Chapter Text
“This is all wrong.” Every single fiber and instinct left Levi conflicted the minute he entered Hanji’s laboratory. It’s been nearing a month since his commanding officer assigned him to Dr. Hanji Zoe to oversee his part on a new training program that might tip the scales of the long-term civil war on Paradis Island. Levi went into rehabilitation for three months and got removed from his previous position of fighting at the frontlines a few more months afterward until his internal and external injuries have fully healed. However, things had never been the same for him after the toxic gas bombing incident at the bay area of Paradis.
Hanji and her team did everything within their powers to bring Levi back from the brink of insanity and death. However, the crazy doctor by day and pesky inventor by night never let him forget the fact that she saved him. Hanji cackled like a witch while guiding Levi toward the inconspicuous bed that had a strange helmet contraption hanging above with multitudes of wires that stuck out random places. Hanji always invented odd trinkets whenever she had time to spare, even as she is one of the few military doctors within the research facility. A day after his report to the commanding officer, he received an all-clear from the last recon mission in the mid-eastern fort. He returned to where it all began. Levi found himself glued to the hip and constantly observed by shitty glasses Hanji, who had watched over him with a manic look on her face.
“Leeeevi, you promised to help test my baby out.” Hanji patted the helmet that had probes stuck within the inner lining. “Now lie down here so we could start this bad boy.”
“What the fuck is that thing?” An undertone of wariness came from Levi’s question, that hadn’t been missed with Hanji.
He let Hanji sit him down at the edge of the hospital bed but he still sat at the far corner of the bed, and a good distance from the hanging device as possible. “That, my friend, is a VR Helmet, come on Levi, I know you’re not that old. Don’t you keep up with the trends these days? Kids play VR games all the time.” The scientist hurried over to her work table and brought up a laptop with diagrams of the helmet’s blueprint.
Throughout the month that he’d worked with Hanji, not once had the woman showed whatever awaited on the closed off side of her laboratory. The most Hanji had him do...was play simulation games on her computer. For a month, Hanji had him sit behind a desk and played war games after war games that increased both in a time-pressured mission and even changing scenarios. At first, Levi thought the scientist joked that his main job is to help in a project that would limit the exposure of soldiers to the frontlines, but tapping away with a mouse and keyboard to control an avatar had been far from his expectations. Of course he’d heard of VR games, in fact, many of the younger cadets from the military would talk about playing it with the goggles strapped to their heads and swinging the controller at some invisible enemy. To an outsider, people who played VR looked ridiculous, and amongst those that found it so is Levi.
Hanji opened tabs and photos on her screen with a glint in her eyes that fueled her excitement as she showed him further. “Now that you are well acquainted with the workings of time pressure games, we will take it up a notch. For a month, I had been studying you critically Levi Ackerman, adjusting the data I needed to improve the simulation for the environment I have developed.” Levi zoned out the second Hanji began to talk in rapid-fire precision that could put even a rapper to shame.
On the laptop, her fingers danced along with the keyboard that feeds data toward whatever program she had running. “If it’s a simulation again, what’s the point of it and how will it help our soldiers through battle?”
“I am getting to that! There are just so many variables still left in the air, and all I need is to fully test run this program now that the algorithm is set for you.” She took out a cable connector from her back pocket and plugged the laptop to the VR machine she assembled. “As for your question, it’s better to see and believe. The only instructions I am about to give you is to relax.”
The sudden prick of a needle on Levi’s shoulder made him jerk if it weren’t for the hand that held him in place. “What the heck, Hanji!” Levi tried to muster enough energy to stand, but, her assistant, Colt held up the emptied barrel of whatever he injected. Hanji turned her attention back to Levi that it made the man leaned back. The effects of the injection worked its way faster through the bloodstream as the world began to tilt and shift. “Grice, good timing, strap him up so we could begin this and I’ll explain further once we are in.”
Fear gripped Levi like a hot iron poker, but his limbs started to feel heavy. He let Colt move him farther up the bed and then rushed to secure his arms and legs into the cloth straps along the edges of the bed frame. By the time Levi remained secured and immobile to the bed, Colt placed one hand under Levi's head while using the other to lower the helmet over him. Not safe, his entire being wanted to scream when the telltale sound of Hanji’s babbling came close, she appeared by Levi’s side just as his vision dimmed.
