Shingeki no Kyojin/進撃の巨人 1. CHAPTER I: GENESIS

**A/N:** First of all, an important disclaimer that this fic was schemed prior to SnK manga chapter 56, so it does not take into account any canon plot development from that part onwards. But ultimately, it's as alternate universe as you can get as I'm borrowing a piece of Christopher Nolan's mind, so there's that. If you have not already seen the masterpiece that is _Inception_, most concepts in this fic will be quite difficult to grasp. So I highly suggest either watching the film beforehand or at least reading the Inception Wikia!

Please also note that each chapter will also represent **the perspective of one specific character** whose identity will be indicated beneath the chapter title.

* * *

**_musou_** [夢想] dream; reverie  
**_musou_** [無双] the only one; no other

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Erwin Smith gathers his dream extraction team for one final mission, but the ghost of his Point Man's past may collapse everything. RivaMika + hints of AruAni/EreMin/EreAnnie. Inception AU.

* * *

**Chapter I  
**_GENESIS_  
[Annie; The Forger]

_"Seven thirty! Seven thirty! Wake up Annie! Wake up Annie!"_

The cacophony of her personalized alarm ushered Annie Leonhardt's vision into the exuberance of daybreak, with every screeched syllable from the owl's mechanical beak emerging as adversaries rather than the motivators they had intended to be. Only the sound of flesh smacking against plastic ceased the robotic chant, with its final noise waning away in despondency. Out of habit, Annie's brain honed in on the illusory tableau she had just been snatched from, drawing and redrawing the endless details that already threatened to dissolve with every passing second.

_That same dream again…_ she sighed with veiled frustration. _That sunset, that seashore, my hair jet black and hovering in the breeze…the same damn boring thing for nearly a week already._

Ever since childhood, she had acknowledged this special ability that constantly lingered at the threshold of blessing and curse. Night after night, her feet traversed across breathtaking worlds, somehow able to thoroughly explore what the human imagination conjured up between those precious nanoseconds of REM. And yet, whenever Annie looked towards her reflections within the dreamscapes, seldom did her own face stare back. Instead, the likenesses of others within her memories – and many whom she would meet in a future time – substituted her outer shell, as if she were merely living through their respective experiences. So she learned to dwell within the frayed textures of her mind's canvas, saturated by the infinite colors that concealed her actual form.

_You were born to be a Forger, Annie_. Her ninth psychiatrist – and the first true Dreamer she ever encountered – had noted with confidence years ago. _The dimensions of secondary consciousness apparently embrace you, no matter who you morph into._

With such ingrained encouragement, she transformed those symbolic losses of self into a rare skill – one that became more and more lucrative as the Black Market of mind espionage widened its cunning web. The combination of factors had permitted her to survive alone for the past few years, drifting from ensemble to ensemble to complete well-rewarded missions and refining her freelance reputation in the Extractor circle. The diversity and thrill of each task had brought much-needed stimulation into her otherwise dormant life, even if her taciturn eyes rarely showed it.

For the past week, however, Annie's own dreams reveled in eerie stagnancy. They refused to position her anywhere outside of that singular moment in time, when sea foam filled the crevices between her toes and her vantage point focused upon the blood-red sun on the horizon.

A part of her knew all too well that innocuous redundancies actually meant sinister omens.

On this morning, as she struggled to find immediate clarity through her messy curtain of blonde bangs, Annie deposited her subconscious' replay into a corner before rubbing both fatigued eyes with vigor. Just as full recovery settled in, however, another alarm – this time in the chiming form of her doorbell – interrupted any attempts at continuing a morning routine.

With a grumble, she slammed both palms against the mattress, using the momentum to propel herself into a seated position.

"Who is it?" Her voice could barely mask all the underlying disdain as she planted bare feet upon the floor. _So goddamn early…_

"My apologies for the early intrusion. This is Erwin Smith."

The muffled response traveled across the austere studio apartment, with the weight of its final words seemingly rumbling everything from her hanging pots to her eardrums.

_Erwin…_? Annie felt her body suddenly infused itself with adrenaline, rousing legs to pull together adequate energy and begin pacing towards the entrance. As always, her movements remained cautious and calculating. She even reconfirmed the usual spot of her trusted dagger, posing as mere decoration while being secured in its leather sheath behind the door - just in case any visitors were not whom they claimed to be. But once she came close enough to glance through the peephole, Annie sighed with some relief that such concerns were unfounded, for the face of Erwin Smith himself entered her view. Nevertheless, she lifted the crystal pendant draping from her neck - her Totem - for a final inspection, and when the transparent jewel remained colorless rather than taking on its more kaleidoscopic nature within imagined worlds, she knew her current state was reality.

Gradually, she pulled the door ajar, allowing dauntless air to permeate into her personal space almost instantly. Despite her overall composure, she felt her eyeballs protruding at the now undistorted sight of the imposing figure, standing with broad shoulders perfectly perpendicular to the ground. For a name as respected as Erwin's, even the dark blue of his business suit seemed almost too casual a color - she had always expected a man doused in complete monotony, with an impeccable pair of sunglasses to enhance the level of mystery, Instead, under a well-managed golden mane in the same shade as her own, those infamous eyebrows angled severely above visible, alert irises, creating an expression as stern as Annie had ever witnessed.

"Miss Leonhardt?" Though the words echoed with resounding timbre, his lips barely moved against a set jaw.

"Just…Annie is fine." She corrected with some hesitation. Only very few in the business knew of her true surname, yet she was far from surprised at this particular man's awareness. "So what exactly did I do to deserve a visit from the Great Extractor, Erwin Smith?"

Erwin's expression broke slightly into a thin smile, somewhat alleviating the tension of this first meeting. "I think the right question is, Annie: what _haven't_ you done?"

The ambiguity of his statement was one she could not decipher so early in the morning, but the request that followed was as clear as can be.

"If you have a moment today, please meet me at the café down the block in half an hour."

Those last words also marked an indirect, temporary farewell, and as Annie's eyes followed the tall man's departure down the corridor, she prophesied that whatever rested in that café would be a chance of a lifetime.

* * *

Exactly 29 minutes later, Annie approached the corner booth of the humble establishment, bypassing any customary offerings from the employees at the counter. Behind her head, the tight ponytail she had fastened her hair into dangled with its usual rigidness, barely showing movement despite all the staunch footsteps. Upon her figure, the pairing of a vintage t-shirt and black denim represented her usual style preferences – at the moment, she had little desire towards satisfying any of the formal dress codes that Erwin Smith's teams were known for. _If you want my participation, you will have to take me at face value._

"Good morning." She stated with as much nonchalance as she could muster. To her surprise, another blond head swiftly peeked out from the area opposite Erwin, and ocean blue eyes Annie had only seen in photographs regarded her with genuine curiosity. For the moment, however, neither person appeared perturbed by her outfit of choice.

"Annie, this is Armin Arlert." Rather than answering her greeting, Erwin was quick to make the proper introduction. "You may know him as one of the most brilliant Architects our business has ever known."

"So I've heard." She took the hand the younger man extended in her direction. Much praise for him had been circulating in the past few years – ever since he successfully constructed a life-size version of Escher's _Belvedere_ during a heist involving a top Vatican Cardinal. The two of them were of identical age, Annie recalled, and she couldn't help but wonder if, like her, he only discovered truth within impossibilities.

Before their handshake ended, Armin tugged gently as invitation for her to slip into the seat next to his. She found herself obliging after a brief pause, but the investigative stare from her boothmate remained trained on her even as she sat down.

Deciding to counter the unnerving gesture, she threw him her own glance and a long-awaited inquiry. "I always wondered. Are you two…related?"

To her satisfaction, Armin's head finally turned away, the sheer speed of the action causing all his loose locks to swing into momentary disorder. Meanwhile, the rosy hue of his cheeks deepened in color, hinting that this was far from the first time the question had been posed.

Across the table, Erwin actually let out a light chuckle. "I think everyone else in this café would ask the same thing if they saw the_ three_ of us together like this." He drew an airborne circle between them with a finger. "And the answer to your question is: no."

_Touché._ She briefly deliberated her own physical resemblance to them. "Then how did you two join forces?"

"Erwin was my psychology professor at university." Armin spoke up for the first time, with a voice slightly more nasal than Annie's expectations. "He introduced me to the dream world and guided me in my early days."

"I see." She arched one brow, as she rarely tied together Erwin's Extractor livelihood with any academic persona. But before she could question further, the subject of her curiosities quickly overrode the conversation topic.

"I have brought you here because you are now also known as one of the best, Annie." Placing both elbows upon the table, Erwin leaned towards them with fingers interlocked beneath his chin. "And I would like to fund a specific collaboration for us all."

Annie now found her other eyebrow rising as well at the unusual circumstance. "You're paying out of your own pocket for this?"

Next to her, Armin detectably stirred despite feigning outward calmness. _So he did not know either…_

"This task is slightly personal." Erwin's gaze lowered to one spot in the midst of the table surface's pointillism design, as if he were suddenly troubled by his own notions. "As you will soon see, what I need is to tie up some loose ends. Consider me…retired after everything is complete."

"I guess I—we should be honored that you are entrusting us with your final task." Armin's voice was steady, though Annie could easily decipher the dozens of questions buried within the soils of disbelief.

Erwin lifted his head again, and three variations of paired azure met in strained understanding. It was unthinkable for her to even contemplate the inevitable end of her own mental journeys, but the faint lines upon Erwin's face suddenly seemed more apparent than ever, marring the façade of confidence and strength that cloaked him just seconds ago.

"All good things must come to an end."

She wasn't sure which one of them finally verbalized the pessimistic circumstance, but the phrase was much needed in order to officially conclude the solemn moment. Immediately, Annie's rational side prompted her lips to redirect attention to the specifics at hand, for witnessing this side of her impending team leader already elicited undesirable apprehension within herself.

"If I'm your Forger for this…then where is your usual hire? That short girl with the angelic face?"

"Historia, you mean?" Erwin blinked a few times in his own attempt at refocus. "She stopped this line of work a while ago, but she will be sending her other half, Ymir, in her stead. For old times' sake."

"Ymir? I can't imagine she is as experienced at this sort of thing…" For once, Armin did not attempt to veil his skepticism.

"She won't be doing very much for us."

"Then she is only taking on a Tourist role? Why do you need so many extra Dreamers, Erwin?"

The hasty exchanges between the two males proved intriguing, and so she sat back with folded arms, observing the dynamics for her own enlightenment. By now, it was more than evident that the three of them shared far more than just physical attributes, but Annie knew that in order for her to fit in seamlessly, she would still need to discern every unspoken agenda as well.

No amount of understanding, however, could prepare her for what came next.

"We're going deeper this time, Armin. More levels than we've tried before." Erwin's hold upon his own hand tightened into a practical death grip before finally relaxing. "Long story short – I would like us to perform Inception."

The word punctured through Annie's brain like the most ruthless of bullets, crushing all matter into an indecipherable concoction that no technique could separate. For the first time in a long while, her jaw dropped in order to release the breath that had been lodged halfway up her throat, but even in the process of freeing that trivial chunk of air, she still nearly choked.

"I…I thought that was impossible." Somehow, Armin expressed the exact words she could not manage, his own voice now lit with astonishment.

"Rumors are that Dom Cobb's team recently achieved the feat. On a trans-Pacific flight, no less." The unemotional response directed towards them only confounded matters further, and Annie gained an impulsive urge to actually order a coffee – or rather, a substantial espresso shot.

"But _how_?" The voice next to her continued its interrogation.

