A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I'm posting an early chapter today and tomorrow since I won't be able to the next five days since I'm traveling! Thank you for reading <3
Two Years Later
It was silent save for the thuds of (Y/N)'s fists connecting to the punching bag in front of her. Her shirt was soaked with sweat, sticking to her body, as she continued to pulverize the bag in front of her. One fist in front of the other. Dust particles flew in the air with every punch. She let out a little grunt as she hit the bag again, feeling a light pain in her knuckles. Pathetic. She was pathetic. Her speed increased as did her strength. She hadn't been strong enough.
"Your hands are going to fall off. Stop."
(Y/N) ignored Levi, continued to rhythmically beat the dummy.
"(Y/N), I said stop," Levi ordered, walking over to place a hand on her shoulder. (Y/N) paused, panting heavily. She glared at the dark-haired man.
"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth. "I'm training, leave me alone."
"You've been training for two hours now. Take a break," Levi's expression softened. "Even machines take breaks once in a while, and you're just a human."
(Y/N) sighed. "Fine. I'll take a break. Was there anything else you wanted? It's not every day you come down to my...training area."
Levi looked around the room, eyeing the dust with distaste. His own quarters were always kept clean. "Come up. I made dinner. I need to talk to you about something."
"Dinner. You cooked dinner?" (Y/N) cocked a brow. "That sounds highly suspicious. Are you going to leave? Is this a goodbye meal? Or did something horrible happen because—"
"Relax," Levi said softly. "It's just a dinner. Take a quick shower and come join me, okay? I haven't...seen Jean in a long time. I'd appreciate your company."
(Y/N)'s jaw clenched, and she nodded. She watched as Levi left the room and begrudgingly took off her boxing gloves. Ever since the death of Sasha and Connie, Jean had opted to spend most of his time alone. Where did he go? Nobody knew. (Y/N) didn't stop him. She let him leave every single day. For that reason, she hadn't had a decent conversation with him in months. She missed him. She missed him and Sasha and Connie. The rooms of the shack they lived in were empty and vast, each wall reminding (Y/N) of what used to be the past.
"Come on, (Y/N)," she could hear Sasha giggle. "Punch the next one harder! Imagine it's Jean after he ate your portion of beef stew!"
"Hey, (Y/N)..." she heard Sasha whisper during the nights. "Do you think we'll ever get the chance to live in Shiganshina City? Besides the food and stuff. Imagine if we had been born there. Do you think we'd still be friends?"
"Do you think I'm useless during these raids, (Y/N)?" the voice of Sasha haunted her daily. "I know I'm good at the crossbow but besides that...I'm not strong like you or fast like Jean. I'm not dead weight, am I?"
Everywhere she looked in the room she once shared with Sasha, (Y/N) could practically see the beam of Sasha's eyes and hear the echoes of past conversations. Of course, she missed Connie too. But she had known Sasha the longest. (Y/N) had grown up with her. Sasha had practically been her sister. And she had died all because (Y/N) had agreed to go after the stupid guards.
For days, (Y/N) wondered what would have happened if she had refused to go after the guards. Would her friends still be nearby? Would her family be intact? As (Y/N) headed to the showers, stripping her dirty clothes and standing underneath the scorching hot water, she thought of things that could have been. But it was useless going over that now, wasn't it? The pain had numbed, it didn't pierce through her like before. It was now just a dull throb. She felt mostly angry than sad, and that was growing to become a problem.
"What'd you make?" (Y/N) asked after she entered the makeshift kitchen. She had changed into a pair of sweats and eyed the plates on the table wearily. Levi had only cooked once before in (Y/N)'s entire life. The day he took her in, to calm her sobs, he had made her the soup she loved. Despite his cold demeanor, Levi was very caring.
"I made some salmon," Levi motioned for (Y/N) to take a seat.
"Salmon," (Y/N) echoed. "Where'd you get the money for that?"
"The raid that happened this month brought a lot of money," Levi admitted, placing a portion of the fish onto (Y/N)'s plate. There were pieces of asparagus and (Y/N) dug her fork into the tender meat. "Admittedly, the security on the topside is getting tighter. They're going to find and close the hole any day now."
"What'll be of us?" (Y/N) took a bite of her food. It was good. Surprisingly good. For a man that barely cooked, Levi was quite skilled.
"It's either we find another hole in the gate, another flaw in the system or...or we resort to what the other undercity people are doing," Levi said grimly. "I'm sure you know all about the drug deals."
(Y/N) said nothing her memory flashing back to the pink vial she had stolen from that guard years ago.
"And the whole drug scenario is even more dangerous," Levi sighed. He looked tired, considerably aged. The toll of Sasha and Connie's death had hit him hard. "People have been creating homemade batches, and the side effects have been crazy."
