03 | Familiar Faces
Levi felt a growing sense of helplessness. He had been wandering around the manor for hours, exploring rooms and the left wing, yet everything he saw only added to his confusion. Was this place some museum for the dead? He quickly shook off that thought as it sounded stupid. He was probably the only one here, which made him feel a little safer, though he still wished he could figure things out sooner rather than later. Later that day, he found himself in the kitchen as the sun dipped below the horizon. Surprisingly, it was even nicer than the one back at headquarters. The countertops were enormous, with fancy knives and tools he didn't recognize.
He pulled out a tall stool and sat down stiffly, trying to process everything. His fingers brushed against the thin, rectangular object he took from the table in the room as he fished in his pocket. When he pulled it out, it vibrated.
"The hell..." he murmured, dropping the object onto the counter. When he thought that it didn't seem dangerous, he relaxed a bit. If only Hanji were here, she'd know what to do.
"If I'm right, I must have come out of that gigantic-ass painting. There has to be a way back, but where do I—"
Before he could finish his thought, the object vibrated, producing an odd sound just like earlier, and showed a familiar face.
"Lynne…" he whispered in disbelief. As soon as the image faded and the sound stopped, he poked the screen with his index finger, and it lit up again. Petra's smiling face appeared this time, but it quickly vanished like before.
"I must be losing my mind," Levi muttered, getting up from the stool.
He wandered toward the east wing, noticing the paintings that lined the walls. Each canvas depicted dead Survey Corps soldiers. He hadn't had the chance to mourn everyone's death due to his busy schedule, yet he was looking at their portraits at the moment with pain in his eyes. His heart ached as he paused, but then he caught a glimpse of another painting—one of Petra Ral.
"Petra," he murmured, almost as if speaking to the painting.
Just then, he heard noises coming from the lobby. He quickly hid behind a pillar next to the stairs and peered out. Three shady-looking men had climbed in through the window.
"Gelgar, Abel, Gordon?" Levi whispered as he recognized the faces of his former soldiers in the Survey Corps.
Gelgar pulled out a sack and stuffed it in an old horse figurine that he saw on top of the cabinet, which didn't even look valuable. The three men headed up the stairs, and Levi quickly hid from their sight, not wanting to be seen. They went straight to the room with the giant painting with broken glass. It seemed they knew the manor's layout, and it wasn't their first time breaking inside. So he waited just outside the door, listening to their conversation as they rummaged around until he heard a crash—the sound of something breaking, which was probably the mug of coffee that he had seen earlier.
"Let's move! Hurry up with that painting!" Levi heard Gelgar shout. A bad feeling washed over him; they must have taken the artwork above the bed.
Just as he was about to burst in and confront them, he heard the gate to the manor swing open. The owner must have returned. The three men scrambled to escape, lugging the painting. In a flash, Levi kicked Abel in the shin and punched Gordon in the stomach. They dropped the painting and groaned in pain. Gelgar tried to hit him with the old horse figurine, but Levi dodged and landed an uppercut on him.
Meanwhile, Petra had come into the lobby, her heels silent against the carpet as she headed to her room to grab her phone. But as she turned down the corridor, she spotted the two men moving like worms on the floor and Levi tying Gelgar's hands behind his back.
She screamed. The three men all screamed. Levi's eyes widened in surprise as he turned to Petra. She dropped her handbag as an offensive instinct kicked in, quickly grabbed a sword from a suit of armor nearby, and charged at the men. "Thief!" she yelled as she lunged forward, aiming directly for Levi, the only unbound one.
He barely dodged her strike, and the sword nearly cut Gelgar's neck, much to the latter's shriek.
"Petra! Wait!" the Humanity's Strongest Soldier shouted, "Calm down, you...!"
"How do you know my name?" she shouted back, swinging the sword again. "Stalker!"
"What the hell is going on?" Levi asked, exasperated as he dodged the dangerous blade.
"I should be the one to ask that, mister!" she retorted and made another swing of the sword that almost cut his arm.
Realizing there was no talking her down, he caught her sword with his left hand, feeling the blade cut into his skin. Petra dropped the sword in shock as Levi winced in pain.
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, her expression horrified.
