Disclaimer:I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of its characters.
Edit: This chapter has been edited and if you've read it before 4/03, then I suggest re-reading it. If you're new, then I suggest you skip over this since it'll probably spoil the chapter. Lots of detail was added and the first draft was roughly 1,000 words while this version is roughly 6,000. If that doesn't convince you, then nothing else will. I took more time to add in the underground setting, which is where Levi lives at the beginning of this fanfiction. I actually went back and watched the first part of A Choice with No Regrets again to get things down to the right detail. Also, I killed the entire military police squad in this version while they'd lived in the first draft. That's about it, though.
A/N: My first attempt at writing fanfiction, so please excuse any grammar/spelling mistakes, characters being OOC, and anything else that comes to mind. As the description stated, this is a Tangled AU. You'll notice that Levi plays Flynn Rider, but it's sort of like he simply assumed the role and threw the personality in the trash because Levi is nothing like Flynn Rider – though, the hair might be similar. On the other hand, Mikasa plays Rapunzel and simply assumes the role as well because again, they are nothing alike. Mother Gothel will not make an appearance, but there will be a few antagonists. Also, Mikasa won't have healing, magical hair like Rapunzel does in the movie, but her hair will be something and roughly around the same length. As you can tell already, things will be vastly different from the movie, but I'll still be incorporating some lines or scenes. I would say more but that would spoil several things I have planned.
This first chapter will be purely introductory. You know, setting the characters, introducing the plot, etc. It won't be very exciting, but things will pick up quickly! In relation to the length and how many chapters there will be, I haven't the slightest idea. I'm going back now and editing the first few chapters, but they still aren't as lengthy as other fanfictions. I'm thinking at least more than ten chapters, but no more than thirty. We'll see how it goes. If you guys could just let me know in the reviews what you think, that would be really helpful. I love constructive criticism and so anything you have to say is fine by me. I want to improve as much as I can. Feel free to say whatever you want, even if it's just to let me know you're enjoying the story. It motivates me to keep writing, you know?
Anyway, if you're still reading this, thanks for not skimming over it. Not going to lie but I would've probably done that. Kudos to you.
This chapter was inspired by Flynn Wanted from the Tangled soundtrack. I recommend listening to it as you read, but it's up to you.
i: this isn't burger king, old man – you can't have it your way
Levi was coming to the realization that hooking into a tree with his maneuver gear was very different than hooking into one of the stone buildings from the Underground. With buildings, they were largely the same size and the same distance apart from each other. Trees, on the other hand, were unstable and varying in their distance. It's going to take a while to get used to this, he thought.
The blaring sun could also be a contestant in his failure – mostly because in the Underground, the sun didn't even exist – but he was struggling nonetheless. Not only that, but every time he'd shoot his hook into the next tree, it wouldn't be deep enough and he'd barely be able to catch himself as it loosened its hold. Surprise, surprise – the Underground population hadn't seen a tree either. It occurred to him in that moment that they probably should read a book sometime, but he also understood that the situation there was so bad that people just didn't give two shits about trees or the sun. Death was imminent to anyone, whether it be a newborn child or old man on his death bed.
As he hooked into the next tree, he swung with either grace or luck – he didn't know which it was –and briefly looked over his shoulder to see how far his pursuers were from capturing him.
"Tch," he muttered to himself at the realization that they were gaining on him.
His lidded eyes narrowed and he increased how much gas he was using considerably in an effort to get out of their range of sight. In doing so, he aimed higher and higher, his puffy sleeves and trousers slapping in the air like they were merely extensions of his arms and legs. If the straps for his maneuver gear weren't so tightly wound around his body, he was sure the speed would've blown them right off.
The Military Police were the least talented bunch of the branches of government and he'd be damned if he allowed them to catch him. He'd only stolen a set of maneuver gear, after all, yet they acted like he'd stolen some sort of royal artifact. They were stingy like that, he realized. He could only wonder what they would've done if he'd actually stolen a royal artifact. Well, there was also the fact that he killed several of their men in his escape. He blamed living in the Underground for his trust issues.