"The side effects?" (Y/N) asked. "Like withdrawal, you mean."
"No. After consuming the drug these people get...strong," Levi leaned back in his chair, a troubled look on his face. "Like insanely strong. And they mutate because of it. Their muscles grow bigger, and they grow taller, and sometimes they don't look human anymore. It's dangerous, (Y/N), and so addictive. People have died due to withdrawal. There's an epidemic going on in the undercity and the topsiders haven't batted an eye."
The anger in Levi's voice was unmistakable. (Y/N) took a few minutes to process what he said. She knew the drug dealing was bad, but she hadn't anticipated that it would be this horrible.
"What's the drug called?" She asked, curious. "I haven't heard of a drug that makes people...mutate. Isn't this something that should be investigated?"
"Nobody cares about us," Levi said darkly. "And it doesn't have an official name. Although, people are calling it shimmer."
"Shimmer..." (Y/N) said slowly. For some reason, the pink vial flashed into her mind. "Out of curiosity, do you know what this drug looks like?"
Levi looked at her suspiciously. "Why do you want to know? Listen to me, (Y/N), I forbid you from going near a drug like that. It's dangerous and—"
"I know, Levi. I'm asking because...because it reminds me of something. Please, just tell me, what does it look like?" (Y/N) pressed.
Levi sighed. "It has a strange color. It's pink."
(Y/N)'s heart puttered to a stop. She abruptly stood up and walked to her room, ignoring Levi's calls. She rifled through her drawer, searching until she found the small glass container holding the pink, shimmery liquid. She walked back out to the kitchen and held it out to Levi.
"Is this it?" She asked, breaths coming out fast. "Is this the drug you're talking about?"
"Yes," Levi paled, staring at her in shock. "Where the hell did you get that from?"
(Y/N) sank onto the wooden chair, closing her eyes shut. "The night Sasha died, we interrupted two guards doing a drug deal or whatever. This was the vial that they'd been exchanging. One of the guards shot her. They wanted the whole thing to be a secret for some reason."
Levi reached out for the vial, staring at it in silence. He was unable to come up with any words, unable to express how he was feeling. (Y/N), on the other hand, felt a strong rush of rage.
"You're telling me that the bastards from the topside created a drug that destroys people and distributes it to the undercity? That people have died from the drugs the prissy rich people have plagued our home with?" (Y/N) seethed. "The guards who dealt this drug killed Sasha."
"(Y/N)..."
"If we figure out the people who created the drug, or who this shimmer belongs to, we can find the men who killed Sasha," (Y/N) grip tightened around the table. She could get revenge. For years she dreamed of torturing the man that had killed the person she cared about most. For years, she harbored her strength and power in case she would confront him again. The drug would allow her to trace back to the people who started all of this. The people that were in charge.
"Slow down," Levi raised a hand. "It's far too dangerous for you to be pursuing anything related to this drug. If you're right, and the topsiders are in charge, then they can...they can get you killed."
"Like Sasha."
Levi flinched. "(Y/N), no. I know you're upset, and I am too, but pursuing revenge is not a smart option right now."
"I'm not a child, Levi," (Y/N) snapped. "Don't you want to avenge Sasha? Don't you want to put those bastards deep into the ground? I sure do. I can't sleep at night. I see her face every time I close my eyes. That man deserves to be dead. He killed Sasha and he will kill countless others. I don't just want to stop that one guard, I want to stop this entire operation. Aren't the problems in the undercity enough? We don't need some mutant drug."
Levi watched her carefully. He stood up and walked over to where she sat, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Please, (Y/N)."
The look in his eyes told her that he couldn't lose another kid. He had known Sasha and Connie for years, had practically raised them, and he had been the one who ended up burying them too.
"I promise, I won't die," (Y/N) said determined, staring up at him.
"How are you going to go about this, anyway? You've only just figured out the connection five minutes ago. You have no strategy, no plan."
"I'll talk to people," (Y/N) thought quickly, trying to devise a plan on the spot. "I have connections who probably have connections of their own. I'll talk and spy, and trace down the people who're in charge. I'll find their headquarters or lab or whatever. And then I'll grab some reinforcements and burn the place down."
Levi's grip on her shoulder tightened and he looked up at the ceiling. "I can't stop you, I know. So that is why I'll join you. There's no doubt that you're strong. Your strength just about matches my own. But if the two of us work together, we'll be more effective."
"I was hoping you'd say that," a ghost of a smile flickered over (Y/N)'s lips.
"Talking to random people and trying to build connections would take too long. I know a man," Levi cleared his throat. "When it comes to the topside and drugs, he has a wealth of knowledge. I heard about shimmer from him in the first place. If anything, he'll have information to give us."
"That's great!" A burst of hope flooded through (Y/N)'s veins. "Who is he?"
"His name is Kenny. Kenny Ackerman."