"They bought out the airline in advance...or something." Erwin now watched them both with caution, likely gauging the severity of their reactions to each divulged detail. "But their exact methods don't matter. The point is that this means we can at least make the same attempt, and I am confident that with this team, we will also succeed."

Annie felt herself gradually gliding towards one end of the cushioned seating, almost assessing a possible escape route instead of welcoming the intensity in the older man's eyes. Her habit of brutal honesty released itself then, coupled with a cynical glare.

"I'm not sure if this is what I wanted to sign up for."

"I see the look both of you have right now." Challenge embedded itself within the deepest tones of Erwin's speech. "I see that burning mixture of anxiety and excitement…this is what we do everything for, isn't it? The exploration of domains completely unknown to others? The exhilaration we cannot acquire by any other method in life?"

She retorted with the most rudimentary fear of any Dreamer – a possibility magnified thousandfold by the proposed task. "Even just the risk of being trapped in Limbo forever…"

"…is negligible. This will not be a dangerous mission by any means."

"Why do you say that?" A demand for explanation saturated Armin's voice, which sounded much firmer than Annie had ever anticipated. "_Who_ is the Mark, Erwin?"

Linked fingers detached themselves without hesitation, and she followed Erwin's left hand as it reached into his front pocket to retrieve the fateful answer. Moments later, a nondescript passport photo landed in the space between them, with its beige background rendered even more colorless by the presence of rich chocolate hair and a vibrant, emerald gaze.

"Eren…Yeager?" She easily recalled the person's identity from the excess of political news coverage she browsed through on a day-to-day basis. Even if only seen in the background, his face constantly stood out, though she always hesitated to question why.

Armin continued her train of thought, further confirming any suspicions. "The nephew of General Ackerman…and the cousin of—"

Erwin's voice tersely took over again, but Annie could not tell whether it was because Armin had voluntarily halted his words or if he had been interrupted. "If you weren't aware already, Annie, General Ackerman is actually a government traitor who has gotten away with too much for far too long." He stated with full transparency. "We will need Eren's help to bring him down."

Though she knew little of the exact circumstances, her instincts jumped at the opportunity to learn more. "How exactly do you expect to accomplish that?"

A glance passed between Armin and Erwin then, so brief that anyone else but her might not have caught it. From her years of studying human behavior she immediately understood what that look meant – it was a decisive agreement to permit her access to secrets currently held by very few others, to fully uncover stories that might never be told otherwise. Whatever the conditions were, these two respected figures had somehow been cornered into a situation where even her, a relative stranger, had earned the necessary trust in record time.

"Do you know about the General's daughter, Annie?" Erwin posed the question with prudence.

Something clicked in her mind immediately, and another portrait photograph that had been flashed across news broadcasts a while ago now resurfaced. "Yes…her name was…Michaela? No, Mikasa, Japanese origins, like her mother." Back then, she had found it difficult to forget that young woman's beautiful, haunting eyes, bearing a shade somewhat lighter than her onyx hair. "She…died two years ago, didn't she?"

"That's correct." The response seemed quieter than usual.

To her left, Annie overheard Armin give an uncharacteristic inhale, as if the mention of the girl's name had triggered unwanted memories.

"The truth is, Mikasa Ackerman died as an unwitting keeper of military secrets that would've exposed her father's treachery." Strong fingers clenched together once more as Erwin made the difficult disclosure. "_He_ was the one who killed her in the end, all to protect himself."

"Wha…what?" The revelation thundered across her mind, even though she was never one to trust government or military officials from the get-go. "How can that be? I still remember the reports that she had fallen into a coma after a serious head injury, and that there was no hope…"

"That was the cover story, Annie. General Ackerman removed her from life support prematurely. On purpose."

A fabricated vision of the young woman lying helplessly in her hospital bed appeared without warning, and Annie's complexion turned even paler than when the word "Inception" had first come up. Had she heard the conspiracy from anyone else she might have rendered it false, but by all standards, the reputations of the two around her were notoriously clean, and there was little reason for either to make such extreme accusations.

"My God…" She could only murmur as she attempted to reassemble her thoughts.

Armin placed a hand upon her shoulder, indicating his support prior to facing Erwin himself. "So how exactly does Eren fit into all this? As far as I remember, he wasn't involved or even present during the ordeal due to a semester of studying abroad."

"He has recently graduated from medical school with a concentration in neurosurgery." The older man moved one hand downward before tapping a finger upon the passport photo. "And unbeknownst to most, he was always suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his cousin's death."

_Smart guy_. Annie mused at both the academic achievement and apparent intuition.

"I have a contact at the Capital Hospital who informed me that under his new residency status, Eren Yeager recently checked out records pertaining to Mikasa's stay two years ago." Erwin continued the crucial explanation. "Even if the data has been doctored, with his education background he likely noticed all the pieces that didn't fit – especially how his cousin was _not_ actually 100% braindead at the time of her father's orders to shut everything down."

The chilling detail prompted her to share a gaze with Armin then, but he broke away first and summarized their ultimate intent.

"So you want Eren to turn him in. And to eventually testify in court."

"Yes, but he would probably never do it without _heavy_ suggestion. And thus we will need Inception to plant that idea into his head and allow it to blossom. If we can't get the General for treason, we might as well start with premeditated murder."

The heaviness of Annie's next exhale seemed to equal the growing weight of the situation. "This…is fairly ambitious."

"If you need some time to think about it, I understand."

"No." Her audacious side immediately snapped back. "I will be fine. I just…_Inception_, Erwin?"

"Inception, Annie. Yes." Confirmation came for what was likely the final time. "I've even hired a Chemist to help with the necessary concoctions for deeper sleep."

"Then who will be our Point Man?" Finally accepting that there would be no return, she took the opportunity to clarify the rest of the team members instead. "Out of everyone still active in the field, only the one known as 'Arthur' seems capable of assisting something of this level, but I'm sure we all know he has disappeared from the grid."

Erwin nodded in agreement, seemingly impressed with her knowledge. "Yes, Arthur would be the ideal candidate. However, I heard he was already the one on the previous Inception job with Cobb. It might be why he can no longer be found so easily."

"So you have no more options, then."

"As a matter of fact, I do." A haze appeared to overwhelm the blue eyes that stared back at her with near indifference. "There exists only one other who is capable of such complex maneuvers."

She sensed Armin's posture quickly straightening, as if all the bones in his body had been forced into rigidness by an invisible apparatus.

"I _know_ what you are thinking, Erwin." The young man's voice contained evident alarm. "Surely you haven't forgotten what happened last time?"

_Last time?_

Neither Erwin's body nor his tone shifted in the slightest. "Of course not. But we have no choice if we even want the slightest possibility of success-"

The younger man suddenly stood, and the breeze from the abrupt movement proved strong enough to sway the unsecured wisps of Annie's hair. His somewhat disturbed expression inspired her own concerns, for the subtle positioning of his facial muscles conveyed emotions more severe than typical hesitation. The serenity that had enveloped his childlike features was nowhere to be found, and light tremors mimicking the warning signs of an imminent earthquake accompanied his next words.

"What makes you think that he would even agree to work with us again? With _you_? On something like _this_, no less?"

_Who is this "he?"_ She opened her mouth to ask, but Erwin's calmly extended arm hindered her intentions. The man gave a light tug upon the Architect's sleeve, insisting that he remain seated until there was full explanation.

"Because he's just like us, Armin." Though addressing only one, the speech was clearly intended for them both. "Our own dreams - our _lives_ \- become dull and insatiable once these thorough explorations of the mind ceases. I know for a fact that he has been missing this."

Reluctantly, Armin lowered himself to his seat again, and the silence that befell them all hinted at their undeniable, mutual agreement on such matters. As she begun to ponder upon her own inner longing for more and more profound discoveries, Erwin finished his statement, though this time with a much softer voice.

"And most importantly…you and I both know that Levi wants retribution more than any of us."

Even with her astute senses, the name nearly slipped past Annie's perception as it had been spoken with such fleetingness, as if the person was just another trivial target in their ongoing pursuits. When the two syllables finally registered, she felt her eyes widen with immediate recognition, for the most impressive adjectives describing physical and mental capabilities had always been attached to this short moniker. _Levi_. _The one who only seemed to exist in legends._

"Aren't you then simply exploiting that wish of his?" Armin actually scolded, though the decreasing urgency in his tone indicated that he knew all arguments were futile at this point.

"My goal has always been to get things done." As expected, Erwin's determination was unwavering. "And if necessary, to counter risk with risk."

Annie watched Armin turn slightly and lean against the wall with both eyes squeezed shut, his overall posture reminiscent of a deflated balloon exhaling its last bit of air. One hand lifted to brush back blond locks against his scalp, lifting bangs just enough to reveal the elusive forehead that now wrinkled with defeat. Meanwhile, his other hand reached into the pocket of his jeans, toying with an object within. Even without seeing it, she knew it was likely his Totem – and she couldn't blame him, for Erwin's words were beginning to sound more and more fantastical by the minute. In her perception, he seemed to mature a few years, having undergone a quick evolution from timid youngster to the creative yet anxious artist she had envisioned him to be prior to their meeting.

"I'm guessing that you want _me_ to be the one to speak with him then." His neck bent backward in acceptance of the inevitability. "Well, I honestly don't even know where he is."

Without a second's hesitation, Erwin whipped out a map from his trouser pocket before shaking the paper free from its predetermined folds. As hues of light green and expanses of white paths laid themselves out across the table, his other hand was quick to point out a red circle marking within the northwest region.

"He's staying here, hard to fly to but hours away by train." The confidence of the report hinted at the thorough research that had taken place prior to their recruitment. "And I want you to take Annie there with you, because she will need as much context as possible."

While Annie decided to not question the proposal, Armin spoke into the air with his lifted head, still snubbing their straightforward team leader. "You baffle me, Erwin, truly."

Even after a brief scoff, Erwin still made no attempt to deny his own traits.

"I was always both selfless and selfish, Armin. But that's why we've always made a good team."

* * *

_She was by the sea again._

_Beneath her feet, warm hues saturated the beach sands, adorning every pebble with temporary dyes that ran close to but still not as dark as the crimson fabric sheltering her neck. Soft winds collided into her oversized sweater and billowing skirt, spreading threads far apart to form makeshift sails ready to carry her into unknown regions of the atmosphere. All the while, the sun rested straight ahead, with its bottom curvature distorting as it began to dip into the horizon._

This me, I'm waiting for someone._ When she noticed those same black tresses from the past week flying against the frame of her face, a reminder that had not surfaced in previous visions echoed within her brain._

I'm waiting for-

The sound of the train horn stripped Annie of the opportunity to solve this ongoing mystery, and she blinked awake to mild soreness in her neck, stemming from the awkward angle at which it tilted her head – right onto Armin's shoulder.

"So…sorry." She straightened her spine at a speed that almost caused whiplash, and those same sore muscles directed her eyes towards the window instead of exposing the light embarrassment coloring her cheeks. Beyond a transparent reflection of herself, a film reel of bland sceneries zoomed past without leaving any lasting impression, and in the short moment Annie's desire towards dreaming again intensified hundredfold.

"It's fine." Behind her, Armin released a light, albeit nervous chuckle. "Are you…alright?"

It took her a second to comprehend that he was asking about Erwin's loaded plans – the immensity of which only grew with each additional kilometer they traveled towards their current destination.

"Still processing it all." She murmured in the end. "But fine."

