Level 100: Trost. The Forest of Giant Trees.
The air was cool, and darkness had fallen. The survivors from the escape from Trost had all been silently asleep atop the trees for several hours, save for the slight splutter and squirm; each of them was far too exhausted to properly wake from their slumber, emotionally and physically drained from the experiences of the past day.
There was one, however, who awoke earlier than the rest. Levi was particularly used to feeling drained, and had grown used to having little sleep. His eyes began to flutter open as he sat, resting against the main body of the tree with his legs outstretched. He looked around, seeing that the sun had not yet risen, and that his comrades were still asleep. His hands impulsively came up to his head, rubbing rashly on his eyes as he had continued to do out of habit for three years, despite the fact that it had no impact on his virtual self. He looked to the small clock in the corner of his HUD, seeing that it was just after 3AM; 'We won't be getting up and moving soon,' he thought, 'I might as well go back to sleep.'
That was when he began to tune in to the sounds around him. There was no birdsong, no heavy breathing from the avatars around him, not even so much as a whistle from the wind through the leaves and branches. However, a low, guttural groan was coming from below; he peered over the edge of the thick branch on which he was perched.
Below, he saw Titans: not clearly, as he had been able to see the previous day, but the faint outlines in the shadows, darker patches in the mysterious abyss below him. He could make out several, thumping along in different directions, but had to assume there were other, smaller Titans that he was unable to see, given the conditions.
Quickly, Levi crouched up on the branch and gazed across to see if Hange – who'd been sleeping on a parallel branch – was ok; all seemed fine there, so he quickly leapt to the other end of that branch to get a better scan of the area. Visibility was still poor, but he could make out even more in the vicinity, and there looked to be no easy way out of this. Luckily, the Titans hadn't spotted them yet. His mind didn't consider that fact though.
'Surely there's no way out of this one. There's too many, and we don't have our horses, and we have weakened numbers, and some of them are only new to this, and most of the people we've known on this level have died at the hands of Titans, and now we will too, this is it this is it this is it this is it WAIT no this can't be it, we have to make it out I HAVE TO MAKE IT OUT I have to get back to the real world, I have to have to have to have to I FUCKING HAVE TO. Otherwise I'll never see them again.'
With that, Levi began sob, and then the floodgates were open and a tsunami of pent-up agony was released in a tidal wave of tears. He slumped into a foetal position on the thick branch, dangling almost tantalisingly as bait for the Titans as the grumbled and groaned below him.
His mind was travelling to a far off land, but his ears were very much rooted to that world and those monsters.
London, England. (Seven Years Ago)
"COMING THROUGH!" The nurses yelled, and various men and women of various kinds began to shuffle to the sides of the pristine corridor of the hospital; Levi was rushing behind a group of nurses who were pushing along the temporary hospital bed used for transporting patients towards the ward. Levi was flushed with a nervous excitement, just as exhilarated as the first time, a few years earlier. He swept one of his long strands of hair out of his eyes, before turning a corner onto the ward.
The nurses shuffled the bed into a quiet area, out of sight of other workers or patients. One handed Levi a stool, gesturing for him to sit at the bedside while they shuffled around and prepared in their plasticky blue overalls. Levi looked across to the woman on the bed; she was conscious but drifting, her vivid hazel eyes rolling every so often towards the ceiling before coming back round to smile feebly at him; her luscious brown hair cushioned her delicate head on the pillow, protecting her porcelain skin.
Another woman walked into the space, beaming at the two of them; it was the same woman from 3 years ago with Farlan. Maria was in no position really for a reunion, but Levi smiled back, reassured by her presence.
"Good afternoon, Mr & Mrs Kamiya! How are you? Oh-oh-oh and how's Farlan?" she rushed the greeting excitedly, unable to hide her joy at seeing the couple again, while also conveying her impatience at this process; while it was her job to assist with the transition, she much preferred babies after they'd been born.