Ricocheting off a nearby tree trunk with the heel of his boot, he took that moment to look behind him again and analyze their skills. He'd dealt with the Military Police before, but his feelings for them were anything but positive. In only a few seconds, he was able to determine that they were well-trained in their use of the maneuver gear, which was different in comparison to their brigade's reputation – lazy, self-centered, and no sense of duty. It was confusing to him that they'd chosen to send their seemingly best squad after a mere criminal. What did they hope to achieve?
He began to breathe heavily and took extra care to aim at the bark, knowing that his exhaustion could very easily lead to either his capture or death. How long had they been tailing him? Even if he'd taken advantage of all his stealth training from his uncle, the Military Police had been around every corner in Wall Maria. When they first identified him, they alternated between chasing after him on foot and on their maneuver gear. His intelligence and agility, however, was one of the reasons he continued to evade capture. And before he knew it, they were chasing him into titan territory.
For some reason, the gates had already been open. His plan had originally been to scale the wall and utilize his maneuver gear. It was simply good luck, he thought, that a squad of Survey Corps soldiers were returning from their venture outside the walls right at that very moment. In his haste to escape, he'd squeezed through the crowd of civilians and darted straight past the check-out point, not even thinking for a moment about where he was heading.
Maybe taking the maneuver gear was a risky move. In the Underground, he did own a set – own being a subjective term – but it was so old and rusty that it would've caused him more failures than success. Another risky move was assuming that the timid Military Police would simply stay behind and let him get away in appreciation for their lives. The Survey Corps was about the only branch that dealt with the titans, but it seemed that he'd miscalculated. Perhaps it was because they'd never encountered a titan that they were still racing after him.
He remembered how his boots had begun to cover themselves in a deep coat of dirt and grime as he ran on the road leading away from the wall. The Military Police continued to shout from behind him to stop, but he ignored every word. A perfect opportunity came in the image of a huge forest coming into focus ahead of them and he'd felt nothing but relief. It was his first time seeing a tree in person and it was magnificent to look at, especially after the scenery beforehand was anything but impressive – nothing but dirt roads and deserted villages for miles. The forest was also the perfect environment for maneuver gear. However, that relief didn't last as he struggled to switch to his gear while staying ahead of his pursuers at the same time.
As the trees began to fade into blurred lines of green and brown, he used more and more of his gas. From behind him, he could hear the squad behind him doing the same. Originally, there'd been quite the distance between them, but now they were only a few trees behind. He could feel beads of sweat trail past his brow and his head began to pound as he desperately looked for something – anything – to distract them. Nothing spectacular, but just something that would cause them to turn around and haul ass – like a titan.
Atitan, he realized.
Still, he hadn't seen any of those things, even nearby the wall like there should be.
The trees continued to go in and out of his focus and he felt light-headed from exhaustion. He was so fucking sick of all the big ass trees and the damned fucking sun and the irritating douchebags behind him. Finally, he observed that the trees were shrinking in size and the forest would be ending soon.
He continued to soar through the air as he grew closer to the last tree, then he'd be on foot again. Strangely enough, he saw a few titans around a tower, gathering like a flock of fucking chickens or something. He wasn't sure what they were doing – guarding it, perhaps – but he couldn't find it in him to give a shit what they were doing, as they were his salvation.
Looking at the poor bastards behind him for the last time, he made the connection that their kids probably looked like titans. Their faces were ugly enough that their genes alone could make any child ugly, even if they were with a beautiful woman. He was doing them a big favor by ending their pathetic lives. It was their own damn fault for trailing him through titan territory in the first place. Were they stupid? They had to anticipate that they were going to run into titans sooner or later. With no training whatsoever, how could they have expected a positive outcome if they ran into them?
Titans were predictable, large but ranging in size. They only had one weak spot at the nape of their neck and the mere swat of their hand could pack a heavy blow, but humans were dangerous as well. Humans would lie, steal, and murder for their own selfish gain. Why do titans eat humans? That would probably have an easier answer than that of why humans kill other humans. Well, at least they weren't eating each other. Then again, there was probably some sick fuck out there doing just that.