Despite not seeing him, Annie could sense Armin's nods of relief coupled with the light sounds of his palms rubbing against each other, the latter actually perceptible due to the complete silence of the bullet train's voyage. She almost wished that those rhythmic, mechanical noises of archaic technology were still present, for they could at least provide some sense of distraction to scatter her thoughts. But now, she couldn't help but focus on what was occurring in her immediate vicinity, and when his hands finally stopped moving, she knew that only more questions would follow.

"Why did you agree to this in the first place, Annie?"

"The money." Her answers were brief yet honest, bearing that customary tone of nonchalance. "And like Erwin said – the thrill."

"Do you think it will be worthwhile for you in the end?"

"Who knows." She never really thought of things in long-term contexts. "But years ago, I made a personal promise to never back down from a challenge. This is merely one of those cases."

"I see." Though he took in her words at face value, Armin seemed dissatisfied with the excuse. "Did Erwin even tell you who he wanted you to mimic?"

"Not yet, but as you can imagine, I'm not looking forward to it as much any longer."

A darker area of foliage from outside allowed her to suddenly perceive the Architect's reflection as well, and the guarded way he scrutinized his hands prompted her to finally turn around again.

"Why? Do _you_ know?" She took the position of interrogator without pause.

"I-No."

Annie could see through the lie as if it were the clearest pane of glass, fogged only by a gentle coating of tense energy. And when she returned to staring through actual glass, she felt her lips twitch into a tiny smile.

_You're far too easy to read, Armin. I can already masquerade as you after just half a day._

* * *

By the time they finally arrived at the modest townhouse neighborhood, with brick facades all doused in faint streetlight, the hour hand of her watch had just ticked past the number 11. With her nap on the train to compensate, Annie felt no fatigue, but the backpack she had stuffed one change of clothing into after the café meeting suddenly seemed insufficient. Nevertheless, she followed Armin's shadow as they ventured into the unfamiliar territory, passing a series of connected stoops leading up towards both lit and unlit windows. For now, she would have to trust that the young man would only need one attempt to convince their most volatile member to join the cause.

Near the end of the block, Armin finally stopped next to a mailbox bearing the metal calligraphy of _844_.

"This is Levi's place?" She glanced at the concrete steps of this particular unit before watching her companion. Though both his hands remained in his jean pockets, even in the limited light Annie could detect restless finger movements underneath denim fabric, no doubt fidgeting with his Totem again.

"Yes." The Architect sighed and began to climb. But prior to reaching the third level, he directed a meaningful gaze back towards her. "Look, I might have been opposed to him earlier today, but when it comes down to things, he's still the only Point Man Erwin and I would ever trust."

She nodded as she set her own feet upon the elevated surface. "I understand, because I've also heard much about him. He just…seems to have gone deep underground ever since a few years ago."

"Yes. _Two_ years…to be exact." Armin murmured before continuing his journey.

The number rang tiny bells in Annie's head, though she failed to make any instant connection. The rest of their ascent progressed in silence until both of them reached the wooden door, with its entire surface painted as black as the night. Adjacent to the frame, the closest window was bathed in a soft, yellow glow that rendered the curtains almost translucent, indicating that the home's occupant was likely still awake.

Slowly, Armin raised a finger to press the doorbell button, causing a melodic chime to resonate throughout the indoor space.

"Levi." He verbalized loudly after a few seconds. "It's me. It's Armin."

A sequence of languid footstep sounds emerged from beyond the barrier, with every thump against the floorboards somehow coinciding with the calm beats of Annie's heart. She listened closely at the increasing volume of the approach, and her throat actually gulped in an attempt to relieve its unforeseen parchedness. Just as moisture returned, however, the click of the doorknob and the harsh scraping of metal made her cringe in a different manner.

When her eyes fully opened again, a figure stood behind the minimal space of the ajar door, still suspended in place by a stretched chain. He was shorter than she expected, reaching a height barely over her and Armin both. _Perhaps that helps with agility and balance_. She thought back to past missions, when she always marveled at the physically demanding conditions Point Men purposefully placed themselves in within dreams. They were expected to battle hostile Projections from every direction by whatever means necessary - a complete reversal from her own discreet tasks.

The dark hair that parted perfectly down the middle of this Point Man's scalp almost blended in with the door's ominous color, and underneath the frontal strands were hints of thin brows and narrow eyes, tired-looking but ripe with suspicion as he regarded them. The rest of his rather sharp features did not culminate in a portrait of conventional handsomeness, but the underlying intensity emanating from every pore and contour proved striking in its own right. And when he spoke, the piercing overtones within thick velvet were just as intimidating as Erwin's towering physique.

"Still polite as always." Thin lips barely shifted with the sarcastic acknowledgment. "You _would_ be one to announce yourself, Armin, even if you already knew that a camera was on you."

The startling revelation almost caused Annie to search for the gadget, but she restrained herself from exhibiting such an abrupt reaction. Something about her bearing still must've changed, however, for she observed Levi's small irises sending her an almost unimpressed glance.

"Old habits die hard." Armin responded quickly to retrieve his attention. "Levi, this is Annie Leonhardt."

"First girlfriend?"

Her jaw dropped for the second time that day at the blunt guess, but before Armin could formulate any truth from his stammers, Levi's left brow arched with aloofness.

"I only jest." He nodded succinctly towards her, giving just enough salutation for Annie's muscles to recover and clamp her mouth shut again. "So what do you two want? Or should I say, what does _Erwin_ want?"

Having barely recovered from the previous exchange, Armin cleared his throat before finally declaring their intentions.

"We need you for one final miss-"

The earsplitting fissure of wood surprised them both as the door slammed closed without a moment's notice. By the time Annie comprehended the forthright rejection, Armin was already in the salvaging stage of their failed assignment.

"Levi." A balled fist knocked with unexpected calmness, and the blond's voice was as earnest as she had ever heard it. "I know you're still right there, so please - listen to me."

Contrary to before, she had not discerned any audible footsteps from within, so she knew he was likely correct in his assumption.

"The mission objective is to discredit General Ackerman for good." Armin leaned towards the wood, enunciating every syllable with care. "We would…correct everything. As much as we can."

_Correct everything?_ Once again, Annie found herself an outsider in the men's shared pasts, but the dialogue that followed this time was quite different from the café meeting.

"There are mistakes that can never be _fucking_ corrected." Levi declared from the opposite side, the sound stifled by the material between them but no less unforgiving in its nuances.

"But fixing the rest is still worth the effort." Her companion urged. "You know you wouldn't be doing this for us, Levi. It's for the sake of justice, and for-"

"_Don't say it_, Armin."

"You can't avoid it forever."

An elongated pause allowed her to bring her thoughts into convergence, and Annie stirred, for despite the ongoing disruption of unspoken circumstances, her vigilant mind was beginning to weave the multitude of factors together into a seamless web. _Two years ago…they went against the General back then, too._

"And who says I'm avoiding anything?" To her surprise, Levi's next response took on a defensive stance. And rather than callousness, every word now carried its own dosage of misery. "I only fucking think about it every waking moment..."

Sensing opportunity, Armin placed both palms upon the door, as if transporting consolation through the indirect gesture. "Then maybe…it's finally time to put everything to rest. For good."

Another hushed period followed, its suffocating stillness only disturbed by the occasional chirping of unseen crickets. In the darkness their identical blue gazes met with unease, for both knew that they were now at the center of a critical crossroads, waiting for the steering wheel of fate to guide them all in whichever direction it pleased.

When the delicate scratching and clanking of metal finally sounded, Annie felt her shoulders relax, and Armin released a long-held breath before dropping both arms to his side again. In front of them, the door began to open fully, no longer abiding by the previous restraints of the chain. From the pure white of the uncommon accessory around his neck and the wrinkle-free dress shirt, down to the proper obsidian of his trousers and socks, she soon saw Levi's outfit with utter clarity. The style was reminiscent of Erwin's formal preferences, though something about the shorter man's overall appearance shrouded emotions almost too dark for her to grasp.

"Erwin…actually still wants me involved?" Those weary eyes sought out Armin for final confirmation.

"He insisted." Armin gave a stern nod. "He knows what your heart desires."

Levi scoffed and looked to the side. "The bastard always does."

Annie continued to watch him, drinking in the perceptible traits to compare with all her previous expectations. And as their eyes crossed paths again she did not look away this time, for she wanted to display the strength and confidence that had escaped their previous interaction. When Levi folded his arms and began to scan her from head to toe, she knew that he was already comparing her to previous team members, even if her exact role had not been disclosed. Before long, however, he broke away to look at his wristwatch instead.

"It's damn late." He muttered and stepped aside to allow them entrance. "You two might as well spend the night here."

"I thought you'd never ask." Armin accepted the invitation swiftly, stepping both feet across the threshold and motioning for her to follow. "The prospect hadn't looked too good when you shut the door on us."

Levi's brows furrowed, and he shook his head before proceeding towards the stairs, leaving them behind in the foyer. When Annie entered the dimly-lit space she took immediate notice of how immaculate every area was, from the carefully organized shoe rack to the spotlessness of the wooden floor, its surface so well-kept that it was almost reflective. All the perfectly-positioned furniture that she could see bore the same color as the door, showcasing direct contrast to the alabaster walls around them. Even the few artifacts on display were black enough to conceal all hints of detail, only permitting her awareness of their general shape at the current distance.

"Just don't get anything dirty." From halfway up the staircase, their host voiced a final request in place of a farewell.

She watched Armin remove his shoes, eventually setting them in an available part of the rack with utmost care. Once satisfied with the positioning of the paired items, he delivered his reassurance.

"You know I could never forget how you are, Mr. Clean."

* * *

_The sunset—_

Before any distinct image even formed within her dream that night, Annie felt substantial quaking that shook her out of unconsciousness. She sat up from the expanded futon in panic, with both arms poised to defend herself from the unknown forces – only to find Armin's hand upon her shoulder.

"Armin?" She hissed in confusion and irritation, uncertain as to why he was standing in the middle of the living room instead of sleeping under the blankets of the adjacent loveseat.

"Come with me." He beckoned before pacing around her temporary bed and departing the area. Though still perplexed, she quickly threw both legs over the edge and chased after his path. Even in pitch-black her eyes readjusted quickly to her surroundings, and soon they found their way to the bottom of the staircase that Levi had ascended just an hour ago. Up above, she saw more darkness enveloping everything other than one particular room, where the open doorway had allowed a hazy, rectangular gathering of brightness to trickle through.

Without a word, she felt Armin take her hand gingerly and begin to scale the carpeted steps, his eyes completely focused upon that single source of light. In any other situation she might have protested, but she found that the innocent touch, while uninvited, was not necessarily unwanted. And so she trailed him with precision, even placing her feet at the exact same spots where he had just lifted his own. The whole uphill quest had felt like a strange dream in itself, but Annie knew that even if she looked down at her Totem, the crystal would be completely devoid of color.

Not long after, they arrived at the second floor, but instead of releasing their hands Armin continued to lead her into the lit room. As they entered, the familiar sound of pressurized air being released greeted them, and Annie let out her own gasp as she absorbed the scene in front of her.

Levi slept peacefully upon one of four cherrywood lounge chairs at the center of the otherwise vacant space, still dressed in the same outfit they had seen him in earlier as his head and body settled against the leather cushioning. A functioning PASIV device was placed on the small table in the middle of the chairs, and one of its clear IV lines ran from the mechanism into his exposed, muscled forearm. In his other hand he grasped a small object, and from the tip that peeked through the top of his fist, she saw that it was a chess piece – a Black King, to be exact. _His Totem._

"He's…using the PASIV as his only way to dream, isn't he?" She detached herself from Armin and stepped towards the Point Man, keeping her voice soft despite knowing that he couldn't be disturbed either way. "When I first started all this, I was warned that eventually I would need it, too. But I haven't gotten to that point yet."

