Author's note: Herro...finally got out of writer's block for this series. I apologize that this particular chapter isn't really full of feels or anything but it is to push the series along. Probably one or more parts to P and A, and then it's done. Also, I am well aware of the minor plot holes of this story but since it's a one shot series and not an actual book/novel, I'm not keen on fixing/explaining everything.

I love all of you. Thanks for the support (and patience with my long winded ANs.) Side note: I updated some of the previous chapter images.

Part Three

********

Why was it so hard to move? It was almost as if gravity had increased tenfold on you and just lifting up your leg to take a step seemed near impossible. You could not make yourself run faster, no matter how desperately you wanted to, and it felt as though you were moving at a snail's pace. But you wouldn't give up. You had to keep running or else...no. To you, there was no "or else," only that you had to keep trying to get your feet to move faster.

It was dark, so dark. The only thing you could see other than the pitch black that surrounded you was the path you were trying to run down, but even then you could only see just a few feet in front of you. It was like a spotlight was leading your way. There was an overwhelming sense of sheer terror that was consuming you, but you didn't know why. Your chest was tight with the panic but you had to fight through it.

"You're out of time, (f/n)," said a hauntingly familiar voice. You had no idea where it was coming from, as it sounded as though it was all around you, in every direction. Though the voice was relatively monotone, there was something terrifying and mocking about the way this woman's voice kept telling you that you were "too late."

"C'mon," you told yourself, trying to ignore the voice and bite back your fear. "Faster!!"

The voice kept taunting you, laughing dryly at you.

Up ahead, the path you were slowly sprinting on illuminated. You found your feet coming to a sliding stop and you stared blankly at the man before you.

Levi was at the end of the path, darkness surrounding you both, and he was on all fours. He was panting, his breath painfully labored, and when you looked closely enough you realized he was covered in blood. Even though he was far away from you, you could clearly make out every cut and bruise over his skin and the tattered remains of his shirt and his torn pants. It looked as if someone had tortured him relentlessly. He was seriously injured and you knew if you didn't help him, he could die.

You willed yourself to move but your body refused to respond. You were glued to your spot. "Levi!" you cried, desperately trying to go to his aid. It took him an incredible amount of effort to lift his lifeless gaze at you.

"You...have to...run." Even at this distance, you could hear his ragged, painful breathing as he tried to speak to you. It was as if he had said it right in your ear.

"N-no!" you shouted, feeling hot tears streak your cheeks. "I'm gonna help you! Just...just hold on! I'm coming!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," said the female voice.

A person walked into the light where Levi sat and you froze, recognizing the black hooded figure was a small woman by the rest of her body. She pulled back the hood that shadowed her face and instantly, you found yourself glaring at her.

"Annie," you spat. She smirked at you, taking a handful of Levi's hair and wrenching him into a kneeling position. His face was swollen only solidifying your assumption he had been beaten. He was spattered in his own blood and he looked spent. "Don't fucking touch him!"

"You have one chance to save his life," said Annie, tone void of any emotion. "Tell me where and what is in the Vault."

Annie raised her sword to Levi's throat but he didn't attempt to stop her, already too far gone to be able to put up a good fight. "Don't tell her anything," he choked out. "Run...just run."

"We don't know!" you said desperately, ignoring Levi's plea. You struggled to take a step towards them. "We don't know any more than you do. Let him go!"

Annie reflexively pressed the blade against Levi's throat a little more when you moved closer and he inhaled sharply. "Watch your step there, (f/n)," she warned you. "Any closer and I won't hesitate to take your boyfriend's head clean off."

"Fuck you," you said viciously. It was the only thing you could think of to say that would come close to the burning hatred you held for the woman before you.

"Let's try that one more time," said Annie, her dead eyes piercing into yours. You could feel yourself shaking, unsure of what to do. "Where is the Vault and what's in it?"

"I'm telling you, you bitch, we literally don't know anything!" you said angrily. "We know as much as you do. The map in the ring, the Vault Key pieces. That's all we know."

