Microcosmos || Rivamika

Ch13 Devils in the Dark

Summary: Levi teams up with a familiar face as he races to track down his Paradis soldier. Both Levi and Mikasa relive parts of their most haunting memories in the dark as they're pushed to their mental and emotional limits. (T/W: Rape/kidnapping implications)

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"Tell us where they went."

A soldier grabbed her red hair and threw the gruntled woman to her knees in the muddied ground. Carmen's empty hands flew in the air as she stared at the surrounding soldiers with fearful eyes; scalp still burned from being dragged by her hair. Barrels of shotguns pointed only feet from her face, yet the militant stare of Commander Magath seemed even deadlier. Her lip quivered as she tried to process her options, but Magath was an impatient man.

The armed men cocked their guns at her silence.

The commander tilted his head, impressed by her stubbornness. He lowered to the ground and leveled to Carmen, picking up the knife she'd dropped. Mud dripped from the blade.

"A devil has no business thriving in our land. We can tear everything you own apart," he waved the knife before her face as she turned away in shame. If Carmen was lucky to make it out of this moment alive, then the precious years spent rebuilding her life and safety in Marley from the ground up would surely still be stripped from her.

"Or..." Magath stabbed the knife to the ground and wiped his hands. "You can tell us everything you know about these Ackermans, and we'll let you go. Everything will go back to the way it was before."

Carmen's amber eyes shot back at him. "Everything...?"

"Everything." Magath stood in front of her, outreaching a hand for her to stand. "Lead us to them, Carmen. And you can freely live your life in your riches here. Strauss Co. will be allowed to stand."

At the end of the day, I don't give a shit about this war. What I do give a shit about is the life I've built here away from the walls.

She took his hand and stood. "...I'll tell you what I know."

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Levi hadn't had much experience being forced to stand by. He was always the one pushing forward, always leading the way through danger for his soldiers. Yet Mikasa took the reins from him when she asked to face Eren alone. He was learning that the more they worked closely together, the more he had to trust her in just about everything.

Always determined, this venture to Marley was a mission she initiated; Levi was merely invited to accompany her. Mikasa didn't ask him to protect her or fight for her. I want us to go together was all that she mustered up when she showed up to Levi's cabin the morning he agreed to go all this way alongside her.

But as he sat back in his bed, still giving his body time to recover from the gunshot he'd taken in place of Mikasa days ago, worry still gnawed at his bones. Being the captain of the Scouts meant he was good at keeping composure, but no trained composure could fully take away the anxieties of sending a soldier in his place.

Especially when the soldier is the person he loves, running off to the man she'd loved for years.

Levi stood from his bed, relieved at his legs feeling like his legs at long last again. He made his way to the corner of the room and observed the small white vase which delicately housed the very bundle of lavender that gave Mikasa visions of a peaceful life a day ago. As she spoke of these dreams, he'd kissed her. Tch. His lips curled to a smirk at the memory. Anxieties were put to ease as he enjoyed the calming aroma of the purple blooms.