact, she never liked Annie; but she could not be so insensitive. Faraday was right, she had to take care of her broken heart.
"Armin, I trust you to keep your eyes open in case anything comes up." He said to the blonde, who nodded.
"You will leave?" The black-eyed girl asked.
"I do not know, the commander told me this morning that he had a job for me, if I'm not mistaken, I'll have to leave." The white-haired boy said as he got up; Mikasa took his hand, stopping him.
"Please be careful." The brunette asked him with concern expressed in her eyes; she knew that Faraday had earned the confidence of Commander Erwin for the participation of his plans; she knew that the white-haired man could not tell her about all that, not because he did not trust her. That only made her worry, since Faraday was always at the front of the battle, risking himself.
Faraday smiled at her tenderly.
"I always have it." He said playfully, before turning to the commander and the captain. As he passed Annie's crystal, he could not help but stop and look at the blonde.
"Those tears ... Annie, at least now I know that not everything was an act." He thought with a small smile of sadness.
"Faraday, good job." Congratulated the blond to see him arrive.
"It was not a mission accomplished, sir. At least we captured her, that's better than nothing." The soldier said trying to be optimistic.
"Yes, it was not all in vain. Faraday, I need you to go to Mike's position and reports on these events, he's in charge of keeping an eye on your 104 mates." The blond ordered. Faraday nodded and gave the military salute.
"Captain Levi, I hope you get better quickly. This being a one-man squad is fun but tiring. " He mocked the short man, who only snorted.
"And I hope that when you finish your mission you will visit Petra, if you do not do it for yourself I will drag you through your hair towards her, understand?" The black haired man threatened, causing Faraday to tense up. He still did not feel ready to see the redhead, although his selfish side was crying out to see her.
Without saying a word, Faraday left.
Diary of a soldier.
The operation did not turn out as we expected, but at least we captured Annie.
After everything that has happened, my mind is a thousand per hour; I did not stop thinking about the possible situations, solutions and implications that the latest events entail. To each answer there are three more questions that appear.
I'm heading south of the Sina Wall, in order to inform sub-commander Mike of the situation. Obviously, I also feel anxious to see my friends again.
The situation with Annie has me confused, but it is not a reason to distrust openly Reiner and Berthold. Unlike Annie, who always tried by all means to close before all of us, the two of them were always kind; Reiner is a great leader and Berthold is a great guy despite his shyness. In addition, there are only very isolated reasons to distrust Reiner, Berthold is just his friend. I have to trust them.
End Diary of a soldier.
Without knowing it, Faraday was being followed from the distance.
Throughout the chapter we can appreciate the evident duality that exists in Faraday, almost bordering on bipolarity. The things that have been happening to him are making him doubt himself, guilt eats him up and he is at the mental crossroads of being the war machine that humanity needs or the knight that humanity deserves.
In the future chapter I will show a part of the Faraday childhood, not too much because it would reveal things that I need to save for the arc of insurrection.