A malevolent smirk twitched at Annie's lips. "Wrong answer," she said. With a quick move, her sword's edge cut deep into Levi's throat.

"NO!!" you shrieked.

Amid the horrid sounds of Levi choking, blood sprayed all over the pathway before him. Annie shoved him the floor, a mild look of disgust in her eyes. You couldn't move as hot tears streaked your cheeks. You didn't save him. You fell to your knees, unable to hold your own weight.

"Useless..." you heard Annie say, flicking his blood from her sword before sheathing it behind her back. Her footsteps approached you but you didn't raise your head, your anger and your anguish making it hard for you think clearly.

After a moment, a pair of small boots came into your view and you felt something cold touch the top of your head. There was a pause of silence before you decidedly lifted your head to glare into the face of a stone cold killer. You found yourself looking up a barrel of gun, Annie's lifeless blue eyes behind them.

"I have no use of you," she said in deadpan. There was an unmistakable 'click' of her revolver and she pressed it against your forehead.

"Game over."

And she pulled the trigger.

********

There was a horrible 'bang!'that erupted in your head and it caused you to violently jerk awake. You were in a cold sweat, staring at the ceiling, unable to move and barely breathing. Confused, you sat up and found yourself in dark room and in a warm bed. Trying to recall what was happening, you looked up to the window and saw it was still dark outside. You sighed audibly, rubbing your temples to relieve the slight headache you had.

Right, you were in Levi's room.

You glanced at the clock. It was barely five in the morning but Levi was not in bed and you didn't hear the shower running from the bathroom. He was always an early riser, definitely earlier than you since you often were up late from bartending, but normally he wouldn't be up this early.

Rising out of bed, you picked up your undergarments strewn about the floor and mindlessly went to his closet. You grabbed the nearest white button down and dressed yourself. As you buttoned up three buttons, you let your mind wander over your nightmare.

Annie...

You wondered why you had such a dream of her; none of the Phantoms had even heard anything about the Dark Angels and their whereabouts, not for months. You've always held a level of fear for Annie ever since that day she shot you, seeing she was capable of murder, but you didn't think you were afraid of her to the point that you subconsciously doubted Levi's abilities. You wondered what his reaction would be if you were to tell him about your nightmare.

A slight smile formed on your lips at the thought. He would probably be annoyed with you for doubting him.

You decided to find where Levi had gone, fairly sure he hadn't left the house. It seemed your feet had minds of their own and carried you to his home office. Sure enough, once you made it downstairs and turned the corner, you saw the door cracked open and light pouring from it. You approached the door and peered through the gap, finding Levi was standing with his back facing you and gazing at his whiteboard intently. From the looks of it, he was deep in thought, unaware of your pained gaze. He clicked his tongue absently before setting down a sheet of paper to erase a large number and replace it with some technical word you didn't know across the top of the board. The whiteboard was covered in financial figures and large words you didn't understand, all relating to his high profile job; you wondered if you should bother him while he was at work.

After a moment of debate, you decided you needed him more than you cared that he was working, as selfish as that sounded, and made a beeline towards him. He heard your light footsteps on the hardwood flooring and turned his head in surprise.

"(F/n)...?" said Levi just as you wrapped your arms around his waist and buried your face in his back. He was warm against your body and you shut your eyes automatically, listening to his gentle breathing. Levi didn't say anything for a long time, keeping one of his hands over yours. It was kind of a relief; in a weird way, holding him like this ensured he was alive to you and it truly was just a horrible dream.

You inhaled deeply and decided to break the silence by mumbling out words.

"I can't understand you when you're talking into my back," said Levi flatly. He set down the dry erase marker had had been holding and waited for you to repeat yourself.

Turning your head, you said in a clearer tone, "I asked if I was bothering you."

"Oh...no, but I'm surprised you're awake. You didn't come home until two this morning."

