The forest was as quiet as a grave as Levi made his way through the tall trees. It was a dangerous trek but no path had been made to the secret base just yet. There were plans in place but it would be months before it started. After all, it'd taken a very long time for base itself to be made. It was small, no bigger than a barn, but it had large walls and a spiked roof to keep the titans out; because it was right outside Wall Maria, it was a necessity. Building something in titan territory was no easy feat but if Hange's assumptions were correct, this base and it's biggest secret could end up being the savior of humanity.
No titans seemed to be in the area and Levi dropped to the ground into the walled but open air entry courtyard before banging on the thick metal door of the base.
"It's Levi," he yelled and the door opened instantaneously. He slipped in and the door was bolted shut again. Hange, Erwin, and Mike stood in the small room. All of them were huddled around the shimmering circle in the ground, taking notes as Nifa dropped various objects into the circle. As soon as the object hit the shimmering material it vanished.
"Have we gotten any of that shit back?" he asked Petra. She was standing near the door, leaning against it and an uneasy look on her face.
"No. We've gotten some odd things from . . . from whatever that is. We got some kind of weird flatbread sandwich with weird things inside it, a cat managed to get up, and we got a ball of yarn, but we haven't gotten back anything we've put down there," she informed him.
"We think it's a portal of some kind, but we don't know where it leads, if anywhere," Hange said loudly so Levi could hear her.
"Well, obviously it has to lead somewhere. Otherwise we wouldn't get anything back from it," he pointed out.
"That's what we're thinking, but really there isn't any way to confirm nor deny that hypothesis," Hange replied.
"Have we considered sending anyone down there to see where it leads?" Levi asked. Beside him, Petra tensed up. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was uncomfortable with his suggestion. If it wasn't a serious question, he'd feel bad about asking it.
"No, we haven't," Erwin said, frowning. "We don't know if it'd be safe."
"You said a cat managed to get through the portal. That means something living can go through the portal and live," Levi said. "I'll go down this thing and see what's on the other side."
"I'll go with you, Captain!" Levi sharply turned to Petra, who had that stubborn look of determination on her face.
"No. I'm doing this alone. I'm not putting any of my subordinates in danger," Levi told her. He fully well knew why she was so concerned. Levi was well aware of the small crush Petra had on him and if he was being honest with himself, he didn't want her to join him because he didn't want to put her life at risk. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he lost her.
"With all due respect sir, you pointed out that things can go through the portal and live, and although I know you're capable, you need back-up just in case something happens," she said.
"She does have a point, Levi, but I'm reluctant to let either of you down there," Hange admitted, peering down into the shimmering void. "We don't know what will happen."
"There's only one way to find out. Levi and Petra are capable soldiers and I trust in them to figure this out," Erwin spoke up, blue eyes shifting over to the two soldiers. "Anchor your gear's hooks and go down there. If anything happens, Mike and I will pull you back up." Levi gritted his teeth but nodded. There was no arguing in this situation; he could tell by the look in Erwin's eyes that if he tried to argue, it would be a battle he couldn't win. He sank his hooks into the stone wall of of the base and stood at the edge of the portal. Sick anticipation boiled over in his stomach and part of him wondered if this would be his final moments. No, we know things can live when they go through the portal. Petra and I will be fine. His silver-blue eyes slid over to watch her anchor her hooks. She turned to him, a look of fierce determination written on her face.
"Are you ready, Captain?" she asked.
"I'm ready, Petra," he replied. He looked to Erwin, who nodded. Levi crouched down and slowly entered the shimmering void, hanging onto the edge before engaging his gear and slowly lowering himself down. He glanced over to Petra. She looked like the was doing just fine, maybe doing even better as she was far lower down the portal than he was. "How are you doing, Petra?" he asked, his voice bouncing around and echoing.
"I'm fine, sir," she called back up to him.
"Erwin, can you hear us?" Levi yelled. No response. "Shit, how are they going to know if something happens?"
"I don't know. I guess we just hope for the best," she replied. She paused, waiting for Levi to catch up to her and together they descended down the blank void. Rays of colors ripped through the void as they went deeper and deeper.
"When are we going to reach the bottom of this?" he wondered aloud.
"We've got to get there eventually. There has to be something on the other end," she said. As they went deeper and deeper the walls around them became more and more colorful. Levi hoped that meant they were getting closer to the end. The colors were moving around at a rapid rate and flying in front of them like birds of prey and before Levi could do anything everything was shaking.
"Shit, Petra, we have to get out of here," he said, pressing on his gear's triggers to send him back up to the base. He and Petra only made it a few feet before their hooks came hurtling down towards them. It felt like he was in water, floating and weightless until gravity kicked it and he and Petra hurtled down the rest of the portal. No matter how many times he pressed on the triggers of his gear it refused to work. "Petra, is your gear working?!" he yelled to her.
"No, sir! It's not!" she yelled back. Fuck, we're going to die and it's all my fault, Levi thought, gritting his teeth. She's going to die and it's entirely my fault for letting her come with me. The colors swirling around them faded to white and before Levi could fully register what was going on, their world seemed to flip and instead of falling they were ascending. The white void they had been trapped in vanished and it looked like they were in a forest. Levi heard shouting but couldn't make out the words with all the wind rushing around his ears. He and Petra fell to the grassy forest floor with a soft thump.
"Whoa, Dipper, look! People came through the -"
"Yeah, I see them, Mabel." Levi looked up to see a pair of twins standing in front of them, looking at him and Petra curiously.
