Parallel Paths (Levihan)

Ch. 1 The Blip

Before they exit his room Levi speaks up. "You should get some rest too, four eyes."

Hange turns around and locks eyes with him. He gives them a meaningful look that Hange understands as gratitude. They return his gaze with a small smile and nod their head. Then Hange turns around again and reaches for the doorknob to leave.

Until suddenly there is a bright light.

In the blink of an eye, the entire room illuminates with white and blinding light. The walls and furniture rattle violently. They feel a tingling sensation throughout their whole body and it happens so quickly that Hange doesn't have enough time to process what is happening around them.

Then it goes dark.

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"Hange!"

Hange feels a throbbing pain in their head. Their eyes are squeezed shut and they lift a hand up to hold their forehead and groan in pain.

"Hange, are you awake?"

Slowly they come to their senses and they can feel a hand gripping tightly on their shoulder. They feel themselves being shaken back and forth aggressively. Again they hear a voice calling them. It sounds like Levi's voice.

"Hange!"

Although their eyelids are heavy and their aching head is screaming in protest, Hange slowly attempts to open their eyes. Greeting them when their vision comes into focus, is the sight of Levi looming above them. He looks concerned and panicked which instantly makes Hange alert. Levi is always composed and rarely lets his emotions seep through. To see him this disheveled means something is very wrong.

Hange then jolts up and becomes increasingly aware of their surroundings. When they sit up and look around, they see they are sitting on the floor in a room that resembles a lab. The room is cluttered and filled with some science equipment that Hange recognizes. However, there is also other equipment laying around that Hange has never seen before. It looks like advanced technology they don't understand. The sight only increases their panic. The bright lights in the room illuminate the white walls and further irritate their pounding head.

They then turn towards Levi who is crouched down beside them. He wears an almost relieved expression as he looks back at them.

"Levi?" Panic is evident in their voice.

"Hange, are you okay?"

Hange ignores his question. "Where are we?"

Levi lets out a shaky huff. "I don't know. I just woke up and we were both laying in here."

Hange swallows thickly and looks around again. They try to recall what they were doing before they woke up. They remember being in Levi's room, they had just finished talking to him and were about to leave when...

Suddenly the door in the room burst open loudly. Hange and Levi both startle and snap their heads toward the door.

They see a man wearing a lab coat walk in quickly as well as a tall woman frantically trailing behind him. The man stops abruptly when his eyes land on them causing the woman to bump into him. The man's jaw drops and his eyes go wide as he stares at them. The woman sees them now as well and wears a similar expression.

Levi and Hange quickly both jump to their feet and fall into a fighting stance. Levi glares at the man and watches him closely. The man is fairly tall with blonde hair and a bushy beard. He continues to look at them in shock and luckily doesn't show any signs of hostility. The tall woman behind him has blonde hair as well that is cut short to her chin. She shoots the man a questioning look but says nothing.

Levi finally breaks the silence. "Where are we? What is this place."

Levi's words seem to break the man from his shock. He glances to the woman behind him and then back at Levi. He clears his throat and composes himself. "Where did you guys come from? How did you get in here?"

Levi's glare deepens and he looks annoyed by his question being ignored. "We just woke up in here. What's going on? Who are you?"

The man and woman exchange a glance again. Then the man looks back at Levi and Hange skeptically. "You woke up here?" He questions.

"Yes," Levi responds, his frustration evident in his tone. "I don't remember anything that happened. I woke up, and was lying on the floor here with them also laying next to me." He gestures towards Hange.

The man only continues to stare at Levi, confusion obviously etched onto his face. Hange could tell the man was silently attempting to wrap his head around the situation.

Hange spoke up as well and asked Levi's original question. "What is this place?"

The man looked at them. "We're in the Jeager Research Facility. This is my lab."

Levi squinted his eyes at that. "Jeager?"

The man only nodded. "What do you guys last remember?"

Levi and Hange looked at each other. "I remember being in my room talking.." Levi started. Hange nodded and continued for him. "And then I was about to leave when..."

Hange trailed off and desperately searched their memory for what happened next. They could distantly remember feeling a tingling sensation in their body.

"And then..?" The man encouraged, waiting for their answer.

"There was a light." Levi answered.

Hearing Levi's answer jogged their own memory. "Yes! That's right," They nodded as the rest of the memory came to them. "a bright light came from nowhere and the entire room shook. An odd sensation overcame my body and then everything went black." Hange supplied for them.

The man let out a gasp as he and the woman snapped their heads toward each other. They seemed to silently communicate something Hange and Levi weren't able to follow.

The man's eyes were wide. "Do you think..?" He asked the woman hesitantly.

Without warning, the man and the woman began to hurridly walk towards them at the same time. Levi stepped in front of Hange defensively but then the two strangers only walked past them to make their way towards something behind them. Levi and Hange spun around to watch what they were doing.

The man and woman stopped in front of a big machine that was easily the biggest piece of equipment in the room. It sat against a wall and seemed to loom over them ominously. It was covered in all kinds of buttons and screens Hange was unable to understand.

The two strangers began to press buttons on it frantically. Hange and Levi only stood and watched. After a moment of waiting the man finally turned back around to look at them. 

"Okay, I think I know what happened here." The man said. He then gave the woman an unsure, almost nervous glance. "But this is going to be hard to take in."