How to S(i)nK a Ship
Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.
A/N: Ugh, I can't believe I'm actually posting this. Since I don't have anyone who follows the manga to talk to, I decided to make a fanfic out of my theories for what might happen after Chapter 56. RivaMika haters can stop at the first chapter. Shippers of pairing please read until the end. That's why I posted both chapters at the same time. Sorry for any mistakes; I was rushing to make sure this was up before the newest issue came out and Isayama totally disproved all of this.
Chapter 1 - How to S(i)nK a Ship
Levi was awoken with a bucketful of cold water to the face. Sputtering, his whole body jerked forward, only to find itself wrapped in chains, held back with a short leash bolted to the wall he had been propped up against. Both his wrists were bound behind his back by a pair of fused metal cuffs.
It took him a moment to regain his bearings. The last thing he remembered, he was squaring off against his former master as they pursued Eren and Historia's captors. They had been evenly matched when a member of what he had called his "Suppression Squad" knocked him out with a tranquilizer shot.
A sinking feeling suddenly came from the pit of his stomach. The rest of his team had been ambushed by them, and their 3-D Maneuver Gear had been rendered useless within a matter of minutes. Looking around this filthy and dimly lit room, he didn't see any sign of the cadets he had taken under his wing—only the man he had loathed the past two decades wearing that same damned hat.
The sound of an empty metal pail being dropped off in the shadows indicated there was someone else present. Maybe it was his newest bodyguard, although he never understood why his old mentor ever needed one.
"Welcome back, Levi," Captain Ackerman greeted, "in more ways than one."
"Where are they?" the dark-haired man hissed, struggling against his iron bonds.
"Ah, ah, ah, it's been ages since we last saw each other," he toyed. Pulling up a chair and sitting down just out of Levi's reach, the member of the Military Police gave a devious smirk. "Are you telling me you're more concerned about your little brats than having a catch-up chat with me?"
Levi growled. "Just tell me what the hell happened to them, and I may spare you and your water boy's lives."
This elicited a mirthless chuckle from the Captain. "I see you haven't changed in all these years." With that, he stood up and slowly walked back and forth in front of his prisoner, like a tiger circling its prey. "…Or have you? We shall see in a moment." He nodded at his lackey, who silently slipped out a door also hidden in the shadows. "Tell me, how has your daughter been?"
Levi's breath caught in his throat at the question, but he made sure his face remained impassive. "What drugs have you been smoking now, old man? I don't have a kid."
That toothy grin never left Captain Ackerman's face. "You know it's foolish to play dumb with me, Levi. What was her name again? Mikasa, right?"
"I have no clue where you got that idea from, but she's not mine," the dark-haired man snarled. "That girl's just another obstinate brat in my squad, nothing more."
"Hmph, we'll see about that." The looming figure snapped his fingers, and through the same hidden door reappeared the same henchman, dragging along a raven-haired teenager whose arms and hands were bound by ropes. She mumbled incoherently against her gag and squirmed relentlessly against her captor.
"Mikasa!" Levi called before he could stop himself.
She was soon thrown down at Captain Ackerman's feet. The minute she attempted to stand, he landed a kick with his black boot across her face. Even though her cheek was now red and beginning to swell, she shot the looming man daggers with her onyx eyes as she lay on the floor.
Levi involuntarily struggled against his bonds. "Is there a point to this, or do you just enjoy beating helpless prisoners?"
"You and I both know she isn't so helpless." With that, he strode over and yanked her up into a sitting position by her dark locks. Mikasa was doing her best to restrain screams of pain from that act. "After all, she may have inherited her mother's looks, but she's a fighter, just like you."
As if to emphasize his point, she suddenly launched herself at him in an attempt to head-butt his stomach. He quickly sidestepped her and sent an elbow down between her shoulder blades. The impact of her stomach on the floor knocked the wind out of her, but that didn't stop the Military Police Captain from planting his foot firmly on her back to restrain her.