Seeing her moment of hesitation, Levi grabbed the sword and threw it at a distance so Petra could not reach it. But the thin, rectangular object in his pocket vibrated and made noise again.
"Tch," he muttered under his breath, pulling out the object to check the screen. It showed Nifa's face, she was calling.
Petra, recovering quickly and seeing her mobile phone, seized the chance to snatch it from Levi's hand while he was distracted, answering the call in a panic as she ran towards the stairs. "Nifa, call the police! We have thieves in the house—"
But Levi managed to catch up with her, knock the phone out of her hand, and catch it before it hit the ground. Suddenly, Petra lunged at him with a Swiss knife after realizing that she had it in her pocket every time, slashing at his side. Furious and defensive, she pointed the knife at his neck, that's when she finally had the chance to examine his face. Levi, desperate and used in hand combat, grabbed the knife quickly from her hand and caught her from behind tightly.
"You never change, Petra," he murmured, wincing from the pain as his blood stained her clothes.
"W-Who are you?" she stammered, shaking from fear and confusion.
"It's Levi—" he started to explain, but was interrupted by the sound of police bursting in.
"Don't move! Drop your weapons and raise your hands!" one officer shouted.
Levi dropped the Swiss knife, raised his hands, and turned to see Farlan pointing a gun at him, along with his comrades. In the distance, Gelgar and the others were shrieking in panic.
Petra sprinted toward the officers, leaving Levi behind. "Farlan!" she called, worry written all over her face.
Levi decided to explain, "Look, I don't know what's going on here, but those guys are stealing your stuff, and I—" He was cut off when Farlan said sharply, "Save your story for the police station," before turning to his team. "Put him in handcuffs."
With no other choice, Levi let them cuff him alongside the three men. As he settled into the police car, he caught Petra's gaze. She was now looking at him intently—her eyes full of meaning.
"We'll handle it from here," Farlan assured her. Don't worry; I'll leave my team to investigate inside, " he said before leaving.
Just then, a black Toyota pulled up to the manor's gate. Nifa jumped out, her face filled with concern. "Petra, are you hurt? Was I too late? Did they get caught?" She noticed the bloodstains on Petra's clothes and added, "Hey, say something!" before lightly slapping her cheek.
After a few moments, Petra finally snapped out of it. She grabbed Nifa by the shoulders and exclaimed, "He's real!"
"Who's real?" Nifa asked, confused.
"Levi! Captain Levi! The painting! It's him—he's alive! And he knows my name!" Petra babbled, looking flustered. "Look at the blood!" She pointed at the stains on her clothes, and then she gasped after a sudden realization, "Nifa, I hurt him! I need to treat him!" And with that, she dashed toward her car and hopped in.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Nifa called, her worry growing.
"To the police station. That's where Farlan took him." Petra revved the engine and added, "His team is checking the manor. Please help them while I'm gone!" Then she sped off.
Nifa opened her mouth to say something, but it was too late—Petra already left. Sighing, she went inside to assist Farlan's team's investigation at the manor.
At the police station, Levi cursed under his breath, wincing at his wounds. Petra had hit him harder than he realized. "Darn it, Petra," he thought.
"What's your name?" a serious officer asked.
"Levi," he replied simply, looking pale.
They took his biometrics, but to their growing suspicion, they couldn't find any registration for him. The system didn't even recognize his fingerprints.
"We have a bit of a problem here, Sir," the officer relayed to Farlan, who had just seated in his cubicle.
But before Farlan could respond, Petra entered the station with a harried look, her eyes scanning the room.
"Petra," Farlan said, surprised to see her.
"Where's Levi?" she asked, holding a surgical kit tightly.
Farlan's curiosity turned to concern as he pointed behind him. Just then, Petra caught sight of Levi slumping from his seat to the floor, blood dripping from his left hand and side.
"Levi!" she shouted, rushing to his side and calling his name repeatedly; concern was etched on her voice. As Levi looked up, he saw her worried face getting blurry, and her voice became a distant murmur in his ears until everything finally went dark.
Author's Note: I last wrote the first half of this chapter on February 11, 2021, but I just realized that the last time I updated this fanfiction story was August 04, 2017. So yes, after seven years of hiatus, I finally got back on track in writing, and here's an update. I hope it brings back the passion to your Rivetra heart. Reviews are well appreciated!