Reset - [Yandere!Levi x Amnesiac!Reader] - Part 3

[again, WARNINGS for creepiness, violence, TRIGGERS for abusive/obsessive relationships, language, and the yandere ship]

...

… From the very beginning, your relationship with the Lance Corporal had always been a little… complicated. Even so, you remembered a time when things were so very different from the way they were now. Though secretive with his thoughts and emotions, Levi still had the ability to be kind. He wasn't always warm nor affectionate, but he was always attentive to you. After all, you were his everything. He took it upon himself to look after your every need, your every want. He was utterly devoted, and not a moment was spent where he did not think of you. Back then, you were happy, for nothing seemed amiss at the time. And being the enamoured young Cadet that you were, being in a relationship with the Lance Corporal was like a dream come true. Every day, the two of you grew closer.

That was more than a year ago.  A memory of the distant past.  ...One that you could almost remember fondly.

That said, things were not quite as perfect as they first appeared, for you had underestimated the sort of extremes he was capable of. He guarded you zealously, with a fierce protectiveness that bordered on domineering. Even as you went about your daily business by yourself, he would always be on the hunt for you. And whenever you encountered him, he always demanded answers.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you. …What exactly have you been up to all day? …And who have you been talking to?" Those were the questions he kept asking you, from dawn until evening.

That was when things started to get uncomfortable. Whenever Levi inquired about the things you had done that day, the people you talked to, and the places you've been, it felt more like an interrogation than ordinary small talk. His questions were prying. Invasive. And with each passing day, he became more and more reluctant to let you out of his sight. He sulked when you told him you were tired of his incessant questioning. He became irritable when you sought time and space for yourself. And no matter how desperate you were to give it a rest, he made every excuse to keep you by his side, and followed… no, dragged you from room to room with him as he pleased.

Most unnerving of all, he seethed with discontent whenever he saw you interacting with someone else. Especially if it was a man.

"…Why do you waste your breath on them? Those men are nothing but dogs," he hissed in a low voice. "Filthy, vile beasts who have the gall to trifle with that which does not belong to them."

The sheer level of viciousness and hatred in his stare was enough to make you flinch. But whenever you tried to pull away, Levi would grip you tighter, clamping his nails inward and bringing you closer. His breath ran hot against your ear as he leaned in and whispered…

"…I won't let anyone defile you with their hands, or poison you with their words…" His voice lowered into a feral growl. "…You. Belong. To me. And no one else."

You gulped. From then on, you began to realize the true extent of Levi's possessiveness. He took it upon himself to control every aspect of your daily life. You were ordered to leave the dorms and sleep in the spare room inside his office. You were forced to keep the doors locked from dusk until dawn. You ate your meals with no one else, but the Lance Corporal. You were to interact with no one else unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, you were watched like a hawk.

None of it sat well with you at all. You had always loved those sweet, stolen moments with him, when he could caress you gently, sweep you off your feet with a kiss, and whisper tender nothings in your ear. But that was no more. He was no longer the kind and gentle man you once knew. His touch became cold and rough. His embrace became crushing. The more you tried to push him away, the harder he forced his lips upon yours, selfishly asserting control and dominance over you. His words became toxic. Venomous. Where there had once been kindness, there was now only accusations and thinly-veiled threats.

It was suffocating. Every day you feared more and more for your well-being, all because of a man who claimed to care about nothing else but you. You felt caged. Imprisoned. Your feelings for Levi still ran strong, but every day you became less sure of yourself. As you yearned for the days when the Lance Corporal used to shower you with love and adoration, you wondered to yourself … What in the world had gone wrong?

You weren't about to stick around long enough to find out, however. You wanted your freedom back. That was why, eventually, you told him under no uncertain terms that enough was enough. You wanted out.

Levi did not take it well at all. You didn't expect him to. ...Nor did you expect him to fly into a rage, pin you to the floor, and wrap his hands around your throat. You knew he had been acting strange, but this...? This was crossing a terrible threshold.  Between bits and pieces of your life flashing before your eyes, you saw his cold, seething, inhuman stare boring into the depths of your spirit, leaving a scar upon your soul.

