WOW. Long time no see! It's good to be back. So, I watched the entirety of AoT in two days. I was legitimately depressed when I finished. Then I looked up some fanfiction and fell in love with LevixPetra. Unfortunate, isn't it?
So, I was reading away, crying my eyes out, when I realized that there were no AUs. I decided to fix that.
This is a rewriting of the scene where Petra dies, except she doesn't. This is what I would've liked to have seen from that point on. Unfortunately, it can never be. My OTP was destroyed as soon as it began. *cries*
So yeah. Here you go. My fellow LevixPetra shippers, enjoy.

UPDATE: I have re-written to give the overall story a more serious tone. I also tried to remove all of the typos but if there's more let me know. This story will be continued in chapters, which I will try to average at around 2,000 word range. I promise the title will make sense with time.

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin . If I did, Petra would be alive and I wouldn't be as upset as I am.

Enjoy.

"Petra!"

Petra heard Auruo cry out to he just before the female titan's foot came down. It slammed her cable into the ground, taking her with it. Her body hit the dirt and she felt her arm snap and fold underneath her. Rocks and roots tore through her skin as she skidded across the forest floor. She came to a rough stop and whimpered, but she forced herself to remain still. The female titan, assuming that Petra was dead, turned and attacked her only remaining teammate, Auruo, who died quickly. She then crouched and surveyed the damage she had done. Petra held her limbs perfectly still. Her muscles screamed for her to relax, but she held her place. She knew that if she even moved a fraction of an inch, the titan would notice and correct it's mistake. Blood seeped through her wounds and stained the dirt. A puddle was quickly growing beneath her, soaking into what was left of her clothing.

Somewhere ahead, she heard a scream of rage that sent chills down her spine. "I'm going to... I'm going to kill her!" The air fizzled with electricity, signaling the appearance of a green bolt of lightning. Bright light flashed through the trees. Another titan, presumably Eren, ran past her, roaring with anger. His larger body slammed into the female's smaller one, and they began brawling. The footsteps of the fighting giants faded a bit, and only then did Petra allow herself to relax. She assessed the damage.

Her cloak was gone, probably caught on a root somewhere behind her. Her arm was definitely broken. It was bent awkwardly in between her wrist and elbow, and bone poked through her skin. It hung limp by her side. A deep gash was carved into her calf, bleeding profusely. Dirt coated the inside of the wound. Tears forced their way up, and Petra let them fall. Her whole body was covered in gashes and bruises. Her clothes were completely ruined, since they were ripped up and stained with blood, both hers, her comrades, and the titan's. Blood dripped into her eye from a cut on her hairline, making it hard for her to see. Her entire body shrieked in agony. Petra sobbed quietly and sat up, stretching her leg out in front of her. Yep, definitely a broken rib. She crawled to the nearest tree and leaned against it. The small movement made her woozy. She looked towards the battling titans who, by that time, had moved a considerable distance away. Eren was much more aggressive and strong, but the female was quicker, calculating each move before executing it. The were both dodging each others blows, and they each landed as many as the other. When Eren got the female on the ground, she quickly reversed the roles, and vice versa. However, the female started to best Eren. She landed blow after blow, knocking him off balance.

Petra's vision blurred. She was losing too much blood. With her good arm, she ripped a bit of her already destroyed shirt off and pushed the cloth into the gash on her leg. Pain exploded from the wound. She couldn't help but cry out. She kept pushing until she couldn't anymore, desperately hoping to stop the bleeding. More tears rushed to her eyes and blackness crawled to the edges of her vision.

Distantly, she heard someone using a 3DMD. Petra tilted her head towards the sound.

A dark shape was moving towards her. It slowed to look at the corpses of each of her fallen comrades in turn before slowing coming towards her. The figure came into focus.

It was...

Levi.

He maneuvered his way over to her. His face was emotionless, as always, but his eyes held something she couldn't quite put her finger on. He landed and trotted over to her. He scanned her body, taking in all of her wounds. Petra was breathing heavily, still pushing the cloth into her marred leg, even though it was completely soaked through. Tears were streaming down her face as she fought the urge to completely break down. She couldn't do that. No, not in front of her commander. She had to be strong.

Levi reached down and pulled Petra's hand away from her leg. He examined the gash and, without looking at her face, said, "You could've died." Petra smiled a bit. "Occupational hazard, Heichou." Levi didn't respond. He tossed the bloodied cloth aside and looked around for something else to stop the bleeding. He almost reached to tear off more of Petra's shirt, but he thought better of it. Petra noticed this. "Here, allow me." She croaked. Once again using her right arm, she ripped a chunk off her shirt at the hem and handed it to her commander. Her midriff was exposed, but Petra realized that now was not a good time to get modest. Levi seemed to notice the odd discolored lump over her broken rib, but said nothing of it. He tenderly slipped off her boot and pressed the cloth into her calf, pushing hard. Petra cried out in pain, but Levi didn't relent. She understood; the bleeding had to be stopped or she would die from blood loss. "The others are already retreating. You're lucky I came back for Eren. Here, hold this." He never once looked at her face. Petra leaned down and gripped the piece of shirt. Levi stood. He turned towards the brawling titans. The female titan planted her foot. Eren froze just as the female took her shot. The entire top half of Eren's head flew with the female's fist. The now headless titan fell. The female, recognizing her victory, placed her teeth to his neck, ripping him open. Just then, Mikasa flew by, landing on a branch above. There, just below the skin, sat Eren's human form. The female picked him up and swallowed him. "Eren!" Mikasa screamed, launching back into the air. Levi growled with frustration. "Wait here." He mumbled through gritted teeth, as if Petra could go anywhere.

