FicWad

Dreams

Part 1: Fractured Fairy Tales

It was dark and foggy, and Levi was running through the rain, unable to see more than three feet in front of him. He had to get somewhere, to find someone, it was very important, but that was all he knew. He couldn't remember how he got there or what the situation was exactly, but he had to hurry.

The fog cleared slightly, though the area that Levi could see only consisted of about fifty square feet. He moved to the center of the area, his pace increasing in speed as he went. He fell to his knees on the muddy ground. Isabel's severed head was there in a pool of blood.

Levi's breathing became rapid as he heard the sound of a large creature moving. A titan crawling on its hands and knees appeared, its eyes glowing red. Half of Farlan's corpse hunt from the creature's mouth. The monster dropped the dead body and charged towards Levi.

Levi was determined to slay it, but he couldn't move. Try as he might to move, to fight, he couldn't. Anger, pain and desperation mixed together as the titan loomed over him, ready to devour him. The creature open its mouth and...

Levi sat up on his bed in alarm, looking in every direction. He was unpleasantly sweaty and tangled up in the sheets, the pillow laying on the floor next to the bed. He shook his head and took in his surroundings, it was dark, still the middle of the night, he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight either.

Levi got up and showered, then changed into his uniform and ODM gear. He went to train as he did in sleepless nights lately. If a titan came, he would have to be ready, yet a part of him knew that if he didn't rest properly, he wouldn't be. This had happened too many days in a row and his efforts to practice his skills were no longer making up for the exhaustion that plagued his body and mind.

Unknown to Levi, two angels sat on a cloud above the Survey Corps base, hoping that they wouldn't see him go outside tonight. When they spotted him, their concern grew over the fact that he wasn't getting any sleep lately.

Farlan shook his head in worry, "he'll make himself sick if he keeps working this hard without rest."

Isabel frowned, "at this rate, big bro is going to die a lonely, cranky old man, if he even survives long enough to get old."

The two angels guessed that Levi was having nightmares again, as he often did in the anniversary of their deaths. When they first became angels, they tried telling Levi they were doing fine at the angel academy and that he didn't need to feel bad about them having been killed by titans, but Levi always disregarded the angelic encounters as mere dreams and only felt worse.

Realizing they weren't making things easier for Levi, Isabel and Farlan stopped visiting his dreams. Though they missed being able to talk to Levi, at least he seemed to be moving on after a while. Yet as time passed, they noticed that he had not moved on completely, part of him was still reluctant to form attachments, familial or otherwise.

That night, as they watched Levi practice with his ODM gear just outside the Survey Corps' base, they decided it was time to try a different tactic to help him, they would play matchmaker for Levi. They would pick a sweet girl that they approved of for their brother and send them on dates in his dreams.

Later, they would guide her to meet him in person, and hopefully Levi would be so accustomed to seeing her in his dreams by then, that he would let down his defenses and allow himself to develop a real liking for her. If he had someone to love, who loved him, then surely that would make him happy and stop the nightmares. That was all Isabel and Farlan really wanted, to watch over their brother and bring him happiness.

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels' plan went through a series of trials and errors when they tried to theme the dreams with fairy tales. On one such failed attempt at a dream date, Levi suddenly found himself dancing in a ball room, with little context, since Isabel and Farlan had skipped to the romantic part of Cinderella. The clock stroke twelve, the sound of the bells echoed through the land and you got the irresistible urge to run away. Later you would question your dream self's sanity, why would you run away from dancing with a handsome man? Yet in the dream, you were predisposed to follow the story and ran.

"Wait!" Levi wasn't sure why, but he felt he had to follow the unknown young woman he had been dancing with. He dashed after her as she went out of the castle they were in. One of her glass slippers slipped off in her haste just outside at the castle's main entrance. Levi stopped and observed the woman who was getting away. "What are you doing running around outside barefoot? How could you not notice you dropped a shoe? Stop dragging your dress through the ground, do you have any idea how difficult it is to get stains off silk without damaging it?!"

Farlan and Isabel floated above the scenes, shaking their heads. "That was not romantic..." Farlan stated the obvious.

"Big bro, you're supposed to be the prince, not the guy that does her laundry!" Isabel shouted in frustration. "Never mind, let's try something else."

xoxox xox xoxox

The scene changed and the two angels flew over a city. "There's (Name)," Farlan spotted you, walking down the street dressed as a gypsy, enjoying the carnival. "Why is there a centaur in Notredame?" Farlan pointed at Jean, who was a half horse creature, sitting sadly at the base of the steps leading up to a church.

Isabel shrugged, "because it's more interesting than a hunchback I guess." She landed near the centaur. "Hey dream projection Jean, have you seen a cleaning obsessed templar knight around here?"

"Yes!" Jean exclaimed in indignation. "He said I was fired as the bell ringer and that the bells were disgracefully filthy. Then he went to clean them."

Sure enough, Levi was found at the bell tower, in his knight costume, cleaning the church bells like the number one knight of cleanliness. "Oh come on big bro, work with us here!" A change in scenery was in order.

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels soon found themselves in a forest. They went deeper into the woods, looking for their protagonists. They found you laying on the ground, a bitten apple in your hand. Well ok, so far so good, Snow White was in position, now they just had to wait for prince Levi. They decided to go look for him in case he was lost or something and came upon a little cabin deep in the forest. They went inside and found seven chibified Levis running around in every direction, obsessively cleaning the place.

"This isn't going to work," Farlan terminated that dream sequence as well and went to the next fairy tale date in the plan.

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels peeked out from behind a coral reef, watching you swim toward the surface in mermaid form. The location was the open sea, so it was quite an exotic place for people who were used to living in the walled city, maybe that would make it romantic. Unfortunately, you turned back and swam away in a hurry as the surface became clouded with something foamy like... soap.

