"Shit! Stay back, you two!" Levi barked at Dipper and Mabel, attaching blades to his hilts. "Petra, go for the legs and I'll take it down!"
"Got it, sir!" she replied. Petra's hooks anchored themselves in the titan's thighs and she flew through the air, blades at the ready. Scarlet blood splattered everywhere as her blades sliced through the titan's knees with precision and as it fell Levi sprang into action. The wind whipped through his hair as he soared towards the titan's nape. And as he had done dozens of times before, he spun and cut through the nape in seconds.
The body fell to the ground, shaking the earth as Levi landed.
"Whoa, is the blood evaporating?" Dipper asked, grabbing Petra's cloak and inspecting the vanishing blood.
"Yes, it is. For some reason titan blood does that. We don't know why," she told him.
"That was so cool!" Mabel piped up. "You guys were like 'wahhhhh,' and the titan was like 'oh no, noooo!'" Petra laughed, looking at Mabel with a soft fondness.
"I guess that sums up fighting titans well," she replied before glancing over at Levi.
"I'm more concerned with where it came from," he said, walking over to the slowly dissipating body. This doesn't make any sense. Are titans finding these portals and getting through them, he wondered. The heavy sound of footsteps against the grassy forest floor thudded through the air. Levi looked up and saw an older man running towards them, an almost frantic look in his eyes.
"Kids, are you all right?!" the man demanded, bending over as he caught his breath.
"Grunkle Stan, what're you doing here?" Mabel asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
"I heard weird noises out where you guys were and wanted to see what was up," he explained, eyes sliding to the titan. "Hot Belgian waffles, what is that thing?!"
"It's a creature called a titan, sir," Petra told him. "They're very dangerous and will eat humans if they see them. Captain Levi and I," she gestured to herself and him. "We know how to kill them and we got this one before it managed to do any damage. They evaporate after death so you don't have to worry about getting rid of the corpse"
"Why in the world would you kill these things?!" Grunkle Stan demanded, gesturing to the dead titan. "You could capture one of these, show it off, and make a fortune!"
"Sir, that's . . . that's not a very good plan," Petra said, trying to let him down gently.
"What do you mean, 'not a very good plan?'" Levi demanded, eyes narrowing at both Grunkle Stan and Petra. "Look sir, trying to capture a titan and make money from it is the shittiest plan ever." He ignored Dipper and Mabel's wincing and kept going. "Titans will eat anybody in their path and if it got free, it would mean very bad things for Gravity Falls."
"I appreciate your opinion, but I think the pros outweigh the cons," Stan said. Levi gritted his teeth.
"I've seen the bloodbaths titans have caused and it's the worst thing you can ever see. You'd have to be the worst kind of greedy bastard to try and make money off of something that's killed hundreds if not thousands of people," Levi sneered.
"Grunkle Stan, you have to admit, that whole scheme sounds a lot like Jurassic Park, and look what happened there," Mabel pointed out, pulling on her relative's sleeve. Grunkle Stan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"All right, all right, I'll drop it, he acquiesced. "Anyway, I'm just glad you two are safe. I need you to come back to the Mystery Shack with me, your shifts are about to start." The twins groaned.
"Okay, Grunkle Stan. We'll come over later and we'll figure out what's going on with these portals," Mabel said. The twins waved goodbye to the two soldiers and trudged back to the Mystery Shack. Grunkle Stan turned to Levi and Petra, holding out his hand.
"Thanks for saving the kids. They get caught up in things they shouldn't sometimes," he said as he shook their hands. "I'm their great uncle Stan Pines."
"I'm Petra Ral and this is Levi," Petra introduced herself and her comrade.
"Are you two new in town? I don't think I've seen you before," he asked.
"Yeah, we just moved here from a town called Trost," Levi lied.
"Is that on the coast?" Stan asked.
"Yeah," Petra replied. "We literally just moved here yesterday so we're still getting used to everything here in Gravity Falls."
"Well I hope you two enjoy it here," Stan said, giving them a short wave goodbye and following after his niece and nephew.
"He seems fairly capable of taking care of them," Petra noted as she and Levi went back to their cabin.
"Judging from his house and him I'd beg to differ, but it's not like we can adopt them or something," Levi said. "Let's just go have dinner and wait for Dipper and Mabel to come over so we can figure out what the hell's going on here."
"I found some berries in the forest and I managed to shoot a squirrel for dinner," Petra announced as she walked into the cabin. It was dark outside as she came back with her bounty. Dipper and Mabel had left hours ago, leaving Levi with a map so he and Dipper could work on finding a pattern between all of the portals' locations.
"Thank you, Petra. Put it on the kitchen counter and I'll make dinner," he told her. She didn't move from her spot, only giving him quizzical looks. "What? I just cleaned the counter, it's okay to put stuff on it."
"Sir, do you even know how to cook?" she asked.
"I know enough to make us something that doesn't taste shitty," he replied.
"I wouldn't mind making dinner," she told him, putting the food on the table.