Contrary to before, Armin followed behind her this time, and she turned to see his azure eyes watching his comrade with a melancholic pity.

"Consider yourself lucky." The blond sighed before taking a seat on one of the other lounge chairs. Almost immediately, he reached for the PASIV device and grabbed two more IV lines, keeping one for himself and extending the other towards her. "Here."

Though dream-sharing was anything but unusual for her, Annie nonetheless took a small step backward, unsure of what the offer meant. "What…what are we doing?"

Another deep sigh escaped from Armin's mouth. "Usually I would never do this, but as Erwin mentioned, it is essential for you to fully understand the context of our situation. And Levi's own mind is…likely the best way."

As before, the young man's eyes urged for her to trust him, and she couldn't help but feel convinced by his struggled honesty. After giving her pendant the swiftest of touches, she reluctantly gripped the side of the needled end with two fingers, being extra careful as to not accidentally jab herself.

"We're…just going to go into his head like this?"

"I have to _show_ you, Annie, rather than just tell you." Armin scrunched up his right shirt sleeve and began to insert the IV line into his own vein. "He won't be happy about it, but he will understand."

She sat down on a third chair and repeated his actions, a procedure so standard yet also so foreign to her in the current context. Once the initial pain subsided, she nodded at Armin to indicate her readiness, and after a fateful press of two buttons, they both leaned back to cross over into Levi's secondary realm.

* * *

In the blink of an eye – quite literally – Annie found herself standing in the middle of an elevator cab, with Armin at her side. Around them, starkness lined the walls and glittering onyx tiles patterned across the ground. To the left of the dual panel doors they faced together, square, black buttons numbered 3 through 1 ran vertically down a protruding steel plate.

"His mind elevator is quite minimalistic." She looked around, almost blinded by the severe way the walls reflected the illuminated ceiling.

"As you can tell from his home, Levi is a man of simple tastes." Armin stated matter-of-factly. "At least, in terms of décor."

Before their asinine conversation about the interior continued, he pressed the button "2," jumpstarting the cab to transport them along the dimensional shaft. Annie felt her breaths quicken slightly, as their current destination was even more unknown to her than the earlier train ride. However, Armin seemed far from perturbed, as if he had thorough knowledge of what each level represented.

Shortly thereafter, the button returned to its unlit state, and a typical "ding" followed the elevator's halted movements. The doors opened to reveal a pair of long bookshelves flanking an aisle that stretched out from their exit, fashioning a wide, picturesque hallway for her to pace through. Endless volumes rested on every horizontal piece of lumber, forming a mosaic of epic proportions that seemed to rearrange itself each time she took a step. Though it wasn't the most magical of sights Annie had ever encountered, Annie marveled at the sheer amount of detail, for every letter upon every book spine could be clearly deciphered by her naked eye.

As she reached the sixth set of shelves, she took hold of an Ivan Pavlov text and flipped to the inside back cover, where a dark blue stamp had been placed to indicate official possession.

"The Capital University's library." She looked towards Armin once she studied the fine print. "So this is a dream of the actual place?"

The Architect approached her, his own fingers brushing delicately past an array of spines opposite the ones she stood near. "Yes, from Levi's memories. Even though…we all know we shouldn't be framing dreams around those."

With that foreboding statement, he strode ahead towards the now-visible end of the aisle, and she followed close behind, sensing that answers to her questions were finally nearby. Just before they reached the intersection, however, Armin stopped abruptly and poked his head out to examine the neighboring area instead. When he retreated completely behind the shelving again seconds later, he gestured for her to conduct her own investigation.

"Take a look, but don't disturb anything."

Annie obeyed cautiously, leaning against the wooden structure and stretching her neck for a proper view of whatever he just saw.

An open expanse full of desks greeted her vision, though every chair was empty save for one in the far corner. Seated within it was a young woman with short hair, every black strand bursting with radiance as they reflected the sunlight entering via the floor-to-ceiling windows. Long lashes hooded a pair of grey eyes, wholly concentrated on the thick text book in front of her. And with a page flip she lifted her head, revealing a red scarf and the exquisite face that had dominated headlines two years ago - in that period of tragedy for one of the government's top military officials, General Ackerman.

Annie gasped and withdrew her head.

"Is that...?"

Armin now sat upon the floor, with elbows resting upon his bent knees. "Yes, that's Mikasa Ackerman. Or rather, was."

She initiated her own defeated slide towards the ground, her loose ponytail squashing itself against both books and wood. Earlier, she had weaved some circumstances together successfully, yet this development threatened to unravel every conjecture she had made, save for one. _Mikasa Ackerman is also the girl from all my recent dreams…_

"I lied before when I said I didn't know who Erwin wanted you to be." Next to her, Armin finally admitted what she had already known. "In fact, I'm certain that the one he wants you to masquerade as is her."

"I guess…I already had a feeling myself once Mikasa's name came up at the café, but things are apparently more complex than I imagined..." Annie found herself muttering. "It's probably best that I learn everything I can now, isn't it?"

"Yes, since you will need to at least convince Eren of this identity." He wrapped a supportive hand around her wrist. "I would be happy to walk you through it all."

She nodded in acceptance of the suggestion, her heart relieved that at least this unpredictable journey would not be a lonely one. The ultimate question, however, gnawed at her brain, and so she declared it – even though a part of her already knew the answer.

"Armin, why is Mikasa _here_? In Levi's dream?"

The Architect shut his eyes, leaning his head back in the same manner that she had seen him do in the café. "I think…you can figure out why."

Immediately, she reviewed all the particulars that had been gathered in the past day, and with each new assessment, the threads of this intricate story entwined together once more in her mind's loom – the timespan of two years, Armin's constant qualms about the whole mission, Erwin's references to retribution, and – hidden behind those narrow eyes she had seen so briefly – Levi's vivid sadness, those tinges of _anguish_ that clouded his very existence. The finished fabric broadened into a complete depiction then, with its every stitch pointing to a single, heartbreaking detail.

"Levi and her…they were _lovers_ before she died." She gasped out the unfortunate realization.

"Yes, they were. And this library – the actual version of it - was where they first met in person." With grimness, Armin began to narrate the tale that would contain no phrases like _happily ever after_. "It took Mikasa weeks to warm up to him. But once she did...no one could stop either of them from going further in the relationship."

"What was she like?"

"She was lovely." He divulged. "Hot-headed at times, but it made her Levi's match in more ways than one."

"What happened, then?" Annie looked in his direction in a final quest for truth. "Did you all work with her? Was her reported coma…due to a failed mission?"

"No, she was never an Extractor or part of our team. But when they first met, Levi already knew everything there was to know about her."

With a brief pause, Armin's eyes opened at last, and he returned her gaze while confessing the cruelest notion of all.

"Because she was supposed to be our Mark."

* * *

**Chapter I**  
GENESIS  
[End]

**A/N:** Thank you for reading this drawn-out introduction to the AU - I hope you haven't fallen asleep into your own dreamscapes yet! Though the mentions of RivaMika were minimal here, I promise that the next chapter will have plenty of it, as we will be diving into Armin's memories of the past. So stay tuned, and **please leave a review if you have a moment**!


	2. CHAPTER II: EXODUS

**A/N:** The RivaMika journey starts in this chapter.

Again, if you have not already seen the masterpiece that is _Inception_, most concepts in this fic will be quite difficult to grasp. So I highly suggest either watching the film beforehand or at least reading the Inception Wikia!

* * *

**_musou_** [夢想] dream; reverie  
**_musou_** [無双] the only one; no other

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** Erwin Smith gathers his dream extraction team for one final mission, but the ghost of his Point Man's past may collapse everything. RivaMika + hints of AruAni/EreMin/EreAnnie. Inception AU.

* * *

**Chapter II  
**_EXODUS_  
[Armin; The Architect]

_\- Two and a Half Years Ago -_

_A minor car accident had elicited unforeseen delays on his usual bus route to the city's east end, and by the time Armin finally forced open the massive, rusted door of the pier warehouse, three faces of varied expression already greeted him on the other side: Historia's vibrant smile that always rivaled a thousand suns, Levi's rather unimpressed frown that seemed to negate any hint of the girl's light, and Erwin standing in the far corner, nodding with his usual, rigid countenance. The familiar scent of lemon entered his nostrils – Levi must have cleaned the place quite recently – and his feet executed a path across the spotless wooden floor, navigating around mismatched furniture and the chalkboards that still contained half-erased traces of their previous mission plans. Despite the overall brightness of the area, however, it possessed a more foreboding ambiance than Armin was used to, and an abnormally thick humidity hung in the air, as if ready to suffocate them all._

_"Sorry I'm late." His steps soon brought him to his usual spot, right next to the collection of wooden and plastic building models he had painstakingly constructed over the past – weeks? Months? – he could no longer recall the first day they had all set foot into this previously abandoned space. All he knew was that ever since the team's formulation, he had abided by Erwin's suggestion to always keep his creative juices flowing. And indeed, from the simple to the impossible, fashioning each of the intricate layouts by hand had honed his mind's ability to envision stronger and stronger details with each ensuing job. Once he had his first taste of the dream world, it was impossible to find satisfaction in the bricked orderliness of reality, and so he returned time and again – from the initial once in a while to the current schedule of three times a week, constantly anticipating the next adventure Erwin would need him to help scheme._

_And even without ever posing the question, he knew his two other teammates shared his exact sentiments._

_"Let us begin, then." Their team leader pointed the mini remote in his hand towards the hanging projector above all their heads before pressing a button. Almost immediately, an excess of text, accompanied by a large portrait of a raven-haired young woman, began to appear upon the blank canvas that was the north wall. The late afternoon sunlight penetrated the frosted windows from the west, framing her every contour with a warm glow. Armin didn't need to wait for the bottommost pixels to transform and generate the name, for the graceful, racially-ambiguous features and the pair of grey pearls embedded in the porcelain of her skin provided him with instant recognition. _

_"Mikasa…Ackerman?" With reservation, he vocalized her identity to the room just as the projection showcased those very same words as a finishing touch._

_"Yes, our next Mark." Erwin paced to the center of the room, positioning himself directly across from his whole team. To the left side, Armin detected Historia marveling with wonder at the confirmation. And on the opposite end, Levi's attention seemed immensely trained on the portrait as he leaned against a table, though his exact expression was hidden from Armin's view. As the only daughter of the government's top military figurehead, Mikasa Ackerman was certainly no stranger to any of them, but the hauntingly beautiful visage that now readied itself for their judgment was quite a far cry from their usual Marks of unethical, senile old men._

_"Why exactly are we…going after General Ackerman's daughter?" The Forger spoke first, posing a sincere question with her lithe voice._

_Erwin answered without hesitation, as if he were merely finishing Historia's sentence. "Because it would be much easier than gaining access to the General himself, as he is far too public of a figure to merely kidnap or exercise our usual maneuvers on."_

_"The General…himself?" Armin's palms became clammier by the second, as all his nerves and glands foresaw the loaded implications at hand. Erwin's next statement only disturbed him further, for it established that this particular mission had much more at stake than all their previous ones._

_"You should all sit down for this."_

_As he and Historia quickly settled into the nearest chairs, Armin noticed that Levi remained upright, with both arms folded and his gaze still focused on the wall._

