A/N: I DO NOT OWN THE LAST OF US OR ANY PART OF THE NAUGHTY DOG FRANCHISE OR ATTACK ON TITAN. THIS IS SIMPLY FAN WORK.
"So what business do you have in Trost?" asked the guard.
"Meeting someone," Levi replied.
"Alright then."
The guard handed the IDs back to their original owners and unlatched the large hook at the gate. Levi watched the man fumble with the gate locks, mentally cursing at him to move faster.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a flash of lightning that rained down from the sky and large tremor behind the Trost walls; an explosion; then the crumbling of buildings.
Everyone froze in their tracks and stared at the sky above the gate.
"What the hell was that?!" the guard yelled.
One of the soldiers standing on top of the gate called out to everyone, "It's the Shift members again!"
"Shit," the guard cursed. He undid his fumbling at the gate and secured it once more. Levi glared at the sudden change of mind. "Sorry folks, Trost District has been closed off! Get back!"
Levi and Petra stepped away as the guard began his climb up to the top of the wall. There was another explosion, closer to the gate that time, and more soldiers were dispatched towards it. Irritated, Levi turned his back and sprinted to the black building across from the gate, with Petra not too far behind.
"Entry into the Trost District has been closed until further notice!" echoed a squad captain.
Soldiers of different shapes and sizes began yelling out their orders in an attempt to capture the Shift members. They used their maneuver gear with the utmost precision, flying to the top of the wall then disappearing behind it.
After reaching the tall, black building, Levi looked back at the soldiers using their gear. He sighed at the sight, wishing he still had his own set of gear with him. He then shook his head and pushed the door open, shutting it tightly as soon as Petra followed inside.
"Well, so much for the easy way in," Petra complained.
"Let's just keep going."
Because the gate to the Trost District had been closed off, the only route remaining was the path around the gate. It would be a tedious journey, but it was the only way. Petra ran through her head the exact route she and Levi needed to take: around the block, through an abandoned restaurant and up a
Levi and Petra climbed a flight of stairs, arriving at a small study space. They pushed a bookcase to the side and uncovered a hidden hole in the wall. Petra jumped through, into the darkness and continued forward. Latching onto a small edge of the bookcase, Levi pushed the bookcase back to its original position, erasing their tracks.
"Watch your step," Petra warned as she almost tripped over a detached pipe. Levi kicked it to the side.
She wandered to a table and lit a match, transferring the flame to the nearest lantern. Using what little light they had in the room, they strode over to an old, rickety workbench that carried two rifles: one for Levi and one for Petra. Obviously, maneuver gear would have served them better in any situation, but they cursed their lack of equipment, vowing to get it all back from the notorious Kenny Ackerman.
At one point, during their time smuggling supplies in and out of the district, Petra had acquired her own set of maneuver gear from the corpse of a soldier. Levi had taught her the basics of it while she settled herself into a routine to condition her own body. Maneuver gear was not easy to handle – it required a strong core and leg strength to propel the body. It was rigorous training for Petra, but she always was a quick learner; it impressed Levi every time there was something she needed to learn, but he refused to show it. Watching from afar, Kenny Ackerman, Levi's previous mentor, scowled at the sight and personally greeted them with gun in hand. He confiscated the 3DMG in exchange for their life, promising to kill Levi with using his maneuver gear the next time they met.
Levi only scoffed at the notion and plotted to retrieve their gear, no matter what it took.
"You know, I was never really good with using rifles…" Petra confessed as she loaded her weapon. "The recoil always gets me. And to make it worse, we don't have that much ammo…"
"Make your shots count then," Levi replied. "It's better than nothing."
"True…"
They each pocketed a survival knife, knowing that dealing with Kenny's goons could get rough. Well, if they were anything like him, of course. Did any of them have the heart to kill a fellow human? Everyone's hate was towards the Titans; so what reason did they have for killing a human that was not infected?
"Alright! I think I'm good to go. What about you?" Petra quickly turned around to head towards the exit but collided with Levi right next to her. She froze, realizing how close their bodies were. They were inches from being chest to chest, his knee almost in between her legs. She slowly looked up at him. Oh geez…! He raised a brow as her cheeks reddened – she was too close for comfort. She jumped away, brushing against the rusted shelves behind her, embarrassed.
After cocking his rifle, he slung it over his shoulder and wrapped a dark green cloak around him. He then tossed another green cloak to Petra, and she caught it by surprise.
"Let's go." He turned and made way for the exit, brushing away what had just happened.
Petra nodded. "R-Right."
She was still red.
They traveled through various alleyways, secretly marked only for their reference. Going directly through the gate would have taken approximately ten minutes to get to Kenny's hideout, even with the short stop to gather weapons at a different safe house. However, going around the gate was a different story – about an hour's worth of walking while hiding their weapons.
