[F/N]

Third day of the annual Purge; approximately 5:00 AM.

"Missing?"

"Yes, [F/N]. Missing," Mikasa sighed in exasperation, her eyes shaking badly.

"Like, 'nowhere to be found' missing? 'He could be dead' missing?" she kept talking, even as she got up--her head spun like crazy.

"Yes!" Mikasa answered again, a little more forceful this time. "What do you not understand by 'missing'?"

"Sorry, sorry!" she cowered, running her fingers through her hair. "Did you wake the others? We have to go find him. Have you looked everywhere?"

"Yes! I've checked all floors!" Mikasa groaned, pacing back and forth. "Where could he have gone? Think, [F/N], think!"

"I--I will," [F/N] quickly nodded, pushing Mikasa gently by her shoulder. "Go get the others. I'll try to search around--he couldn't have just left like that. Even if he was kidnapped or getting killed, he would've left clues somewhere--he wasn't the type to suddenly vanish and abandon."

Mikasa hurried along, yelling indecipherable things as [F/N] approached the door that led to the stairs.

As she closed the door behind her, she couldn't hear anyone else but herself--her breathing, to be exact. She was still breathing hard from the sudden hit of a news; where could he have gone?

This was the place that she and Levi fought not too long ago--she could spot the broken rings of the chains scattered on the stairs, reflecting the light off its metallic surface.

When she turned, a beam of light stunned her momentarily--she realized that it was the pendant that shone brightly right into her eyes. Approaching it with caution, she picked it up, from the very top of the stairs.

"What..." [F/N] huffed, grasping it firmly in her hand. "Ugh. This is so annoying."

She slid the pendant into her back pocket of her black skinny jeans; maybe it could hold useful someday, somehow. Hopefully.

After jogging down two flights of stairs, she stopped at a landing. She frowned when she saw that the window was opened; she was certain that it hadn't been opened before. Sticking her hand out, she felt the cool breeze. Feeling the edge of the window, she let out another labored sigh.

It's been a while since he left--but she wondered how he did it so discreetly, though. This was the second floor, after all--the ground below was just plain cement. Well, looks like I'll need to learn a thing or two from him when he gets back.

When her eyes scanned over the floor and the walls for any sign, her eyes suddenly stopped at a point.

Maybe he didn't leave out the window.

On the ground, shoved in a corner, next to the wall that contained the open window, a crumpled sticky-note was currently present. She frowned at it; maybe Mikasa passed by it because it looked like trash.

Judging from its color, it looked pretty new--when she felt it, it felt more like a new, fresh piece of paper rather than an old one. She flattened it back out, trying to read the scribble off the paper. To her excitement, it resembled Levi's handwriting--and it was written with a smooth, black ink pen; the only ones he'd write with.

"Ral," she read out loud. Ral?

"Oh, god," she closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall.

He had went after to find his so-called 'ex'.

-

"Mikasa, Mikasa! Get Connie. We're going over there right now. I don't even know how the hell or when the hell Levi got the time to do this, but we are going."

Eren was getting busy with packing and sorting out the weapons that they held, taking stock of bullets and other miscellaneous things, whilst Armin was busy handling Connie; he helped him move around, as he couldn't do much with a bound wrist; to take things even further, though, Mikasa secured a handcuff around Armin's wrist and Connie's wrist.

"Where did you even get the pair of handcuffs?" [F/N] asked, a little confused. "Do you like, carry them around, or...?"

"Comes in handy," Mikasa shrugged.

Jean, on the other hand, was trying his best to pile up food; he stuffed various things into the empty duffel bags that they had brought. "Don't forget the water," [F/N] yelled. "And if you need help, just call me and I'll be right over. You also need to disarm a car alarm for us, Jean! You're the expert."

"No problem, I'm almost done anyway," he yelled back, continuing to wipe the aisles clean. She only sighed, rolling her eyes as she knew he was bound to make a mess sooner or later.

"Just--ugh," [F/N] stormed up to Jean, snatching the duffel out of his hands. "You're so slow. Just go fetch a car for us."

Jean sighed, rolling his eyes out of irritation. "Fine, whatever. You're the boss."

[F/N] groaned as he left; he had filled up two and a half duffel bags of food--filled up with his favorites.

Bread and butter. Cans of carbonated drinks. Chocolate and candy bars. Jelly beans. Gum. Cans of tomato soup.