He must have felt betrayed, finding out that you were intent on leaving him after everything he had done for you. But none of that compared to the emotional blow you felt, having your windpipe crushed by a man you once loved, trusted, and cared for. Those fingers that had once touched you so gently were now cold needles pressing into your throat. To think that your once-cherished relationship with Levi had sunk to such depths. Your entire world was turned upside down.

You were on the brink of unconsciousness when Levi finally snapped back to his senses. His hands immediately flew off of your neck, and you shoved him away. His face was as pale as a sheet. His eyes were wide with horror and shock at the realization of what he had almost done. But no matter how much remorse he felt, it wouldn't change a thing.

The moment you found your voice again, you told him, angrily, that it was over. Strangling you to near death with his bare hands was the last straw, enough to merit a burning of all bridges. To that effect, you threatened to report him to Major Hanji and Commander Smith if he ever came near you again. From that moment on, you were determined to treat him as nothing more than a stranger.

… You could tell from the look on his face. Hearing those words, knowing that you wanted nothing more to do with him, left him shattered. Never before had you seen such agony and regret in that expression. It was almost enough to evoke pity in your heart. But it wasn't enough to change your mind. This relationship was becoming unbearably toxic for the both of you. It was time to go your separate ways.

So, you left him. He begged your forgiveness, but you left him all the same. You did so with a heavy heart, but you also knew that the sooner you did, the sooner you both could move on. Painful as it was, the two of you could surely learn to live without each other.

Eventually, you managed to put your past behind you, and rediscovered your freedom. Little did you know that for Levi, letting go wasn't quite so easy. Your threats kept him at bay, but that didn't stop his resent from growing. Still, he left you alone, and you didn't suspect a thing… until the day of the expedition, six months ago.

It began smoothly, with no major incidents. Awkwardly enough, however, you were assigned to the central group in the formation, where Lance Corporal Levi and his Unit were stationed. At first, you were cautious, but for the moment, Levi treated you no differently than he did the rest his comrades. Cold, curt, and abrasive. You sighed with relief, believing that he must have moved on. At the very least, you were able to enjoy a little more protection against the Titans. That was the most important matter here. And even after all you had been through, Levi was still a combat professional at heart.

…You never suspected a thing.

You and the Legion made it to the first supply outpost, with minimal casualties. As the soldiers gathered together to stock up on supplies and recover their energy, Commander Smith assigned you to sentry duty. The task was simple enough. If any Titans were spotted near the outpost, you were to send out a signal flare and wait for one of the elite teams to take care of it.

You took to the trees. As a soldier, you were reasonably competent. This was a job you could do on your own.

All was eerily silent in the forest canopy. No thundering footsteps. Not a single Titan to be seen within the vicinity. As far as you were concerned, no news was good news. Still, you kept your guard up.

That was when you heard the noise of something approaching. Not a Titan, but someone zipping through the air on wires. Without warning, they flew in and landed on your branch.

Your eyes widened when you saw who it was.

"…L-Lance Corporal."

Seeing him right there and then stirred you with mixed emotions. His presence was familiar in the best and the worst way possible. Deep down inside, this was the man you still loved in secret. But then again, this was the same man who had nearly choked you to death in a fit of rage.

It was hard to tell what he was thinking, as he stared at you with those unfathomable, pitch-black eyes.

To your surprise, he simply greeted you with a nod. You nodded back. Being alone with him made you nervous, but at a time like this, you decided not to push him away. All things considering, Humanity's Strongest Soldier was really the most ideal person to stay close to during an expedition. As long as he was near, you were relatively safe.

…Or so you believed.

For a while, the two of you simply stood watch at the same post. You maintained a comfortable distance from him, and to your relief he came no closer. Eventually, you grew tired of watching his every move, and relaxed your guard a little.

…The silence between you both was unbearable, as though it were begging to be filled. And so, for the first time in over a month, the two of you spoke.

It was awkward at the beginning. Perhaps even a little nerve wracking. Feeling clumsy, you conversed with Levi about the weather, the expedition, and the legion's most recent losses. He complained about the usual, namely over Eren's incessant fanboying, the fact that everyone's gear was all dusty from traveling, the fact that he managed to get a glob of Titan spit on his cloak while taking care of an Aberrant, and how the four-eyed Hanji wouldn't stop yapping about how roly-poly it was… and so forth and so forth…

…For the first time in what seemed like forever, he made you laugh. In the end, you remarked, he had barely changed a bit.

