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.
"This way," Levi called out over his shoulder. "If we cut through Ragako Village, we should make it to Castle Utgard by sunrise."
They journeyed through several kilometers worth of grass, attempting to reach the village ahead. It was a smooth trek so far, but it was rather surprising. They had not encountered any Titans for a few hours, and all they had been traveling through was a vast, open area — an unbecoming environment for 3DM gear usage. One would think they would encounter at least three Titans at this point in their journey, but supposedly luck was definitely on their side for this mission.
Surely their clothes had begun to stink from their own sweat with the nonstop travelling. They could feel the fabric beginning to stick to their skin even while skulking about in the early morning cold. The filth was such a nuisance to Levi that he was actually looking forward to scavenging for abandoned clothing more than a knife or a bullet. Offensive and defensive supplies were the priority in their small hunt, but a change of clothes and socks would have been very nice too. Especially in Levi's case who had been out and about since he woke up the day prior.
When the sky finally began to change from black to morning blue, they stepped foot on Ragako Village boundaries. There was a fence post that stretched around the village perimeter; a brick or two that were obviously misplaced; stray, torn cloth. There were also no signs of life anywhere except for the ground they walked on, which was dark green all over — healthy as can be. A few more kilometers forward was a one-story wooden home – the first building they had reached ever since they exited the tunnel leading out of the city. The house was rotting from the infamous mixture of old age and rain. Hoping to find rations and other equipment hidden inside drawers and cupboards, Levi walked up to the front porch. Upon placing his hand on the rusted knob, there was a slight tremor in the distance.
The three of them looked south, into the valleys from whence they came.
"What the hell was that?" Eren gulped.
Petra looked towards Levi who was fiddling with the door. "Levi, did you hear that?"
"It's far away." He dug the blade of his knife into the key hole of the doorknob, unlocking it from the outside. The door then propped open with a petty squeak. "It's nothing to worry about. Now get in here."
"But… it sounds close to me…" Eren said apprehensively as he watched the valleys with Petra brushing past his shoulder. "Are you sure we're safe?"
"For now. Keep moving, kid."
Eren followed his escorts inside the house, looking back at the valleys. He found Levi opening all of the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen, searching for anything that could be deemed useful. He sifted through utensils of different shapes and sizes. The forks clinked against the spoons and the spoons clinked against the knives. Slamming the drawers back in place, he crouched down to the cabinets below the sink, forcing them open, thus cleaning supplies. No guns. No bullets. No bandages.
Cleaning fucking supplies.
"Would've been nice," Levi mumbled, "if I had the time to fucking clean right now." He threw the cabinet doors shut and rose from the wooden floor.
A strange urge had Eren checking on the valleys through the windows every couple seconds. He was paranoid, thinking something was looking for them whenever he heard the cool wind blow against the old house. The boy then asked the temperamental man at the sink: "Don't you two have anything that I can use? You know, something better than just a knife? Something that can help fight against the Titans?"
"I don't have any amount of trust in you to fire a gun at a Titan, so that's a no. A big no."
Eren frowned.
"I'm not about to get my head blown off if I give you a gun."
Levi jerked his neck towards Petra who was in the corner examining the shelves that hung over a bare wooden counter. He had heard plastic bottles rattling against each other. Medicine perhaps?
"What'd you find, Petra?"
"Nothing," she sighed. "Just some herbs and spices, but no food to use them with. The herbs are purely for eating – no strategic health value there."
"We'll try the next couple of buildings then. Should be near the village square."
Eren swiftly dodged Levi's shoulder as the man made his way out the door. Petra followed suit but stopped quietly beside the boy.
"You'll get used to him," Petra whispered with a grin.
"I hope you're right," he said, tired of Levi's constantly aggravated demeanor. He tailed Petra out of the house, hearing their boots crunch down on the soft grass. He continued, "Is there a reason why he's like that?"
"It's just the way he is," she chuckled.
"…Why."
"I guess it's the way he was raised."
They stayed a few meters behind Levi, careful not to be loud enough for him to hear. He was in his own little world now, focused on getting what they wanted and needed before they could move on from the silent village. And so, Petra used the opportunity to lecture Eren on the intimidating man that stood before them.