"Ugh," she groaned again, frowning as she began to take it all out. She saved one duffel filled with his foods, as she knew she would get more of an earful if she threw everything out.

After she filled it up with much more needed supplies--like bottles of water, easy, light food to carry around; she grabbed the straps and slung them over her shoulder. She immediately tipped at the sudden burden being put on her shoulders. The weight was quite heavy, considering its size; but the months of training shouldn't go to waste.

"Mikasa, Eren, Armin! Are you guys ready, or...?"

"Yeah, I just finished loading our weapons into the truck," Eren yelled from the entrance of the supermarket. Mikasa and Armin were heading out as well; one arm from both held Connie's arms firmly, so that he wouldn't attempt an escape. Eren quickly trotted over to [F/N], taking two out of the three duffels she was struggling to keep up with.

"You could've asked for help, you know," Eren muttered as he lifted up the bags with barely any signs of struggle. "That's why we are all here."

"I know, I just...I don't really want to be a burden to the group," [F/N] sighed, walking towards the main doors. "I know I'm supposed to be the 'leader' and all, but...maybe I'm not fit to be one."

As they headed outside of the supermarket for good, Eren helped [F/N] load the duffels on the back of the pickup truck. "[F/N]...don't say stuff like that. You're a good leader. You're humble. You have a kind heart. You sympathize. You care for us. I wouldn't ask anything more from you."

She couldn't help but to smile shyly, looking down at her feet. "Alright. Thanks, Eren."

"No problem," he smiled. "I could ride in the back, if you want. Connie, Armin, and Mikasa are in the back seats, and there's only the passenger seat in the front."

"No, Eren. That's dangerous. I'll ride on the back of the car," [F/N] said curtly, hopping onto the trunk of the car, without heeding Eren's oppositions. "Eren! I can use guns just fine. I'm the leader, after all. Now go! We have to find Levi, okay? I won't forgive myself if he gets injured."

Eren hesitates briefly before nodding, opening the door to the passenger seat next to Jean, who was in the driver's seat. The engine revved, before heading off in a slightly faster speed than [F/N] expected. She lurched forward, nearly falling out of the car--her heart had this slight jump.

"That was close," she muttered to herself, opening up a black duffel that carried the weaponry. She pulled out a shotgun, loading it with ample ammunition. "God, Jean has the worst taste in cars."

She sat, leaning against the hood and the window of the car, closing her eyes for a split second. This was so tiring, yet she managed to find the thrill in it--hopefully that didn't die out soon. As soon as she loses interest in the exhilarating thrill in this situation, she may as well die.

[F/N] looked at the duffels that surrounded her--there were so many of them, that the trunk felt small and restricting in comparison. She noticed a bag of dark crimson; she hadn't seen that one today.

She opened it up in curiosity, sighing a little out of annoyance as the car hit bumps on the road. When she pulled the zipper back all the way, a pile of cords and worn out, black walkie-talkies were revealed. Those looked awfully familiar.

"Oh, right," [F/N] chuckled to herself, taking one out; her walkie-talkie had a strip of blue duct tape that went around the base of the antenna. She remembered what Erwin had told her to do several days prior to the Purge; contact them by dawn of the third day, or else they will make the assumption that the group was dead or disbanded.

She turned it on, and she twitched in surprise when feedback came through, a bunch of static filling the air. Hopefully Erwin had his turned on.

"Erwin?" she tried.

And through the jumbled up static, a familiar voice broke through.

"Yeah, [F/N], it's me."

She smirked, kicking at the dirt as she let out a sigh; either out of frustration or bitterness, she could never tell. "Hey, Erwin. Nice to hear from you again. It's been okay. We..."

[F/N] hesitated for a moment, biting her bottom lip. Would it be wise if she mentioned that Levi had run off? Would Erwin mark that as an act of selfishness? Would it affect Levi's future, in any way?

"We...uh, we've been hiding out in the supermarket. We got attacked, by some group from...downtown, I think? I don't know; all I know is that the group was mostly comprised of Latinos and Caucasians. Interesting mix; but anyway, we have a hostage with us. We're eliminating them. They're--I think--I think they could be possible threats to our lives."

"Is that so?" Erwin said, after taking a long pause; he sounded doubtful. "Are you on the road?"

"Y-Yes," she replied. "You can hear the wind and everything, can't you?"