And before you knew it, you and the Lance Corporal were catching up on old times, discussing the sort of things the two of you had been up to during your month of separation. You both began to reminisce over the days when the two of you were happy together, in a relationship that was blessed with warmth, kindness, and understanding.

It was then that you realized… that Levi was unable to let go of the past. And neither were you. The look of wistful yearning in his eyes said it all. He still wanted to be with you.

"…Tell me, [First]," he said quietly, gazing with a forlorn expression. "If I hadn't snapped that day… If I hadn't lost control… Would I be forgiven if I begged you? Would you have given me a second chance?"

Your smile faded. Even after a month, the bruises on your neck had faded, but the memory of that painful moment still left impressions on your mind. Like scars.

You sighed, turning away from him.

"Who can say for sure?" you mused, more to yourself than anything. "All I know is that nothing can erase the past. No matter how much I want to forget, I…"

Levi's attention piqued at those words. He gave you an odd, silent stare.

Not thinking much of it, you continued heavily. "…Believe me, Levi. If I could go back in time, I would. I'd make it so that nothing ever changed between the two of us in the first place. We'd be happy together, and you'd be the kind and gentle person I know that's in there somewhere. That's the Levi I truly loved back then…and still do."

You looked over your shoulder at him, smiling sadly.

"But at the same time… There's a part of you that I'm really scared of. A darkness, hiding somewhere." You shuddered, the possessiveness that drove you away in the first place… as well as the way he almost strangled you with his bare hands. "After seeing a glimpse of it, I don't know if I can ever go back. What you did that day… I don't think I can forget so easily."

"…You're right," Levi said in a low voice, filled with remorse. "…Back then, I made a terrible mistake. And it has cost me everything I hold dear."

He suddenly stared at you with an intense, cryptic look. "What if… I told you that there was a way for the two of us to be together again?" he asked. "It would be as though nothing bad had ever happened. We could start over from where we left off, and be just as happy as we were before. I could show you."

You cringed, regretting ever mentioning anything in the first place. No matter how much you wanted to put the past behind you, Levi still wanted you back. Badly. Digging up old skeletons from the closet served only to exacerbate this.

"That's impossible," you replied flatly, tensing up again. "…And even if it were, what makes you think we can just forget about the past? As long as one of us remembers, it will haunt us both for the rest of our lives."

"That's why I'm telling you. There's a way to fix everything," Levi insisted, taking a step towards you. His eyes were desperate. Pleading. "Right now, I'm asking you to trust me. Please, [First]."

When you hesitated, he held out an outstretched palm, inviting you closer. "Come here."

"…I…" You immediately backed away a step, alarm bells ringing in your head. Whatever Levi was proposing, you didn't want to be a part of it. "…I can't. Please stop it. I don't want to hear anymore. I've already moved on."

"…Are you sure about that?" Levi remarked quietly, locking his eyes with yours in an unrelenting stare. "Because the way I heard it… you want this just as much as I do. You want to go back into the past, when you and I were happy together. Knowing that, why hesitate?"

The look of those stormy black eyes, narrow like slits, was enough to make you nervous. He just wasn't going to let it go, wasn't he? And yet, there was a disturbing about of truth in those words. Vehemently, you reminded yourself of your will to put the memories of a shattered relationship behind you. You had to move on with your life. You had to stay away from him. All this talk of erasing the past was downright impossible, if not insane.

When you refused to come closer, Levi began to lose his patience. "Don't you dare run away from me, [First]," he spoke. His voice was a cruel hiss, one that you recognized all too well.

You were tired of explaining yourself. "It's over between us, Levi. And for that matter, so is this conversation." Turning a heel, you reached for your 3D-Maneuver gear. "…I'm heading back."

With a snap, his arm shot out. His fingers clamped tightly around your wrist and pinned you in place. Every nerve in your body was on the defensive.

Neither of you were keeping watch, as you were supposed to. Which was why you were slow to react when a huge, hideous shape, twelve-meters tall, lumbered out of the trees and charged straight towards you.

An Aberrant! Your body was paralyzed with fear as the sight of giant, dripping teeth filled your vision.

Levi's reflexes were as quick as lightning. Fiercely, he hauled you out of the way just in time.

SNAP!