"For the last time, she's not my daughter, now leave her out of this!" Levi snapped.
The bearded man sighed. "I grow weary of your persistence in this matter."
"Feeling's mutual," his former student bit back.
Ignoring him, Captain Ackerman continued, "Don't think I didn't notice the longing looks you used to give her mother, or how she visited your chambers every night while you stayed at our residence. My poor weakling of a brother was too blinded by his own infatuation to believe me."
Levi finally noticed Mikasa staring at him with wide, questioning eyes.
The standing man scoffed. "As if that servant woman was worthy of an Ackerman anyway." With one final shove of his boot, he walked back to his original prisoner. "I knew my brother's soft heart would lead him to foolishness one day, and that proved to be the day he ran off with her, vowing to raise your child as his own." The man's amber eyes flashed him a deadly glare. "I should have killed you before you too fled to the Underground to hide like some vermin. But now here we are." He spread his arms open wide, as if showcasing the dirty room. "You've become quite the spearhead of the opposition."
"Anything that you're leading is worth fighting against." Levi looked up at his old master defiantly. "I should have left you and dropped your shitty name long before I did." He stole a quick glance at Mikasa, who still lay impassive on the floor. If she had been offended by his comment, she didn't show it.
"At least there's a silver lining to this dark cloud you cast upon us." The sly Captain made his way over to the object of Levi's attention. Kneeling behind her, he raised her head up by her dark hair, exposing her neck. With his free hand, he drew a curved dagger and brought it up to just under her chin. "If she's not really your daughter, then I suppose you won't be too heartbroken if I slit her throat."
The shorter man gritted his teeth and lurched his body forward. However, his tether to the wall was far too strong, even for him.
"Otherwise, I suggest you cooperate with us. We could use you to bring down the Survey Corps once and for all. It'll be like old times."
Levi didn't think the man's smirk could get any wider as he said that last part. His gaze lowered to the girl who similarly clenched her teeth in determination, despite her situation—the same girl he'd sworn to look out for after all this time.
"So what'll it be, Levi Ackerman?"
He bowed his head down in defeat. "Don't hurt her," he hissed. "I'll do whatever you say."
"Just as I expected," the older Captain laughed. He withdrew the weapon, only to use it to cut the girl's gag before returning it to its holster. He then let the girl drop and stood up. "Come, Barrett. Let's leave these two alone to say their final good-byes. I need to personally inspect the girl's transportation arrangements to the safe house."
With that, he and "Water Boy" exited through the unseen door. Levi couldn't bring himself to look at the teenager who must have had a million questions on her mind. It wasn't until she broke the silence that he forced himself to face her.
"You're my father…?" She had managed to prop herself up to a kneeling position. He could see her onyx eyes shimmer as tears started to form. She bit her lower lip in an attempt to rein in the storm of emotions that threatened to burst out.
Levi sighed. He had a lot of explaining to do.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
The older man could see how his silence was an invitation for more questions, but he was having a hard time in choosing where to start. "You didn't need another person to cling to like you do Eren," was all he managed while he chose his next words. There was likely another guard stationed outside the door who could hear everything they said. He had to be careful until he could get to the tools hidden on him…
"At least I wouldn't have felt so alone!" Her yell seemed to be several decibels higher than it should have been. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her trying to move the hands tied behind her back. "All this time, I thought I had no family left, and now this!" Despite her shouts, he could hear something crack behind her. Mikasa winced in pain, but one of her hands seemed to move more freely now.
He had a suspicion what she was doing, so he played along. "Eren and Armin were always your family, so I don't see what you have to be a damned crybaby over!" As she brought her hands forward, one wrist still flinging off loosened rope, he confirmed his hunch. She had purposely dislocated the other wrist in order to make it easier to twist out of her bonds. Good girl. She must have realized the same thing about a guard listening in.
