The Path Back to You | Levi x OC

Chapter 51 - A Poisonous Remedy

Anastasya

Anya just managed to stop herself from splattering all over the streets of Orvud district by deploying one of her wrist blades as she slid feet-first down a roof. However the impact of landing was still jarring, and she yelped as her ribs creaked and bruised anew. She ignored the pain and righted herself, scanning her surroundings. The most important thing was that Historia was safe. As they'd been blasted from the sky, she'd pushed the young queen forward so as to land in a soft-covered wagon. She swiftly located it from where she stood and determined that Historia was unharmed. A crowd of people had already gathered around, and Historia blinked back at them in a daze, her hair a tousled mess.
"Was our city just saved?" a woman wondered aloud.
"Hey... you okay? You injured?" a soldier from the Garrison asked.
"Were you the one who dealt the finishing blow?"
"She was," said Anya, striding through the crowd just as Historia got up and stood tall in the wagon. "This young lady just saved the entire district, if not humanity itself."
The crowd murmured, full of relief and amazement, and she winked at Historia.
"I am..." Historia stammered, fists clenched by her sides, "I am Historia Reiss! The true ruler of the walls!"
"Long live Queen Historia!" Anya proclaimed, kneeling and bowing her head.
Despite their confusion others in the crowd began to do the same, at the very least to show their gratitude. When a few cheers went up, Anya met Historia's eyes and grinned at the awe and determination upon her face.