The angels went up to investigate and found Levi, Eren, Mikasa and Armin on a ship with laundry lines where there should be sails. "Prince Levi, should we really be doing the laundry at a time like this?" Armin voiced in worry. "Look at those storm clouds ahead, maybe we should put the sails back on and try to get away."

"No!" Levi snapped. "Just because we're at sea that doesn't mean we're going to wear dirty clothes. We'll put the sails back on when the laundry is dry. Now scrub the deck!" Needless to say, that fairy tale wasn't going to work either, so Isabel and Farlan moved on to the next.

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels found themselves in front of the Survey Corps' base. You were there, leaving the building with a Dalmatian puppy in your arms. "I'm going to call you Lucky. It was sure nice of that scout to give away free puppies. I hope he manages to get the other one hundred adopted soon, he seemed stressed taking care of them."

There was a lot of barking and yelling coming from inside the base. "Who's idea was it to bring this many dogs inside?!"Levi shouted at the top of his lungs. "Eren! Mikasa! Armin! Get over here and help me get them outside! Erwin! Sasha! Connie! Jean! Anyone! Am I the only one here? Hange! Even your help would be appreciated at a time like this! Stop! Get your muddy paws off my bed! Hey you! Stop chewing my boots! No! The carpet is not a bathroom! Get out! If you don't get out this instant, I'm going to skin you and use your fur to clean the floor!"

Farlan and Isabel felt themselves twitch nervously as they flew over to Levi's window and watched. "This one was a bad idea. Trying to house train a hundred and one, or a hundred, puppies must be one of Levi's worse nightmares."

"You said it," Isabel sighed. "Look, he's even getting premature white hairs from all the stress in this dream. We better go to the next one."

xoxox xox xoxox

Farlan and Isabel moved on to the next story scenario. They saw you looking out the window of a palace, dressed like an Arabian princess, but Levi was nowhere to be seen. The strangest thing however, was the ground. All over the kingdom, the ground was made of pristine white polished marble.

They kept searching for Levi, until they found him just outside the city, looking satisfied with a lamp in hand. Next to him there stood a very blue Eren. "Well done, genie, the desert is finally clean, you've done humanity a great service."

"So, are you going to free me from the lamp now?" Eren eagerly inquired.

"Not yet, you lazy genie! I said I would free you with my last wish and I get three, so I still have one more wish to make." Levi was in deep thought, considering his options. "What should I wish for..."

"He's probably going to wish for infinite cleaning supplies or something and not even take notice of the princess," Isabel pouted. This was getting tiresome.

xoxox xox xoxox

Changing the scenery again, the angels flew over a neatly set table where you were just arriving, wearing a blue dress and white apron. You curiously looked at the man with the top hat, who was preparing a tea party. "Welcome guest, today we celebrate un-spring cleaning. It's the days of the years that are not spring, but you can spend them cleaning anyway! Happy un-spring cleaning! We'll have so much fun washing this tea set when we're done drinking our tea!"

"Um..." Ok, he was cute, but this was crazy. None the less you sat down at the table and let him pour you a cup of tea. You noticed a little tag attached to the handle of the tea cup with the words 'drink me' written on it. you shrugged and drank the tea, then suddenly found yourself growing larger by the second, until you were fourteen meters tall.

"A titan has come to soil my tea party!" Levi pulled a sword from under the table and jumped up, ignoring the laws of gravity, except for when his top hat fell off, revealing a pair of bunny ears underneath.

"No, no, don't kill her, kiss her!" Isabel shouted to no avail. "Next!"

xoxox xox xoxox

The two angels ventured into a castle, searching for their main characters. "I see, so your titan killing obsession led an enchantress to turn you into a titan yourself." Mikasa was there, talking to a titanified Eren, who seemed to be stuck in that form.

"Huh? Why are they the main characters? The dream characters are only supposed to be in the supporting cast." Isabel scratched her head in confusion.

"I'm not sure what went wrong... Wait, is this supposed to be Beauty and the Beast? I get it now, there's no way Levi would play the role of a," Farlan made air quotes as he spoke, "filthy beast."

"Good point, so where is he?" The two angels continued exploring the castle and went into the dinning room.

A horse shaped candle and a round pocket watch were at a dining table conversing with each other, while a blond young man sat there holding a spoon uneasily. "Hey Jean, why do you think the guest isn't eating?" The watch asked.

"I don't know, Connie, maybe because Sasha is eating all his food," the horse shaped candle replied.

Armin stared at the odd spoon that ate everything on his plate. "What kind of spoon are you?"

"The hungry kind!" The spoon replied and continued devouring the meal.

Farlan and Isabel were still trying to make sense of how the dream could get so messed up when suddenly there was an earsplitting scream and you dashed across the scene. You were dripping wet and clad in a towel, furiously chasing after a bar of soap. "Come back here you perverted haunted soap!"

"You stupid brat, you're the one who tried to use me to clean your filthy body!" The soap bar dashed away, slipping across the floor and leaving a trail of foamy bubbles in its wake.

"I'm human again!" Eren suddenly burst into dining room, followed by Mikasa.

"The curse is broken!" The pocket watch turned into a human and the horse shaped candle turned into... an actual horse.

At the same time, you slipped on the foamy soap trail and fell, but the soap turned into a man and you ended up falling on top of him. You stared into each other's eyes and... The spoon turned into a gigantic titan who roared at the top of her lungs, "I'm going to eat you all!"

"Too crazy! Next fairy tale!" Isabel terminated the dream sequence and tried again.

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels appeared outside a tower where there was a spinning wheel, they hid quietly, looking in from the window. You arrived at the top of the tower, feeling inexplicably curious about the spinning wheel. "What a strange thing this is..." You reached out for it, but froze upon hearing a voice.