"Are you guys okay?" the girl asked, extending her hand out to Petra. She gladly took it and stood up while Levi got up by himself. He looked back to check on the portal only to find it gone, a patch of luscious grass where it once sat.
"Yeah, we're fine. Where are we, though? Are we still outside Wall Maria?"
"Wall what?" the boy asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're in Gravity Falls, Oregon. Where did you guys come from? We've been getting stuff from that portal for a few months now. What's on the other side?"
"Our home," Petra replied. "We found the portal after coming home from an expedition and we cordoned the area off." She cleared her throat and extended her hand to the boy. "I'm Petra, and this is Captain Levi."
"Captain? Does that mean you have a ship?" the girl inquired excitedly. "Can we go home with you and ride on your ship? Ooh! Are you a pirate?"
"What? No, I'm not that kind of Captain," Levi said dismissively.
"So you're a military captain?" the boy asked. Levi nodded. "That's pretty cool. I'm Dipper and this is my sister Mabel," he said, gesturing to himself and his sister.
"It's nice to meet you," Petra replied pleasantly. "We, um, we don't mean to leave all of a sudden, but we really need to get back home. Do you know if this portal will open back up?"
"We've been having them crop up all over town for a few months, but this one seemed like it was the only permanent one," Dipper commented. At least there's a chance we can get back, Levi thought. This isn't ideal but it's something.
"In the meantime, you can back to the Mystery Shack with us," Mabel offered. "You guys look like you could use something to eat."
"We'd love to," Petra replied before Levi could stop her. Mabel's face lit up.
"Come on, let's go! You guys will love the Mystery Shack!"
The Mystery Shack was definitely bigger than Levi was expecting but more bizarre than he imagined. It was a dirty place full of fake curiosities. If he hadn't lived in the Underground, Levi would have been astounded that someone was able to raise well-adjusted kids in such filth. But the twins were kind and got them some snacks while they went off to talk to their "grunkle." Hell, Mabel even made them tea and it wasn't half bad. It certainly wasn't as good as Petra's but it was a good cup of tea.
"Look, Petra, we need to get back to base as soon as possible," Levi said quietly, looking up from his tea. "I don't know how we're going to get home other than finding another portal. Those brats seem like they know a lot about this town. I don't want to ask for their help but I don't see any other option."
"I agree, sir. I think Dipper and Mabel are our best shot at getting out of here. Although, I don't think I'd mind living in a place where food isn't scarce," she added, taking another cookie out of the bag. "Who wouldn't want to live in a place where having two full pantries is the norm?"
"Neither would I but we don't belong here. We don't know anything about this world and we sure as hell don't belong here. We need to get back to the secret base and we need to get back soon," Levi said, voice falling silent as Dipper and Mabel walked back into the kitchen.
"What do you want first, bad news or good news?" Mabel asked, climbing onto the chair next to Levi.
"Bad news," Levi replied. Might as well get the worst out of the way.
"Bad news, we talked to Grunkle Stan and he says he doesn't have room for two more people," Dipper said, grabbing a chair and sitting next to Petra. "Good news, we found a place for you to stay until you guys can get back home."
"More bad news, it's that abandoned cabin where that guy killed his whole family," Mabel said. "But I'm sure the ghosts won't hurt you!"
"You shouldn't have a ghost problem," Dipper added hurriedly, as if trying to reassure the two soldiers. "We did an exorcism a week ago and it turned out fine, so you guys are safe." Petra gave a nervous laugh and Levi flat out couldn't tell if Dipper was joking or not.
"It's not ideal, but we'll take it," Petra said. "We really appreciate your help, you two."
"Hey, anything for a couple of tourists," Mabel said, grinning and nudging Levi with her elbow. He gave her a dark look.
"All right then, ignoring the awkward silence," Dipper said, taking a cookie out of the bag. "We can lead you guys there and help you clean it up a bit."
"I think we can manage the cleaning but we appreciate the offer," Petra replied, standing up and glancing at Levi. "We should probably get going. Levi and I have a lot to talk about tonight."
The cabin wasn't nearly as rundown as Levi or Petra imagined. In fact, it was in pretty decent shape. Everything looked old but relatively safe and intact. Mabel opened the door and ushered the two inside.
"Here's your new home, you two lovebirds," she said, winking at them.
"Oh, no! We're not dating!" Petra exclaimed.
"Sure, whatever you say," Mabel said with another wink. "I know it's dark in here, but there are some candles in the basement that you can use when it's dark out."
"You could try turning the electricity on, but it's probably shut off," Dipper said.
"Turning the what on?" Petra asked.
"The electricity. You know, it's a power source," Mabel said, looking curiously from Petra to Levi. "Don't you have electricity back home?"
"No, we don't. We honestly don't have much food back home either. Just enough to get by," Petra admitted.
"But you two get enough to eat, right?" Mabel asked gently. The look on her face tugged at Levi's heartstrings; he hadn't seen someone look so distraught before over a slight food shortage.
"Well, we do, but we're soldiers," he replied.
"Then maybe it's a good thing you got sent here," she said. "Here you won't -"
"No," he interrupted. "Petra and I aren't staying. We need to get back home as soon as possible.' He glanced over to Petra. "Come on, we've got a lot of work to do to make this place -" The house rattled as the ground shook in an all too familiar way. Levi and Petra bolted out the front door, anxiety growing in their stomachs as they looked around. It didn't take long for their fears to be confirmed.
In front of them stood a titan.