He wanted to say a whole lot of swearing for them to sedate him into cooperation into being a lab. Levi’s eyes must’ve looked murderous because Hanji managed to place her hands together in silent apology but continued to give him a crooked smile. “Don’t give me that look Mr. Grumpy, don’t fight this, just-”
The words were cut off as Levi’s vision darkened. The fear he kept at bay began to surface again by the sudden feeling of being trapped. He couldn’t move at all, and his senses shut down on him. Whatever the serum or the helmet did had robbed Levi of everything and left him in the dark. “Can you hear me?” Hanji’s voice broke through the void and deafening silence. Before he could respond, A bright dot of light began to pulse along with a single point in the distance. “Levi?”
“Yeah, yeah I can hear you.” Levi finally answered back. His voice echoed within the endless darkness but his attention remained at the minuscule dot of light that blinked in and out of existence.
“Oh good! That means the hearing receptors work fan-oh-tas-tic!” Hanji squealed that Levi couldn’t escape the thrill of her voice that exploded all around him.
“Hanji, for the love of god, if you ever do that again, once I get out of this. I will murder you and toss you off a damn ditch.” The warning went from one ear to another for the madwoman. Levi tried to get a bearing on things, but he couldn’t even do anything in the dark. “What exactly am I dealing with here shit for brains? Where am I?”
“Presently, you are still in the lab.” Thank you captain obvious. Levi thought and groaned. “Just give me a minute and adjust the other sensory receptors. You should have visual, right about…now.”
A blinding light pierced through the darkness and enveloped Levi. The sensory overload brought him to his hands and knees. The throbbing to his head became unbearable as if a sledgehammer pounded consistently. He wanted to crawl or curl in on himself, anything just to stop the overstimulation but just as quickly as the sudden shock to his system came did it ended. Levi felt strange wetness of dew on his fingertips. Slowly, he tried to open his eyes but the light still too painful for his sensitive pupils. Hanji’s voice remained muffled or rather shoved at the back burner of his mind while he tentatively tried to sit up, his arms shake with the effort of holding up his weight as he pulled himself up from the ground. Even in his disoriented state, Levi knew things changed. First, he isn’t strapped to the hospital bed, second, the helmet that fits snugly over his head. A tinted screen covered his face like a space helmet. Levi’s hands were about to reach up and take the helmet off when a square video feed popped along the left side of his field of vision and Hanji’s face appeared.
“Stooooooop!” She yelled before the madwoman peered closer to the screen and gave an ear-splitting grin. “Good, the feed shows me that you are finally in the simulation. Thank god, now, even though you physically can’t remove that helmet, the game would end the second you do in the virtual world. It’ll be acknowledged by the system as a forced quit. Do. You. Understand?”
The way Hanji spoke as if she reprimanded a naughty child annoyed him. “Loud and clear doc.” He muttered, still not used to addressing Hanji as if she stood by him. Hanji gave a nod before clearing her throat.
“Good, now what do you see?”
Hanji’s question made him go back to his earlier curiosity. Beyond the blue-tinted screen, Levi's been transported in the most realistic simulation ever. His ears picked up the soft sound of leaves rustling under the gust of wind, the smell of wildflowers, and the feel of prickly grass under his palms felt so real that Levi hardly believed he remained strapped securely onto a bed. It tricked his mind and body that he was far away from the city. “Where am I? This nature stuff looks too real.” He muttered before he scooted back until he felt the sturdiness of a tree trunk behind him. The tree’s shade must’ve been the main reason he hadn’t felt the direct burn of the midday sun. As he took in his surroundings, his fingers bumped into something cold and metallic against his hip. The familiar gleam of the gun and daggers that hung along a thick band around his waist reeled him back to a time he fought on the frontlines. Memories that were hazy due to the trauma Levi went through since the battle.
“Shorty, welcome to the lovely outskirts of Shiganshina District at least thirty kilometers away from the outer borders of the country, Eldia.” Hanji describes. Levi stood and noticed the tall forty foot high walls that protected the nation from foot soldiers and tanks. The banners of the different sectors of government under the royal family of Eldia. Realization dawned on Levi as he studied the terrain with focused eyes and exhaled.
“The simulation is about the future battles of Paradis isn’t it?”
“Bingo!” Hanji exclaimed and a map appeared below the video feed where Hanji’s face remained clear on display. “Welcome to Project Life Line, this is a full immersion game simulation that has been a program with two stages. The first is where we are now. Inside the demo field. You get the time to get settled in and get used to an actual very close detailed terrain of Paradis Island, from all the districts and locations that our units have explored so far.”