"Afternoon, Jenny! A little nervous," Levi began with a sigh, before gripping Maria's hand in his own, "we can't wait though; neither can he!" Maria managed a feeble smile, but the pain was building at an unbearable rate. Jenny and the nurses made the preparations around the couple, as Levi continued to provide moral support for his wife, who gripped tightly to his hand like the baby's life depended on it.
Once all was in place, Jenny asked Maria to push: she didn't need a second invitation. Maria has been through this process once before, but it didn't make it any more comfortable; the only comfort was that she knew in great detail how much the future greatness would be worth the pain of childbirth, and that – allowing with crushing her husband's hand – helped her through, as she released the baby into Jenny's arms, and into the world.
Jenny lifted up the baby having cut the umbilical cord, showing off a fairly small young girl to the couple in her arms; she had large green eyes, and a few tufts of reddish-brown hair just above her forehead. The child cried a little, but Jenny handed her over to Levi, who perched himself onto the side of the bed alongside Maria, giving her a closer look at their second child, their newborn baby girl. The child stopped crying, pondering for a second as she looked over their faces; she then broke out into a great, toothless smile, reaching towards Levi's hair with exploratory hands. She could barely grip his hair, but the three smiled and Jenny giggled from the foot of the bed.
"Isabel." Maria was able to mumble, still exhausted from the act of giving birth. "I think we... should call her Isabel." Levi smiled, kissing Maria on the forehead.
"Isabel," he looked into the child's eyes, "we're going to have lots of fun together!" He exclaimed, before giggling with her and kissing her on the forehead. However, as Levi replayed these memories, he could still hear the groans of the Titans in the back of his mind.
London, England. (Six Years Ago)
There was pizza everywhere. The porcelain plates, the oak table, the previously pristine carpets, the recently painted walls, the top of the TV; somehow, someway, there was even a slight pizza mark on the ceiling. Levi looked around, his every sense going crazy at the sight of the mess, the thought of the possible stains: he could barely take it.
Levi looked down at his hands, noticing the remains of a pizza he had been holding, which was now scrunched between his fingers and dripping onto his shoes. Levi's brain snapped, and he quickly glanced around for something to tidy himself up with; he would not be embarrassed by food in such a way. Regardless of the celebrations, he had to clean up. He had to.
Levi's eyes began to flutter open, taking in an influx of warm colour; he could see his beautiful wife sat beside him with their baby girl on her lap, their young boy sat on the floor in front of him, and absolutely no pizza – or mess – in sight, in the early afternoon sunlight within the living room. The magnolia walls were in pristine condition after Levi's tireless work the past week. The table was clean and tidy, barely any mess to differentiate it from its catalogue pictures. The carpet was clean, though less tidy than the rest of the room due to the little boy playing down there; out of the corner of his tired eyes, Levi could see a little wrapping paper on the floor, but it was nothing compared to that pizza.
"Are you okay baby?" Maria asked, concerned for her zoned out husband.
"Yeah... just a nightmare!" Levi responded, brushing off the concern with a light chuckle.
Farlan tugged at Levi's trouser leg, begging him to play with him; Levi shuffled himself down onto the floor beside his young son, before reaching out and playing with the brand new action figures alongside him; the family were happy and all was good, even if just for one day.
As the memory of Farlan's fourth birthday began to fade out – the colours and warmth draining from his memory until he reached an eerie, cold black – Levi could feel a tear rolling down his cheek and dropping from the treetops within SAO. He wondered how he'd ever managed to live without them, how he'd been able to survive these years. And those before.
Levi whimpered slightly, terrified having realised what was coming next. He wondered why; 'Why must my brain torture me like this?' But there was no stopping this emotional onslaught. Slowly but surely, the colours began to return in his memory, though this was not to be such a happy memory.
London, England. (Four Years Ago)
Levi sat on the edge of the large, comfortable bed, head in his hands. 'Good job Levi, you've really fucked up this time.' His internal critic pointed out, again. 'How could you say that, man? I know she was being loud, but seriously?' He could hear Maria trying her best to calm down Isabel, who was still crying the house down. Maria called Farlan over to look after the young girl, before storming her way towards the bedroom where Levi was sat.