You closed your eyes, still holding him. There was so much you wanted to say but you didn't know if you should. Still, Levi was your boyfriend and has been for the last three months. He had always made it clear that you could talk to him about anything.

"Annie killed you," you said quietly.

Levi snorted. "I'm assuming you're referring to a dream?"

"Yeah," you sighed, squeezing him a little tighter. "Silly, right?"

"I'm more offended that you dreamt Leonhardt could kill me, actually."

At this, you laughed quietly; you were right. "I knew you'd say that."

"Your vote of confidence is quite inspirational," he said, sounding a bit snarky. You shook your head but continued to smile.

"Okay, asshole..." you sighed.

Levi turned to face you and you released him. He put a hand behind your head and kissed you lightly on the forehead, as if assuring you everything was going to be okay. "Clearly I'm alive," he said firmly though he appeared apathetic. "And there is nothing to be afraid of. Have faith in me."

"I do have faith in you, and I'm not afraid of getting hurt by her, Levi," you replied in a similar tone, although that was a lie. "At least, not anymore..."

You wanted to say it was because you knew he would protect you but your voice trailed off. However, a very faint smile appeared on Levi's lips, as if he knew your unspoken words.

"It's just..." you hesitated, trying to best put your thoughts into something coherent. "...ever since you and I started seeing each other, I'm...more afraid of losing you."

The smile Levi held grew wider, although it resembled more of a smirk than anything. "That's cute."

"Shut up. I'm being serious."

"So was I," he replied, leaning against his desk and folding his arms. You eyed him skeptically.

There was another long pause between you two, and you couldn't help the sigh that escaped your lips. Somehow, you weren't surprised that he wouldn't know how to sympathize with you on this because he was not very in touch with his emotions. Averting your eyes away from his, which were eyeing you almost lifelessly, you ended up fidgeting with the buttons on the cuff of your dress shirt.

Levi's hand gently encased your wrist and he pulled you toward him. Without a word, he kissed you. It was a simple gesture, as he only let his lips linger on yours before pulling away.

"(F/n)," he said. "When I say you have nothing to be afraid of, I meant it to be a sweeping statement. It meant don't be afraid of Leonhardt and her dumbass sidekicks hurting any of us."

You nodded and looked towards your feet, feeling slightly embarrassed for have displaying your weaknesses like this. Maybe it was all baseless worry but it didn't stop you from being anxious. Levi's finger gently lifted your chin up so you were forced to look at him.

"Especially me," added Levi as gently as he could manage. "I'm not going to let her hurt you, and I'll make damn well sure that I stay alive for you."

You found yourself shaking your head. "Not just for me. I want you to stay alive for you."

Levi chuckled dryly. "No, you're misunderstanding me," he said. "I will make sure to stay alive because there is no chance in hell that any other man can have you."

You burst out laughing. "God, you're selfish."

"What's mine is mine," he said with an apathetic shrug of his shoulders. "Selfishness has little to do with it."

Of course he took your words seriously and you stifled your giggle, settling to instead roll your eyes. In the middle of your silent amusement, Levi reached out to grip your wrist again. With a slightly rough tug, you found your lips covered by his and he kissed you deeply. You head started to swim with the way he was eagerly searching the recesses of your mouth and you has to wrap your arms around his neck to hold yourself up.

"Speaking of what's mine..." whispered Levi against your skin at your neck. His husky voice sent a wave of chills down your spine and you suppressed a shudder. "I didn't honestly think you wearing one of my shirts would be such a turn on."

You couldn't help the snort that escaped you while he pulled back to gaze at you. "Oh, is that so...?" you replied in your best sultry tone as Levi sat you down on his desk. "Honestly, I was a little bummed when I got home this morning. I was hoping you'd be awake but you were out cold.... I would have felt bad waking you up just for sex."

Levi's usually emotionless gaze hardened. "Why in the hell did you not wake me up just for sex?" he half snapped. "I'm a man. I guarantee you I wouldn't have cared once I realized your intentions. It's not often we come across a woman with sexual initiative."