"Obviously," Erwin sighed. "Is Levi there with you?"

"Oh," [F/N] murmured, her head pounding. "Uh...he got there first. He's--we--he's on a motorcycle."

That wasn't a complete lie. He probably did take some form of transportation to get there; he would've tired out if he were to run twenty miles.

"Okay," Erwin replied back, losing interest.

"No mission this year?" she asked, after hearing no further comments from Erwin. He only sighed in the other end, before shuffling some papers around. "Hello? Erwin? We literally do this all year. Erwin. You are our map. You lead us in for the kill."

"Well, [F/N], sorry for...not providing you with murders to be done?" She could detect the sarcasm from the other end of the line. Exasperated, she sighed loudly, enough so that he could hear. She wasn't going to have any of his shit today.

"Shut up, Erwin. You are basically the optimal leader of this whole gang right here. You say that I am, but you're really the person who controls everything behind the scenes. And I know you like getting rid of criminals during the Purge, to an extreme. We're basically trained assassins, Erwin. We just do more with our job during occasions like this, because law doesn't apply."

"Well, [F/N], thank you for taking three minutes to state the obvious."

"Ugh, Erwin! Stop being such a jerk; you better shower us with luxuries when we come back. I want to sleep on a goddamn bed already, not some cold, concrete floor. I know that we've held out worse in previous years, but I'm serious about this--"

"Okay, okay."

She rolled her eyes as she dug through another duffel, holding the walkie-talkie in between her cheek and the crook of her neck. It was a duffel that she shared with Mikasa--it was more personal hygiene products that they carried around, along with the primary needs like masks and gloves. She pulled out her pair of fingerless gloves and tugged them on. "So. Anything else we need to know? Aside from the fact that you're being a complete idiot right now, that is."

After a short, amused chuckle, he sighed again. "Just wanted to let y'all know that we moved locations. Meet us at Austin by next week, or we will assume that you are dead. Turn your walkie on between five in the morning to one in the afternoon for any updates we might have for you guys."

"Next week?" she gaped, frowning. "God, Erwin. Of course we'll make it by then--I mean, it's not that far away, is it? From Dallas?"

"Well, they're both cities in Texas," Erwin chuckled dryly. "It shouldn't take you a week."

[F/N] rolled her eyes--she was becoming partially fed up with his immature behavior. "Whatever. Bye. I have to go."

She tossed the walkie back into the duffel before groaning loudly. She meant to close her eyes for a brief moment, but the next thing she knew, the car had stopped abruptly--so abruptly that it jolted her awake.

"What the heck?" she rubbed her eyes, her grip on her shotgun never loosening. She rapped her knuckles against the back window; Mikasa looked back, placing a finger on her lips.

I guess we're here, then.

[F/N] slowly climbed out of the trunk, one hand holding the shotgun tight while the other held the strap of the duffel that was filled with weapons. She blinked a couple of times, her eyes still feeling slightly dry.

Looking around, she realized that they were literally in the middle of nowhere; they were parked not on the freshly paved road, but a concrete bridge. She frowned. They were literally in the middle of nowhere. She looked around; all she could see were tall city buildings and corporate companies in the distance, approximately about fifteen to twenty miles away; to the left of her, was a large lake--had it not been the trash and the murky waters that nearly seemed green, she would've thought of this scenery as pretty--the sun peeked from under, its rays reflecting off the waters, creating light colors in the ripples.

To the other side of her, was not a lake, but something that seemed like a damn village to her. Under the bridge were people--possibly the ones that they were going after. The bridge wasn't too tall to ground level. It probably had the height of a three-story house; but it dipped over in the intersection in front of them, which led down to the ground level under the bridge. The short concrete walls that lined the bridge gave them some cover; enough to hide the car and themselves if people were to be looking up at them. Besides this, everything was deserted.

Besides a shed that looked strangely out of place; it was very shady, from all aspects--chipped paint, old wood.

"[F/N]!"

Jean whisper-yelled from where the car was, beckoning her to come closer.

"Hey, [F/N], look--we have silencers and suppressors."

He opened up another bag, which made [F/N] wonder how many duffel bags they had with them. Jean pulled out various sleek, black cylinders. He attached one of them to a pistol before tossing it to her.

"Hey...I never asked, what's the difference between a silencer and a suppressor?" [F/N] inquired, analyzing the pistol; she turned it over and over in her hand.