The door swung open, and Maria stormed straight past Levi. She didn't look at him, she didn't say a word, she just walked by. Levi turned his head to look at her, seeing that she'd grabbed a large holdall bag out from the wardrobe; the next thing he knew, the bag was on his lap.
"Go on. Pack some things." Maria stated, her voice shaking as she held back a tidal wave of tears. Levi was shocked and unable to react, falling into a stunned trance. "DO IT!" She shrieked, before bursting out of the room and into the bathroom. Levi could hear her sobbing as he gathered some clothes from his draws and piled them up into the bag.
Having packed a few other necessities, Levi closed the bag and slowly lifted it up onto his shoulder. The bag was heavy, but he'd been carrying weight of the world on his shoulders too long to notice; he trudged towards the kids' bedrooms to say goodbye, not really knowing what was going to happen in the next days, weeks... months?
He reached the doorframe of Isabel's room, seeing his young son calmer her tears. He wanted to apologise, but was cut off by Maria, who pushed past him and stood directly between him and the children. "Get. Out." She whispered through gritted teeth, the fury far more overcoming than just an undertone.
"Please, let me say goodbye, apologise." Levi stuttered, desperate to see his children once more before he had to leave.
"I said get out." Maria almost whispered this time, with not a single hint of weakness or indecision in her tone.
"Please, not in front of the children." Levi pleaded, but to no avail. Maria began to push him back out of the room, towards the stairs that led down to the front door.
"Leave." She uttered simply, "And don't come back." She nodded towards the door, before turning back and checking on the children. She heard Levi's footsteps begin to approach the room – preparing herself to yell at him once more – but he stopped, shuffled around and began to stagger down the stairs. His eyesight was impaired by the stream of tears that made their way down the cracks and crevices of the broken man's face, just as they were in SAO. However, while watching himself trudge down the street away from his home, he could hear the groans and moans of Titans even more prominently than before; they were getting closer, but he was stuck in this trip through his own mind: he could only wonder what the situation was in the treetops.
London, England. (Three and a Half Years Ago)
Farlan and Isabel sat in the living room, awkwardly fidgeting. Despite their childish naivety, they knew that something was different today; Levi, too, was sat in the living room, silently replaying the speech he'd crafted in his mind. He was torn over whether to go through with it or not, but he had no choice. Not anymore.
Watching his past self tear out his hair over this decision was agonising, though it was more painful for Levi to watch himself wasting precious time with his children; by this point they'd already been taken from him for the most part, but he had them here with him, but was sat in silence. 'How could I have been such an idiot, not to realise that the precious little time I had was better than nothing at all?' he wondered, wishing senselessly that his past self would not make the decision he already knew that he had.
There was a rap on the door, and Farlan and Isabel both jumped up to greet the oncoming person; Levi simply called out that the door wasn't locked, at which point it swung open. Maria strutted in confidently, ready to collect the children from having stayed in the small, stuff apartment and bring them back to the comfortable home they used to all share. She gasped at what she found.
The children were standing greeting her, but Levi was sat against the far wall clutching his legs with his head sunk into his knees. The room was messy, with newspapers and other clutter sprawled across the small table and onto the floor. The walls, the floor, the ceiling were all dusty and dirty, and this did not look anything like a place Levi would stay in for more than a few minutes unless forced.
Farlan and Isabel edged towards Maria, eager to leave despite their undying love for their father. However, Levi finally cleared his throat.
"I'm leaving." He muttered, unable to raise his voice any louder.
The three others turned around in shock to look at him for further explanation, while Levi himself sighed as he watched the greatest mistake of his life play out once more.
"What do you mean?" Maria probed; she'd figured by the appearance of the apartment that his life had taken a downward turn since she'd kicked him out, separated and she'd received primary custody of the children, but she didn't know what he was up to now.
"I-" Levi began, his words caught in his throat, but he forced himself on. "I'm going back to Japan. For work." He brought his head up to see the three shocked faces in front of him. "I'm sorry."