It meant that anything beyond the walls remained uncharted territories. However, through the safety and security of Hanji’s program, soldiers could actually train from the full immersion of the simulation that she created. “How the heck did you create the technology to replicate this?” Levi asked her seriously, and the pride in the inventor’s face shone like a fiery sun.
“If you truly must know, the answer lies with my drone systems. Of course, those scouts would be keen to take down any of our recon cameras. Which is why anything beyond those walls is still blurry, I’ve finally managed to create something that could suffice on not only storming into uncharted territories but also minimize the number of actual people we send to the battlefield. Your avatar is a moving titanium-plated humanoid battle robot!” Hanji proceeded to show Levi on his widescreen a reflection of a faceless robot with a pitch-black screen face. Levi glanced down, and the silver body of the robot moved in sync with his limbs. The simulation fizzled in and out of focus before Hanji brought it back to the serene terrain of Shiganshina. “Now, in the demo stage, that means the robot is presently confined in one of our testing quarters for volatile weaponry. The commander hasn’t approved yet of mass producing our little robots until they are approved by you. After that, it will move and function similar to even a veteran soldier on the field. Go ahead, test that body now.”
Levi didn’t know how it worked that his body presently is still strapped and asleep within Hanji’s lab. All while his mind remained actively immersed in a virtual world. Hanji continued to feed Levi with scientific facts about the components of the robot Levi commanded. The lance corporal took a few steps through the wild grass to get a better feel of the simulation. Aside from the hyper-realism of the virtual reality, Levi noticed something odd with every step he took. “Hanji...why do I feel lighter?” He sprinted, and the same sensation of the burning of his muscles well-replicated, he felt weightless and had an extra spring in his step.
“Ah yes, about that. While the robot’s main functions are to follow the desired movements given by your thoughts. The robot is built to be a super-soldier. There is titanium plating, and the inside has microsensors that function just like a human’s nervous system. To top it all off, the bone structure of the robot is made of carbon fiber, similar to that you see on bike frames, sturdy and made for speed. Double-lens cameras add for the eyes, and the microphone within the main head acts as the ears. Overall, the LifeLine robot is super lightweight.”
True to the words, Levi found it a quick adjustment for the added speed and higher jumps he'd achieved. “So for short...this thing is a lot more lethal because of its agility.” He summarized the jargon that Hanji word vomited on him.
Hanji sat back and her eyes focus toward a different monitor to observe Levi. A slight nod being the only indication that he hit the right mark. “Correct, and from here, our real program begins.” Hanji’s assistant, Colt, sat beside her with a mug in each hand. It probably had an extremely strong coffee that can kill a horse but just right for Hanji. “We’ll give you an hour to adjust to that body. The real mission starts tomorrow night, and also, Levi, try to familiarize yourself again with the weapons at your disposal."
Hanji cut the video feed and left the full screen to Levi’s demise. “Hanji really outdid herself with this,” Levi finally admitted even though a part of him was sure that the inventor kept tabs on his progress. Even with Hanji's assurance that the night was given for him to adjust to the world she created. He couldn’t help but be in awe with the grand scale of the walls. In the real world, soldiers were far from reaching the walls of the Eldia. The gruesome battle on the shores of Paradis made sure of that. An island shrouded in mystery but, so many resources, through history, Eldia and Marley barely got along in terms of the usage of resources. With the impending war, the Eldians built high walls to prevent scrutiny over the lands all while defending it from foreign soldiers. However, when modern technology such as military aircraft. The battle prolonged until a point where Eldians found a way to destroy aerial attacks from the ground. Levi had never seen Eldia’s walls up close and during a time of peace. Briefly, he wondered if the simulation had been created with the idea of what it would be before the war has scarred the tranquil lands.
In most war games or even survival mode games Levi tested in the past month, he learned that anything could be identified and even used as a weapon. After a quick pat-down on his attire, gear with only a light padded bulletproof vest over a camouflage long sleeve shirt. The same camo pattern continued up to his thermal pants. Heavyset black boots laced up to the mid-calf with the pants tucked within. Levi could faintly feel the cold edge of a hidden knife within the boots, the familiar feeling gave him a sense of ease even in the virtual world.