Still, it wasn't like he had the proper training against the titans either, just the knowledge. But he had something they didn't – the desire to survive. If you could define surviving as living by the wills of others, then he guessed that was what they were doing. Surviving, though, to him was living by your own terms and doing things you don't always want to do in order to stay alive. And in his case, that was exactly what he was doing, throwing away the lives of pitiful soldiers in exchange for some future on the surface. He didn't even know if his future was worth it but it was either that or rot in a jail cell.
With his lidded eyes in focus, he released the levers on his maneuver gear that let out the gas and pulled to a complete stop, flipping onto a branch as his gas tank made a grinding noise at the sudden change of pace. He watched in amusement at his pursuers not anticipating this, continuing forward and stumbling like a bunch of idiots. They'd made the mistake of unhooking their gear from the trees and flew downward with incredible speed.
There was no happy ending for them, he realized. It was either the impact of the ground that would kill them or they'd be ripped apart by the titans. He didn't have much time to think about how they'd be eaten, though, because the titans had already raced towards them, swatting at them and stomping at them like they were bugs.
He leant against the tree's trunk with a thud and crossed his arms, watching as each titan had its own individual meal with the soldiers as the main course. Their limbs were of the past as they were ripped apart in terrifying ways. Still, Levi watched on with an unchanged expression. Their screams echoed around him and he knew they hadn't been trained fully to fend off titans. But he reminded himself that he didn't have a choice. It was either them or me. If he could kill humans without a single thought of regret, killing a titan would be a nice change. Just knowing that he was killing something that would only cause pain and destruction would bring him a sense of joy. But was he talking about humans or titans?
At that thought, the titans finished with the soldiers and walked back towards the tower, clawing at it and doing that weird growl thing that could make you piss yourself. What was their purpose? Their main objective? Was what they were doing surviving?
As he watched one titan specifically, he realized that that tower wasn't empty. There was a single window near the roof, which was curious on its own, and he thought he saw a figure inside. The fact also remained that they looked they were guarding it, or simply wanted whatever was inside. And that meant shelter, possibly food. He hadn't even gotten any leads on that brat yet and he couldn't just sleep in a tree when there were so many titans nearby. If he could just slip through that window, he'd be able to be at ease for the first time in twenty-four hours.
It was a completely dumb idea, but he didn't have anything else to do. Go back to Wall Maria where an entire brigade of soldiers were waiting to arrest him? He was sure they'd spread the word about him and planted his face over wanted posters all over the cities. The gate being open was an ounce of luck and he seriously doubted he'd have that again. His only option was to rest and rethink his strategy. The tower wasn't even that far away from the branch he was currently standing on, maybe a hundred feet.
You either fight and live, or die and lose, after all.
He'd been walking back to his house after finishing a job for some thugs, not even bothering to take the alleyways to hide from the Military Police. The gas tank from his maneuver gear was empty and he felt like he was making the fucking walk of shame or something. He'd never been with a woman – or man, for that matter – but he wasn't about to start. He'd been told time and time again that he had the emotional capacity of a dull blade and he wasn't about to disagree.
He'd been paid handsomely, but doing the same job over and over got old fast, and it didn't help that his face was branded on wanted posters all over the Underground – the mere mention of his name enough to elicit fear.
It wasn't like it was the same job each time, but the level of grotesqueness was starting to numb him. He was only twenty-six, for fuck's sake. He knew there was something better that he could be spending his time on, rather than murdering someone with a spoon – because that's possible – or tracking down some poor bastard. Problem was that he didn't know what that something was. He was fucking done with doing somebody else's dirty work, though.
And with that thought, he stomped up the stairs that lead to his house, nearly slipping in a puddle of blood that decorated one particular step – home, sweet home. At one point, he'd gripped his knife so hard that it carved into his palm. Though, he wasn't sure if it was his blood or somebody else's, which was a pretty shitty thing to realize.
The puddles of blood weren't the worst of it, though. People died every day, either from sunlight deprivation or starvation – he didn't know which was more likely. He knew that people on the surface died every day as well, but for different reasons, not because they didn't have the clearance to take the stairwell to the surface. Limbs would give out, internal organs would shut down – caring about people in the Underground was pointless. Though, that's how he described everything.