"No, I'm making us dinner," he said stubbornly, getting up and abandoning the map he was working with. "How about you go over to the Mystery Shack and get Dipper and Mabel? I think I may have found where the next portal will show up."
"Or you could go over there and explain it to them while I fix us dinner. Why do you want to cook so badly, Captain? I don't have you down as a person who likes cooking." He fought back an irritated sigh. God, this woman's stubborn, he thought.
"I don't like cooking but that's not -"
"Then just let me take care of it for -"
"Petra, just go get the twins!" he snapped. "I'm making us dinner and that's final." She sighed and walked over to him, concern in her brown eyes.
"Is everything okay, sir? You seem really tense," she said.
"I'm fine. Just please listen to me."
"I am listening but you seem really stressed out. I'll go get Dipper and Mabel, but I want you to let me cook dinner while you talk to them about the next portal, okay?"
"No."
"Why won't you let me cook?" Her lack of patience was getting more and more evident but God, he could tell she was trying to stay calm and not lash out.
"It's my fault we're here," he admitted, looking back down at his map. "It was my suggestion and I shouldn't have let you come with me. You're my subordinate, Petra, and I need to look after you."
"With all due respect, sir, we aren't in a regular combat zone," she said, sitting down next to him. "You're still my superior and I respect that, but I can't let you do everything on your own. This isn't a one way street. And this may have been your idea, but I made the decision to go down the portal with you. It's partially my fault. You shouldn't blame yourself for everything." He knew she had a point. About everything. But he needed to protect and take care of her. He felt it deep in his bones and despite the fact he wanted to act on that, he knew she was right and he had to back up a little.
"All right, Petra. I'll let you cook dinner. I'm going to go over to the Mystery Shack and talk to Dipper and Mabel -" He didn't have time to finish his sentence. The door to their cabin swung open and the twins walked in, Dipper's map carefully held under his arm and Mabel lugging around a huge canvas bag.
"We've made a breakthrough!" Mabel announced, dumping her bag next to the door. Dipper went over to the kitchen table and spread his marked-up map there. He made a disgusted face at the dead squirrel.
"I just came back from a hunting trip," Petra admitted with a nervous grin, picking up the dead animal and moving it to the kitchen counter. "Do you two want to stay for dinner?"
"No thanks, we're going out with our friends to the new pizza place in town," Mabel said as Levi walked over to the table and sat down.
"So I was studying the map and I think I found a pattern," Dipper said, fingers tracing dark red lines on his map. "It looks like they're on a diagonal grid, almost. Every portal is the same distance away from an older one and they all seem to be happening in the forest."
"We have five places where the next portal could pop up," Mabel pointed out. "We're still trying to figure out where exactly the next one will be, but we haven't figured it out."
"You don't know in what order they've been popping up in?" Levi asked.
"No. It just looks like it's been at random," Dipper said.
"We're just going to have to stake out those areas then," Petra replied.
"We can't do that. We can't have one person at each location. We don't have five people in our team and the kids can't kill titans," Levi pointed out. "We're better off trying to narrow it down until we find the next location."
"If you taught us how to kill titans, Dipper and I will be fine," Mabel said. Levi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. What was with him and having such determined girls in his life?
"It's not that simple, Mabel. It's a dangerous task and I'll be damned if I put you two in the line of danger," he told her.
"Captain, they're going to be dealing with titans anyway. Maybe we should teach them how to at least wield the blades. Otherwise they're completely dependent on us and we can't guarantee safety," Petra pointed out. Levi gritted his teeth, but nodded.
"You have a point, Petra. We're not teaching you how to use the gear," Levi said, looking at the twins. "I can't easily teach you and either way, we don't have legitimate gear for you to use. But we'll teach you how to use our blades."
"Cool!" Mabel piped up, a bright smile on her face.
"Are you sure that's safe? I mean, it looks fun and I want to learn it, but we're twelve," Dipper said.
"Twelve is the minimum age requirement for our military," Levi told them, watching shock surface on their faces. "Most kids enter the military when they're your age and start learning how to kill titans. Well, in theory. I actually didn't go through basic training like everyone else, but I'm guessing that's what you learn," he added, glancing at Petra.
"I didn't actually learn a lot of titan killing techniques until I joined the Corps. You learn a little bit of it during basics but since most recruits go to the Military Police or the Garrison rather than our branch that actually kills titans, they don't really go over it," she explained.
"How do you guys even protect yourselves against titans?" Dipper asked. "What exactly is going on wherever you guys are from." Levi chuckled and shook his head.
"That'll take us hours to explain," he said.
"We have time!" Mabel exclaimed, pulling up a chair and sitting next to Levi. "If you guys tell us about your home, we'll tell you more about ours!" Levi glanced over at Petra. She nodded at him as if to say, "Tell them."
"All right. Gather around, brats. This is where Petra and I are from."
"Man, that's super messed up," Dipper said as Levi finished explaining everything to the two. "I'm kinda glad you guys are here. It's probably a lot safer."