_"Our sponsor this time actually has a...virtuous purpose on top of the usual financial motivations." Their leader recited details from memory with little effort. "Apparently, even before his wife's death 18 years ago, General Ackerman has been funneling secret funds to enemy factions as part of an enormous scheme to manufacture ongoing political and military conflicts. This has led to numerous violent incidents that resulted in him gaining more international leverage as a commander of our armed forces. And as it turns out, the core evidence for everything actually rests in the mind of his daughter, who I'm sure you all recognize here."_

_Though such high-level corruption was not unheard of, the severity apparently triggered Levi enough to finally tear his eyes away from the makeshift screen._

_"What the fuck...?" At last, Armin received a full view of the Point Man's face, which now twisted into immeasurable disgust as he muttered the curse. As a man of few words, it was rare to see such an extreme reaction from him. But for whatever reason, a sharp malevolence now emanated from his eyes, as if he were already unable to forgive the betrayal just described by Erwin._

_The taller man paused, seemingly also caught off-guard by Levi's response, but recovery came shortly as he continued his speech. "Hard to believe, yes, but I unfortunately have enough circumstantial proof to verify most of the claims." He turned to walk closer to the wall and the portrait. "Three reliable sources have confirmed to me that when Mikasa Ackerman was nine, the General found a dreamer-for-hire to subliminally implant a series of classified codes into her brain, just so she could serve as a backup source in case of unexpected developments. Those codes are key to deciphering encrypted messages his covert operatives have been delivering overseas – messages even those underlings cannot solve on their own."_

_With each additional sentence, Armin's jaw slackened further and further into unprecedented depths. Soon, he found his eyes darting back and forth between Erwin and the photo of Mikasa looming behind, for it was difficult to envision such an innocent face sheltering secrets that had no doubt led to the demise of so many. To the side, he noticed that Levi had relocated both his hands to the table's edge, capturing the wooden material in hardened grips._

_"The hired dreamer from back then, Kitts Woerman, has been missing for four years now – and presumed dead. So as far as we know, only the General and Mikasa have actual possession of this information on our own soil. Nevertheless, there have been no signs that she has needed to summon them since implantation occurred."_

_"Either way: Father of the Year." Levi stated impassively._

_"To say the least." Erwin's thick eyebrows shifted momentarily upward before returning to their original state. "No matter what it takes, our goal will be to extract whatever the younger Ackerman knows so it can be used as court evidence against the General. Armin, could you please read the second and third bullet points?"_

_Though the request caught him off-guard, Armin hastily focused upon the text that he had been ignoring in favor of the visual supplement. "Beyond the General's own tight leash on her for obvious reasons, Miss Ackerman keeps few-to-no friends in her circle. She also has a difficult time trusting anyone new due to negative experiences in the past – far too many have approached her under the guise of friendship in hopes of advancing their own agendas."_

_"So basically, what we're about to do." Historia sighed at the irony._

_"Basically." The Extractor, on the other hand, remained unperturbed. "But of course, we're far more professional at this."_

_"Tch." Armin overheard Levi's customary click of the tongue, saved for the endless instances where he felt hints of dismay. The remark worried him slightly, for it brought into question their Point Man's dedication towards the plans ahead. But if the same sound concerned Erwin at all, he did not show it._

_"Mikasa Ackerman is in her third year at the Capital University now, and the General has been at a greater distance due to her own request as a young adult - and also because of his heavier involvement in government affairs. Since Mikasa herself is not aware of the information she retains, what we need is for her to actually trust someone in real-life, over time, while her father is distracted." Erwin's eyes shone with determination as he revealed their primary tactic in detail. "Only then will she completely unlock her mind's barriers when we finally enter it."_

_"I can probably do that," Historia volunteered with a raised arm. "Be her newest friend at school, or something."_

_"You're talented within dream levels, Historia. Unrivaled, really." Though his tone stayed serious, a slight smile emerged upon Erwin's face at the young woman's gallantry. "But I've given this some thought, and out of all of us _Levi_ might be the most experienced one for this due to it being a long-term, real world situation. He also comes from a much more obscure background on paper, so even if people run checks on him…nothing too alarming will come up."_

_Routed by logic, Historia took the defeat in stride. "Well, I can't disagree with that...I probably have too colorful of a personal history, haha." Her lowering hand landed upon the crown of her head before scratching it lightly. "I will always be the first to say: the art of disguise is different depending on the context."_

_Armin directed his attention to Levi, who still balanced against the table in the exact same position as before. His head was lowered at an acute angle now, however, and draping locks of black hair cast what appeared to be shadows of doubt upon his face. _

_Erwin took a few steps towards the shorter man. "What say you, Levi?"_

_Rather than acknowledging the Extractor's nearing presence, Levi turned his head towards the half-open east side windows instead, aiming all attention at the empty harbor and calm waters visible outside. "It doesn't sound like I have a choice."_

_"You're right, I'm not giving you one." Speaking sternly, Erwin camouflaged little of his intentions. "But only because I am confident in you, and because we have been given only one semester to accomplish this - about five months."_

_"That's more than enough time." Levi tapped a few fingers against the wood, and Armin noted some form of distraction meddling with his usual, stoic voice. "Almost _too_ long, if you don't want me to pull my damn hair out every day. Because from all I've heard, she seems...difficult."_

_Tossing a coy glance towards his fellow blonds in the room, Erwin cleared his throat before delivering the punchline. "And that's why you're the perfect person to do it - you can act difficult together."_

_Historia chuckled next to him, but Armin found it taxing to even smile. From the moment he stepped inside the warehouse, that ominous cloud had hung over them all. And though he knew Erwin was only trying to make light of their biggest challenge to date, something about Mikasa Ackerman's eyes in that portrait had troubled him as soon as it surfaced. There existed no hints of the vivacity a young woman of her stature should possess – rather, the photo captured a mixture of detachment and sorrow that pricked at his own resolve._

It's as if…she's warning us to stay away._ He shuddered._

Does Levi feel it, too?

_"Remember, Levi. Mikasa is only more guarded because of who her father is, and likely because she was raised to be that way to protect his interests. She will come to trust you the fastest because you would understand her personality the best." Unaware of the contemplations hovering all around, Erwin sent forth advice and encouragement prior to giving more orders. "Armin, you will also serve as backup and observe via surveillance. You have to learn all the facets of her life to build each dream level, anyway."_

_"Under…understood." He accepted his usual responsibilities with reluctance, fully aware that this would be his longest and most arduous assignment yet._

_"Fine." Still not looking in Erwin's direction, Levi's grudging agreement followed close behind._

_"Then you shall both start on campus next week, after we conjure up alternate identities."_

_Levi's neck twisted with haste, moving his line of sight towards their leader at last. "I want to keep my own name for this."_

_Erwin opened his mouth in near protest, but Armin detected the Extractor's rapid concession, for they both knew Levi's conditions were never negotiable._

_"Whatever you want."_

* * *

Armin clasped his hands together and placed them against his forehead, using both knees as bearing for his bent elbows. Retrieving massive amounts of memory while still within a dream always made his head ache terribly, but he endured the painful throbs for the sake of Annie's education. She must've recognized his distress either way, because a warm palm soon settled in between the bookshelf and his neck, giving the muscles there a dull but soothing rub.

"That's enough for now, Armin."

"Yes…I need a short break, but you can still ask me questions." He breathed in conjunction with her movements. "As you've just learned, against all of our better judgments back then, the whole team agreed on Erwin's idea together."

"So Levi and you both felt a sense of danger from the beginning?"

"Well, _I_ did." With a sigh, Armin glanced in her direction without moving his head, fixing blue upon blue as he spoke on. "I would later find out that Levi's strange behavior was due to something else entirely."

The space between Annie's brows creased. "Was it because he felt…attraction to her?"

"I think he felt _connected_ to her." He excavated the theory that he had always believed. "Levi was orphaned at an early age and raised by…numerous sketchy individuals, so to speak. But Erwin understood his talents and helped him acquire a clean slate, so he could find ease in carrying out all his responsibilities as Point Man. Nevertheless, knowing that Mikasa had lost her mother and was being used by her father probably impacted Levi in ways that you and I cannot understand. For him, it was never about wanting to succeed in that mission as much as wanting to save _her_."

Something wavered in Annie's eyes then, as if she were struck by the enormity of such a selfless thought, and Armin knew exactly why. In the midst of his own busiest periods under Erwin's command, he often lost awareness of how they always dealt with the most delicate facets of fellow humans. Assignment after assignment, they invaded boundaries that were never meant for conquest, and due to their targets usually being considered as despicable individuals, it was inconceivable for them to establish any genuine connection beyond what was necessary for the job. It took him a long while to rediscover the idea of empathy, but as he observed Annie's shaken appearance, he now wanted to ensure that his new teammate would not drift into the same vicious cycle.

_We should also be mindful of this when it comes to Eren Yeager_. Armin reminded himself as he recalled those emerald eyes, but he pushed the visual temporarily aside in order to continue discussing the matter at hand.

"Even if anyone recognized the risk of Mikasa and Levi going beyond friendship, none of us ever expected them to grow…_so_ attached to one another." As the previous headache finally began to subside, he started to withdraw memories from another period of time. "And to think, it all started right here…"

* * *

_Within two days, Levi was enrolled in courses under the Capital University's graduate program, despite not having been a student before. Though unusual, the entire process, aided by Erwin's recommendations in his influential position as a distinguished academic, was swift. Since Armin only held a background role, he only needed to pose as a student – a simple task, considering his penchant for studying in the first place. And while Levi attended his new classes as usual in that initial period, the Architect found himself with the demanding duty of tailing Mikasa Ackerman herself._

_The first time he actually laid eyes on the Mark, she wore a thin, cable-knit grey sweater dress that further emphasized the color of her eyes, with black leggings and a scarlet red scarf serving as complement as she exited the doors of her Philosophy classroom. Though uncharacteristic of him, Armin found it difficult to not gape as she walked past – Mikasa Ackerman carried herself with both grace and strength, and her shoulder-length hair exerted radiance even against the bland, fluorescent lighting of the building interior. Without doubt, she was part of a physically blessed gene pool, and seeing her in-person had rendered all his previous, photo-only encounters rather meaningless. For a moment, Armin had scrambled to look away, until he realized that several others in the same area were watching the young woman's every step, just like he had been._

She must be used to it, then._ He breathed a sigh of relief and followed her trail at a distance, using the bright color of her scarf as his makeshift beacon. Nearly everywhere she went that day, fellow students stared, and many – likely the ones who already knew of her pedigree – openly whispered words of speculation, but Mikasa ignored them all, no matter how audible the rumors were. At any given moment, her steps were as firm as those of a soldier when she strolled down blemished brick paths and crossed through dim shadows of the trees, constantly moving along at a clockwork pace._

_By late afternoon, Armin almost pitied the young woman, for she had gone the entire day without a single expression beyond indifference or a hint of openness towards anyone's approach. Just as he began to doubt the team's ability to appeal to her, however, hope came in the form of the brief smiles and riveted looks she displayed brazenly in the library – all while she perused through the writings of renowned psychologists, novelists and the like._

Perhaps this will work, after all._ He mused as he watched her captivation with book after book – an eerily similar scene to the numerous times he caught Levi completely enthralled with texts of his own back at the warehouse._

_With the limited access he obtained for student records alongside his clandestine pursuits, it took only one week for Armin to discern Mikasa's entire class schedule on top of her other daily routines. The following Saturday, he met Levi in an off-campus café, with a printed hour-by-hour outline of their target's movements fully prepared._