You let a sly grin play on your features, purposefully eyeing him. You pulled him closer to you, searching up into his gray eyes. "Shower first."

It was more of a statement than a question. Levi merely returned a mischievous smirk and ran his hands over your bare legs. "Perfect."

With that, he swept you up into princess carry and hurried upstairs.

********

"No, but seriously...it's still really weird that they're dating.... Remember how much they use to fight over everything?" you heard Jean's hushed voice behind you.

"Right?" said Eren just as quietly. "Literally, they would argue over when the best time was to book flights! Remember that one heist we did in New York City a couple years ago. I thought for sure Levi was gonna hit her dead in the face."

Mikasa snorted, though still working very intently. "That was amusing, actually."

There was a lull in their conversation before Jean spoke up again.

"You think they're getting it in yet?" he whispered.

"I-is that any of our business, Jean?" Armin's said quickly, a furtive tone in his voice. "That's a really personal question."

You couldn't help the growing smile on your face as you listened to them while reassembling your cleaned sidearm. They were truly attempting to be quiet but it even in the large room, their voices traveled easily.

The four young team members were all supposed to be figuring out how the four Vault Key pieces connected to create the key itself but apparently they were more concerned with your dating life. You glanced beside you, finding Levi staring down at his notepad full of scribbles and coordinates with a very wide, self-satisfied smirk. Quietly laughing to yourself, you continued to listen to their speculations.

"They are...." said Mikasa in a bored tone, making no effort to be quiet on the subject. "You can tell."

"Mikasa, not so loud!" Eren hissed immediately. "Wait...you can tell?"

"Mm hm," she replied.

"How!?"

Jean scoffed. "Don't be so naive, Jaeger!"

"Oh shut it," snapped Eren defensively. "Don't even pretend like you knew that already. You wouldn't have asked in the first place."

Jean sputtered out an incoherent sentence of curse words at this.

"It's pretty obvious..." said Mikasa simply. She was the only one trying to connect the pieces of the key while the boys kept staring at you and Levi.

"Like how, exactly?" Eren pressed.

"The amount of effort you brats are putting into figuring out if (f/n) and I are having sex could be better utilized into putting together the Vault Key," said Levi abruptly and in a hard tone. He finally looked up to stare at the four of them with a very apathetic expression. You were desperately trying to stifle your laughter, hearing Jean and Eren stammering out their denial. Mikasa, on the other hand, didn't appear perturbed at all by being caught and barely held Levi's gaze.

"We apologize, sir!" cut in Armin, saving his peers from further embarrassment. He saluted Levi with a fist over his heart, to which Levi raised an eyebrow at. "Your personal life is not for us to gossip about."

"Alright, first off, don't salute me, kid. It's weird. And second, your apologies aren't needed," said Levi, bored. He rose to a stand. "Just get back to work."

"Of course."

"And Kirschtein..?" Levi said, turning fully to stare directly at Jean. The master of disguises visibly stiffened at being addressed.

"....yes, sir?" he carefully ventured to say.

"In answer to your posed question," said Levi, slight smirk forming, "yes. (F/n) and I are, in fact, 'getting it in.'"

"Levi!" you exclaimed, surprised he admitted this so openly. Not that you cared if they knew or not but it was just not something you would ever announce like that. "Honestly..."

"Done," said Mikasa before anyone else could react to Levi's rather bold statement. Everyone turned to face her, finding the four large, stone pieces they had retrieved had all been connected to complete a larger key. In your opinion, it didn't resemble much of key to you but then again, the pieces and where they had been located in secret, underground chambers all looked quite ancient in design. This did not appear any different to you. If anything, it just looked like a bigger hunk of cylindrical stone as opposed to four smaller ones. At one end, there were deep notches and you could only assume that it must fit into something specific. The whole artifact itself was riddled with little, uniformed gouges of some kind, perhaps a form of decoration. All in all, the whole piece was about the length of the average man's forearm.