Levi launched back into action. He drew his swords and flew. To Petra, his entire body exuded power. That man was the number one Titan killer on the planet, and he was hell-bent on revenge. Mikasa was far ahead of Levi. "Give Eren back!" She screamed at the titan. She tore her swords across it's skin, but the female did not falter. She flew back again and again, cutting all over the giants body. Finally, she managed to slice it's calf, and the monster fell. It was smart, however. It kept its hand clasped over the back of its neck, hardening its skin to protect against Mikasa's blades.

Mikasa sat against a tree and waited. She said something that Levi couldn't hear. He was too far away, but catching up quickly. The female, who had regained her strength, struck at Mikasa, who leaped out of the way. They resumed their chase. However, before they could get far, Levi had caught up. He pulled Mikasa back.

"Fall back for now." He let go of Mikasa, who kept pace with the commander. "Keep this distance. Whoever's inside may be a soldier, but doesn't have much speed. It looked like she took him with one bite to the nape. Did Eren die?" He asked. A look of pure rage entered Mikasa's face when she answered, "He's alive. The target appear to possess intelligence Her objective is to take Eren away. If she wanted to kill Eren, she would've crushed him. The target put Eren in her mouth so she could fight and flee at the same time."

"Maybe her aim was to eat Eren." Levi suggested. "If that's the case, Eren is in her stomach. The normal conclusion would be that he's dead."

"He's alive." Mikasa repeated bitterly.

Levi looked at her. "I hope you're right."

Mikasa looked back angrily. "First off, if you had protected Eren, this wouldn't have happened!"

Levi turned around, never stopping. "I remember now... you were Eren's friend. We need to limit ourselves to one goal. first, we'll have to forget about killing the female." Mikasa protested. Levi stopped her. "As long as she can toughen her skin, we can't do it. Obey my call on this. We'll have to put all our hopes on Eren being alive. We'll rescue him before she makes it out of the forest." He instructed. "I'll slice her up." He said, halfway to himself. "You distract her." He told Mikasa.

Mikasa launched in front of the female titan. With the giant's attention on her, Levi came up behind. His eyes flashed red. He drew his swords. The female suddenly turned to strike, but Levi was ready. He spun quickly, digging his swords up her arm, channeling his rage into the attack. Blood shot up from his path. He pushed forward, ramming her face and shoving his blades into her head. He left them there, detaching the handles. He jumped back, equipping himself once again before spinning for a second time, this time slicing down her entire body. Hot blood covered Levi's face. He then focused his attention on each arm, cutting the muscles deeply so that they would cease to work. He came at her repeatedly, each time cutting a little deeper, hitting a little harder. All of his anger poured out through his swords, bent on maiming the titan. The female's hands fell away, too badly injured to guard herself anymore. Mikasa noticed this and went for the nape. Levi called out for her to stop and landed on the females hand. His ankle rolled and snapped underneath his weight. Levi gritted his teeth and leaped towards the female's head, slicing her mouth open. Her jaw fell slack, and there sat Eren. Mikasa jumped forward and collected her friend, quickly leaping back and retreating. Levi followed, making a beeline for his lone surviving comrade.

There sat Petra, who had fallen over due to exhaustion. The cloth sat in her hand, once again totally soaked through. Her arm was an angry shade of red where the bone stuck out of her skin. Carrying her would be extremely painful, but necessary. Levi landed on the forest floor, quickly detaching Petra's 3DMD and scooping up the young girl. She was just barely smaller than Levi. She was almost unconscious, and she made no sound when Levi picked her up. His ankle was roaring with pain, but Levi held tight to Petra before leaping away once again. He had to use one hand to operate his 3DMD, so he could only support her with one hand, which clung painfully tight to Petra's side. Once she was secure at his side, he took off, flying at full speed back to the convoy.

Petra woke up in a wagon. She moved her limbs a centimeter just to see where everything was and regretted it immediately. Everything hurt. She opened her eyes and looked up.

The sky was bright from the evening sun. Small clouds dotted the sky. Petra noticed that she was covered in someone's green cloak, though she didn't know whose. The wagon hit something and lurched. Petra groaned. A figure turned its attention to her; Levi. He was seated beside her, with his leg stretched out. His boot was gone from his left leg, and his ankle was wrapped. He must've broken it, Petra decided. She noticed He wasn't wearing his cloak. He didn't smile when he noticed her looking at him. "You're awake." He said, looking bored. "Yeah, I am." She said. "Where are the others?"