That was the sound of your tree branch splitting apart as the Aberrant clamped its jaws around it, and tore it from the trunk. Like an arm being ripped from its socket. Splinters flew in every direction, obscuring your view.

With a growl, Levi leapt forth on his cables, blades flashing. His movements were quicker than you could follow with the naked eye.

SLASH!

The Titan's nape flew into the air in a spray of blood. All that was left was a gaping wound, sliced out with surgical precision. You lost sight of Levi as the Aberrant collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Your fingers trembled as you fired a black signal flare into the air. Only once the adrenaline wore off did you realize that there was probably no point whatsoever. Levi had already taken care of it.

Cautiously, you took to the ground. The corpse of the Aberrant was smouldering away, obscuring the air in a thick, stifling fog. You coughed, struggling to navigate your way through the vapour.

"Levi…?" you gasped, unable to see. "Are you alright? Where are you?"

Before you knew it, you had completely dropped your guard. Being afraid for Levi's safety made you forget your fear of him. Only later, much later, would you realize… you should have run while you had the chance.

The back of your neck prickled as you heard the snap of a twig behind you. By the time you turned your head, it was already too late. Something hard and heavy struck the back of your skull, filling your head with white noise. Helplessly, you collapsed to the ground, head spinning.

As your mind struggled to comprehend what was going on, you heard a familiar, breathy sigh, followed by an irritated click of the tongue.

"Tch…"

A heavy, fist-sized rock rolled to the ground next to you, streaked with red. Something warm and wet dripped down from your scalp to your cheek.

With a groan of pain, you lapsed in and out of consciousness as Levi's face loomed over yours. The moment your eyes regained focus, they widened to the brims of your sockets. Unable to move, unable to speak, you stared up at him, paralyzed with terror.

"…Levi? What are you doing…?" you uttered weakly, begging for an explanation. "Why are you…?"

Levi's face was filled with a look of cold triumph, ill-intent, and an eerie disquiet that bordered on outright madness. Cool fingers cupped your cheek, compelling you to look at him. Your heart palpitated.

"You forced my hand, love," he said, smiling cruelly at you. "You should have listened when I asked you to trust me."

You lay there stunned as he extracted a syringe from his jacket, filled to the brim with some unknown chemical. Your panic culminated. You wanted to scream, you wanted to run, you wanted to fight back, but your body refused to obey. The only noise that escaped your mouth was a desperate, ineffectual whimper.

Levi placed a finger to your lips and hushed you.

"Shhhh…" He whispered, leaning close to your ear. "Don't cry. This will only hurt for a little while."

With that, he jabbed the thin, metal needle into the pulse of your neck. You felt a painful sear as the syringe struck a vein and dispensed the drug, causing your blood vessels to swell. Your head throbbed more violently than ever. The world was spinning, churning and fading into the fog. You were losing all sense of time, space, and self.

His lips, enveloping yours, was the last thing you felt before everything faded away.

"…There's no need to be afraid," his voice murmured softly as you descended into darkness. "This is what we both want, after all."

…Thus began your six-month long nightmare.

---

Your memories of the past year, once lost and forgotten, now flashed before your very eyes. You woke up with a violent snap, remembering everything. The air was chill upon the surface of your skin. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. Your neck swelled with bruises. Old…and new.

Where am I? What's going on?

The moment your eyes flared open, your veins were surging with adrenaline. Now that you were awake, and now that you knew exactly who your true enemy was, you had a very good reason to be terrified.

This time, there was no nightmare to wake up from, no hallucination to escape. Everything that was happening to you now was as real as could be.

Your head was pounding with a pain you remembered all too well. The circumstances surrounding your head injury was no longer a mystery.

You felt something soft and familiar beneath your body. A pillow. A mattress. You couldn't be sure, but you surmised that you were back in your room, on the bed that Levi had provided for you.

You heard nothing. You could see nothing. As you blinked frantically, searching for some sort of visual, your eyelids hit cloth. You were blindfolded. A momentary struggle told you that your wrists were bound tightly above your head, tied to the bedframe. You drew in a deep sharp breath, on the verge of hyperventilating with fear. The more you strained against them, the more the cords bit into your skin, cutting off your circulation and pinching nerves. It was no use. There was no hope of escape.