There was a long moment of silence while the six of you continued to stare at the key. Eren moved to reach for the grooves into the top part of the piece, and lifted the artifact up.

He made a strange expression while weighing the stone in his hands. "This is surprisingly not as heavy as it looks now that it's all put together," he noted as he set it back down on the table.

"Well," said Jean with a huff, "I'd be stoked if it weren't for the fact that we don't even know what is in the damn Vault."

"Or where the hell it is," you added. The others agreed, Armin being the most put out by the statement. He had been feeling a little incompetent lately, as he had been researching endlessly to find out information on the elusive Vault. However, he only came up with little information, mostly articles claiming that the Vault was a big myth.

"That's no longer an issue," said a deep voice behind you. Everyone turned towards the doorway and you found your leader coming down the basement steps with a somewhat satisfied smirk. "Well, at least somewhat."

"Elaborate," said Levi, folding his arms impatiently.

Erwin nodded before continuing. "I did some digging," he began. "I sought out a lot of respectable sources for confirmation as well as did my own research."

Internally, you wanted to sigh. You were always very curious as to who these "sources" were and what made them so reliable but Erwin, not in the last seven years, had never divulged that information to you. Then again, you never thought to ask him either. You were sure that Levi knew though, as Erwin trusted his second in command with everything.

But as usual, Erwin was being very vague, as he always has been with every heist he launched.

"I have reason to believe the Vault is located in Rome," said Erwin. "More specifically, within the underground catacombs."

"Oh great," said Jean, not thrilled at the idea of being in the ancient burial underground. You quietly snorted at this but everyone else ignored him. You glanced at Levi and surprisingly found him grimacing, at least even more than usual. In fact, he almost looked uncomfortable and you wondered why.

"Ah!" cried Armin suddenly; he had been examining the key quietly as Erwin had been talking. "Rome would make sense.... If you take the first letter from each of the places we found the four Vault key pieces, it would spell Rome. That's...relatively clever. How did I not think of that before....?"

You thought for a moment, and everyone in the group, save for Levi and Erwin, made an "a-ha" expression. He was right. Rio de Janeiro, Osaka, Madrid, and Ensenada.

"Exactly," replied Erwin.

Armin became increasingly excited, for no apparent reason that you could gather. "Then...I wonder," he started to say, more to himself than to anyone in particular, "if these markings on the key..."

The short blonde picked up the key, with a bit of a struggle, and moved it over to a desk light; he sat down and became very enthralled in thoroughly examining the strange marking that encased the Vault key.

"....okaaaay?" you said, confused. "Why does he always do that?"

"Bet his brain is in overdrive now," Jean joked.

Mikasa glanced back at her companion. "Armin," she said quietly. "What are you looking at?"

You were glad someone asked because you weren't sure if you wanted to be the one to interrupt him while he was so rapt in his seemingly mindless chatter.

Without so much as a glance back at the rest of the group and while reaching for his laptop, Armin said, "I think it's a map. When Erwin said catacombs...I only assumed..."

He trailed off again.

"Armin!" snapped Eren, beginning to move towards his friend.

"Leave him alone, Jaeger," snapped Levi. "Let the kid figure it out. Save some of you the little brain capacity you have left."

"Hey!" Eren and Jean both cried, offended.

Mikasa spoke up again before the two boys could start complaining about how callous Levi was. "That might solve our 'where' problem, but it doesn't solve the 'what.'"

"Ackerman has a point," chimed in Levi while turning his gaze to his superior. "Judging by the key itself, it's safe to say this Vault is ancient. We have no idea what could be in it and yet to get any intel on it."

You nodded. "All we have is the words of traitors claiming the Vault holds more treasure than all our heists combined," you said with a cynical roll of your eyes. "Not exactly reliable."

"You are right, in regards to the reliability of the Dark Angels," replied Erwin. "However, you'd be surprised how much truth the underground world holds."