"Stop!" You turned around and saw someone else entering the top floor of the tower. The man was dressed like a prince, except for the cloths covering his hair and the lower portion of his face, plus the fact that the was carrying a multitude of cleaning supplies. "Are you the princess of this castle? What a slob. Here, let me clean that filthy thing for you." You stepped aside as Levi began to clean the spinning wheel. He accidentally pricked his finger on the needle and suddenly fell over in a sudden fit of narcolepsy.

You gasped, "he fainted!" And curiously looked over at the man on the floor.

"It's ok, the roles are reverse, but this can still work. (Name) just has to kiss big bro and wake him up!" Isabel held on to the hope that at least one of their fairy tale dates turned out more or less how it should.

"There's a problem, we're out of time, Levi is going to wake up soon!" Farlan reminded with urgency.

Isabel sighed hopelessly. "There's no choice, we'll have to end it here, we'll try again tomorrow night."

"Let's keep it simple next time," Farlan suggested.

"Ok, no more fairy tales, maybe if we're more direct there will be better results," Isabel agreed.

xoxox xox xoxox

Part 2: Sweet Dreams

"(Name)," you looked around, for the source of the voice calling you, it was melodious, angelic. "(Name)," you were floating in an endless sky, then you saw her, an angel with red hair in pigtails and green eyes. Her beautiful white wings were extended as she glided closer to you. "Come with me to meet the man of your dreams. I'll have to take you out of your body, but I'll put your soul right back. Are you willing to come?"

The dream was so vivid, so real, so... fun. You decided to play along, "yes." You smiled and took the angel's hand, though to her your soul looked like she held a wisp of light. You found yourself in your room, except your body was still on the bed, sleeping. The angel led you out of your modest room in the Rose farmlands, flying through the air across the farm and the city, until you reached the Survey Corps' base.

You went through the walls and arrived at a particular room, where a man was sleeping uneasily with another angel standing beside him. "This is our brother, Levi, well, adopted brother, but you get the point. Isn't he awesome? Feel free to fall in love with him." The redhead angel encouraged. This time the dreams were lucid, allowing you and Levi full control over your respective projections.

You giggled at the silliness of your dream. You knew it had to be a dream, what else could it be? "So I'm dreaming about a scout with angel relatives, this is a crazy dream, but it could be fun. What are your names?"

"I'm Isabel and this is Farlan," Isabel introduced, while Farlan seemed too unsure to breathe a word. Their intentions were good, but did that make this whole plan ok? Farlan hoped that everything would work out in the end, the last thing they wanted was to make things harder on Levi.

"Izzy and Lanlan," you decided. This was your dream and you could give the characters nicknames if you wanted. "I think I get it." You theorized about the theme of this dream, since you had been having themed dreams lately. "we're the angels of good dreams and need to fight off the evils of nightmares." You leaned over Levi, examining his sleeping form. "He definitely looks like he's having bad dreams, maybe they're about the titans."

"That's kind of true," Isabel mused. "Let's go now, we have a nightmare to stop!" The three of you entered Levi's dream. The atmosphere was dark and bloody, then you realized that you were standing on the broken body of a titan. Many corpses littered the area. This was a dream, but it was very creepy, even if you knew it wasn't real.

"Alright, let's give this projection a new outfit." Isabel snapped her fingers and you were suddenly wearing a maid outfit. It wasn't the kind of practical outfit that maids used to clean, but an overly cute version of a maid outfit. It was a light blue and white costume with a frilly apron, poofy sleeves and oversized bow.

"He's over here," Farlan hurried over to Levi, making his way from the middle of the titan's back to the neck. You and Isabel quickly followed.

A dark haired girl was laying near the neck, her wounds clearly fatal. A blond boy was still beside her, already dead. "Please... save... Eren..." The girl whispered with her dying breath.

"I'll get him out, I'll get all of you out of here." Levi was trying to carefully cut through the skin on the sides of the titan's neck, but his swords had no effect. The fog cleared slightly and you could see a multitude of titans heading towards you. Then you realized you were all in the middle of a vast field of ruins, the walled city had fallen and the gory casualties were all around.

"Levi!" Farlan pulled him away from his task, which shocked him.

"Big bro, it's ok, you're dreaming," Isabel tried to calm Levi so that his dreamscape would start listening to their angelic influence. "Eren, Mikasa, Armin and the others are safe."

"But you're not." The fact sunk in for Levi that this was all a dream. He had been so caught up in it that he didn't realize it at first. Now he knew he was dreaming, he knew he didn't have to do anything, but he couldn't simply stand by and do nothing, even in a dream.

"It's ok, we're still with you in a sense. We're not alive in the human world, but we exist and it's really nice in the angel academy, please don't worry about us," Farlan explained, though he couldn't reveal too many specific details.

This was your dream, you were the heroine, so this had to be your cue to say something inspiring. "Some of your friends have fallen, but there are still others that are counting on you." You felt somewhat embarrassed giving an inspiring speech in such a silly maid outfit, though it was kind of cute. "If you spend your hours of rest regretting the past, you won't be able to make the best of the present or build a future. Your friends wouldn't want you to give up, but in the end, it has to be your choice to move forward for their sake." You took Levi's blood stained hands in yours and looked into his eyes. "You're the one you has to make the choice to live!"

Levi blinked, staring at you with curiosity. "Who are you supposed to be? My conscience? Or maybe a representation of my enjoyment of cleaning?"

"It's working!" Isabel exclaimed, using her angelic energy to change the scenery.

"Alright, together, just as we planned," Farlan and Isabel modified the dream, and the next thing you knew, you were in the middle of a field of flowers with Levi.