Panicking, you uttered a cry for help, only to find that your screams were muffled. Muted. You were gagged, too. Your heart sank like a stone. If you were indeed in your room, there was absolutely no way your voice would be able to carry beyond the office of Lance Corporal Levi. Help was beyond reach.

A familiar feeling of helplessness washed over you like cold wave. Rendered unable to see, move, or utter a sound, you remembered a time when you had been forced to endure this humiliation before. A time when you were at the mercy of a monster. You immediately curled up into a ball, desperate for a way to make yourself less vulnerable. A futile cause. If anything happened to you now, you wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop it.

Your body was sore with the old cuts and bruises that marked you from neck to toe. A vision of your last waking memory surfaced in your head. …You remembered navigating your way through the private effects of the Lance Corporal. Discovering the truth behind your amnesia. And most of all… the painful sensation of Levi's arm crushing against your windpipe and veins, like an iron bar. He had forced you into unconsciousness, and you had been powerless to fight him.

You clenched your teeth, biting in anguish against the gag wrapped around your face. It tasted bitter and awful, and carried the scent of something distinctly chemical. A cleaning rag, you realized, feeling nauseous and humiliated.

…He got me. He got me again. …I've lost…

Just as you began to wonder if you were alone, you sensed movement coming from the corner of the room.

The bastard himself had been watching you this entire time.

You heard the wooden creak of someone rising from his chair. A shiver pulsed down your spine as the sound of footsteps filled your ears.

You felt the mattress sink beneath a new weight, as though someone was perching upon the edge. Springs and wires squeaked underneath you.

Cool, pointed fingertips brushed against your cheek, tracing your facial features and sensitive line of your neck. You cringed, turning your head away in fear and revulsion. Those vile fingers chased you relentlessly, sending crawling sensations down your spine. The touch of your captor felt like poison.

You heard the familiar click of a tongue. That sound was close. Too close for comfort.

"…Do you really… hate me that much?" That low, breathy voice murmured, ominous and mournful at the same time.

You made a strangled noise against your gag. It was incoherent, but you were definitely leaning more towards the side of 'yes'.

Son of a bitch… You thought angrily.

Residual chemical fumes from the cleaning rag cause your throat to itch and your lungs to burn. You coughed violently, feeling your eyes water. As a show of mercy, the blindfold was untied and peeled away, followed by the gag. The sensation of uninvited fingers navigating around the back of your neck was enough to overpower any form of relief. All the same, you gratefully inhaled a lungful of fresh air, coughing and hacking all the while. A horrible, bitter taste lingered in your mouth, causing a line of excess saliva to run down your chin.

You blinked your eyes back into focus, peering through the gloom. Levi was sitting on the edge of the bed, gazing upon your bound form.

"Once again…" He said impassively. "…You remember everything, don't you?"

You glared at him, channeling all of your hate and fury. You wanted so very much to spit on him, but you were reluctant to risk invoking his wrath. Still, no matter how many times you had to repeat the scenario, forgetting everything only to remember again, you wanted answers. And you wanted them now.

"All this time…" you hissed balefully. "All this time, you said this was for my own good. That you were just trying to protect me. …This is all just a way to keep me under your control, isn't it?"

Levi tilted his head to one side, observing you with an owlish gaze. Was he really listening to you? Or was he simply drinking in the sight of you, helpless to his whims?

"Tell me, Levi!" you snapped at him, ignoring the dull ache in your skull. "What is it all for? What gives you the right to lock me up like a prisoner and deprive me of my own freedom? To mess with my head and feed me nothing but lies? What the hell has gotten into you, Levi? Why are you doing this?!"

You raised your voice at him, but Levi remained unintimidated. Instead, he leaned over and planted his arms on each side of your head, forming a cage. His face loomed over yours, almost nose-to-nose. You felt the sigh of his breath tickling your lips.

"Why?" he calmly echoed your words. "Because you belong to me. It's as simple as that. It's my duty to keep you safe and uncorrupted. The world outside is full of rotten, filthy people…" His dark stare suddenly became penetrating. "…And I do hate it when my belongings get dirty."

You clenched your teeth, but said nothing. At this point, there seemed absolutely no way of reasoning with this man. He was dangerous, cunning…and insane.

"Your curiousity is a sin, my love. You should have learned to be happy in your ignorance." His smile was cruel. "But you just had to keep snooping around behind my back, sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, didn't you? You meddlesome brat. No matter what I do, it's as if you're begging for me to teach you a lesson."