"Nothing. I just wanted to sound intelligent for once. They mean the same thing."

That earned him a punch to his shoulder.

"Connie, you better have your mouth shut. If you even yell or make noise in any form or shape, I will use you as a shield for the incoming bullets. Do you understand me?" Mikasa glared at Connie; her hand was still tightened around his arm, so tight that his skin was turning white. Connie nodded, frowning a little.

"I don't see Levi," [F/N] sighed. "I seriously don't see Levi anywhere."

She squinted, peeking over the bridge. She only saw a couple of people walking about, not necessarily in a hurry or anything. She frowned.

"So, are we making the first move, or what?"

"Shut up, Eren. Are you dumb? No matter what we try to do, someone will end up dead."

[F/N] rolled her eyes. Jean and Eren--they were always fighting, to the extent where it just became tiresome. "Grow up, you two. There's no way we can take them down without at least one noticing; they'll come up. We're far outnumbered. Armin? Any insights?"

"We...we could take the first shot," Armin replied, turning a handgun within his hands. "We could have some waiting at the end of the bridge, to take any people down if they cut the corner and come that way; it'll take them by surprise. I'd say we put Eren and Mikasa there, and maybe you, [F/N]. Now, since Jean is obviously the best sniper here--I'd say put him up here and take as many shots as he can before coming back down to aid. I'll--I'll stay with Connie. I'll come down with him near the end."

It was Connie's turn to speak up. "I--I know I'm only a hostage, but...please, don't hurt my girlfriend. I-I'll do anything. Just please."

"What's her name?" [F/N] asked.

"It's Sasha. Sasha Blouse--she's...she's tall, taller than me--she had brown hair, she usually puts it up in a ponytail--"

"Okay, okay," Jean sighed. "Let's get to work already. I'm tired."

"Right," Connie muttered. "Right."

"Alright, girlies," Jean smirked.

"It's showtime."

[F/N], Eren, and Mikasa all went down, going down the slope of the bridge, using the short wall as a cover. [F/N] thought to herself--these people must be real oblivious not to notice a damned car up on their territory.

After Jean gave them the signal, they nodded; they held their rifles close to their bodies. They slid down, sitting down against the cement wall.

"We're going to be okay," [F/N] murmured, talking slightly to herself. Her heart felt like it was going to explode.

"Does everyone have an extra gun?" she asked, and they just nodded in a calm demeanor.

She closed her eyes briefly. How could they act so calm, like nothing has ever happened, that killing people was like a daily routine for them--how could they keep their composure like this?

Maybe she really wasn't fit to be a leader. Maybe she was just meant to operate as a part of the team. Maybe she was--

"[F/N]!"

She widened her eyes, ducking just in time to avoid a knife that was headed straight towards her head--it was a near miss. Her head pounded. She nearly died.

She really wasn't fit to be a leader.

"[F/N]!" Eren yelled as he began to fire on his machine gun. "Stop moping around, and focus! You nearly got killed, okay? We can't have you die!"

She nodded, aiming her gun at the approaching people that came around the curve; most died in surprise, and some attempted to pull their trigger or attempted to bash their heads in with a bat, but all failed. Scarlet coated the ground, and dead bodies decorated the cement.

"Kudos to Armin for this brilliant idea," she muttered under her breath.

When everything seemed quiet, they began to move out of their zone, and into their's; Mikasa took the lead, her machine gun pressed against her chest, breathing as quietly as she could.

A few people cowered in fear, but anyone who was armed faced a brutal death by Mikasa's gun. Jean left his post, running down the bridge along with Armin and Connie in tow.

"Are we finished here? We didn't accidentally kill of Levi, did we?" Jean huffed, catching up on his breath.

"Seems like, and no, even though I wouldn't mind if he were to be dead," Mikasa scoffed, turning over a few bodies to see if there were anything valuable.

"The whole place looks really worthless, in my opinion," Armin murmured. "There's no salvageable things around."

[F/N] nodded, walking around as she looked for Levi; she made advances to the shack that caught her eye before.

Then, white-hot pain flared from her ankle--she gave a loud yelp before falling onto the ground. Her eyes teared up, and as she inspected her left ankle, she spotted red; when she tried to get back up, she fell back down, twisting her ankle. She moaned in pain and frustration.