"Wow, that's a nice change in scenery." You looked around at the beautiful flowers, the ground was covered in a variety of colors under clear blues skies as far as the eye could see. You, Levi and the two angels were the only ones there. All the blood and gore was gone and even Levi's previously blood soaked clothes were now clean.

Isabel cleared her throat and Farlan sighed. He caused kitty ears and a tail to appear on Levi, which made you squeal, "cute!"

"What the?!" Levi felt the ears and tail. "A maid and a cat boy? This dream is turning into a crazy manga."

"It's better than a nightmare," Isabel cheered. "Well, how about we leave the two of you alone to go on a date."

The angels were about to leave, but Levi stopped them. "Wait! I only see you in nightmares lately. I know this isn't real, but even if it's some insane dream, don't leave."

They couldn't possibly say no to a request like that. "Alright," Farlan agreed. "We'll stay. Let's have a picnic, that was the plan for you two."

The four of you sat around a picnic blanket with a basket that held more treats than its size should be able to contain. Levi was convinced everything was a figment of his imagination and you thought this was all your imagination. It was still a welcomed change for him though, since this was a nice dream, rather than a horrible nightmare. If all he had to do to get some decent sleep was play along with his crazy dreams, he could do that.

xoxox xox xoxox

Several dreams happened that way, with you, Levi and the two angels doing all sorts of activities together, including cleaning, when Levi was asked what he wanted to do. You learned a lot about Levi, or at least about the story of dream Levi. Your curiosity made you investigate and find that there was indeed a real Levi who looked just like the one in your dream, except for the cat ears and tail obviously. You wondered how similar his life was to the fictional life that your imagination conjured. You were sometimes amused and sometimes saddened by Levi's stories. You were also very curious about what your overactive subconscious would come up with next. If the dreams stopped happening, you would miss them, you would miss Levi.

Levi talked about a lot of things he wouldn't say when he was awake. It was like an odd form of therapy that took place in the privacy of his mind, or so he thought. He could sort out his thoughts and feelings and hear imaginary input from Isabel and Farlan that felt so very real. Then there was you, the girl that he couldn't explain. He had never seen you, so he assumed that you were purely fictional. You weren't based on memories like Farlan and Isabel, you came completely out of his subconscious thoughts.

On one particular day, Isabel and Farlan made an excuse to leave. Unlike in past occasions when Levi protested, this time he let them go, knowing that they would return, they always returned in his dreams. The setting was a forest, you and Levi were sitting under the shade of a tree and everything was peaceful and calm. "Um... Levi... Can I pet your ears?" You asked shyly. This was a dream, but part of you couldn't help it but to be shy, especially because you knew there was a real life version of Levi out there, though you were certain he didn't knew you existed.

"Go ahead," Levi laid his head on your lap, taking you by surprise. This was a dream, so he could do anything and no one would know or say anything about it in reality. You petted his head, enjoying the feeling of his soft hair and kitty ears on your fingers. "So, miss dream girl, where did you come from? And don't give me the obvious answer, I know you came from my imagination."

You smiled in amusement. "You're the one who came from my imagination," you reminded. "This is my dream."

"No, it's my dream," Levi insisted, somewhat playfully. "That's why you're such a puzzle. I understand why Isabel and Farlan are in my dreams, I was having a hard time with the nightmares and wishing they were here. I've been thinking I'm starting to depend a little too much on the dreams, maybe that's why they keep trying to leave, but you always stay. I thought I was too busy with the scouts and that I didn't have time for a girl and didn't want to get attached to anyone, but you're always here in my dreams. Is this a subconscious wish? How could my own mind be so confusing? Tell me something about yourself, maybe then I can figure this out."

"I'm no one special..." You were feeling a little overwhelmed by how real this dream felt. You wondered if Levi's theory was actually your subconscious wish, to find a boyfriend? Or maybe to leave your boring life at the farmlands and join the military? "I'm just an ordinary girl from the Rose farmlands."

"That doesn't sound like my dream girl, your free spirit wouldn't allow you to live in a farm your whole life." Levi looked up at you, while you continued petting his head and gently scratching him behind the kitty ears. "Everything else is as it should be."

You never actually applied for the military, but maybe you could pass. It would still be a few months until you could try out though. Your family would oppose it, unless you told them that you were going to aim for the Military Police in the interior. You'd convince them that if you didn't make it to the MP, you'd go right back to the farm, they wouldn't try to stop you then. It was sneaky, but you didn't want to deal with any drama or cause them any worry, so they were better off not knowing. "I'm going to join the Survey Corps."

"At least I don't need to worry about you dying on a mission since you're imaginary," Levi whispered in a bittersweet tone.

You weren't sure how to reply to that and instead asked, "what did you mean by everything else is as it should be?"

"For my dream girl," Levi closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax. He really didn't have time for this when he was awake. He needed to focus on the scouts, but if his subconscious was reminding him of a human need for companionship, then let his subconscious provide a solution for it. "You're sweet, kind and have a good heart, being with you is relaxing. There's your willingness to participate in my cleaning spree without complaint and that song you were singing while we were cleaning the other day was nice too. Did you really write those lyrics? I never thought of myself as poetic, so I'm not sure how my subconscious came up with that, but I would like to have another dream like that."

"If it makes you happy, we can clean together again and I'll sing, I'll even write a poem about cleaning and make it into a song," you offered. It was silly, but cute, plus if Levi was happy, that would make you happy. Ok, so maybe it was a little crazy to have a crush on your own subconscious, but it's not like real life men were this honest about their every thought and feeling as if it was just him silently talking to himself in the privacy of his mind. Then again, even if they were, they wouldn't be half this interesting.