"Look, Hiro. We'll talk about this another time. I don't think it's a good conversation to have in front of the children." Maria rushed out of her mouth, but Levi clicked his tongue in disapproval, before sniggering slightly under his breath.
"Oh? So it's fine to kick me out the fucking house in front of them, but not to say goodbye? Twice? Get the fuck out of my house Maria." Levi uttered, a great anger throbbing through the words as he spat them out into the atmosphere.
Maria breathed in a deep sigh of shock at Levi's outburst, before taking both of the children's hands and turning sharply towards the door. Isabel looked back over her shoulder at her father for the last time, before being pulled out of the apartment by Maria. They were gone.
Levi's head sunk back into his knees, his hands gripping his hair tightly as he heard the apartment door slam. This position was recreated with his SAO avatar in the treetops, while he cried watching these flashbacks.
Tokyo, Japan. (Three Years Ago)
Levi could see his own face reflected back in the glass in front of him, but it was distorted. The whiskey bloated his sharp features, while the pile of ice cubes fracturing the reflection like broken glass. He couldn't remember what he'd already drunk, but he didn't really care either. He never did.
Little did Levi know that on the next barstool sat himself, watching himself wallow in regret. Levi recognised the feeling; this cocktail of self loathing, lament and stagnation lasted months, though it felt like a drunken blur without this crystal clear picture of recollection. Levi looked into his younger eyes, seeing a lack of hope; his eyes were empty, devoid of any brightness or emotion.
Meanwhile, the younger Levi took another drink of whiskey, slipping further into the nightly oblivion he found himself in. The job hadn't gone as planned, and he'd been let go. He found a job at a small store, but it was run down and didn't pay well. Levi stayed in a rented room, but spent most of his time outside work in a bar, not always able to pay the bill by the time he'd finished, either through lack of money or cognitive functioning due to the alcohol he'd consumed.
This was his life now, he had almost accepted it.
From his pocket, he grabbed a small rectangular box; he rested it on the bar, and both Levis could see the title, reading it simultaneously: Sword Art Online.
"Tomorrow's the day." Levi murmured, before finishing off the latest drink. He looked forward to having a break from this god forsaken existence, though he could never have known how long a break it would turn out to be. He just hoped that the stolen NerveGear would register fine. Levi stood up, wanting to take a closer look at his past counterpart, but his senses soon when into overdrive; his vision became a blanket of blinding white light, his every muscle buzzing and burning, his ears overwhelmed with screeching tones.
Level 100: Trost. The Forest of Giant Trees.
Suddenly, Levi was back in the world of Sword Art Online, in the treetops he'd left to engage in the series of flashbacks. He briefly glanced at his HUD, which told him it was 7.13AM; he'd been gone around four hours. His mind was still buzzing erratically, trying to catch up to the fact he was back. That was when he realised he could feel a hand on his shoulder.
Levi turned his head sharply, realising that that was probably what had woken him. He could see Hange crouching next to him, the owner of the hand; she seemed somewhat blurry, before she reached out her other hand, containing a handkerchief. He took it gratefully, wiping his teary cheeks and eyes; there was no need for words as he unfurled himself from the foetal position he'd adopted on the treetop. Her eyes then drift past him to below the treetops; he follows her nervous gaze, seeing the other remaining players cowering on other branches above the Titans, now clearly visible in the early morning sunlight.
They'd not only been spotted, but the Titans had begun to attack the tree barks lower down, sending some trees tumbling and smaller branches falling below. The players had no escape from these beasts; the siege had begun.
dicarten-ice: thanks! Always glad to hear people are enjoying it :)
Sorry it wasn't quick, with tying up the end of the college year it took longer than I'd hoped to fit it in :s also I just started a new job so for a few weeks I had college 5 days and two jobs over friday evening & the weekend... summer now though! Hopefully I'll be updating this & Laxus Tail a bit more often :) Thanks for reading, so give it a review. You know you wanna :p