"He was raised in the Underground City, you know," Petra mentioned.
"The Underground City?" Eren queried. "What's that?"
"You're too young to know. I don't blame you. It was probably long gone around the time you were born. Beforehand it was basically the slums of all slums — home to the Black Market and any kind of thug you can think of. He was a poor man, Eren."
"That's harsh..." But that was the man that had been leading him through this dangerous journey from the very beginning. He wondered how Levi managed to live his life in a bleak place as the Underground City. Calling it the "slums of the slums" was an understatement. Eren was unable to imagine how much tougher life could have been especially with the Titans on their rampage during his time.
"He was a poor man, but he was a well-known thug and a high-roller in the Black Market."
Whoa.
"So… did he- did he actually kill people for food then?"
Petra hesitated to answer. "...He might have..."
Eren's eyes flicked to Levi's cloaked back, beginning to understand the killing intent the man had for him earlier.
"But he's not all that bad. He doesn't hurt people willy-nilly."
"You sure about that?" He placed a hand on his bruised chest.
Petra giggled, "I'm sure. That beating he gave you had meaning behind it. He wanted to make sure you wouldn't pull anything after we found out you were... 'infected.' Can't blame him either."
He watched the tail of Levi's cloak wave in the cool, morning breeze as they trudged up a slow-rising hill. He caught a glimpse of the maneuver gear hiding underneath his garb, envious of his privileges with its usage. His eyes then sunk to a corner, the brightness in his irises fading from disappointment.
"It still doesn't seem like he trusts me in any way though," he solemnly spoke.
"He's... a very reserved person," Petra replied.
He then turned his head to her, looking at her with curved brows. "You trust me... right? I-I wasn't lying back there... I mean it-"
"If I didn't trust you, then I wouldn't have tried to convince him earlier to keep pushing with this mission."
Eren's eyes suddenly brightened, finding hope in Petra's words. If he chose to pull through with the job despite having a so-called "infected kid" with a sane mind following right behind him, then the man was not heartless after all. He had… maybe a quarter of a heart. Maybe.
"Hey!" Levi shouted from the very top of the hill. "Let's pick up the pace!"
"We're coming!"
Eren could see Levi's scowl all the way from the base of the hill although Petra did not seemed bothered by it at all. He could tell she was used it – that his expression meant nothing personal, at least not at the very moment; so he brushed the dirty look aside, taking the chance to start getting used to seeing it more often in their expedition. He then ran to the top of the hill, much to Petra's surprise. He had a sudden burst of energy, putting forth his own trust in his two escorts. If Petra trusted him, Levi must have done the same.
From the top of the green hill, Eren saw the village square meters below. There was a grey dot in the far distance. He closed an eye and extended his arm. He raised his clean thumb beside the dot, measuring it from afar. The dot was as big as the moon on his nail — it was still a long ways away. Twenty kilometers worth, it seemed.
"That's Castle Utgard over there, isn't it?" Eren asked, still keeping his thumb close to the grey dot in the expanse.
Petra stood beside Levi who then spoke to her with his eyes glued to the same dot Eren gawked at. "It's still a long ways ahead. We could cut straight through this village, scrounge up supplies; or go around and keep moving. Pick your poison. We're bound to run into some Titans along either way."
"I don't like the sound of that at all…" Petra sighed. "How big would the Titans here be though?"
"As big as the houses here."
"What's the plan if we cut through?"
"We clear out any and all the Titans here first. Then we'll camp in one of the houses with whatever supplies we find before we make a solid break for the castle. If you haven't noticed, the path from the village to the castle is too much of an open area. We need to maintain a faster pace over there if we plan to avoid any trouble. We're our own horses when that time comes."
Petra shook her head at the wide expanse. There were no trees, no buildings, no rubble – nothing that the 3DM gear can stick onto. The ground would be of little help. She then glanced at the boy who craned his neck to examine the village square below. With her and Levi armed with military weapons and Eren armed with… a knife… could they even pull this off unseen by the Titans? Petra could not help but wonder.
"What about him?"