Actually, you had to admit you wouldn't be that open immediately either, it would take a long time and a lot of hard earned trust for you to allow anyone in the real world to know your every thought. There in your dreams, you could be completely honest. Your subconscious sometimes agreed with you and sometimes had little disagreements. You even sometimes had debates, but it wasn't a real argument, more like two opinions existing in harmony, this was all coming from your own mind after all...

The Levi in your dreams was so interesting and brave. He had been through a lot and you wanted to make life better for him, even if he was only a figment of your imagination. You also had a lot to think about for real too, since you had decided to become a scout. This might have all been your subconscious, but maybe there was something to it. Maybe you should fight for humanity. "Levi, let's do some of that visualization mental training stuff sometime, since I'm applying for the Survey Corps and all. I don't know if it works, but I heard it does."

"It does help in some ways. You have to get used to seeing the ODM gear not as a device you use, but as a part of you and move it as quickly and naturally as a limb. You don't have time to think too much in battle, you need to be able to move reflexively even when your thoughts are racing in every direction," Levi explained.

Isabel and Farlan returned because it was almost time to wake up. They didn't want to cut it close, since your soul had to be returned to your body before Levi woke up, or it would just be harshly tossed out of the disappearing dreamscape.

xoxox xox xoxox

You had many dreams about training, which was oddly helpful. The whole mind over matter thing had its truths, though you were still very sore from your real life training. Dream Levi was exceptionally good at giving advice, it's like he knew all the tricks to making ODM gear work in the best way possible. When you needed equipment, the angels would provide it, making it appear out of thin air. They also gave you a Survey Corps uniform to wear for training, which made you feel as if you had already made it. With the passing of time, your balance improved considerably, though you kind of missed the times when Levi caught you before you hit the ground and held your hands until you got the hang of the training.

"It's going to be time to wake up soon," Farlan announced one day after training.

Levi helped you out of your practice harness. "It's funny, I'd be very impatient by now if this wasn't a dream." You took his remark as your subconscious assuming that the real Levi wouldn't be this patient with your learning process, which you thought was a reasonable assumption. It was the same conclusion you always reached, you were convinced this was your dream and Levi was certain that it was his dream. You thought that the real Levi must be quite different from your dream Levi and he was sure that you were entirely fictional with no real world counterpart in existence. "Maybe it just means I should be a little more patient. There will be new recruits coming soon," he recalled. "This must be my subconscious preparing me. See you tomorrow night, (Name)."

"I look forward to it, thank you for helping me practice!" As always, Isabel took you back to the scene of your sleeping form, though rather than at the farmlands, you were at the military training center.

xoxox xox xoxox

The dream training evolved into simulated titan battles, though the titan's faces looked hilariously cartoonish. Eventually, the day finally came when you graduated and tomorrow evening you would join the scouts, but for the time being, you would rest and hopefully see the man of your dreams again. You were a little concerned though. Would you even be able to look at the real Levi in the face knowing that you dreamed about an imaginary version of him every night? Part of you felt bad for stealing away his image without permission, while the other part was immensely thankful that dreams were 100% private.

That night's scenery was different from the previous ones. Isabel dropped you off in a field of cherry blossoms, their pink heart shaped petals falling all around. There was a magnificent sunset in the background as you walked towards Levi. You were in your scouts uniform, which you would wear for real soon, you hurried to him, eager to tell him the news. You weren't sure where the angels had gone off to, but you had a feeling that your winged dream pals were close. "I did it, I passed the training and tomorrow evening I'm going to join the scouts!" You threw your arms around him in celebration, jumping in place and hugging him at the same time.

"Congratulations (Name)," Levi was amused by how his dreams kept up with the schedule of his life. The dreams with the angels and this girl were so vivid and pleasant, he'd be quite happy if he could continue to have dreams like that for the rest of his life. Now that his dream girl was in the scouts according to his dream narrative, which had a continuity that was more perfect than what he thought a dream could have, maybe he would dream about defeating all the titans with her and then he might dream about living in a world that was peaceful and free.

The sun sunk in the horizon and a beautiful starry sky with a bright full moon appeared overhead. "Chalalalalala my, oh my, looks like the boy's too shy, ain't gonna kiss the girl!" You looked to the trees above, searching for Isabel, who had started singing. "Chalalalalala ain't that sad? Ain't it a shame? Too bad, he's gonna miss the girl!"

You saw Isabel sitting on a cherry blossom branch, elbowing Farlan to join her in the song. They continued in unison, "Chalalalalala don’t be scared, you got the mood prepared, go on and kiss the girl! Chalalalalala don't stop now, don’t try to hide it how you wanna kiss the girl!"

Levi was climbing the tree now, his cat tail moving from side to side as you watched him from the ground. The two angels took flight, floating just out of Levi's reach. "Chalalalalala float along and listen to the song, the song says kiss the girl! Chalalalalala music plays, do what the music says, you gotta kiss the girl!"

Levi jumped down from the tree, but predictably, he landed perfectly on his feet. He was a cat boy and this was a dream, so real physics didn't always apply, though for some reason they seemed to apply when you were training, but that was actually useful. You considered teasing Levi about being a cat that couldn't catch the birds, but his words took you by surprise with an important reminder, "what happens in dreams, stays in dreams..."

Did that mean he was going to...? You blushed as he drew you close. The angels suddenly got quiet, as if they didn't want to interrupt the moment. You returned the embrace, wondering in the back of your mind if this was what it would feel like to be hugged by a real boyfriend. One of his arms stayed around your waist, while the other hand went up your back, caressing your neck until it reached the side of your face, which by now was very red. He drew closer until your lips touched.

The kiss was gentle at first, then gradually more intense until you were left breathless. You've heard of lucid dreaming, but this felt much more vivid, almost like an out of body experience. He kissed you again and, telling yourself that this was a dream and nothing more, you threw away your shyness and intensified your response. You had to admit, your imagination was a great kisser.