"It's not the same thing, and you know it!" There was one last masked pop as she reset her wrist. The teenage girl couldn't help let out a yelp at the end.
"Easy there, that cheek must hurt like a bitch," Levi attempted to cover. When he judged she had recuperated enough, he motioned her over with his head to sit beside him. "What happened to the others?"
Once she had scooted close enough, he whispered into her ear, "Get to the compartment behind my belt buckle."
Mikasa blinked a few times before reaching over and searching with her hand. He hadn't told any of his squad about it, but he had fashioned a small leather container in that area in which he could stow two devices Hanji had designed in case of emergencies. Despite her awkward positioning, she answered in a composed manner, "Many of them were injured but they escaped. I covered for them after Jean called for a retreat. That's how I got captured." Her fingers finally found the fold she was looking for, and she withdrew the two small objects. "Where they are now, I have no idea." That last part was a lie, and both of them knew it. They'd already set up a rendezvous point in case things went south.
Mikasa took a moment to study the devices in her hand. One was thick disc with a single button attached to a dial. The other resembled a rifle bullet but with a screw-off cap that had a string attached to it. Levi indicated she open the latter. Inside the hollow shell, there were two pairs of tiny razor blades and lock picks. She quickly removed one of the blades and instantly went to work on her remaining ropes. All the while, they continued their conversation without a hitch.
"I'm guessing they got away with Eren and Historia too," Levi hissed.
"Yeah…" Mikasa looked downcast at the memory. "So who was that guy anyway?"
Laying his head back against the wall while she worked, Levi closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Captain Ackerman of the Military Police, my old master. I was an orphan on the streets before he took me in. He taught me how to fight, training me to be one of his top bodyguards." He opened his gray eyes and rolled his head over to gaze at the girl next to him. "And he's the older brother of the man who raised you."
Mikasa bit her lip again. "What he said about my mother then…?"
"All of it was true," he declared flatly. The girl couldn't bear to look him in the eye anymore. "She became a servant in the Ackerman household after her clan was wiped out, not long after I started living there."
One final snap of the frayed rope was all it took for Mikasa to be free. She then removed one of the lock picks and went to work on Levi's cuffs.
"So now what, Father?" The bitterness in her voice was evident. He couldn't blame her. Levi knew more about her origins than she did, and he'd purposely hidden it from her. "You're just going to let that creep push you around? I'd rather die than see him use you like that."
"Mikasa, I don't have a choice. You saw what he's like. If there's a chance you'll come out of this alive, I'll take it!" He tried to keep the clinking of his picked cuffs to a minimum. When she moved to the lock on the chains around his arms, he stopped her. He wriggled his hands to the front so he could resume her work. "I'll take care of that. Find the door and use that chair to secure it and buy us time," he quickly ordered in a low voice.
Nodding in acknowledgement, she gave him the lock pick and stealthily did as she was told.
Aloud, Levi kept up their charade. "I know it must be hard to deal with all this new information, and even harder for you to accept what I must do. But believe me, it's what's best for you."
Mikasa knew better than to respond while she was sneaking around, but she couldn't help shooting him a glare.
Levi managed to come up with some other bullshit to spout as she took her sweet time doing her job and making her way back to him. He swore she was doing it on purpose to spite him at that point. His chains had come off long ago, and he'd already returned his miniature tools to their previous container. All that was left was one final phase to his plan.
Once she returned to his side, he handed her two small pieces of cloth he'd cut from his shirt. As expected, she shot him a puzzled look. While he stuffed his ears with his own bits of fabric, he quickly whispered, "The other device I have here will deafen anyone within hearing range for about a minute. So hurry and plug up your ears."
While she followed suit, he dialed the knob on the round piece of metal to the maximum level. He then crept close to the door as quietly as he could. With one final look over his shoulder at the teenage girl, who acknowledged her readiness with a nod, he pressed the button, eliciting a high-pitched sound.