***

Levi

"That was a pretty impressive stunt earlier," Levi remarked.
Squad Anvi had been ordered to rest for the remainder of the day, but Levi and Anya had insisted on going to search the chapel and the caves beneath for survivors. So it was that they rode side by side as they guided their horses around the enormous, dipped scar that Rod Reiss had left upon the earth. Anya glanced at him, seemingly in a world of her own.
"Hmm?"
"Kneeling to Historia."
"Ah well, you know me. I do love a grand gesture."
He smirked, and for the millionth time he wondered if it would soon be right for him to make his own grand gesture. He was broken from his thoughts when Anya sighed.
"What a mess."
She was peering into the remains of the cave, which was far bigger than they'd initially realised. It had taken them a good hour or so to explore it and search for survivors with a few other soldiers. It seemed that all of Kenny's squad had either been killed by their hand or crushed to death under falling rubble, though there was still no sign of the man himself. Levi was on the verge of accepting that he was gone for good when Anya lightly touched his arm and nodded over to a cluster of trees, her eyes wide and unsure. Kenny lay there, his back against a gnarled tree trunk. Half of his head was viciously burned and blistered, and blood spilled from his wounds. His eyes were closed, and it wasn't until they'd dismounted, walked over to him, and said his name that he opened them.
"Oh, gee. It's you?" he wheezed, spewing blood. "And your queen."
Levi frowned, doing his best to ignore a sudden wave of pity and sadness.
"Your comrades we fought. They all ended up getting crushed. Are you the only survivor?"
Kenny shut his eyes again, his breathing becoming more laboured by the minute.
"Seems that way."
Levi narrowed his eyes. His emotions were becoming harder to ignore.
"With those burns and that blood loss...there's no helping you now."
"Yeah? I wonder..."
Kenny opened his eyes once more and undid the bag that lay beside him. Levi stared down at the contents and Anya gasped. There was a syringe identical to the one that Rod Reiss had tried to inject Historia with in order to turn her into a Titan, and a little bottle labelled 'Armour'.
"I swiped this little one right out of Rod's bag," Kenny told them. "Seems if I inject this, I'll turn into a Titan. One of those dumb Titans, unfortunately. For a while...it should extend my...life."
"You've had the time and the strength to inject yourself," said Levi. "Why haven't you?"
"Yeah... I wonder... If I don't inject it right... I might end up like he did. All messed up."
"I know you're not sitting here waiting to die. Don't you have a better excuse?"
"I...don't wanna die...and wanted power. But... I see... I think I understand why he did it, after all this time..."
"Huh?"
Kenny began chuckling and Levi glanced at Anya, whose expression was nigh on impossible to read.
"Everybody I've met... was all the same. Drinking... Women... Worshipping God, even. Family... The King... Dreams... Children... Power... Everyone had to be drunk on somethin' to keep pushing on. Everyone was a slave to somethin'. Even him." He paused to cough blood onto the grass between his legs. "A-And what are you? A hero?!"
Kenny was beginning to ramble, and Levi knew that his miserable life was coming to an end. However, he wanted, needed answers before it was too late. He crouched down and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Kenny! Tell me everything you know! Why doesn't the First King want humanity to survive?!"
"Beats me... But...we Ackermans...opposed him...for that reason."
Kenny coughed again, and Levi cringed inwardly as he felt warm blood spatter across his face. However he made no move to wipe it away.
"My last name seems to be Ackerman, too. You... What were you to my mother?"
"Heh, you idiot... Just her brother."
Levi felt as though he'd been physically struck, and he dropped his hands from Kenny's shoulders.
"That day... why?" he murmured. "Why did you leave me?"
"Because... I'm not meant to be... someone's father."
With the last of his strength, Kenny lifted the box containing the Titan serum and shoved it into Levi's chest.
"Kenny..."
The light faded from Kenny's eyes, and Levi was surprised to feel tears welling in his own. He hung his head, his mind a tangled mess and his heart not much better. The last of his close family, the family he hadn't even realised he's had, was gone. When his mother had died he'd almost starved to death beside her. Not a moment too soon, a tall man in a hat and a long coat had appeared in their hovel and taken him in, referring to himself simply as 'Kenny'. He'd taught him how to swing a blade, how to fight, and how to survive for as long as possible in the wretched Underground city. Without him he was sure he wouldn't have survived. However one day Kenny had simply walked away, disappearing into the crowd as Levi beat the shit out of a full-grown man. Since then he'd often tortured himself, trying to figure out just what he'd done wrong to make Kenny leave. He started when he felt Anya's small hand on his shoulder, and he searched her face for some sort of answer to how he should feel. She offered him a sad smile and then took a handkerchief, one that he'd given her years ago, and began gently cleaning the gory mix of blood, spit, and tears from his cheeks. When she was done she drew him into an embrace, holding him tightly as he squeezed his eyes shut. After what felt like an age, he pulled back and swiped the last few stray tears away.
"To think he was my uncle all this time, and I never knew," he murmured, glancing at Kenny's corpse. "What an idiot I am."
"Would it have changed anything, had you known? He decided not to tell you for a reason, maybe so that you wouldn't feel obliged to follow after him and stay in the Underground. You... you shouldn't have regrets, Levi."
He nodded and got to his feet. Anya did the same, and he realised that she'd been crying, too.
"Why do you think he called me a 'queen'?" she wondered.
He arched an eyebrow.
"No doubt he was referring to your old title." He was met with a blank stare, and he shook his head. "'Anastasya, Queen of the Orphans'. That's what people called you, down in the Underground."
She shifted, seeming awkward and unusually modest.
"Oh, that."
"You know I hated you back then?" he said.
Her brow crinkled, and she tipped her head to the side.
"You didn't know me back then."
"You don't remember, do you?"
"Huh?"
"We met when we were kids."
"What? When?"
"You must have been about 13. I used to see you sneaking around in the shadows, spying on people and stealing, before you'd go back to the place you were squatting in and sharing everything with the others. Even after you got out of that place I caught sight of you every so often, coming back and helping people. One day, you and I finally crossed paths and got into a fight. I was beating up some kid for looking at me funny, and you stopped me."
Realisation dawned on her face.
"Oh my God... I remember! I hadn't expected you to be so good!"
"You know I let you win that day?"
She nodded her agreement.
"You were far better than me. You could've killed me if you'd wanted."
"Yeah, but I knew who you were and what you were trying to do for people. That's why I hated you at first. I thought, 'why does that girl give a shit about anyone but herself in a place as miserable and selfish as this?' You made me feel guilty."
She flashed him a rueful smile.
"I wish I'd known you sooner."
"It worked out in the end." He stared at the serum box, frowning. "What the hell are we going to do with this?"
"Part of me wants to bury it somewhere that no-one will ever find it," she confessed. "We can't, of course, but it's tempting just to avoid all the trouble it's going to cause."
"Hmm."
"Would you do it?"
"Huh?"
"Would you take it?"
"No," he said, the very thought making him feel sick.
"What if there was a 100% guarantee that you wouldn't become like Rod Reiss?"
"No. You're not saying you would?"
Anya's expression darkened.
"It's one of my worst nightmares. That's not to say I judge Eren, but... No, I wouldn't do it."
He had suspected as much. He looked at Kenny's corpse again, grief he'd never expected to feel upon his death settling deep within him like a stone in the bottom of a lake.
"We'll have to send teams to fetch the bodies," he stated.
"Mm."
He heard the pain in Anya's voice and the way her breath caught in her throat and cursed himself for allowing her go with him. She was still badly injured and impossibly exhausted, the shadows under her eyes morphing into night itself. He'd never seen her so destroyed save for when she'd come back from beyond the walls. She needed rest more than ever, and so he made his decision.
"Let's head back."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
He spared Kenny one final look, silently bidding him farewell.
"Yeah. He's not going anywhere."