Isabel blushed and grinned from ear to ear, watching the scene from behind a tree. "Our work is done, let's leave them alone for a while and come back when it's time to take her back to her body."

Farlan gave her a worried look as he reminded, "that's the problem, it's almost time for him to wake up."

Isabel pouted, "why do you have to get up so early, big bro? There's no choice, waking up abruptly with two souls in the same body can be dangerous. I'll go return her now." Not happy to have to interrupt, Isabel flew over to the couple. "Big bro, sis, that's enough for now." She was ignored. "Hey, big bro!"

"Um... I think she's talking to you," you shyly pointed out, still trying to catch your breath, your face blushing a bright red.

"You're the one who wanted me to kiss her," Levi reminded.

"Yes, and you can continue tomorrow night because right now, you're about to wake up." Without another word, Isabel took your hand and you were pulled out into the transition scene, as you called it. You were taken away from the scouts' base and back to the training center, to your sleeping form.

xoxox xox xoxox

Levi woke up in his room, everything seemed normal, but the dream was still fresh in his mind. That Isabel and Farlan were just illusions as far as he knew. It was nice to pretend they were there, but it was all a dream, so there was really no need to give too much thought to the fact that they saw him kissing his dream girl. Levi wondered how his subconscious came up with her, she was so real, so vivid, as if she was actually there, but of course, she didn't exist in real life.

Levi got ready for the day, he would be busy today. In the evening, Erwin was going to try to get some recruits for the scouts and he would need to be there. He found it hard to focus though, he wished he had more time to sleep. He knew he couldn't think that way, he had too many things to do in the real world to spend his life dreaming, no matter how pleasant the dreams may be. He supposed a little romance would be inevitable, even natural not that he minded if it happened in the privacy of his mind. It would be too complicated in real life and he had the Survey Corps to focus on, but if he could have this in his dreams, then he would enjoy it.

xoxox xox xoxox

Part 3: Wake Up Call

"Are you feeling optimistic about tonight?" Erwin asked as he and Levi made their way to address the new trainees.

"Not particularly," Levi truthfully replied. "Our track record this year was worse than usual, especially during that mission with the female titan. I doubt we'll get many recruits, if any at all."

Erwin let out a breath as he returned to reality. "You're probably right, but I was hoping for a different answer, since you seem to be in such a good mood lately, especially today."

"Not really, I'm in the same mood as always." Levi thought back on his day, if he was any different, he hadn't noticed.

Hange popped up next to them and commented, "I thought you were in love."

"Don't be stupid, four eyes. Why are you here?" Levi snapped, though he didn't sound quite as annoyed as he normally would be.

"See? See?" Hange cheered. "You don't sound half as angry as I expected. Yup, you're definitely in love," she nodded at herself, as if nothing could convince her that her conclusion was wrong. "The question is, with who?"

"The question is, why are you here?" Levi insisted.

"I want to see the new recruits too," Hange finally replied. "Now back on topic, who could it be?" She looked at Erwin, as if requesting more information.

"Don't ask me, he hasn't told me anything," Erwin shrugged. "I didn't even thing he had an interest in relationships in general."

Hange nodded, "I thought so too."

"I'm standing right here," Levi reminded, he didn't enjoy being discussed as if he wasn't present.

"Good, keep standing right there while I go give the speech. I don't want to sugar coat it, but maybe I should be a little less aggressive than last time," Erwin mused.

"I think..." Hange made a dramatic pause, during which Erwin and Levi didn't know if she was about to state her opinion about the speech or still theorizing about Levi's love life. "You should scare them out of their wits!" She delivered the line with a very mad scientist style grin.

At least she had moved on to the topic of the speech, though Levi had a feeling he'd hear more theories about his imaginary girlfriend later, not that Hange or anyone could ever guess she was a product of his subconscious. "For once we actually agree on something," Levi revealed, much to Erwin's surprised curiosity. "We need more scouts, not more deaths. The ones that get scared would die too easily anyway."

"Right, then I'll keep it realistic," Erwin went off to give his speech, calling all the trainees to attention.

You stood in the crowd, your eyes fixated on Levi, the real Levi. He was so much like dream Levi, how could your subconscious mind construct his image in such perfect detail? You weren't even listening to the commander's speech and before you knew it, it was over. People started walking away, the crowd thinning rapidly. The people in front of you left until you had a clear view of Levi. His eyes met yours, his expression showed surprise, then you looked down at your feet, blushing intensely.

This was not good, you couldn't blush every time you saw him, what if he ended up as your captain on a mission? You had to be able to pay attention and think rationally. You stood there, saluting, with your fist over your heart and your eyes on the ground for what felt like an eternity before you were finally allowed to leave. You followed the other two volunteers, a tall young man who had been picking fights among the trainees all the way to graduation and a skinny boy who seemed far too eager to be a scout.

"Why did you look so shocked?" Hange's voice snapped Levi's racing thoughts back to reality. "Three recruits is not so bad considering everything. I was worried we wouldn't get anyone at all. Is that what surprised you, that we actually got three?"

"Yes..." Levi finally replied, just for the sake of saying something. "I didn't think we'd get anyone either. Three is not so bad, we'll just have to make the best of what we have."

"Right," Erwin nodded, he glanced at Hange, as if exchanging a quiet message with her. They had both noticed that Levi looked surprised when the crowd cleared and the only female recruit became easy to see. Her reaction wasn't lost to them either. She was blushing brightly and staring at the ground in embarrassment.

A theory was already forming in Hange's mind. Levi must have been secretly dating that girl. She joined the military without telling him, she could pull it off, he would be busy at the base while she was training, so they only saw each other in the evenings. Then he was shocked to see her there, and probably worried about her future safety. She was blushing like mad, not knowing how to read his reaction and possibly imagining fighting titans to be a much more romantic activity than it actually was.