_"Here." He tossed the text-filled paper at his colleague before sitting down in exasperation. "I will say…that Mikasa certainly keeps herself busy."_

_"Thanks." Unsurprisingly, Levi used only a single word as acknowledgement. And rather than looking up at all, his blue eyes, now positioned behind a pair of rimless and prescription-less glasses meant only for disguise, remained fixed upon the document packets already with him. His pristine white necktie and pressed black dress shirt ensemble seemed more suitable for a wedding than a weekend coffee meeting, but Armin knew that it was Levi's own idea of dressing properly no matter the occasion, and thus he swallowed any comments in favor of offering additional details._

_"She um…runs six miles every morning." _And I do _not_ want to follow her during that part ever again._ The memory of his exhausted legs and lungs was rather jarring._

_"_Six_ miles?" Levi's voice was almost incredulous – though more than physically apt, Armin knew that his teammate was more accustomed to his daily routine of just five. "I guess I can do that, but I probably need a couple days to readjust first…"_

_With a forced grin, Armin leaned in to whisper his initial idea. "Well, here's a good alternative – she reads in the library at the same time on a nearly daily basis." His index finger proceeded to tap some highlighted time blocks upon the sheet. "To make it even easier for us, she always sits in the same spot in the northwest alcove, right next to the window."_

_"Should be simple, then." The Point Man mumbled before suddenly raising both his head and the packet he had been digesting. "Armin - are college course syllabi always _this_ shitty?"_

_Armin nearly slammed his head against the table surface in vexation. "Have you been listening to me at _all_, Levi?" He replicated Levi's actions, only lifting the schedule he had so tediously developed instead of one of the packets. "Is the library the option we're going with?"_

_"Sure, why not? It's the perfect, inconspicuous place. I'll be there at…" Levi squinted at the paper to determine the proper time. "…3 on Monday."_

_"I suggest 3:30. It might seem strange if you started showing up at the exact same times as her."_

_"3:15." With a push of the false glasses up his nose bridge, Levi stood and delivered the compromise. "Are we done?"_

_"Fine, and yes." With some irritation, Armin stuffed the paper into the arms of his trying colleague before his imminent departure. "By the way, last semester she was ranked near - if not at - the top of all her classes. And when I say she reads…she reads a _lot_."_

_"Then let's hope she's not smart enough to figure everything out on the first day."_

* * *

_At 2:45 on Monday, Armin situated himself in a corner spot with a direct vantage point to Mikasa's seat of choice, and by the time Mikasa arrived 15 minutes later, he had ensured that the tall stack of books in his possession could provide just enough height to hide his own head. As always, she had gathered a small collection for her own reading and reference purposes – Kafka, Piaget, Thackeray – he deciphered a few from the inscribed letters upon the aged spines._ Is Levi…familiar with those authors?

_Donning a dark grey vest and slacks over a white shirt, with his tie carefully tucked under the folds of his collar, the man in question arrived as scheduled. And right when Mikasa flipped to the tenth page of _Vanity Fair_, Armin watched Levi gently pull back the chair adjacent to hers, almost startling the young woman in the process. Despite the initial surprise, however, she turned languidly to regard the unexpected guest, both grey eyes embodying a conjoint, foggy calm._

_"May I?" Perching one hand upon the chair's backrest, Levi questioned with no visible expression other than a slightly arched brow._

_With wariness, she inspected him from head to toe, as if he were merely another page of her book laid out for her scrutiny. Then, her line of sight traveled to the rest of the room, where many empty chairs and even entire tables still awaited for their next occupants. Confusion flashed across Mikasa's features at the scene, and when her eyes returned to him her mouth dropped open to express objection – only to be silenced by what Levi held in his other hand, now elevated and on intentional display to her._

Kafka's _The Trial_ and _The Castle_. Nice work. _Armin sighed with some relief at his teammate's astuteness. He had evidently scouted out her selection prior to finding the relevant titles for himself._

…or did he? _The possibility of it all being fated suddenly flickered, as fifteen minutes seemed far too short for Levi to locate the exact books in such a huge place. But before he could consider the theory further, Mikasa's first audible interaction drew his mind away._

_"Mm." An affirmation and a nod replaced whatever protest the young woman had planned. And without a moment's waste, Levi effortlessly accepted the invitation, slipping into the seat with only a relaxed "Thanks" coasting from his lips._

_For the next hour, a wordless exchange of knowledge took place as Armin watched the two of them sit in silence, both utterly focused on their respective readings. The scene was intriguing to behold, for they seemed to dwell in a perfect harmony meant for the most talented of duets – a monotone tableau broken up by only her scarf and his eyes, with the interludes of their occasional page flips matching so seamlessly in sound that it was impossible to identify the correct source. She never glanced in his direction again, nor him in hers, but little needed to be verbalized at all, for they somehow communicated a pleasant mutuality found only in the most peaceful of dreams._

_At 4:18, the Point Man stood, gathering his things and departing without any hint of a farewell. Presuming that the action had indicated a lack of progress, Armin gulped, but when he caught Mikasa's eyes following Levi's form all the way until he disappeared around the corner, he knew that everything had gone exactly as his colleague had intended._

_The next few days proceeded at an equally lull pace, with the only differences being Armin's own position around the area and the ongoing evolution of the titles upon their shared table. When Levi finished both Kafka works on Tuesday, the exact same volumes showed up in Mikasa's possession on Wednesday, forming a trio with her copy of _The Metamorphosis_ which she had yet to examine, as _Vanity Fair_'s length was quite tremendous. On Thursday, their book pile somehow joined together in the middle of the table rather than on corresponding sides, though as usual, no words passed between them to acknowledge the noteworthy shift._

_When Levi flipped open Peter V. Brett's _The Painted Man_– a far more contemporary choice – on Friday, Armin watched with astonishment as Mikasa's eyes kept drifting over from her reading material to his, progressing from brief glances to elongated stares at whatever page Levi arrived at._

_"I hope you don't peek at your neighbor like that during your exams." Levi declared aloofly at 3:39 with a casual push of his glasses. "You would be caught in a second."_

_At the sudden remark, she retreated backward, shielding her face from his view with one side of her book. From Armin's perspective, he spied a flush overrunning her pale cheeks, turning them almost the same rosy shade as her lips in a mere second._

_"What's your name?" Putting the novel aside, Levi turned to regard his tablemate for the first time all week, taking full advantage of the circumstances she had entered herself into while maintaining his own nonchalance._

_She hesitated behind the shelter of her pages, but the response was as confident as ever when it finally came. "Mikasa."_

_"Levi."_

_Lowering the book slightly, the young woman peeked over her improvised barrier, allowing their gazes to meet for the first time since Monday._

_"I don't recall asking for _your_ name." A hint of sarcasm accompanied her raised eyebrows._

_Levi placed an elbow upon the table and leaned his head into his knuckle, all the while sending her a challenging stare. "But you were just as curious, weren't you?"_

_She frowned, though more in amusement than in anger. "You would be curious, too, if someone decided to sit next to you every single day when there are always plenty of other empty chairs in the same room."_

_"Maybe…I just like how much sunlight this area gets."_

_"Even when it thunderstormed two days ago?" As she nitpicked the detail, Mikasa closed her novel for good and began to collect all her personal items, her face still reddened with embarrassment. Soon after, she stood up to leave much earlier than the usual time, but not before taking an extended look at the cover of Levi's book - evidently to memorize the title and author._

_Armin watched them with concern, feeling his worry magnify when all Levi did was smirk after her premature exit. Already envisioning the reserved reprimands from Erwin at their possible failure, he quickly walked over to his blasé colleague._

_"That…did _not_ seem very successful." He noted nervously._

_"Let's switch roles on Monday." From his position, Levi looked up at him without a dash of anxiety. "Try asking her for my seat."_

_The weekend passed by without much incident, as Armin spent the majority of his time at Levi's on-campus residence to begin building a model of the library alcove as a possible dream level. The Point Man left him to his task for the most part, choosing instead to focus on finishing the Brett story that had either sustained or destabilized their objective. By Sunday night, a basic structure of the layout was complete, and Levi made a casual bid then._

_"If we don't end up using that model for the mission, can I have it?"_

_Armin agreed with a shrug, for he did not find the request to be unusual. In fact, if he could manage to recreate all the tiny books somehow, the final creation could become one of his best works yet._

_Come Monday afternoon, the Architect went into his assignment with as much poise as he could muster and another stack of textbooks in tow. To his relief, the room had been more occupied than usual on that afternoon with students and faculty alike, and thus his imminent request would likely not seem as strange as Levi's from the previous week. Pretending to search for the best possible option, he eventually made his way to Mikasa's corner, where she had just settled in._

_"Excuse me, miss? Is someone sitting here?" He posed the inquiry gently._

_Turning in place, Mikasa regarded him with curiosity, and Armin could do little but showcase a grin._

_For a brief moment, her wide eyes zipped to the entrance of the alcove, but they quickly returned to acknowledge him. "Yes, it's taken." She nodded apologetically. "I'm sorry."_

Just as Levi predicted. _At the thought he grinned again – more genuinely this time – and nodded back. "No problem."_

_Eventually, he found another seat where her actions could still be perceived. And for the next hour, Armin observed the young woman from just above the top edge of a physics textbook, watching as her head darted up at every hint of a new person entering the space, followed by obvious disappointment filling her expression once she recognized each as a stranger._

_When he regrouped with Levi afterward, the Point Man, who had been hiding behind a bordering bookshelf where he also kept watch the entire time, could barely conceal the faint satisfaction on his face._

_The next day, they returned to their usual routine, with Armin stationed behind the same bookshelf this time._

_"Welcome back." While Mikasa seemed to devote all attention to those final pages of _The Trial_, he still overheard her give the first greeting as Levi approached._

_Rather than sitting down, Levi leaned downward and positioned both hands against the table surface. His exact appearance could not be seen, but Armin could only imagine the look his teammate exhibited at that very moment._

_"I didn't think you would choose to sit here again." Though still spoken placidly, his statement bore an indistinct combination of sarcasm and conceit. "Much less let me do the same."_

_Without warning, Mikasa shut the book and lifted herself, folding both arms as she turned to face him. For the first time, the pair properly confronted one another, and even at a distance Armin was astounded by the obvious tension that bubbled between them within that nanosecond. It was as if the entire world had shifted its boundaries for their sake, as their body language alone generated a friction that could spark the most vehement of quakes. The pleasant mutuality he had previously seen still lingered – but only as an afterthought to the pent-up emotions that the twosome so apparently shared._

_"Maybe I also…like how much sunlight this table gets." At last, she jokingly repeated his inferior excuse from before, while interest flickered in the grey depths of her eyes. "Plus, I might actually concentrate better when you're around now."_

_Still with their gazes locked together, Levi reached for one of the books tucked underneath his arm, and even without seeing the spine or cover, Armin knew instantly that he had removed _The Painted Man_._

_"Good. Then you can tell me if this was really worth all your eavesdropping." He handed the novel to her with courtesy. "I certainly think it was."_

* * *

"He left his number and email with her that day on a slip of paper in the book." Armin rubbed his temples in hopes of countering the renewed headache now plaguing him. "She called that same evening."

Even without looking, he could tell from Annie's breathing patterns alone that she was now completely engrossed in his words. And he couldn't blame her, for those days truly composed a most enthralling preface to the narratives still to take place. The film reel of his memories flashed with all the poignant instants Armin had seen with his own eyes, and an imagined clicking of mechanical sounds indicated transitions from scene to scene, eliciting his lips to continue the chronicles of this ill-fated couple.