What alienated him however were the long, sword-like blades that hung to his sides. A strange gear hung around his hips with leather strips that wound its way from his chest, torso, and even along the length of his legs. Two identical barrel handgrip stuck out from one pair of blades of the box that carried the blades. Levi pulled on the handgrips and allowed the sword to slide out. The thin yet flexible blades reminded him of human-sized cutter blades. The serrations along the length of the thin metal gave him the benefit of the doubt of the weapon’s durability. A message box popped up at eye level and revealed that the thing strapped to him was called the Vertical Maneuver Gear.
“Hey, glasses, what’s with these?” He spoke out loud, and sure enough, the buzz along his right ear indicated Hanji had been watching him.
“It’s one of the weapons recovered during the battle along the docks of Paradis, the Vertical Maneuver Gear enabled the Eldians to move along high ground and even scale the walls. Within the game, you would obtain an actual avatar of an Eldian and lead a team to claim the districts. For now, I want you to familiarize yourself with the gear and how to fight with it. Don’t worry, you can also get your standardize guns and knives if...you don’t want to play the avatar of an Eldian.”
Levi briefly noticed the flatter in Hanji’s voice, given that she had operated on him months ago, the woman must’ve known on the great hatred he felt against the Eldians. The war with them took away Levi’s home, separated him from his mother, and nearly killed him. Levi's one of the lucky ones who made it out with only having to amputate his right arm because of the toxin bomb attacks. Hanji and Colt did design a good replacement arm, but the cold metal took a while for him to fully function properly. Did he want to use the weapons of those monsters?
“Levi?” The uncertainty in Hanji’s voice snapped him out of his brooding.
“I can’t use this,” he answered, the thin blades only reminded him more of what he lost, and while it would have quelled the ugly monster within him that seeks revenge. Levi, for just some odd reason, couldn't do it. “Give me just the standard gun and long-range rifle.”
“You do realize that the game isn’t supposed to be about what you would like or not Ackerman.”
“I don’t care,” Levi growled. “I’ll use the mobility gear-whatnot, but not the swords. Given how light I am, the extra speed is needed. Just give me a week to get used to these things.”
The cackling laugh boomed at Levi’s side before Hanji finally calmed down. “Oh, I bet it’ll take you less than that to be up and flying.”
Surprisingly enough, a smile lifted the corners of his lips before Levi faced toward the walls. “Shut up shitty glasses.”
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Within the dim-lit laboratory, Hanji watched over the sleeping body of her friend, while her assistant observed in full attention to the monitors that showed the live feed from Levi’s vision through the neuroreceptors of the LifeLine gear. “Fascinating, his reaction time and core body strength are just out of this world.” On the other computer held the data of Levi’s heartbeat and movement. Every now and then, Levi’s real body would twitch simultaneously to the action he did within the game. It had been a wise decision to strap him down because of that involuntary reaction movement.
“He’s not the strongest soldier for nothing Colt,” Hanji said before settling beside him. The green digits from the clock at the lower part of the computer indicated that her friend spent five hours into the simulation and made remarkable progress adapting to the virtual world. “At his current pace, he could proceed to phase two in under a week.”
The deep frown on Colt’s features mimics her own internal worries. Through the months that Hanji closely monitored and watched out for Levi, she told most of the truth to Colt about her fears for the program and its side effects. “There are still too many risks Professor Zoe, I don’t think phase two will commence too soon.”
“They have them already,” Hanji interjected, the information made her hands clenched at the very thought and even Colt became speechless at the news.
After the antagonizing silence hung heavy in the air for a few minutes, Hanji sat back and all the exhaustion and restless nights she dedicated just to get the project up and running finally caught up with her. “No time for worries Colt, we only have to move forward from here.” She couldn’t allow herself the time to fully think about the steps needed to help keep the people she cared for alive. The tapping of her fingers made quick work of forwarding the necessary emails of approval to the head of the science and research department. Though Hanji hated the paperwork involved through the needed subject transfer, she had to work fast before Djel would get to them first.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” Colt stammered while Hanji submerged herself into filling up forms and writing a detailed report on the first day of the experiment.
“Yes,” Hanji reached for her coffee mug and chugged down the last of her already chilled coffee. Without even sparing a glance at Colt, she handed her empty cup to him. “Get me another five-shot espresso in there. Afterward, be ready to encode the details of our simulation avatars, start with codes in my folder labeled Recon Unit Codes.”
“Got it,” The younger man quickly stood with her cup and exited the room. It’ll be the last report Hanji would hand over for the night. She needed more time to work with Levi and convinced him, she had to convince him to fight.