They entered a marketplace that was crowded with people begging for food. Others were stationed behind a stand, willing to sell their own wares for money and ration cards, making the crowd even larger. They then snuck their way into a small, abandoned factory which was far beyond restoring.
After reaching the other end of the factory, they stopped at a heavy, black door with a tall, skinny window by the door handle. Petra stepped in front of Levi and knocked twice. The top of a boy's head could be seen approaching the door. He twisted the handle from the outside and opened it slightly.
"Hello," Petra smiled as she pulled out a ration card from her back pocket. She held it in front of the boy like a token, and he opened the door wider. "Could you please check if the coast is clear for us?"
The boy nodded and reached for the card, but Petra held the card high and out of his reach.
"None of Ackerman's men, okay?"
The boy then glanced at Levi who was definitely not amused.
"The other Ackerman." Dumbass. Levi wrinkled his brow at the boy. He quickly shied away to do Petra's favor, shutting the door quietly while catching a glimpse of Levi's infamous scowl.
Levi despised it when people confused him with Kenny Ackerman. They shared the same last name, but they could not be any more different from each other. Levi even wanted to separate himself from Kenny for as long as possible, but getting his maneuver gear stolen by him did not help one bit.
"It's gonna be a harder job than usual…" Petra sighed. "He's expecting us. And you know that."
"If you want to stay behind, then it's fine by me. But I'd rather have you as my back up if shit hits the fan."
Petra chuckled and turned to the door. The two saw the same blonde headed child at the window and heard the boy knock twice. Petra then opened the door, beginning their expedition into Kenny Ackerman's territory.
Levi beheld the new surroundings – everything was filthy as usual, but there were more people that used the outside as their own home. There was even a handful of individuals that became irritated whenever strangers strolled through. They walked past several tents, acknowledging the people that greeted them by their names. Those were people of different levels of filth according to Levi; and they ranged from the average, dirty and sweaty to ridiculously smelly and disgusting.
Without a doubt, Levi disliked them all.
Suddenly, a burly man, dressed in a brown, sweat-stained shirt stepped in front of Petra. He crossed his arms, holding his head high with a frown upon his lips.
"Excuse us," she said politely. He refused to move.
"Where do you think you're going, lady?" the man growled. He was twice the size of Petra – and Levi – and was much bigger at the stomach.
Petra's brows furrowed. She opened her mouth, about to speak, but Levi stepped beside her.
"Sit your ass back down," he spoke coldly.
The man's scowl disappeared in a matter of seconds, and he side-stepped out of the way.
"I-I'm sorry, Levi. I didn't know she was with you."
"Well, now you know."
The man returned to a wooden chair and sat, pale as a blank canvas. He felt a dreadful coldness emanating from Levi's very presence, and it frightened him to the core. When he and Petra continued onward, the cold barely faded away.
They turned the corner, finding stacks of hay bales lying on the ground. Abruptly, Levi stopped and pulled Petra back behind the corner. He leaned over slightly, taking a peek at the group of thugs patrolling the secluded street. They spoke about others making rounds in different areas and complained about their specific route. There were three in their group, each keeping a pistol at their sides. Levi and Petra skulked behind a large stack of hay bales, creeping closer to the tail of their group.
Levi analyzed the formation of their group and targeted their tail. It was a stupid idea for them to patrol in a straight line. A formation like that would prove useless, and there were so many blind spots that Levi could see; but nonetheless, it was all in his favor.
"Stay here," Levi whispered to his counterpart as he silently approached the last man in line.
The group was heading under a short balcony, needing to make a turn into another alleyway. Before the last man could step underneath the balcony with his comrades, Levi lunged forward and grabbed the man's head. He covered the man's mouth and wrapped his arm around the neck. He dragged him to the side, locking him in a chokehold.
"Which hotel is Kenny Ackerman shitting in," Levi rasped into the man's ear. He released his grip slightly, giving the man a chance to speak.
"I… I don't know…!" The man gasped.
"You know where he is. Stop with your bullshit."
"I…! I really don't!"
Frustrated, Levi tightened his grasp. "Where."
The man let out a muffled groan. "He's in the hotel next to the bar up the street…!"
Attempting to fight his way out of Levi's grasp, the man swung his leg towards Levi's shin. Feeling him struggle, Levi moved his leg out of the way and tightened his grip further. Finally deprived of any oxygen, the man's eyes rolled behind his head and fell limp in Levi's arms.
Levi flicked his gaze towards Petra and signaled for her to follow. Showing absolutely no shred of sympathy for the man, Levi threw the body into the hay bales, and proceeded to dust himself off.
"If they want to be good guard dogs, they're gonna have to be smarter than that."