Levi grimaced. "You don't remember?" Petra tried to think back, but she only remembered screaming and a lot of blood. Everything else was foggy. Her heart dropped; this had to be bad. Levi confirmed her fears. "They were killed by the female titan. We managed to get Eren back, but..." his voice trailed off. She and Levi were the only ones left. She let a few tears fall before stifling the rest. Crying wouldn't bring them back. "What about Eren? Is he okay?" She asked. "Mikasa carried him back and tended his wounds. They're riding in a wagon ahead of us. The female titan escaped." He stated roughly. He seemed far away, so Petra decided not to pester him further.

Breathing was incredibly difficult. Petra's midsection was wrapped in medical cloth. Ah yes, the broken rib. Her jacket, remaining boot, had belts had been removed at some point, leaving her in a shredded shirt and leggings. The cloak covered her torso, but her legs were exposed. Her right leg was tightly wrapped with gauze. She tried to move her left arm, but it was secured with a splint. Her skin was covered with cuts, and the places she wasn't cut were discolored with bruises. Her hair was matted down with sweat and dried blood. She decided that a bath would be in order when they returned. She saw her horse trailing behind the wagon, and Levi's running beside. She remembered his ankle.

She looked back at Levi. He had taken off his 3DMD and laid it out beside him. His hairline was wet with sweat, but the rest of his hair was waving in the wind. He had a few scratches, but his ankle seemed to be the worst of his injuries. His eyes were dull and tired with dark circles underneath them. They remained fixed on the road ahead. They stayed like this for half an hour. Petra was the first to speak.

"You saved my life." Petra stated.

"I suppose so." He replied, not looking at her.

"Why not just move on? You could've saved Eren, or gone ahead and protected the others."

Levi was silent for a moment. His eyes met hers, and something shifted behind them. He contemplated his answer before saying anything.

"I was able to save both you and Eren. There was no reason to leave you after going back for him. As for the others... you're a bit more important than them."

Petra didn't bother him after that.

When they got back, crowds of people crammed into the narrow streets, expecting a triumphant return. They didn't get what they wanted. She heard the usual muttering, mostly marketeers accusing them of being a waste of taxes. Parents wailed in mourning, discovering their children to be dead. More than usual this time.

Levi exited the cart before returning, instead choosing to ride his horse into the walled-in city. He kept close, though. He rode right next to the wagon, keeping in perfect pace with it. Petra shut her eyes, trying to block out the confusing mix of jeers and cries.

Usually, nobody approached the convoy. The populace kept their distance, as if the soldiers would give them some sort of disease. This time, however, a man walked up to Levi. Petra couldn't see him, nor did she have the strength to get up to look. But, when he started speaking, Petra knew exactly who it was.

"Captain Levi! My daughter is in your squad..."

Petra's stomach dropped. Father, please don't...

"I'm Petra's father. Before she sees me, I wanted to talk to you" Levi looked at the man, waiting for him to go on. "She sent me this letter..."

He won't.

"She mentioned that you respected her abilities enough to let her join your squad. She was going to devote herself to you."

He is. Petra groaned inwardly and blushed. He father obviously hadn't seen her in the wagon.

"I guess she's too starry eyed to consider how her Father feels!" He chuckled. "Well, as her Father, I think it's too early for her to marry. She's still so young, with so much to experience..."

Petra blocked her father out. He was telling Levi everything! Her face grew hot. Levi glanced at her with an amused glint in his eyes, though his face remained as plain as ever. She glared back. It only lasted half a second, so Petra's father didn't notice. He prattled on about marriage and how taken his daughter was with Levi, and how he wasn't too sure but he still respected the Captain. Petra pulled the hood of the cloak that served as her blanket over her face.

"... I just wanted you to know that before anything happens. Now then, have you seen my daughter?" Petra's father asked gleefully. Levi replied in monotone, "She was quite badly injured. She's riding in the wagon. I'm going to ask that you don't disturb her. I'm sure that she will visit you once she's up to it."

He father sounded a bit taken aback. "Oh my! Well, I guess that makes sense. Please, Captain Levi, tell her that I came looking for her. I want to see her as soon as possible. I'm relieved to hear that she survived, even if she did get hurt." Levi dismissed him.

Once her father had left, the shouting began. Petra and Levi were in the back of the convoy, which was several yards away from Commander Erwin (who was the victim of the verbal abuse), but they could still hear the angry shouts of the citizens. The embarrassment from the encounter with her father faded as the reality of the situation crushed down on her. They lost an entire flank of men. She might've been one of them if it wasn't for Levi. They had been careless, taking so many new recruits with them on such a high-risk operation. The losses had been too great; they'd never recover.

Just then the wagon hit a bump and the pain came back to her full force. She felt every single cut and bruise and break all at once, and she nearly passed out from the pain.

There it is. This chapter is mostly the same, but future chapters will feature more changes. I hope you'll enjoy them.

Please leave a review! I love your feedback. :)

~LMC