(Hello there, Cerily here. I just wanted to quickly say that I switched to First Person POV of Angel last chapter as an experiment. I started this in First Person POV and kept that up for a while before switching to Third Person as that proved more effective, and while I switched back for a chapter I am going back to Third Person already. That's all about that. On another note, around this point the story is going to diverge pretty heavily from the original series, although not to much so. I want this story to be able to fit into Canon as much as possible, and have taken great care in trying to make it somewhat explainable in universe. Since the Blase Titan is not one of the Nine Titans, it doesn't quite fit easily, but I try. Anyway, I should stop talking now.)
"About this breach, Captain," Angel began, his voice barely rising above the gallops from the two men's steeds. Through nearly empty land the two were racing towards the wall, hoping they could find Erwin and the rest of the Corps. Levi was, as always, blank faced about the whole situation. The emotionless weapon stared straight ahead, his thoughts fleeting to his wounded ankle and the complications it caused. He was lucky to have subdued Angel in a, relatively, peaceful manner. If a fight had broken out in the forest, it would have certainly been a tricky, and perhaps messy, business.
Angel, on the other hand, considered himself lucky to have avoided a physical confrontation with Levi. When he looked down at his blood stained chest, which was healing last and very slowly as Angel wanted his arm back more, he could barely think of anything but the possibility that his life might've ended right in that moment. Even if Angel had been capable of transforming before Levi took off his arm, he was very tired. His little stunt in Trost had cost him a lot of energy, and there's only so much a man can run before his legs start to fail beneath him. All that hypothetical thought is in the past, however, as Angel knew that if Levi had been there to kill him, Angel would have died a while back.
"How can we possibly deal with it?" Angel finished, shaking up and down on the back of his flat footed horse.
"I don't know." Levi answered, no change in tone. Angel simply nodded and moved his attention back to the consequences of his actions. He had betrayed all of humanity, and yet been given a second chance through some magical twist of fate. He had abandoned the lifelong purpose of his bloodline completely, and gone as far as to turn against the very thing he was sworn to protect. He was about to face the foes from outside the walls, from the land which appeared only in the parts of his memory that were fuzzy.
That was what was especially odd about everything. Angel had lived through a million of his ancestors' memories with perfect clarity. Every thought, every sight, every touch, taste, and scent were not hidden to him. Given a few moments, he could go and name somebody his great-grandfather Albert had met once, and only once, and he could do it without any trouble or focus. But yet, when he pushed back to beyond then, back to before the Great Traitor, the woman who had given the Blase a new path to walk, some memories were fuzzy. Why? He could not say. All he knew was that it required exceptional focus to dig deep into those times: focus he did not have in the current times.
But regardless of such things, Angel had larger priorities at hand. The state of his memories was a question answerable at a later date, like many of the questions which still plagued him regarding his powers, the other titans, the world in full, and what exactly he was doing with his life. He had to focus on keeping his hide from being skinned by a bunch of angry humans.
Humans? I mean people.
The very same humans he had to regain the trust of. That would be the hardest task he had ever undertaken, but also the most important one. If he could succeed in returning into the grace of humanity, he would be in a position to rescue Anne. That was the ultimate goal now, to reunite with her. But before that, he had to be able to prove his loyalty, all so he could turn upon mankind once more. The power of the Blase Titan gave immense strength, but combat skills and never ending stamina would not be enough to gain any favour.
Levi mentioned that the Corps was ordered not to talk about the Angelic Type Titan and my relation to it, didn't he?
Still, the Corps had some of the people least likely to trust him. He had beaten up and thwarted Eren in Stohess, and Eren was not the sort to forgive a man for small misdeeds, let alone an act such as saving Enemy #3. Levi already said he would rather kill Angel, safer that way, but that he was refraining based on the orders of the legendary commander himself, Erwin Smith. If that was true, which seemed pretty likely, than Erwin already had some hope in Angel. That would offer a clear path into the good light. If Angel could convince Erwin of his usefulness, then a position of trust within the Corps was practically secured. And of course, the Blase Titan is a very useful thing to have around.