"He stays out of the way and lets us do the fighting. I don't need him fucking anything up whether he's infected or not."
Levi jogged down the hill towards the empty village square, his gear rattling loudly on the way down. Petra motioned Eren to follow, and he obediently stuck close by.
As they treaded through the square surrounded by various buildings, they could feel nothing but emptiness from the entire village. The buildings were decomposing, but the vegetation nearby were still green; so where did the people go?
"This is Ragako Village?" Eren asked, tossing his head in every direction.
"Was," Petra replied, trying to determine an age for the vacuous buildings around them. "Now it's just… a ghost town. There are still crops growing around though."
"I wouldn't trust those," Levi chimed. "Let's just keep looking for anything we can use."
He crossed diagonally through the square, walking in front of a small, abandoned pub. The door was not locked but felt as if it was jammed from the inside. He examined the hinges of the door, but they had not rusted completely. Something could have blocked the pathway on the other side. A crate – a cement block? He leaned against the door on his shoulder and rammed into it three times. The hinges began to loosen from the pounding – progress. On the third strike, the door burst open, hinges breaking off and bolts flying into the air. He stumbled into the building as the sides of his maneuver gear slammed against the doorway. He caught himself, leaning far forward from the momentum.
Suddenly, he froze.
"Levi!" Petra shrieked, seeing a scrunched and swollen humanoid figure waiting in the pub.
"A Titan?!" Eren gasped.
Levi was numbed. The figure reached as tall as the pub's ceiling, smiling down at him with the most hideous set of teeth mankind has ever seen. It opened its maw, and for an instant, he saw a cruel vision – a glimpse of Isabel and Farlan sitting on the Titan's tongue.
"Levi!" they screamed in unison. They reached for him, slowly sliding farther down the Titan's mouth. "Levi, please!"
"Levi!" Petra screamed again, running into the building with Eren trailing close behind. "Levi!"
Petra's voice erased the horrible vision, and his eyes were filled with hatred. He saw the Titan reaching for his body with one of its large, wrinkly hands. He jumped back and drew his blades, charging straight through the abomination. Petra came to a screeching halt, just out of range from the rain of blood. Eren watched from behind Petra as blood rained down in thick clumps onto the pub floor, soon evaporating into the air. He had seen people get chopped into pieces and shot to death; but witnessing a Titan death was something he was left in awe about.
The boy reached into his pocket, feeling the handle of his survival knife. He then glossed his eyes over the mutilated Titan body, comparing its size to the tiny weapon he kept sheathed. He was envious – he wanted to carve through the Titans too. He wanted his own maneuver gear – his own soldier-level weapons.
What could a simple survival knife do against a Titan?
Nothing.
He clenched the handle taut, frustrated at his visible helplessness.
After all of the steam had cleared, Petra lingered over to Levi who stood still in the Titan's place. He was looking down, brows wrinkled in pure dissatisfaction. Roughly, he sheathed his blades and covered his gear with the ends of his cloak. He then pivoted, heading for the door.
"Let's go."
"What happened?" Petra demanded.
He stopped. "The hell are you talking about."
"You just suddenly froze…" she replied. "You… never do that…"
Eren remained silent and hovered towards the exit.
"What happened? Did you see something?"
"Yes."
Petra's lips arched downwards.
Eren slipped out the door.
"What did you see?" Petra asked quietly.
Levi refused to respond. Instead, he took a step forward to the exit again; but Petra snatched his wrist. "Levi…"
His eyes ran over the ruined wood floor, then to the boy who was standing patiently outside the pub. He blinked.
And he saw dear Isabel.
He blinked again.
Gone.
He swiveled his body towards Petra. He blinked.
And he saw Farlan.
He blinked again.
Gone.
"Levi?" she uttered quietly. He was looking at her with perplexity and a form of astonishment – a blend that did not sit well with her. Her hand gently eased down to his, squeezing it tight, hoping she could wake him up from whatever stupor he was in.
What was happening?
"Levi," she said sternly.
He turned his back to her, with her hand still in his palm. He squeezed her hand briefly in response and let it slip through his fingers, unwilling to talk.