"And not mention just all around better," Mabel commented. "I can't believe you guys have to live like that."
"It's home," Levi said sardonically. Petra walked over to the table, two plates of food in her arms.
"Are you sure you don't want any," Petra asked the twins again.
"No thanks. I like squirrels but I don't think I'd like eating them," Mabel said, giving Levi's roasted squirrel a sad look.
"And we should probably be getting back to the Mystery Shack. Our friends are probably picking us up soon," Dipper said, pushing his chair back and rolling his map back up.
"Wait! I have something to do before we leave!" Mabel ran over to her bag and hauled it over to the table. "I figured you guys probably don't have any extra clothes so I made you two sweaters!"
"Mabel, you shouldn't have!" Petra said sweetly, taking the garment from Mabel. Levi grabbed his from the twelve-year-old. The yarn was soft and and even softer grey color. She'd managed to knit the Wings of Freedom into the front. She's got a good memory, he thought. She couldn't have seen it for more than a few minutes. "Thank you so much, Mabel!"
"Yeah, thanks," Levi added.
"It was no trouble!" Mabel beamed. "I also brought you guys a few of those huge bottles of water, just in case!"
"Levi and I really appreciate this," Petra told her, giving her a hug.
"Don't worry about!"
"We'll be back sometime tomorrow to try and find the next portal," Dipper said, heading towards the door. "Night, guys."
"Good night, you two. Have fun out with your friends," Petra said. The twins left, shutting the door behind them and leaving Levi and Petra all alone. "Is is bad that I wish they could come back home with us?"
"Only a little," he replied with a smirk. "If you're done with dinner, I'll do the dishes."
"Are you sure, Captain?" she asked.
"Yeah. And Levi. Just call me Levi while we're here. It feels weird for you to keep calling me Captain in this place. No idea why though," he commented, grabbing her plate.
"I, all right, Levi," she said, his name sounding odd but pleasant from her mouth. "I know it's early but I think I'm going to go to bed."
"All right. Good night, Petra," he said.
"Good night, Levi." She left the dining room and sauntered into the bedroom. Levi stayed up for a few more hours, cleaning and trying to take his mind off of their situation. How the hell are we going to get home if we miss our chances, he wondered, scrubbing down the kitchen table. Living here wouldn't be so bad. Petra and I have each other and we're relatively safe here, but humanity needs us. We're soldiers and we need to go back home and help humanity fight back. He put away his cleaning supplies and quietly entered the bedroom.
Petra was snug under the covers, lying on one side of the bed. Damn it, I should've known, he kicked himself as he glared at the sole bed in the room. I guess I'll just go sleep on the couch.
"Levi?" Petra slowly sat up, yawning as she looked at him with sleep-filled eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't realize there was only one bed," he muttered. "I'm just going to sleep in the living room."
"You don't have to. I don't mind sharing a bed," she told him. He wouldn't either; in fact, he'd really enjoy that. But his responsible side kicked in, scolding him for considering inappropriate things with one of his subordinates. Do the rules even apply here, he wondered, letting himself inside the room and shutting the door behind him. We're not back home and it's not like either of us will get in trouble for this. It's only for a few nights. It's nothing.
Petra fell back asleep quickly, curled up in the blankets as Levi slowly stripped. Sleeping in his uniform wasn't new to him, but he always fell asleep at a desk, or on his couch. He didn't want to dirty the sheets with his uniform. He pulled on the sweater Mabel had made for him and slipped into bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep.
"CAPTAIN LEVI! PETRA! GET UP! SOMETHING HORRIBLE'S HAPPENED!" Levi shot straight up out of bed at the sound of Mabel's shrill voice. He quickly pulled a pair of pants on and ran into the living room. Petra scrambled after him, a pants and the sweater Mabel made for her hastily thrown on. Levi had seen some freaked out kids before, but the devastated and horrified looks on Mabel and Dipper's faces was highly unsettling.
"A portal must've opened last night," Dipper informed them. "We didn't find the portal and we think it's closed, but we found a lot of broken trees and stuff."
"Is anyone hurt?" Levi demanded.
"Not that we know of," Mabel replied. "But . . . But Grunkle Stan . . . we don't know how he did it, but he managed to capture and keep down one of those titans."
"What?!" Levi and Petra squeaked.
"We woke up and he had it chained down and he was building like a shed around it," Mabel said, hurrying over to Levi and pulling on his arm. "Come on, we need to do something!"
"Hold on, we need to get our gear and then we'll head over to the Mystery Shack," Levi said, gently prying Mabel's fingers off his wrist. She let go and let him and Petra hurry back to their bedroom.
"How in the hell did he managed to capture one?" Petra wondered as she got her harness on.
"I don't know, but we have to get him away from it and kill it before it has the chance to get free," Levi said, getting his gear all in order. Shit, this just keeps getting worse and worse, he thought. If Stan can capture titans and more get through the portals, we're going to have a huge problem on our hands. We need to kill this titan and keep this town safe.