There was a rustle of cloth as his claw-like fingers splayed deeper into the sheets, on each side of your head.

"But you know…" he murmured, eyeing the restraints that bound your wrists to the bedframe, before letting his gaze wander up and down your form. "There is something truly… exquisitely beautiful, seeing you tied up and helpless like this. It's a familiar scene, isn't it? You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

You gulped, sensing a knot of dread in your stomach. Your mind raced with the flashbacks of being bound, imprisoned, and enslaved to the sadistic impulses of a man you once loved but now could no longer fathom. Your body was frozen stiff as Levi, in the present, gripped your shoulders and leaned even closer, tugging at the collar of your shirt. His body was crushing yours, pressing you deeper into the mattress. As your fear escalated, you fought against the wrappings around your wrists, but to no avail.

Levi was enjoying every moment. As his lips trailed sensuously upon your neck, he breathed in your scent and sighed his contentment.

"Now that we're alone, with no one else to bother us, what else can I do to trigger your inner fears?"

You felt his lips pulling back against your neck, baring his teeth in an animalistic grin.

"What must I do to get your body to respond to me...? You're beautiful when you smile, but even more so when you're shaking with terror. I can make you feel anything I want you to feel. Pleasure, pain, fear… Your body still remembers, does it not?"

Without warning, his fingers began to trace the marks on your skin, pressing inwards with inhuman viciousness and causing you to gasp and moan. The bruises on your neck. The imprints from his fingernails. The cuts and scratches he had carved upon your skin. It didn't matter how many or where they were, he found them all, and made you scream. They served as proof that he had been there… that there was nothing he wouldn't do to assert his ownership of you.

He hummed with delight as you writhed in agony underneath him, as though this were but a harmless game. Like a cat tormenting his prey. The moment your eyes began to stream with tears, however, he ceased his painful ministrations.

"Does it hurt? It does, doesn't it? This is what you get for being such a disobedient brat." His voice was a purr against your ear, dripping with venom and twisted affection. "…But tell me, [First]... Do you enjoy being punished?"

You were trembling violently from head to toe.

"No," you hissed at him, biting back sobs.

"Mm… I thought so," Levi remarked as he lifted his head to fix his eyes upon yours. Those pitch-black orbs suddenly gleamed with a malevolent hunger, like a savage beast. "…Then why don't you be a good girl, and allow me to show my love for you instead?"

Your breath hitched with fear, sensing his ominous intent. You began thrashing against his grip, but it was no use. You were already pinned down. With nothing to hold him back, Levi pressed his mouth to yours, forcefully claiming entrance with his tongue. A feral growl rumbled from the depths of his throat, mixing with the sound of your pleading whimpers. Somewhere behind you, you felt his arms wrap fiercely around the small of your waist, binding you closer to him and forcing your body to arch against his.

You remembered a time when his kisses were filled with warmth, tenderness, and adoration. Now, there was nothing but selfishness and violence. Fighting for air against his unwelcome lips, you felt as though you were drowning. Your blood surged with indignation, and something inside you rebelled. As the wet, thick muscle of his tongue continued to invade the insides of your mouth, you went against your better judgment… and bit down hard.

You felt him grunt and flinch. His face retreated back, removing his lips from yours and allowing you to gasp for air. As you recovered your lungs, and your pride, he remained frozen in shock, as though unable to comprehend what had just happened. Your rejection left him stung. Insulted. A line of red dripped from the corner of his mouth.

His hands immediately flew to your neck and squeezed. Hard. Your eyes went wide as his thumbs pressed against your windpipe, cutting off your air supply. His fingers aggravated the bruises on your neck, worsening them. You wheezed, but his grip was merciless. All the while, his eyes bored into you, pitch-black with fury and pain.

"Why?" He snarled at you through clenched teeth. "WHY won't you accept me? I have given you EVERYTHING, and STILL you turn your back on me?"

Levi straddled your hips, pinning you down with his weight. This gave him more leverage to drive his palms deeper into your throat, crushing you. The blockage in your veins shot your vision with black spots. Your end was surely coming this time, you thought.

"Do you have ANY idea how it feels to be alienated by the one you love? To be disowned by the only person you hold dear in this world?" He hissed. To your shock, his eyes were filled with tears. "The only reason I behave like a monster is because you insist on treating me like one!"