He cleared his throat softly.

"From then on, I followed them whenever they met up during the day and watched them bond…mainly via arguing about everything – books, scientific theories, politics, even the most trivial of topics." Both his eyes stared forward, allowing the private recollections to travel across his vision frame-by-frame. "But no matter what, in the end Mikasa would always win. Not just because she was a more eloquent debater, but because halfway through every argument Levi would look completely mesmerized by her…as if she were the most fascinating person he had ever seen. It was never easy for anyone to challenge him verbally or physically, but Mikasa was his intellectual equal, and her father's military background no doubt gave her strong discipline since childhood – needless to say, unlike the rest of us, she never had trouble keeping up with Levi whenever they went on runs around campus."

"So their relationship…became quite intimate over those five months?" Next to him, Annie's own voice seemed to have softened as she posed the rhetorical question.

"Quite." He reached into his pocket out of habit, feeling a minor sense of relief once his fingertips encountered the cold, spherical surface of his trusted marble. "So much so that Levi eventually changed his Totem from a weighted bullet to a weighted Black King, since they always played chess in the student union on Thursday afternoons, rain or shine."

"I've never heard of someone doing that before. Change Totems completely like that."

_Me Neither. _Armin could only sigh, and the drifting coolness of his breath was only another stinging reminder of unfortunate oversights from that time. A lack of experience in romantic relationships had hindered his judgment back then, and even when he grasped the couple's spellbound affections springing from the smallest of interactions, he had brushed them all off initially as examples of Levi's immaculate roleplay skills.

But in the end, he was only the worst example of an oblivious witness.

"In retrospect, we—no, _I_ should've recognized the Totem swap as a significant hint of how much she was starting to mean to him. And I should've recognized much earlier that the reason he insisted on keeping his own name for the mission was so he could hear her say it, so Mikasa would know at least part of who he _really_ was no matter what happened in the end."

Despite being the confessor, the words astonished Armin himself, for he had never been comfortable in admitting such immense guilt. When his statements were met by silence, however, he glanced over at his temporary priest to gauge the reasoning. To his further surprise, Annie had turned away to refocus her attention on the projection of Mikasa again, though by the unsteady way she perched on both bent knees, he knew that she had digested his every word.

"This elevator level…it's based off of that model you made, isn't it?" Her taciturn whisper knocked on the scarred doors of his heart, but Armin could only feel impressed that the Forger had successfully arrived at such a conclusion from the countless details he had just shared.

"I never thought it would become a condolence gift." He murmured and pushed himself into standing once again, for he no longer wanted to cower in a dejected position in front of her.

"Come on, we should probably find him."

* * *

The "ding" dragged its harsh familiarity across Armin's hearing, and even before the doors opened to reveal Level 3, his nostrils detected the unmistakable scent of saltwater. The sliding movement of their temporary barrier allowed for pebbles of defiant sand to quickly sneak into the elevator confines, as if wanting terribly to escape into the throes of reality.

Swathes of dusk's warm colors painted the sky that unveiled itself to them, seeping into ribboned reflections that veneered across the calm surface of a vast sea. The cries of invisible seagulls reverberated throughout, wandering in and out of unintelligible exchanges that bore nothing short of sorrow for the pending nightfall. Wordlessly, he walked forward into the environment, with every crunch of tiny seashells beneath his shoes followed by an identical echo that indicated Annie's position not far behind him. He knew he had not constructed this world himself, for the details – from the scattering hermit crabs to the randomized moss upon the rocks - were far too intimate with nature to be his style. Whoever was responsible had a much more fluid imagination, perhaps influenced by the digestion of countless books and infinite universes.

_My job is basically to be a jack-of-all-trades._ He recalled Levi's blunt explanation way back when. _Even an Architect, if necessary._

Closer to the shoreline, an slightly elevated cement path wound itself through the beach area, and the soft yellow paint of the surrounding fences proved all too recognizable. Right at where everything melted into the horizon, Armin could make out a tiny silhouette approaching them from the distance, traveling at a pace faster and smoother than that of walking.

"This is the beach about an hour away from the university campus." He spoke, eyes trained on the ambiguous object that gradually increased in size. "I've only been here once in reality, but that shade of yellow was one of the school colors, so this must be it-"

He paused abruptly as a perfectly-angled glint of sunlight finally permitted him to identify the forthcoming figures. Though his own memories did not contain this particular scene, Armin was not surprised to see yet another projection of Mikasa – only this time, underneath the usual scarf, she wore a large green sweater over a similarly-colored skirt. With leisure, her nimble body maneuvered a red bike, while Levi balanced upon the back carrier in a sidesaddle style, positioned just far enough for his face to avoid any brushes with her billowing hair. To anyone else, the role reversal of a stereotypical sight might have seemed strange, but as Armin watched Levi's solemn smile appearing behind Mikasa's vibrant one, he understood that even in a dream world, the Point Man dared not let his shadow engulf her brilliance.

"Levi's projections of her are so...vivid." He heard Annie mutter as she also identified the twosome. "Amongst the most vivid I've ever seen."

"She was, after all, the most unclouded thing in his life."

Despite the truth within, the response still sounded ironic coming out of his mouth, for he was discussing someone who now completely lacked existence. At that same moment, he saw Levi's face fall at the sight of them, and Armin could only raise an arm for a brief, nervous wave, as he was unsure of how their presence would be received.

Alongside a gentle squeeze of Mikasa's waist, Levi whispered something that had the beautiful rider immediately slowing all movement. Little by little, the spokes of the bike wheels became distinguishable, and by the time the pair came to an eventual stop, Armin could clearly see the individual threads of the young woman's scarf, now rendered even more crimson by the sunset rays. The combination of red and green was in clear contrast with her companion's outfit, which comprised of a simple white t-shirt and black jeans – a casual homage to his typical style.

With some more whispers and a swift peck to the projection's cheek, Levi vacated his seat and began to stroll towards them, tucking both hands into the pockets of his jeans along the way. Against the backlight of the sun, Armin could still make out Mikasa's bewildered expressions in shadow, trailed by what seemed like hollow recognition of who he was.

_No_. He reminded himself before feeling too haunted by her gaze, _That's only "Mikasa." The real one never even knew…_

"When I said you could stay, I also meant _stay in your own dreams_." Like when he had initially denied them entrance into his home, the same harshness in Levi's voice returned. He was only steps away from them now, with an almost threatening presence opposing the tranquility of this imagined space. Annie detectably recoiled at the hostility, but Armin grabbed her hand out of instinct, urging for his new teammate to keep her ground.

"Two years, Levi." Rather than answering the protest directly, he calmly confronted more pertinent matters. "I actually hoped that you had moved on..."

The Point Man scoffed, his intimidating eyes narrowing dangerously - almost painfully. "How _could_ I?"

"You can't carry out any missions like this." Somehow swallowing all his anxiety, Armin took one small step forward. "You _know_ I can't let you put yourself and all of us in jeopardy again."

"I don't recall agreeing to join the team yet." Levi's response was as placid and logical as ever. "An invitation for you to have shelter for the night does not equal that."

"You..." Armin found himself rendered speechless, but before he could retort, his opponent in the debate continued onward as if never interrupted at all.

"And let me be clear on one thing: there has always been a difference between what I decide to dwell in and what I know I must do." Blue orbs fizzled with dismayed intensity. "If I come along this time, you can rest assured that nothing will interfere with whatever Erwin has planned."

Strangely – and to Armin's relief - the statement actually possessed a hint of conceivable cooperation. But whereas he wasn't completely certain before entering these dreams, he now knew that no matter what, Levi's valued contributions could still be unbalanced by a potentially devastating cost.

"But this 'Mikasa' you have conjured up for yourself…she can become a dangerous projection if you are there with us on any dream level."

The severity of Levi's glare suddenly softened into something reminiscent of two years ago, when Armin had watched both his ascent into nirvana and descent into hell firsthand. Rather than overt anguish or despair, the raven-haired man's eyes turned into a vulnerable sea, with its azure waters utterly defenseless against the forces that would turn those last traces of serenity into uncontainable waves. As if on cue, the actual waters behind them started to rumble with strife, and the Mikasa of this dream level rapidly abandoned her bicycle before running in their direction, even losing her slippers somewhere in the sand in her rush. Only a few seconds later, her hand was upon Levi's shoulder, gripping it with staunch support.

"Relax. It's going to be alright." Though fairly emotionless, her voice was filled with the strength she had hoped to lend him, and the renewed juxtaposition of her colorful ensemble seemed to return vitality into Levi's paling complexion.

The Point Man's eyes squeezed shut as he released a long exhale, and when his hand moved to link her fingers with his own, the sea also returned to its previous calm.

"_Look_ at her, Armin." He urged with unsettling torment. "Do you really think she poses any threat, the way that I choose to remember her?"

The projection turned to Armin then, both her dark brows angling severely in apprehension. Contrary to the antagonistic, militarized individuals he was accustomed to seeing, he identified actual innocence lingering behind her facial expression and firm posture. Somehow, Levi had successfully summoned this version of her as his wraith – her personality harkened back to their early days, when little else mattered but the affirmation of her trust, which Mikasa was so willing to give to him despite the initial reluctance.

"I have completely shut out how she looked the last time we saw each other." Levi opened his eyes halfway, though his tone was no less brutal. "There is no betrayal, no pain...as you might have noticed, my elevator doesn't even have a damn basement level to hide away any hopeless thoughts. There is only all this, where we are actually happy again, and completely free from the jail cell of reality."

Those final, agonizing words struck discord within Armin, and despite feeling sympathy, he declared the unethical irony of it all with boldness. "But you are putting her in a cell _now_." He admonished. "To trap her in your memories like this..."

A bitter chuckle escaped Levi's throat.

"And who's going to stop me? You?" Voice now drenched with sarcasm, his hand clutched around Mikasa's with even more vigor. "In case you haven't realized, this is the only freedom I can fucking afford anymore."

As usual, they had come to a crossroads, where tempers flared and philosophies clashed. Biting his tongue softly through the tense moment, Armin knew that he had pushed his friend to the limit, and whatever he said next would trigger a make-or-break conclusion to everything.

"I won't try to stop you, Levi. I can…even accept that your projections of her are harmless." He acknowledged while directing a genuinely compassionate look at Mikasa. "But if that's your idea of freedom, then I need to remind you that others who don't deserve freedom at all _still_ have it."

The Point Man's head darted upward at the final sentence, eyes now widened with harrowing enlightenment. And in another reflection of his no doubt haunted mind, the violent screech of a seagull resonated above them all, sounding almost too close for comfort. Though Armin would've been startled in any other situation, he remained steadfast here, palms clammy with sweat as he anticipated whatever might transpire next. Although he was certain that Annie would not appreciate the emerging moisture of his skin, she also refrained from any movements of her own, and the clasp on his hand actually tightened.

An eternity later, Levi gently shifted Mikasa's fingers off of his shoulder, though he also kept their physical connection throughout. Then, without a moment's waste, he turned around and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Wait here for me." Armin overheard his low murmur.

She brought his knuckle up to her lips, bestowing its scarred surface with a tender kiss before declaring her – _or was it his?_ \- concern.

"I don't trust them, Levi."

"I know." Levi extended his arm, brushing the same knuckle she had kissed against her cheek. "But I'll be fine, I promise."