"Goddamn," Jean sighed, casually shooting the man that held a gun, behind the shelter. "Thank god he had no ammo left. What the hell is wrong with you, [F/N]? You could've died."

"I--I'm sorry," she groaned in response; she couldn't help but to drop a few tears. "It hurts--god."

"Jesus christ, come here."

He bent down, crouching in front of [F/N], with his back towards her. "Get on."

"No, I can stay here."

"[F/N]! Armin and Connie are busy looking for the girlfriend, and Eren and Mikasa are still going around taking care of things. If I leave you here, you'll die, because you're so damn dense to your surroundings. Now hurry."

She struggled to get on his back, but she did eventually. She hung her arms over his shoulders and loosely around his neck, and he carried her, supporting her by the thighs.

"If you see anyone, shoot with your handgun. Drop your machine gun."

She did as told.

Jean sauntered over to the shelter, the one [F/N] instructed him to go to.

Jean pushed down the door with his foot; it wasn't much of a struggle to, as the wood looked like it was half rotten anyway. With [F/N] on his back, he looked around, before spotting Levi; he was tied up on a chair, a thick rope digging into his skin; he struggled against it--his face was spotted with perspiration, his hair wet and slick. His hands were tied behind the chair, and his ankles were tied against the chair legs. His white tee was soaked in sweat.

[F/N] looked away while Jean scoffed in amusement. "Captain Ackerman, all tied up. Well, isn't this quite a sight?"

"Shut the hell up and free me," Levi growled, tugging against the ropes. He looked at Jean, before shifting his gaze on [F/N]. She looked away again.

Jean slowly sat [F/N] down on the floor, having her lean against the wall. She groaned quietly in pain, her left ankle aching with a dull sensation. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wood.

She wanted this to be over already.

Jean began to untie the ropes, working them out patiently. Levi, on the other hand, sighed in irritation, trying to free himself faster; then, like little children, they began to argue. [F/N] groaned at their immaturity.

When she heard a quiet clunk over on the other side of the shed, the side where Levi's back was facing towards, her heart leaped to her throat. She did not hesitate to pull out her pistol, aiming it at the corner of the shed, stacked with cardboard boxes. "Who's there?"

Levi and Jean stopped bickering; the only sound that hung in the air was her ragged breathing. "I said, who's there?"

She clicked the bullet into place. "I'll shoot," she stated firmly.

The boxes began to shake, and a feminine figure rose. Levi sighed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "I told you to stay quiet."

"P-Please, don't shoot me," the girl shivered, her lower lip quivering in fear. She put her hands up, muttering "sorry" under her breath. The brunette stepped over the boxes, her hands still airborne. She hung her head low, her ponytail hanging limply over her shoulder. She was dressed in a stained, white button down with a pair of denim shorts.

"Who are you?" [F/N] remained unfazed, still pointing the nuzzle towards the girl, aiming for her chest. "I said, who are you?"

"S-Sasha," she muttered. "Sasha Blouse."

"Did you tie him up?" she cocked the gun back at Levi. Sasha only shook her head vigorously.

"No," she replied immediately, slowly putting her hands down. "I--I was tending to his wounds."

[F/N] narrowed her eyes. "Wounds?"

"A-A bullet grazed his shoulder," Sasha nodded to his left shoulder--she didn't notice it before, but on the white shirt he wore and the blood that stained his shoulder--it stood out. "I tended to it, because...because I know someone--"

"Know who?"

"[F/N], please--" Levi sighed, furrowing his eyebrows in annoyance. "Stop."

"Petra," she replied, swallowing nervously, her stare shifting between Levi and [F/N], aware of the tension. "Petra Ral. Before she left. She--she said that he was a good person. And--I always trust her judgements. I--"

"Where is she now?"

"S-She," Sasha stuttered. "She...she fled."

[F/N] shifted her gaze back to Levi; he failed to make eye contact. "She fled. Now, why would she flee, right when you get here? Oh, because she saw you. What the hell, Levi? What are you?"

-

[a/n]; would y'all read this even if it wasn't a levi x reader novel? please let me know lol. i just wanted to know and ye

+ would you also read if it didn't have a reader insert?

+ would you also read it if it didn't have a reader or OC of any kind?

thanks & lots of love from me!! thank you for supporting this book agh ;-;

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[word count: 4383]

》 published april 29, 2016