The Path Back to You | Levi x OC

Chapter 9 - Nightmare

Anastasya

Anya hid a smirk as Eren landed on his backside with a yelp the following afternoon.
"Again," she ordered.
The young, brown-haired recruit clenched his teeth and dragged himself up from the ground, determination burning brightly in his teal gaze. She had to admire his dedication if nothing else. From out of the corner of her eye, she could see that an annoyingly overprotective Mikasa was on the verge of jumping over the fence and interrupting their sparring session, but one glare from Levi had her sit firmly in place again. Anya returned her attention to Eren and the two of them readied themselves. She nodded at him to start and let him get confident enough to try landing a few blows, though she easily dodged every single one before smoothly flipping him onto his back. Again.
"Tch. This is painful," Levi grumbled. "Eren; if you're going to fight as a Titan, you need to get a hell of a lot better at hand-to-hand combat."
"He's right. It's going to be extremely important for you to master these manoeuvres, on a small and on a large scale."
"Understood!" said Eren, nodding.
"Alright," she said, smiling at his enthusiasm. "We'll try once more, and then it's Jean's turn."
Eren prepared himself and this time, she sensed the change in him. With renewed vigour, he very nearly struck her but, in the end, she was still able to trip him up and send him flying.
"Better," she said, offering a hand to help him get to his feet. "That was your best attempt yet, so well done. We'll keep working on it when we have time, okay?"
"Thank you, Captain!"
She nodded and Jean, who was taller and more muscular than her, stepped into the dirt ring they were using to practise in.
"First, you're going to try and take my legs out from under me," she said.
"Hey. Remember your injury," Levi warned.
She waved a dismissive hand.
"It'll be fine." She looked at Jean. "Just don't aim for my right leg, okay? I don't want to bust my stitches."
Jean frowned.
"Um... You're fighting with stitches?!"
"Yeah, so go easy on me. Now, if there's a traitor in our midst, they might challenge you even without turning into a Titan, so it's crucial that everyone knows what to do in that situation. Get ready."
They circled one another for about ten seconds, and then Jean made his move. She floored him almost immediately, despite her weakened state, and she placed her hands on her hips and turned to Levi, frowning.
"What on earth are they teaching them in the cadets these days?"
"Hell if I know."
She saw Erwin approaching the group and waved at him.
"You shouldn't be sparring when you're still injured," he said by way of greeting.
"I don't know if you could really call it sparring," she replied. "Don't suppose you want to have a match?"
He sighed, exasperated.
"Not until your leg has healed. I need to discuss something with you and Levi."
She turned to Jean, Armin, Eren and Mikasa.
"Sorry guys, but duty calls."
"Of course!" said Jean, bowing. "Thank you, Captain Anastasya."
"Yeah, thanks!" said Eren.
She flashed them an amused smile and then followed Erwin, along with Levi, up to the castle.
"Anastasya; don't spar anymore until those stitches are out," said Erwin once they were out of earshot of the others.
She pouted.
"I'm fine. I've been told to get my strength back up; sparring helps."
"He's right," said Levi. "You don't want to push yourself too hard and then be out of action like me."
Having been chastised by both of them, she settled into a decidedly bad mood. They entered the castle and went upstairs to Erwin's office. She and Levi sat on one of the sofas, but Erwin remained standing and got straight to the point.
"As you know, Jean will take Eren's place in the carriage. Mikasa and Armin will go with Eren and try to lead Annie underground. We have a plan B, but... I think we need a plan C."
"Sounds like you're really confident this will work," said Levi sarcastically, folding his arms.
"We can't be too sure. I propose that we station soldiers on rooftops, ready to operate the same restraint gear that we used in the giant forest. The three of us have to be seen going to the capital, but..."
"Hange can definitely handle it," she said.
"I agree, and the equipment seemed to be enough to hold the Female Titan last time. She only got away after calling in the other Titans to eat her."
"It might hold her," said Levi, "but then what?"
"If the original plan fails, we should try to assist. However, you can't go because of your leg, and there's a high chance I might be arrested when the Military Police realise that I organised everything, and so... Anastasya, you'll have to go, and if possible, cut the Female Titan open and retrieve Leonhart."
Levi's eyes widened, and his arms fell to his sides.
"Are you stupid? You just scolded her for sparring with a couple of undertrained brats, and now you're asking her to go and put herself right in the middle of the most dangerous situation possible inside the walls?"
"I can speak for myself," she replied, trying to keep her ire in check.
"It's a last resort," said Erwin, his icy gaze intense. "We can't fail again. Will you go, Anastasya, if needed?"
"Of course I will."
"And me? I guess I'll just have to stand there looking miserable with this shitty leg," said Levi.
"Well, you don't want to push yourself too hard," she said, returning his earlier phrase. "And you're so good at looking miserable."
Levi scowled, and she smiled back sweetly, her mood instantly brighter.
"If it comes down to it, you'll have to go, too, Levi," Erwin confirmed.
Anastasya nibbled on the tip of her thumb while she thought.
"It goes without saying that we have to find out whether there are more Titan shifters among us," she said. "Have you thought of a way to do that?"
"Not yet," said Erwin.
"I'll talk to Hange about it, then; she might have an idea of how to go about it. We can start looking at all of the recruits' records, too."
"Yes, though I understand that in the chaos caused by the attack on Wall Maria, a lot of information was mixed up or lost entirely. It might take a while. Right now, I want to go over the plan again."
"You mean plans," said Levi.
She frowned. Despite the heavy losses from the previous mission, Erwin was once again set on risking the lives of countless more people, and this time, there was a possibility that helpless civilians were going to be caught directly in the crossfire. She just hoped that it didn't come to that, and that if it did, they would all be able to live with the guilt.