It would have been so much easier to sympathize with him if not for the fact that he was choking you out of rage. Just as he had done, more than six months ago.

Your lips struggled to form a reply, but no sound came out. Scowling at you, Levi loosened his grip ever so slightly, allowing you to speak.

"…That's because…" You whispered hatefully between sharp hisses of breath. "…You are a monster."

Unexpectedly, he released you and removed himself from your form. At last, you were able to breathe once more. Your head pounded horribly as blood surged back into your veins. As you lay there, coughing and gasping, Levi fell into a reflective silence.

"…You're right," he mused to himself, sitting upright upon the bed and staring at his hands. He laughed bitterly. "Look at how far I've fallen. …I can't even get you to trust me anymore."

And exactly who's fault is that? You wondered angrily. Your throat was raw and bruised. It hurt to speak.

A sigh of resignation escaped his lips. "You must think I'm some sort of fucked-up abomination, don't you? … But just a day ago, I was your protector. Your guardian. You heeded my every word, accepted my care, and welcomed my affection. You wished for kindness and I gave it to you."

All of his anger and cruelty had evaporated in an instant. He gazed upon you once more, this time with a serene, wistful expression. You glared daggers at him, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he merely brushed aside the loose strands of hair away from your forehead.

"But… you've changed," said Levi quietly. "I don't believe you understand what your heart desires anymore. That's why, again and again, I've tried to make you understand. This is what we both want."

His touch was gentle, almost affectionate, but you were not the least bit placated. In a flat voice, you shot back at him, "What makes you think that I wished for any of this to happen?"

Those sharp brows furrowed back into a familiar dark frown. Removing his hand, Levi rose from the bed and began to pace around the room.

"See? You're confused," he said, turning towards the nightstand. "Being separated from me from so long has defiled you. You can't even comprehend the fact that I'm giving you exactly what you've desired for so long."

You gritted your teeth and snapped at him obstinately. "If that's what you think, then you don't know the first thing about me!"

"You're wrong, [First]" he replied, opening a familiar box. "Every single inch of your body and being is mine. I own your thoughts. Your feelings. Your memories, your dreams, and your deepest fears. I won't allow you to think of anything else... but me."

Levi turned towards you. In his hand was a filled syringe, its needle glinting faintly in the candlelight. The sight of it left you frozen in horror.

"That's why…" Levi murmured, smiling softly. "I'm going to cleanse away everything in your mind, until all that's left is me. You'll be pure again. Unsullied. Free of corruption."

You gulped, feeling a cold wave wash over you from head to toe. In other words, this twisted game was about to be reset. There was no fighting it. He had already won. Whether you liked it or not, he was going to pitch you back into oblivion and ignorance… and keep you as an unwitting prisoner.

Still, you were overcome with the urge to rebel against him in every way possible, even if it meant breathing your very last.

"So that's how it is, huh?" You laughed bitterly, putting on a show of bravado as you spat your words out. "Coward. Do you honestly think you can win my heart by messing with my head? You can do whatever you want with me and cover up your tracks by making me forget everything. Guess what? All I have to do is find out the truth somehow and remember everything, all over again. I'll do it as many times as I need to! You can't make me your puppet forever!"

Levi raised his eyebrows mildly at you.

"Can't I?" he asked, not the least bit fazed. "I have to admit, this drug is still in the experimental stage. But the fact is, I've been sending in my observations to the alchemists. It's improved considerably since then. I'm sure you must be dying to find out exactly how much, considering the fact that you've made a very, very useful test subject."

He smiled ominously. "The notebooks you've kept certainly helped. For all your talk about rebelling against me, there's something to be said about your eagerness to cooperate.  …And now, I say it is time for the two of us to try something new and discover this drug's true potential."

His grin suddenly widened with a demonic-looking gleam. You gulped and shrank back against the mattress, not liking the sound of this at all. No matter how much you tried to brace yourself, nothing prepared you for what he was about to say next. His words left you shot with terror.

"This time, things will be different. So, very, different," he said, eyes stretched wide with sick, twisted anticipation. The syringe was dangled in front of you like a prize. "…Rather than force-feed you this drug, I am going to make you beg for it, instead."

...

(to be continued in the real finale)