Well, there was only one thing to do, the girl had to be trained well enough not to die. It was best to keep Levi in his unusually good mood, a heartbroken Levi was something that Hange couldn't imagine having to deal with. Meanwhile, all Levi could do was tell himself over and over that your appearance was only a coincidence.

xoxox xox xoxox

You more or less integrated yourself into the Survey Corps. You were rooming with a girl called Mikasa. It was a coin toss between her and Sasha, literally a coin toss. Sasha wanted a new friend who would share food with her, but Mikasa had a better record and had already agreed to show the new scouts around and help them adjust to the scouts' rhythm of training. It wouldn't have been an issue if at least two girls volunteered. You didn't know any of them, so you couldn't bring yourself to decide and just tossed a coin.

Mikasa won, though Sasha seemed to feel better after you promised you'd share your food anyway. Sasha was your neighbor on one side, while the room on the other side of yours at the end of the hall was occupied by Krista and Ymir. Several other scouts occupied the general area, though you had only really gotten to know your closest neighbors so far.

Being Mikasa's roommate meant getting invited to hang out with her friends. They were slightly younger than you, because you didn't apply to the scouts the second you were old enough like they did, but you didn't really mind.

The only thing that you were still trying to adjust to was to act natural around Levi. You weren't in his squad, or on anyone's squad officially. You, and the other two rookies, were temporally placed with one of the less famous captains. Captain Larry was a man in his early thirties who was usually very quiet until he randomly sneezed for no reason. It was actually pretty funny and made his otherwise serious persona seem more approachable.

One day, the alert of a titan attack spread across the base. You soon found that it wasn't a drill. Though the situation wasn't too bad, the fact of the matter was that titans were getting too close to the wall. In the past, the residents of Maria shrugged it off when titans scratched at their wall, but after such a significant expanse of land was lost to the titans at Maria, titans getting close to the wall, especially the gate, was considered a serious situation.

You were geared up and ready to go, but as you followed your squad out, Hange called out to your captain. They exchanged a few words, then she came over to you. "(Name), you're coming with me on this mission." You didn't question the decision, you only saluted and went along with it.

The scouts went down over the wall using their ODM gear, as opening the gate would be too risky with titans nearby. The area surrounding Rose was filled with damaged structures that were once the homes of the residents of Maria. You followed Hange's team as they got into formation, noting that there seemed to be an extra person there, you. "Um... Captain?" You began to ask, feeling as if you were missing something.

"You're my backup (Name), let's see what you can do," Hange declared with the air of someone who was proud of herself for being a good friend that made sure a certain someone's beloved didn't get killed.

You spent the majority of the battle trying to keep up with Hange. She got way too close to titans and teased them with promises of playing games and inflicting no pain on them, only to slash their weak spot after being ignored. Why did she even need to distract them in the first place? They were trying to eat everyone anyway, it's not like it took a lot to get their attention. Then it occurred to you that maybe you were supposed to do the slashing, you were the backup after all.

"Hey there!" Hange landed on a rooftop and waved, smiling up at a large titan with jaws that opened up to its cheeks. "My, my, what a big mouth you have." While the creature was distracted by Hange, you shot your ODM gear and hooked onto the titan's back as it made a grab for Hange. She flew out of the way at the same time that your blades cut through the weak spot. You put everything you had into it, using your momentum to add force to the cut and ensure it was deep enough. As the monster fell, you joined Hange at a rooftop nearby. "Your first titan, congratulations, (Name)!" She wasn't really expecting you to do anything except follow her and stay alive until you could get enough experience to stay alive on your own, but if you had the guts to go for the kill on your first mission, then maybe you didn't need to be taken care of after all. " Levi sure knows how to pick 'em. It looks like you'll be just fine."

"Thank you," you were pretty excited about having taken down your first titan, but what did Hange mean by what she said about Levi? Was it his idea that you should join her squad? You didn't think he had noticed you at all. After all you did kind of avoid him and he seemed to be content not noticing your existence. Either way, this wasn't the time to think about it, there were still a few more titans to clear out.

Captain Larry zoomed by on his ODM gear, his oddly timed sneeze echoing as he went. "Barlen, come back here!" You recognized the name as belonging to the burly troublemaker that liked to picked fights during the training. It was his fault a few cadets failed the training due to injuries resulting from fights with him, but no one ever came forward to say anything, fearful of what more he might do. You generally focused on your training and didn't cross his path. You weren't top ten material, at least according to the trainers, so he wouldn't acknowledge your existence if you didn't stayed out of his way.

"Oh oh, looks like Larry's got his hands full," Hange watched the chase, wondering if she should help out, but then she spotted another titan heading towards the gate. The creature was tall and bony, with beady eyes and a puff of hair in the middle of its skull. She looked to the streets below, the rest of Larry's squad had spread around, playing support to the other squads, he probably assigned them to do that before rushing off to chase the hotheaded one. They seemed to be alright, and they were by no means rookies, except for one of them, the skinny freckled boy with the overly optimistic attitude. Well, he was clearly not being overly optimistic now. "(Name), go get Carl before he gets eaten, I'll go say hi to the titan."

You replied with the affirmative and wasted no time in flying off to meet the boy. "Carl!" You called out to the frightened boy as you landed near him.

"(Name?) (Name!) I saw someone get eaten!" He panicked. "Someone more experienced than us got eaten, bitten in half!"

"You better get to the rooftops if you don't want to be next!" You tried to make him wake up from his panic. "C'mon, follow me, Hange sent me to get you." But she didn't tell you what else to do after. "Did you have something that you're supposed to do?"