As he kicked the door open with his boot and lazily wiped at the blood hardening around the corners of his mouth, he made a beeline for the sink. He only had one room, but it was enough. There was a place to sleep, food to eat – he'd never needed more than that. Looking from the corner of his eye at his couch, he almost expected to see Farlan taking a nap on it or something, then he remembered that he'd left for the surface a few years ago. The two of them had been close, closer than he'd ever been with anyone else, but it seemed everything in his life went to shit without him even trying.
He immediately let go of the knife and let it clatter into the sink without a single care, watching as blood trickled down his hand. Bruises would develop all across his body by morning – he was sure of it. The thugs he'd dealt with seemed to think he was a human punching bag.
It took a moment for him to gather his thoughts before placing all his weight on the rim of the sink and staring down the drain with a sense of emptiness. He reached for the grimy faucet, blood beginning to already stain the metal, but then he heard the sound of footsteps. Instinctively, he reached for his knife.
A moment later, there was a knocking sound against the wooden door. He held his knife into his uninjured hand and stalked towards it, opening it in a matter of seconds and raising his knife to lunge at the intruder's throat. People he'd worked on a job with had always thought it was strange how he held his weapon, but allowing himself to angle it upwards simply put more force into his strikes. It was the same with his maneuver gear.
With a quick turn of the rusty doorknob, he'd been seconds away from carving into the intruder's throat, then took note of his appearance. It was a man, incredibly old with crinkles around the eyes and a kind smile, which wasn't the typical crowd he attracted to his door step.
Retracting his weapon, he sized him up for a moment before leaning against the doorway. He pulled out a handkerchief from the pocket of his trousers and began to clean the knife. "What do you want?"
"I have a job request."
He'd just decided he was done with doing the dirty work of others, so this old geezer had pretty shitty timing. It was highly unlikely that he'd actually agree to his terms anyway, but he gestured for him to continue, returning his focus back to the knife.
The old man cleared his throat, withdrawing a small photograph from his suit pocket. "Before I give you the details, I can tell you right now that I have the power to give you citizenship on the surface." He handed him the photograph. "This is my granddaughter, Mikasa. In this specific photograph, she was only five years old. Three years later, she was kidnapped. I don't have the slightest idea what happened to her, but that's what I want you to find out, even if all you can bring me is her body."
Well, that's fucking depressing,he thought. A little girl kidnapped by perverts? He'd never taken on that kind of job before. He didn't have a fucking clue what he'd planned to do with her when she was found, but he didn't want to think about it. The old man could smile at him as much as he wanted but the only people with that kind of money were the shittiest people this world could make.
It'd always been money that he was promised, sometimes jewelry. Citizenship on the surface? That had never happened before. He began to size up the old man again, narrowing his eyes at his pampered suit, his grey, slicked backed hair, and his beady eyes. It didn't seem to him like he had any sort of weapon on him, but there could be a gun in his shoe. Still, his eyes zoned in on the deep bags under his eyes, which made him want to believe all this man was looking for was his granddaughter. That didn't necessarily mean that he did, though.
"What?" he scoffed, standing up and walking back inside. The old man hesitantly followed behind. "Do I look like an errand boy to you?"
"I meant no offense, I assure you," the old man said. Levi nearly cringed at his polite language.
With that thought, he knew that he was from the Capitol and fairly high up on the social scale. He'd made that assumption when he first opened the door and observed his fancy ass clothes, but now he was sure of it. Living in the Underground, he would never notice a difference in language, except on rare occasions. It was only once, but he'd had a job trailing a particular man who was travelling with the Military Police. He'd held himself in a certain way – the exact same way the old man was now.
After a few moments of silence, Levi glanced at the photograph held in his hand again, realizing that he never really looked at it. It was taken on some sort of farm and the girl was very young. Her hair was black as night and her eyes were a color he'd never seen before – metallic and powerful. The old man was in the photograph as well, kneeling beside her as he held her tiny hand in his own. His lidded eyes widened when he took in the girl's pale skin. As if the old man was waiting for this realization, he immediately looked up at him.
