(Eren's P.O.V)
I lay on Armin's bed, staring up at the ceiling. Armin sat on his desk chair backwards, holding onto the back of it. Mikasa sat on the floor, fiddling with her red scarf.
"Come on, Eren! That isn't like you!" Armin protested. I had denied his request to investigate a castle in France over school break. School was ending in a few days, and Armin was hoping we could all go together for a new article in our magazine.
Why would I travel when we could investigate right here in Britain?
"I've already said no." He sighed, looking over at Mikasa for help. She simply shook her head at him.
"See, even Mikasa thinks it's fine." I said.
"She's just agreeing because you're siblings!" This seemed to make Mikasa upset and flustered.
"This isn't because we're siblings! I-It's, i-it's...simply by choice! If you want disagreement, then f-fine! Armin's right. It's not like you at all. You're usually quick to jump right into a supernatural place like this." The words spilled from her mouth, and she looked down in frustration.
My adoptive sister was not usually quick to anger, but she was protective and most of the time agreed with me. It wasn't like her to get flustered though... Maybe I wasn't being very observant...
I suppose Armin was right. It wasn't like me. Something about the castle just felt wrong...
"I'm sorry, I really am. I just don't feel up to it." I concluded. Armin gave me a disappointed look.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Come on Mikasa." I said, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder.
I put my camera back around my neck. I waved at Armin, and he gave me a half-hearted wave in return, looking still looking at me disappointedly. Mikasa and I left his house and went back home.
-•-
Falling against my own bed, I glanced at the clock. 2:58 A.M. Why am I still awake? I thought. Oh, right. If I slept, I would have another dream. Another dream of him. Levi... Why was I seeing him? Was he just another figment of my imagination? Was he something more? I sighed, turning and staring out of the window. I could feel my eyes closing, and I couldn't resist the temptation to sleep. I was tired, and I couldn't deny that.
Maybe if I closed my eyes for just a minute...
"Oi, brat."
My eyes snapped open, and I found myself standing in a blank space. I looked in every direction, but the voice I heard had no source.
It was familiar in a way...
Deciding to test my theory, I asked: "Who's there?"
Something materialized in front of me. Actually, someone.
There he was, regal as can be. It was Levi, the man who had appeared in dream after dream after dream. I was surprised. I felt like I was seeing him face to face. Who knows? Maybe I was.
"So it was you...I recognized your voice." I said. He looked at me with a blank expression.
"You need to go with your friend." he says simply. I'm shocked. How does he know about Armin's plan? He's not real, he's just something I imagined.
As I continue to look at him, I begin to doubt myself.
"Is your name really Levi?" I ask. He looks annoyed, most likely because I've changed the topic.
"My mother chose the name Rivaille for me originally. Though, it is Levi now."
"Do you know who I am?"
"Yes," he says, "you told me once in a dream. I told you my name, but it seems that you didn't have the same vision as me. You've only now learned my name."
"Mmhmm, recently..." I tell him. There's so much that I want to say, but I'm not sure when the real me will wake up. After that, only God knows when I'll have another vision.
"You need to learn the truth. You need to go to that castle." he states firmly. I'm fading in and out of reality. I call out to Levi, but light floods my vision.
I wake up.
-•-
"What do you mean that you want to go?" Armin asks. I walk beside him and Mikasa on the way to school. We have two days left until we enter our break. After that, we start a new grade together.
"Let's just say that I had a change of heart." I mumble. He beams at me, looking very excited. Mikasa looks a excited as well. She looks as excited as she can be, which means rare, short, and small smiles.
"Looks like the France expedition is a go! Woo-hoo!" Armin cheers.
I chuckle under my breath. Jeez, what a dork...
"You won't regret it, Eren! We'll get a great story, definitely some great pictures, too! Consider it done!" Armin exclaims. I give him a fake smile to mask my true mixed emotions. He doesn't really know why I changed my mind.
Frankly, I don't know why I did it either. The dream could have meant nothing. Maybe it wasn't even real. I probably just came to my senses and decided to take a chance; like I always do. There was no backing out now though. Armin was set on this, and I had just agreed. I just hoped that he was right, though.
I hoped that it would be worth it.
-•-A Few Months Later-•-
After the school year ended, we planned out our trip to France. Armin wanted to leave as soon as possible out of excitement. We bought our tickets and packed our belongings for the amount of time we would be there. Three weeks isn't that bad, right? I'm not even sure if I'm doing this for them. I thought. I feel like there's something more. Staring down at my camera, I realized that night was upon me. I would have to sleep. After yesterday's dream, I didn't want to see any more.
-•-The night before-•-
Glancing around, I found myself standing in what seemed to be a bedroom. Three corpses littered the floor, and blood stained the once clean floor. I turned around after hearing a banging noise. I saw Levi tied up, pulling against his restraints, and the blond man, Farlan, holding a reddened knife.
He had his finger on the tip of it, as if testing how sharp it was. I frowned when I saw their lips move. No sound came. I felt like I was back at square one, back at the first dream. Farlan walked towards Levi, knife still in hand.
"St-" came a voice, "-Far-" "-lan!"
Ah, so I can hear them. The broken up speech reminded me of an old radio losing signal.
Farlan, however, ignored Levi's protests, holding the knife right by his throat. "I could kill you right now," he said, "but I'd-" "-watch you suffer."
I watched as Levi was cut in different places, sometimes deep and sometimes shallow. It was all painful, nonetheless. Watching made me feel the pain in a way, too.
Farlan laughed like a madman without a care in the world. Levi held onto the ropes as some kind of block from the pain, and he grit his teeth in an attempt not to cry out. I could tell that he was having trouble keeping up his act.
To finish him off, Farlan plunged the blood covered knife through Levi's heart. His grip on the ropes loosened, and Levi's grey eyes went dull. His head fell limp, looking down to the ground like that of a doll. He looked similar to a puppet with strings attached to it.
Farlan simply left, leaving the knife in, dripping from the handle.
-•-Back to Today-•-
I woke up. What? I thought. I had gone to sleep without even realizing it. The other thing that puzzled me is that I didn't have another dream. I decided to shrug it off. Mikasa knocked on the door, before opening it.
"We're leaving soon. You should get dressed."
I stared at her from where I sat cross-legged on the bed.
"Yeah, give me like five minutes." With that, she closed the door. I heard her walk downstairs.
"It's only three weeks, Jaeger. Suck it up." I muttered to myself.
-•-
Mikasa sat next to the aisle, while I sat near the window. Armin sat at the seat across from ours. I stared out of the window in boredom. This is taking too long. I thought.
As if my mind was read, the signal for take off went out through the intercom. I put on my seat belt after realizing that it wasn't on. I went back to gazing out of the window, watching as the ground grew further away.
-•-
Aside from the amazing view, the ride was boring as hell. We got off, and saw that it was getting dark.
"There's no point in investigating that old castle right now. It's getting late. Why don't we head out tomorrow?" Mikasa suggested.
Armin seemed to agree, so I just went with it. I guess I can stay up. I thought. The three of us found a nearby hotel to stay at, and stayed there for the rest of the night.
-•-
Alright, there's chapter 2! Lack of Levi's P.O.V on this chap. Sorry for the long wait, I thought we had already posted it! In case you haven't noticed, there is one inconsistency in our story. We can't agree on how to spell Furlan/Farlan. While I spell it with a U, Azure prefers it with an A. Let us know what you prefer, please! ~Vanna