"Captain Larry said to stay close to where Levi's squad is and support them if I can, but not to get in the way," Carl recited, before going back to his previous assertion. "(Name), these monsters, they can devour us, even if we're careful, even if we really try."

"Snap out of it!" You think scouts have been dying this whole time because they're careless? Of course there's danger even if you're careful!" Your own words continued to resonate in your brain, but this was what you had chosen and being afraid wouldn't make it any easier. You repeated something Levi had told you in a dream, "don't try to be a hero, just try to stay alive, you'll do more good that way in the long run." A shadow behind the building at the end of the street caught your attention. "Move, now!" You took to the rooftops, with Carl fortunately following.

A titan emerged onto the street where you stood seconds ago, crawling on its hands and knees. It had an elongated chin and nose with long messy brown hair falling over its face and shoulders. Its neck was exposed, right below you, it was an easy target. "I'll get this one!" When Carl got his bravado back and jumped into action, you had no doubts that he would be successful. He jumped from the side of the building next to the monster and shot a hook towards its neck, but the creature spun so it was laying face up all of a sudden.

"Disengage the hook, get out of there!" The line was around the titan's neck, you shot your ODM gear to the building across the street and zoomed by, cutting Carl's right forward line. "Shoot to the side!" you called as you made it to the rooftop across the street. Carl squeezed the controls on his swords' handles and two lines shot out from the sides of his ODM gear, but they were pulling him in opposite directions and he wasn't going anywhere. The titan grabbed him and stuffed him into its mouth, chewing loudly. "No!"

You heard some yelling in the distance, but you were focused on the titan. 'I failed...' you thought bitterly. You gripped your blades and followed the titan from the rooftops. You couldn't slay it from above, it would just turn over and eat you. You switched to the other side of the street. The titan turned over and tried to grab you, but it couldn't reach far enough, as if its limbs weren't quite formed well enough to allow it to stand upright. It turned over again facing downward to crawl. From your periphery, you saw someone land on a rooftop nearby, but didn't take note of who it was.

You crossed the street from one rooftop to another, left, right, left, right. The titan stopped crawling and remained on its back, facing up, reaching for you. You remained out of its grasp, tempting it by jumping back and forth, until it occurred to the monster to push itself up with one arm, while reaching for you with the other. That was your chance, as soon as the monster lifted itself, you pretended to follow along with your predictable motions like before and jumped from the building, but you allowed yourself to fall and shot your ODM gear at an angle to the building across the street. The device pulled you forward, making you swing below the monster's head, you reached up, slashing its neck, but unfortunately, the cut was too shallow.

The titan lost its balance and fell flat on its back, the weak spot out of your reach. If you could trick it into getting up again, you could try the same tactic. The titan seemed a bit tired though, not all of them had the same level of energy. It reached up for you, while laying on its back, you were safe above it, but how could you slay it when it was like that? You moved to another rooftop, hoping that it would get up to try to chase you and expose its back again. The creature began to struggle to do just that and you waited to try again, glancing at your fuel level for a moment. you heard footsteps on the roof, human footsteps, and finally took note of the person who had landed nearby earlier. "Captain Levi! I'm sorry sir..."

Levi's expression remained neutral as he studied the situation. "Rookies don't usually come up with moves like that at all." He glanced at your worried expression and clarified, "it's not a bad thing." Was it a compliment then? Were you doing well for a rookie?

You didn't think you were doing all that well at all. "Carl is dead..."

"I saw, I was too far to stop it, but you did all you could." Hearing that made you feel that maybe it wasn't your fault, you had tried to save him. "This is the last titan close to the gate, finish it." You glanced at your fuel level again. You wouldn't be able to taunt the titan in a effort to teach it a pattern to expect.

"Maybe I can blind it." You moved your arms forward, ready to detach the blades, trying to take aim.

"Aim for the eyes, not the nose," Levi interrupted impatiently. "Here," he stood beside you, positioning your arms properly, "now."

You shot the blades and they hit the targets, the titan screeched and suddenly turned over on its belly, its hands over its face, neck exposed to a hit from above. You went for it and finally finished the monster, then returned to the rooftop where Levi was. Your cheeks were still crimson, though all he did was touch your arms for the sake of correcting your poor aim. "Thank you," you voiced shyly.

"What was your rank?" Levi asked, his poker face still present, no real interest reflected in his voice beyond idle curiosity.

It took you a moment too long to process his question and as soon as you managed to figure out what he meant, you rushed to reply, "fifteen, sir."

"Fifteen..." Levi shook his head and it made you feel very self-conscious about your rank.

"I'll do my best to improve!" You felt the need to say something that made you looked like you weren't entirely worthless. Levi didn't say anything and you couldn't stop wondering what he was thinking.

The flare signal announcing the end of the mission was shot across the sky and the scouts all returned to the city and to the base. You learned that Larry was seriously injured, a broken leg, fractured ribs and they weren't sure what else. Barlen was suspended, his full punishment pending. Everyone was whispering that he was too reckless on the mission and with his record from the academy, he would surely be kicked out of the Survey Corps. He was strong and skilled, which was what drove him to graduate in the first place, but his constant fighting put him at the bottom of the class and proved he was unfit to work with a team.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

The fairy tales in part 1 were: Cinderella (and the horrors of stained silk), The Horseman of... The Hunchback of Notredame, Snow White (and the Seven Chibi Levis), The Little Mermaid (and how she choked on soap), One Hundred and One (not house trained) Dalmatians, Aladdin ("I can clean up the world, shinning, shimmering, splended!"), Alice in Wonderland: The Un-Spring Cleaning Mad Tea Party, Beauty and the Soap... Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping (Neat Freak) Beauty.

Isabel and Farlan's song in part 2 is "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid.

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