"She's an Oriental?" Levi found himself asking. The old man nodded in response and his eyes found their way back to the photograph again.
He'd never seen an Oriental before, but he knew that some people in the Underground would kill to get their hands on one, especially a little girl. That thought brought a cold chill down his spine. If she was kidnapped, he knew why.
As his eyes bore holes through the photograph, he stared at her sleek hair that grew past her shoulders. What would they do to someone like her? He was taught to look the other way his entire life, probably because all he'd ever known was the Underground. Would people do the same if they saw this girl being auctioned off like she was a prize and not a person?
The old man seemed to be reading his thoughts, as he said, "I realize it is unlikely that my granddaughter would still be alive after ten years. If she's still alive, however, a rescue attempt would be difficult. As you probably know, the Orientals are scarce around here, even in the Capitol."
Ten years? Thatishighly unlikely. Though, he would wager that whoever kidnapped her would want to keep her alive as long as possible. The Orientals weren't just scarce for no reason. From what he'd heard, they used to be somewhat powerful in the government when the wall was first built.
"Why would somebody like you..." Levi began, glancing at the old man's tailored suit. He set the photograph down on the table and crossed his arms, then continued, "...need help from someone like me?"
The old man looked as if he was expecting him to ask that at some point, as his smile was as warm as it'd been when he first opened the door. "As you probably guessed, I reside in the Capitol. My granddaughter, however, lived in the farmlands of Wall Maria with her parents. I rarely saw her but I've tried over the last few years to get the Military Police to help. They said that this matter was out of their hands, unfortunately." He walked over to the photograph on the table and held it in his hand, seeming to be lost in his thoughts for a moment. "I don't think they thought too long about my request, though. I'd planned on looking for her on my own before a kind, young man approached me. He said his name was Farlan."
He thought he'd finally gotten rid of his pain in the ass shenanigans after he left for the surface, but he'd been wrong before. Levi felt like he had steam coming from his ears at the mere mention of his name. It wasn't like he despised him, though. In fact, he cared very much about his well-being, but he absolutely hated it when people didn't mind their own business.
"I'm assuming you know him."
Levi knew him, all right. He tried to be angry with him, but he couldn't ignore the fact that he seemed to be doing well on the surface, which was a relief on its own. Well, he seemed to be doing well enough to blabber his fucking mouth off about him to random strangers.
That thought caused his eyebrow to twitch in irritation and his mouth to form into a snarl. In order to calm down, he licked his lips and counted to ten. 1, 2, 3... He was going to use Farlan as a human mop... 4, 5, 6... He paused as he looked at the old man again, his lips tilted in an amused fashion. He reminded him of his uncle in a way. Not in the way that he'd murder somebody's entire family over a loaf of bread, but in those moments that his uncle would show affection for him.
As he glared at the floor, his hands on his hips, he allowed a sigh to escape and scratched his head in an obsessive fashion. "Yeah, I know him. What did he tell you?"
"Nothing at all. He merely told me that you were used to doing jobs for other people as long as they paid well enough and that you might just be the best person for the job."
That's nothing at all?Well, whatever,he thought. The harm was already done. Still, he couldn't deny that he wished Farlan was here at this exact moment. Not because he missed him but because he wanted to throw abuse at him for the rest of his life. He glanced at the front door and thought about the steps leading to it. That would be a perfect place to throw him, as it would cause him bodily harm but not enough that he would lose consciousness.
"Mr. Ackerman?"
After the anger towards Farlan faded, he found himself staring at his maneuver gear that was collecting dust in the corner of the room. He'd stolen it from a Military Police soldier not long after his uncle decided he could survive on his own. That was when law enforcement and thugs from other parts of the Underground began to dislike him – all because he'd decided he wanted to be of some use to others. It'd been the reason he could eat, had a place to live, but here it was collecting dust. There was no way he'd ever be able to use it again.
"Gimme that photograph again, old man," he said, holding out his uninjured hand.