***

Levi

Levi had been impressed by how well Anya had sparred earlier, in spite of his apparent disapproval, and he'd noticed that she'd seemed more like her old self again. He suspected that the brats had somehow brought it out in her, and for that he was grateful and had therefore been reluctant to stop her from training them. However, he now watched, helpless, as she tossed and turned beside him in the bed. She suddenly began to breathe heavily, as though she was running, and a thin veil of sweat coated her forehead, matting her snow-white hair. Without warning, she sat bolt upright and screamed, before slamming her fist into the wall repeatedly with loud, painful thumps. He quickly grabbed hold of her, restraining both arms as she fought an invisible enemy.
"Hey, hey, hey!" he pleaded. "Anya! You're safe! I'm here!"
She opened her frosty-blue eyes and when she saw him, she burst into tears, burying her head in her hands.
"I'm sorry," she cried, struggling to control her breathing.
The fist she had struck the wall with was bleeding and already bruising, and so he slipped out of bed to retrieve his medical kit. He carefully cleaned the shallow cuts and bandaged her hand, before pulling her into his arms.
"What happened?" he asked quietly.
"I dreamt I was asleep in the mountains. I dreamt that somehow, the...the Titans got into the cave I lived in; one of the little ones with a tiny body and an enormous head with big, bulging eyes. It... It spoke to me in such a horrible, unnatural voice. Then it dragged me outside and I tried to beat its head as it pulled me apart."
He realised that she was trembling. She had always been more disturbed by the Titans than he had, but to see her in such a state came as a shock to him. She jumped out of his embrace and began striding backwards and forwards across the room, a hand on her head, as though she were trying to remember something.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I...I think Ilse Langnar was right. That the Titans...some of them... I think they can speak."
His lips parted in shock. Some years ago, they had found their comrade's notebook. Ilse Langnar had been left outside the walls, just as Anya had, and before her death she had somehow interacted with a Titan and written about her encounter. They'd never been able to prove her discovery for themselves, though, and had always wondered if she'd simply imagined it due to hunger and dehydration. Anya was still distraught, and he stood up to intercept her.
"Come back to bed. There's nothing we can do about it right now. Tomorrow is the last day to strengthen the plan and rest up."
She regarded him, and for a moment he didn't think she'd listen. However, at last, she scrubbed at her face with her uninjured hand and joined him again.
"I'm sorry for waking you," she said.
"Don't be stupid," he replied. "I was awake anyway."
"Insomnia?"
"Yeah."
She touched his forehead with her own.
"I've said it before, but I'll sure as hell say it again; I'm glad I have you," she murmured.
"Me too," he said. "Life was pretty shit without you."
She managed a small smile, which he kissed in response, and then they settled back down to try and sleep. Within ten minutes, she was snoozing peacefully again. He watched over her for almost an hour, lost in his thoughts. He knew that she had suffered a great trauma, but with the way she had re-joined regimental life so quickly, he had hoped against hope that she may not have been as badly affected as everyone thought she would be.
However, he had an ominous feeling that that nightmare was going to be the first of many.