So I'm going to need to have some long talks with Erwin. Even if things go wrong at this point, I'm alright. They threw away their chance to kill me now. I'll be all healed and well rested if there is a next time they try to take me down. Levi doesn't even know he made transformation impossible back in those wood. He doesn't even realize he missed his best shot. Now I'm in the lead again, and I plan to stay one step ahead of all of them.
Still, are the Survey Corps the largest threat to me right now? No. The Colossal and Armored are far more of a threat to me. The rest of the Nine are out there too, and pose an equal threat. They have the potential to take Annie away from me, and that is a timeline I must avoid at all costs. To secure me time to figure out the next steps of my plan, the immediate goal must be to drive Reiner and Bertolt out of the walls, alongside whatever allies that may remain hidden yet. The sooner they are gone, the sooner I can settle down and figure out what must be done.
The slowing of Levi's horse bought Angel back to reality, and he did the same with his own clumsy beast. The green cloak waved smoothly in the light breeze of the night, as Levi turned his head to look back at the young man who he rode beside. His eyes looked right into Angel's, piercing straight through.
"Why didn't you stop the Female Titan back in the forest?" He asked, in a sort of harsh whisper.
"What?" Angel replied, surprised.
"You had the power. Why did you let her rampage back there?" Levi's breathing was slightly heavier than usual. "Do you know how many lives that decision of yours cost?" His eyes seemed to act like daggers as they dug underneath Angel's skin, sending tingles up his spine.
"Sir...I had only known about my power since Trost. Just as long as Eren. I didn't know how strong I was. I didn't know much about it all, to be honest." Levi stared right through him. "And if I'm being very truthful, I was afraid. My power has repercussions, sir, and I had to give it much thought before deciding to use it."
A cold wind flowed across the landscape, ruffling the capes of both men.
"The Female Titan killed good men and women, some really good men and women." Levi paused, his eyes faltering from their intense gaze for a moment as they looked into the distance behind him, seeming to recall a face from not too long ago. "That same Titan is the one you saved in Stohess, the same one you claim affections for. And yet, somehow, Erwin believes you can be trusted." There was nothing but empty silence that filled the night, the large, blank sky full of clouds equally filled with a vast silence.
Angel looked down at the ground. "You're right, Captain." He mumbled. "I deserve death for what I've done, and what I've helped be done." Neither man moved during the few moments of pause that followed those words. "But, I want to do something before I die. I want to help set some of my wrongs right, and at least try to remove some of the cruelty that plagues our existence. I spent days and nights questioning my purpose, questioning my powers, questioning my potential before I decided to unleash it. Did I spend too long thinking about the consequences too realize what I was letting be lost? Maybe I did. I understand that you can't trust me. I wouldn't trust me either. I don't really trust me too much at times, in all honesty."
"But Captain, I want to fix whatever I can about this world. I want to free some people of the bars that have them caged, and I want to release some people from the world they are trapped in. I'm not asking you to help me do that."
Angel looked up at the dark heavens above, closing his eyes as the chilly streams of air molecules brushed across his cheeks, raising a few goosebumps here and there.
"All I'm asking is that you let me do that."
Levi looked at him, cold eyed and silent. Not a word passed through the space between them, until Levi nodded slowly, and said, "We'll see." He brought up the reins of his horse and whipped the beast, riding off with the pattering of the hoofs leaving Angel behind. In a moment, Angel looked down to the ground, sighed, and followed.
"We are trying to fight a war right now." Levi said when Angel caught back up to him. "Our enemy is relentless. They will not stop coming until we have proven strong enough to defeat them every time they show their face. As of now, the tides are just starting to turn against them, and in the midst of the changing of our fortune a creature appears and assists our enemy, and yet the creature which halted our march towards victory is now claiming to be helping us. I don't like this creature too much. The friend of my enemy is my enemy."
