Annie held the syringe, but she still could not bring herself to use it. Terror filled Bertholdt's eyes as he stared fixedly at her.
"Annie, don't! We're comrades!"
"Think it through. As long as you kill him, you'll have a place with us. Then you can help us repair Wall Maria, and we can bring your father over from across the sea. If you go back alone, will Marley's leaders let you live? Will they really trust you?"
Bai Yu murmured softly in her ear.
Every word struck her right in the heart.
"You'll be eaten, won't you? Your father will have to watch you get eaten alive. He might even kill himself."
"Aaaah!!!!"
Annie suddenly screamed. Tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes, and confusion, terror, reluctance, and pain crossed her face. Her grip on the syringe tightened, and streaks of golden lightning even began dancing across her body.
But Bai Yu paid them no mind. From behind her, he took hold of her hand and slowly guided it toward Jay's arm. Annie's expression twisted even further.
Bai Yu moved gently, holding her hand as he pushed the needle into Jay's arm. The terror in Bertholdt's eyes deepened.
"Annie, Annie! Don't do this! Didn't we... didn't we say we'd go back together? Isn't your father still waiting for you? I... we're comrades! We're... we're..."
Listening to his terrified pleas, Bai Yu's lips curled into a faint, triumphant smile.
Something seemed to snap inside Annie at that moment. A taut thread in her mind broke, and she unconsciously injected the spinal fluid straight into Jay's arm.
A golden beam of light shot into the sky.
Bai Yu swept Annie into his arms and rolled quickly, dodging a blast of wind. Then he took off running and ducked behind a nearby tree,