Around half past noon, a man clad in black ran through the streets in a panic, sweating profusely through his thick clothing. He barged into a beige-colored building and sprinted up the wooden stairs, panting heavier and heavier with each step. When he finally reached the top floor, he made a sharp turn into the very first room on the left. There, he saw another man dressed in black, with his dusty feet propped up on a glossy desk.
"Ackerman, sir!"
The man slid his feet off the desk and tilted his hat upward. "What the hell is it."
"It's Levi."
Kenny Ackerman wrinkled his nose.
"I heard from other men that he's trying to make his way over here!"
"Is that right?" The man was frantic, but Kenny showed no signs of worry at all.
"When some of the patrols were making their rounds, they all noticed that at least one of their members had suddenly gone missing. When they went in search for them, they were jumped!"
Kenny watched the man frantically spew out his cries, only partially interested in what he was saying. At that moment, the single thought that echoed throughout his mind was Levi's now-expected visit. A grin curved onto his lips, already devising ways to wreck his sharp face.
"He's not alone though!" The man swallowed. "One person said he was also travelling with a ginger-haired woman."
Kenny's ears then perked up.
"They're both trying to make their way to you, sir!"
There was a silence between the two and a hint of bitterness in the air around them. Suddenly, Kenny burst into laughter; the man before him was bewildered.
"Levi is travelling with that woman, eh?" Kenny pondered. "Just to see me?"
Hastily, he pulled out a pistol from his holster and began to twirl it around his fingers, illusively aiming the muzzle at the man. The man saw the subtle moments when the muzzle was locked onto him; he choked, dreading the possibility that he had said something offensive.
Suddenly, a rifle bellowed from behind the man.
Blood and flesh splattered all over the floor, just barely touching the glossy desk. The body fell hard onto the wooden floor, cold and headless. Kenny could only smirk at the sight in front of him. There was no compassion for the man that had his brains scattered across the floor.
"Well, if it isn't the little rat that I found a long, long time ago." He fired a shot at the doorway, blasting the wooden paneling of the door.
Levi and Petra stood behind the wall at opposite ends of the room's entrance.
Levi shouted over his shoulder, "We need to fucking talk, Kenny."
He did not reply. Instead, there was the sound of shattering glass from inside the room.
Petra peeked her head past the paneling and found Kenny missing. "He jumped out the window!"
"Tch!" Levi charged, leaping out the same broken window with Petra only a few feet behind.
Kenny sprinted down the street, occasionally firing blind shots to steer away the two pursuers behind him. He weaved through alleyways and jumped into windows, trying hard to out-maneuver the two. Unfortunately for him, Petra kept a sharp eye, leading Levi through the exact same path Kenny went through without breaking their pace.
Then, after what felt like an hour's worth of running, Kenny made a wrong turn and was face to face with a dead end.
"Well, shit," he cursed under his breath, hearing footsteps sounding close by.
Approaching from behind, Levi and Petra drew their rifles, both aiming at him.
Slowly, he turned to face his assailants. "Heh. Levi. And lady."
Petra glared with daggers in her eyes.
Kenny chuckled. "I'm kidding. It's Petra, right?"
Petra's finger tightened at the trigger.
"Oh, come on. You're not really mad, are you?"
Without hesitation, he pointed his pistol at Petra. Before he could properly place his trigger finger, Levi promptly opened fire, shooting it out of his hand.
"Shit!" Kenny grabbed his wrist, having been hyperextended from the shot.
"You're lucky I missed." Levi sneered.
"Heheh… you've changed, you know. Your reflexes have gotten a bit sharper now."
Petra keenly watched Kenny's slow moving hands. His left hand began to ease towards his side but then wandered away for just a moment.
"What have you been up to? Eh, Levi?"
"The maneuver gear," Levi barked. "Where is it."
"I'm not telling you," Kenny scoffed. "Not on your life, kid."
Levi's scowl became more prominent, his anger becoming palpable.
"I'm sorry. You do have some years on you now. I'll just stick to calling you a rat. And even if I were to explain, it'll just be… too complicated for you to understand."
"Tell me where the gear is or I'll blow your fucking head off."
"Okay. Fine. I sold them."
Petra's eyes widened, dumbfounded. "What…?"
"It's not like I owed you two anything. In fact, the one who should owe me is you, Levi-"
"Who has our gear?!" Levi's finger pressed lightly on the trigger.
Kenny remained quiet for a moment.
"…The Shift members."
Instantly, a rope dropped down beside Kenny. At the top of the building next to him, there were three men. Two had pointed their rifles at Levi and Petra while one handled the rope. Swiftly, Kenny latched onto the rope, and the two men above fired at his pursuers. Levi and Petra backed away, dodging the bullets but, to their misfortune, allowing Kenny to flee to the rooftops.
"I promised myself I'd kill ya," Kenny shouted. "But I guess today wasn't a good day for that."
And just like that, he had disappeared; his trail, erased.