Angel said nothing.
"We are currently facing a situation which threatens to end civilized society. The breach in the walls has the potential to bring chaos and madness to our world, and as we struggle to find a solution I am told that a monster is to be trusted as we look for the answer. We can handle without you, I say, and I think we would not be much worse off even if you are an ally. The gains are minimal, the loss significant. If you are against us, we stand to find ourselves on the brink of the end of humanity. I have faith in my commander, who has faith in you. But that does not mean I am not allowed to harbor doubts. You are a risk not worth taking."
"Captain-"
"I see it only one way. The boy is rash and with a short temper, but he is loyal to us beyond a fault. You are neither of those things. You have kept your head through a number of dangerous times, and where your loyalty lies is known only to you. You are strong, that is undeniable, but a hostile strength is not one we want."
"Captain, I have something to say-"
"At any moment, you could transform and potentially end my life. Why you haven't is unknown to me, but I consider it a great tactical error on your part. If your goal is to return to the Armored and Colossal, easier to kill me now and go forth alone. Although Erwin and the others will see your treason, you can simply transform with them and begin battle. You already know that we are aware of their identity, although you were keen to offer that information as well. Information which, I note, you have withheld from us for who knows how long. A great wealth of knowledge has been locked away inside the depths of your brain, information that would have been key in saving the lives of many a comrade, and properly confronting multiple threats we have faced. Your inability to reveal what you know has cost lives after lives, and it is hard to believe that somebody truly on our side would have kept such vital knowledge out of our hands. A person with great knowledge about the enemy who is withholding it from the person he claims are his allies is most likely to be a spy."
"Captain, let me say something."
"I have little time for the words of spies."
"Point me at your enemy, Captain."
"Hmm?" Levi turned around on his horse to look at Angel, whose eyes were staring straight down, his shoulders down and head hung.
"Point me at your enemy, and I shall destroy them. I shall bask in their blood and I shall take great pleasure in breaking and bruising them, feeling their life ebb out between my fingers. I shall be a god of wrath and war, bringing raging fury and pain to all who dare oppose you in this march to freedom. I shall be the very incarnation of darkness, reveling in the complete and utter destruction of your foes, gleeful smile across my face as I crush men like bugs. I shall be your very own Angel of Death, my scythe sweeping across the battlefield, collecting souls at your command. Point me at your enemy, and I shall be this. All I ask? Let me save one person. Allow me to give meaning to the life of a certain girl and I shall turn your battles into bloodbaths."
"The choice is yours, Captain."
Levi looked at Angel and shook his head, "Stay focused on the mission ahead. You're allowing your personal feelings to cloud your judgement. We have a task to fulfill." Then he turned back to their path, urging his steed onward with rapidity.
Angel said nothing for a moment, before very quietly speaking, "Are you talking to me," He asked Levi, "Or yourself?"
Angel held onto the reigns of his stallion with one arm, the only one he had as he waited for Levi to respond. But Levi did not turn back to look at him. Levi did not react at all to that statement for a long time. But as they approached the place he was supposed to rendezvous with Hanji's squad, Angel spoke up again.
"What is your choice, Captain?"
Levi stalled his horse on the ground, the beast rearing up at the sudden stop.
"That is for Erwin to decide."
Angel stopped his horse beside Levi's, clutching his side with his only arm as both pairs of eyes drifted up the wall to the place where a set of giant ribs were digging into the wall, a red colossus rising up from the thick mist which covered the area. Next to the red monster, the unmistakable pale coloured behemoth stood, before quickly leaping off the side opposite to the two, falling out of their sight.
"Looks like your friends beat us here." Levi said, unable to take his eyes off the enormous half-thing atop Wall Rose.
Angel gulped in response, feeling the surge of energy move up his spine as he channeled the titan inside him, the devil which shared his body pressing down on every part of his brain. The human form he held faded inside his mind, the purpose instilled within his blood taking hold. The Blase Titan wanted to be unleashed. Angel was not fighting it.