With a nod and a smile as sendoff – gestures that Armin was sure Levi returned even if he could not see it – the projection let go, and the Point Man wistfully moved backward for a few steps before spinning and running in the direction of the elevator. The rapid action caught him off-guard, and Armin was forced to drag Annie along in order to keep up. When he met some resistance, however, he looked back to see exactly why the Forger was contributing to the delay.

Right at where she stood before, Mikasa had turned to face the shoreline and sunset, with the winds elevating her black tresses and emerald skirt into charismatic metamorphosis. All the while, Annie had been staring at the sight while being pulled by him, as if remembering something in the confines of her own mind.

* * *

"Are you…joining us?" Annie was the first to question when Levi pressed the bottommost button on the panel, just as the elevator doors closed upon all three of them.

"Not yet." Levi responded without looking in her direction, choosing instead to lean his back against a corner and focus upon the ceiling lights. "I must go down to Level 1 for a bit."

Though still somewhat anxious about the stoic man's final answer, Armin found himself echoing his same actions, for he was in no hurry to leave – in fact, he had also been curious as to what rested in this final zone. "Perhaps you can learn a bit more about her, for when you have to…do your part." He stated to the Forger, who nodded in agreement.

Across from them, and to Armin's surprise, Levi failed to react to the controversial notion of Annie's responsibility.

_Did he even hear me?_ The Architect had just begun to wonder when the customary "ding" sounded for the third time that night.

This time, the doors opened to a narrow corridor, lined with pairs of shoes and leading into a studio space. Almost immediately, Armin recognized the layout as that of an undergraduate dorm room at the Capital University, and before they even followed Levi into the main area, a familiar red bike leaning against a closed closet door gave away the owner of the residence.

As he passed the closet, Armin felt a chill wash over his entire form, eliciting goosebumps to appear all over his clothed skin. Once the rest of the abode came into view, his gaze traveled nervously from left to right – starting at the mahogany desk, piled with books and papers surrounding a hibernating laptop, and ending at the disheveled grey sheets of a full-sized bed, where a figure with a head of onyx slept soundly beneath a thin duvet. The bedcovering barely concealed the fact that she was at least topless, for most of her elegant, nude back was exposed to their view. But as soon as Levi seated himself carefully upon the mattress, he dragged the comforter upward, leaving only her shoulders still dwelling in the open air.

"I just need some more time with her before I leave." The Point Man whispered as his fingers voyaged through the young woman's hair. "This one…she will miss me the most when she wakes up."

A tightness emerged in Armin's lungs as he breathed, for he knew exactly which Mikasa this was in Levi's own recollections. _Two years, three months ago - _this was a memory he would withhold from telling Annie, for no one else in the world – not even Levi or Erwin – were privy to his version of the details.

* * *

_"Make sure that you leave her place before 10pm." Levi had advised him that afternoon. "I'm going to bring her home by then."_

_Armin had agreed to abide by the timeline, for his assignment of sneaking into Mikasa's dorm to photograph any noteworthy items helpful for building the dream levels seemed simple enough. After all, Levi had successfully pilfered and copied her room key a few days back for him, and Armin had made sure he practiced the routes around the subpar surveillance system in that residence hall. A poetry slam at the local wine bar was on the schedule for the evening, and Levi would make good on his promise of keeping her away for as long as necessary._

_Nothing had gone as planned, however._

_Halfway through his first journey towards her room at 7:30pm, Armin realized that the precious key had gone missing, and so he retraced his steps all the way back to his own apartment off-campus, where he found it resting rather condescendingly upon his own kitchen counter._

_By the time he finally reached his intended destination, it was already 9:30. But he was nonetheless confident that he could capture everything he needed within that half an hour allowance._

As long as I get out at 9:55._ He had repeated the mantra in his head._

_At exactly 9:52, however – right in the middle of him photographing some childhood pictures of Mikasa and her mother in front of a large mansion – commotion sounded just outside of the door._

_In a panic, Armin had replaced the photos and ran towards the corridor closet, which was the only possible hiding place in the entire dorm. And just as he shut the door, trapping himself in total darkness, the main entrance opened to the muffled sounds of Mikasa and Levi's laughter._

_"What kind of title is 'No Name,' anyway?" Her voice was full of playful mockery._

_"Hey, at least my actual poem was damn decent, as spontaneous as it was."_

_She chuckled again. "It was decent." A pause, and the distinct sound of a short, tender kiss, with what he made out to be one of the two leaning against the very closet door concealing him. "But I would expect no less of you."_

_"Seeing you in the audience…gave me the strength I needed." Another kiss followed, and Armin found himself holding back a gasp, for he never realized how genuinely at ease the two of them were with each other in private. Though he constantly followed them during the day, they always refrained from much public displays of affection due to her status, and he presumed any actual instances as Levi simply playing along. _

But perhaps, the private atmosphere of an evening date, along with some wine… _He attempted to evaluate the situation from a rational standpoint, but all thoughts flew out the window at Mikasa's next words._

_"Don't go." The tone of longing and desire was unmistakable. "Stay here tonight."_

_A few seconds passed before he heard Levi laugh nervously._

_"Tch…did you have too much to drink, Mikasa?"_

_"No, I didn't have a single drop because I was too busy laughing at all the pathetic poems." She countered with immediacy. "And I know you didn't, either, because you were too busy thinking about your verses."_

_More silence followed, and Armin could almost feel the intensity of the air outside pulsating through the walls._

_"You should know that I've...never done this before." The young woman spoke again, albeit with more uncertainty. "Because I've never opened myself up to someone so much."_

_"Then are you sure...that I'm the person to share this with?"_

_"I am." She kissed him again, and from the audible moan that escaped Levi's throat soon after, Armin figured that describing it as "passionate" might be an understatement._

_"Stay with me, Levi." She pleaded one final time._

_What ensued was a flurry of movement and sounds, weaving together in an indistinguishable web that stretched itself from the corridor towards her bed. For the next hour, Armin crouched inside the closet and tried to plug his ears, to think of any other topic but what was taking place just steps away, but the temptation of absorbing this incident in full proved far too great. Just as when he was captivated by their first moments in the library together, there was a tantalizing beauty to it all, as if destiny had tightened its harp strings just to perform the separate notes of their story in a series of delicately combined chords._

_Between the endless layers of labored breaths, Armin overheard their names declared again and again by one another's lips, and the unintelligible parts in between eventually crescendoed into a melodic trio of words._

_"I love you…"_

_The phrase became the gentle refrain within their ongoing requiem, culminating into a duet that extended deep into the night. And when those final, loudest moans arrived, it was a fateful coda that dissolved them into another world – one, Armin was certain, even more divine than any dream._

_When complete stillness finally befell the room, the Architect exited his obscure cage with absolute caution. Before his escape, however, he noticed that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and when Armin snuck a glance at the bed, he could actually see the outlines of the sleeping couple that would plague his thoughts for years to come. Facing his perspective was a pale, robust back, with a muscular arm wrapping itself protectively around another figure. And under the duvet, the two bodies rose and fell at a matching pace, breathing – _living_ – together as one._

_For the first time, Armin Arlert fathomed that for Levi, perhaps the whole thing was never a charade._

* * *

"I'll do it."

"Wha…what did you say?" The phrase came completely out of context with Armin's jumbled thoughts, and it took him a few moments to grasp exactly what Levi had been referring to.

"I'll do it." The Point Man repeated himself, his fingers still stroking the hair of Level 1's Mikasa. "Whatever Erwin's damn plans are."

"You...you will?" He stated with disbelief, even though he could already sense Annie relaxing next to him.

"I'll do it, for her." Levi delivered the agreement for the third time, though contrary to usual, he did not sound annoyed by the multiple reiterations. "You know very well that was your trump card from the beginning, Armin."

Deep within, the Architect also knew all too clearly that behind those few words concealed a million instances of struggle, and even more fragments of heartbreak.

_Yes. For you, it was always about saving her._

"Now, would you leave us for a few more minutes, please?"

With simultaneous nods, both he and Annie honored the request by returning on the path towards the elevator. No conversation transpired between them until they both stood within the box's boundaries, where Armin lifted a hidden emergency panel to reveal the button labeled "A" – for "Awaken." Before he pressed it, however, Annie suddenly spoke up.

"I can sense his feelings for her echoing throughout all these elevator levels." She sounded more forlorn than usual. "I wasn't sure what it was before, but now…now I think I understand who she was to him."

He stood back, arms slack at his sides as he hit the point home. Though he had not been present, Armin recalled his own conversation with Erwin back then, when the Extractor had detailed a significant exchange.

"By the time we had to carry out the mission, Levi asked Erwin for it to be his last - he planned on eloping with Mikasa afterward, and swallow those initial lies for the rest of his life." He summarized the critical decision that had been communicated to him. "Levi desperately wanted to protect her from all the inevitable scrutiny if her father's deeds were exposed…but even more so, he wanted them to share a life together, even if it meant in seclusion."

"And what did Erwin say?"

"He agreed, of course." Their leader's staggering ease with making such a verdict was something he would never forget. "Erwin knew Levi best out of all of us - he knew Mikasa was exactly what Levi had been searching for throughout his years of aimless wandering. However..."

He stepped backward, finding purchase against the back wall of the elevator as he continued.

"...however, in private Erwin told me he also knew the risks involved. His exact words back then were 'I am responsible for all of you first and foremost, not her.' We both knew that if things went wrong, it would be costly for us."

Annie watched him with concern as she finished the thought on his behalf.

"And things...went very wrong."

Armin nodded, but before the young woman could ask more, he moved towards the navigation panel again and quickly pressed "A." In an instant, they glided into a realm halfway between sleep and consciousness, and with a few more blinks of the eye, Armin found himself looking at Levi's spotless ceiling tiles again.

Before he could gather enough energy to sit up and remove the IV line, however, Annie's form already hovered over him.

"You're not going to tell me what happened?"

He stared at her somewhat dumbfounded for a short period, finding that similar to the train ride, her somewhat unkempt look actually assumed a strange allure for him. Perhaps it was his half-dazed condition disrupting usual trains of thought, for his brain quickly flashed to those moments within the dream where they had connected both mentally and physically. But as soon as Annie's expression altered into one of confusion at his behavior – or lack thereof - Armin quickly propelled himself from his seat and looked at a random point on the ground instead.

"I think you know enough background to interact with Eren in disguise for now." He tried to not think about the fact that Annie's irises were only about two shades lighter than his own, but entrenched within much prettier shapes. "If I tell you anything more tonight, it might skew your performance into less convincing territory, especially since Eren has been in the dark himself about the reasons for Mikasa's coma. I believe he at least knew of Levi's existence, but I doubt Eren ever connected the dots back to him, much less any of us. You should just stay objective...and one of us will tell you the whole story when the time is right."

From the corner of his eye, he saw the Forger return to her seat in obvious dejection. But the expression of disappointment was short-lived, for only a few moments later, Levi started to blink awake himself.

"Welcome back." Armin sent forth the first greeting.

With a groan, Levi lifted from the chair, detaching himself from the PASIV with one hand while the other rubbed his forehead in fatigue. "Give me another half an hour." His mumble was barely understandable yet rich with determination. "We'll leave after that."

"As always, you move fast once you decide on something." Armin could never hide his admiration towards such efficiency.

A few seconds of silence ensued, and steel blue eyes, now fully opened, stared vacantly at the tiny cavity that had played home to the IV needle.

"Time…moves the fastest in reality, after all."

* * *

**Chapter II**  
EXODUS  
[End]

**A/N:** Please leave a review if you would! Feedback is much appreciated :)


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