He didn't want to give him any hope, but he'd been considering the job for a long time now. As the old man allowed him to look at the photograph again, his eyes almost softened at the little girl. Not because he was a pedophile intending to get with a twelve year old, but because that's how he was at some point. His mother had worked at a brothel and he wasn't exactly a dream come true, but she loved him all the same. This girl, though, she had an entire family who cared about her and was willing to do anything to bring her home. Family – what did that word mean?
He'd grown up in a completely shitty environment, but this girl still had a chance. Even if she was going through hell currently, she could start over.
And maybe that's why he said, "I'll do it."
He cracked his neck in preparation. There was a good chance he wouldn't be able to get back out, but he was nearly out of gas anyway. It was impossible to think that he could simply jump down and run back to Wall Maria, at least not for a while. If he could just hide out in the tower for a few days, maybe things would blow over and maybe the titans wouldn't even notice him. The only thing he allowed himself to do in that moment was believe he wouldn't regret the choice he was about to make.
Placing his foot against the tree's trunk, he ran all the way to the end of the branch and propelled himself into the air, using as little gas as he could to soar over the titans' heads. They tried to grab at him, but he'd been on the tallest branch. Even if gravity was against him, he could make it through that window.
Hooking his gear into the stone and brick, he pressed onto his gas lever and continued to soar through the sky. He couldn't resist the temptation to look down at the bodies of the military police. There were piles of blood and random assortments of limbs scattered all across the ground, but that'd been another choice he made. Still, it brought on a nasty feeling to his stomach.
As he got closer to the window, he realized that the landing was going to hurt like a bitch. He could make out some of the inside of the tower, but it was fairly dark in there. Covering his face with his arms, he braced himself for impact and yelled out an array of choice words. The glass shattered around him, piercing at his skin and ripping at his clothes. The impact had loosened his hold on his blades and they easily slipped from his fingertips, clattering on the floor below him.
Tomorrow morning, he was going to be in a lot of pain – he could tell that already. As his head was aimed directly for the floor of the tower, he tried his best to grab onto anything that would lessen the blow. There was nothing, though, and his knees were the first thing to land. He'd never broken his legs before, but as the pain tore at him in a variety of different ways, he realized there was a first time for everything. Next came his head as it slammed onto the floor, his bangs from his undercut falling into his eyes in a messy fashion. He could feel himself getting rug burn as his arms skidded across the floor, still holding his head. His face was probably covered in dirt and grime, but the impact could've seriously injured him. For once in his life, he welcomed the dirt.
He slowly opened his eyes, although every part of his body was screaming for him to close them. He took in what seemed to be the inside of a tower and noticed that it was – or used to be – someone's bedroom. He was several feet away from a tall mirror that looked like it hadn't been cleaned for centuries. Taking in his reflection, he looked just as bad as he felt. His clothes had been ripped to hell and back and he looked seriously out of place because the tower's interior was so colorful. All across the wall, there were drawings of different concepts – dragons, trees, and what seemed to be a self-portrait. The self-portrait itself was nothing special, but it detailed that of a girl with long, black hair looking out the window of the tower. He turned his head a little to the right and noticed there was a dresser full of clothes, a noticeably frilly blouse sticking out of the top drawer. Was this a girl's bedroom at one point? The place was a mess, so his automatic response was that it was.
Just as he was about to sit up, despite his body's protests, he noticed a pair of feet standing before him. He knew immediately that they belonged to a girl when he noticed the ruffles detailing the bottom of her white dress. Not to mention the fact that there was black hair pooling around her, like she hadn't had a haircut in her entire life. He barely managed to express his confusion when he watched a blurry frying pan strike him on the head, knocking him unconscious.
A/N: And that's the first chapter! I know several people are following this story right now but I hope that some of you have looked back at it to re-read some things. I went through some extreme editing and now this chapter has a lot more detail and precision. I still think Levi is a little OOC but this is also an AU. Experiences shape a person's personality and although he's kept some of his traits, he will be somewhat different. His character, in my eyes, will be that of a sassy chatterbox. Anyway, this is just a brief note to tell you guys again to let me know what you think!