Jean was confused and made no effort as to hide it. "Underground, like earth? Or underground...as in the black market?"

"I mean illegal commerce."

Jean still held a puzzled expression. "He meant the black market, you idiot," said Eren curtly.

"Shut up, I knew that!" his counterpart grumbled.

"You three are dismissed," cut in Erwin. He waved them off. "I have a mission for you two."

Your leader gave you and Levi a pointed look before striding away to the nearest three screened computer. You and Levi exchanged a glance before following Erwin. The younger Phantoms, however, were very curious as to why they were not involved, or at least informed of your next assignment. Instead of voicing this though, they shrugged it off and went to assist Armin, who was attempting to scan the marking along the key into the computer database.

Tailing Levi, you found yourself staring into the monitors that Erwin was sitting in front of. Various charts, graphs, and stats, all pertaining to the Vault, ran across the screens at light speed and admittedly, you had no idea what you were supposed to be looking at.

With a final, and resounding click! of the keyboard, an image popped onto the middle screen. It was slightly blurry and obvious that it had been taken by an undercover camera within someone's clothes. What the image held was hundreds of men and women, all dressed up in what look like formal attire, and all of them wearing a wide variety of masks.

"What is this?" you asked. "A masquerade ball?"

"Not quite," replied Erwin, turning to face you and Levi in his chair.

Levi squinted for a moment. "It's a black market auction."

Erwin let himself smile very slightly. "It is," he said. "You're next mission is to infiltrate the upcoming auction in a few days. This auction's array of articles for sale include items pertaining to the Vault. You need to obtain any information you can, particularly what the Vault may hold in it. I may add, you will need to be undercover for this operation."

"Uuuhh," you interrupted, cynical. "Not to be difficult, but we aren't exactly welcomed within the black market. We're the ones causing their whole business to suffer. I mean, helllloooo, we steal all their shit that they wrongfully stole to sell."

"Identities of the patrons of these auctions are kept unknown, so when we participate, no one will know who we are," explained Levi quickly. "There are too many high profile people who don't want to get caught in illegal conduct."

"Politicians, CEOs of prosperous companies, celebrities, athletes, FBI and CIA agents..." rattled off Erwin idly. "As long as they've got the money to spend and the connections to know where the auctions are held, you'll find every kind of person in these auctions. Even people with public assumed morality."

You made a strange face. "You mean like a pastor or priest or something?"

Erwin nodded gravely. "Anyone who has money, I can guarantee they're in there."

You could not help but shake your head in pure disbelief. The idea that these people, just because they had an affluent lifestyle, thought that they had the right to illegally buy things that rightfully belonged to other people. This was what the Phantoms were about. You stole back what these low life scum took from others...and gave it back to it belonged to, or used the money to benefit those who don't have much.

"Is your informant going to be there?" asked Levi, cutting into your thoughts.

"She is." A vague thought of who this person could be passed over you but you brushed it off knowing you were probably going to meet her at the auction at some point.

Levi crossed his arms. "And what about the Dark Angels?"

At the mention of those traitors, you turned your hardened gaze back to your leader. You did not want another run in with Annie; not that you wanted to admit it, but there was still a level of fear you held deep in your heart in regards to her. No one would blame you for that feeling; you were almost killed by her, after all.

Erwin waved a hand dismissively. "They're not an issue," he said. "They're deep in hiding. My informant hasn't heard from in months. No one has."

For some reason, that didn't sit well with you. "Why?" you pressed.

"The auction's centerpiece was supposed to be the Pink Rose," your leader explained. "However, since the Dark Angels failed to deliver on said item, they wouldn't dare show their faces at the auction. Many patrons, as I have been told by my sources, are angry with their performance and the Dark Angels have now been recently shunned from possible jobs."

That last snippet of information made you smirk to yourself; something about the Dark Angels' failure made you feel a little smug.

There was a lull in the conversation and you looked at the picture of the auction again. After a moment, Levi and Erwin began talking again about the sudden focus the Vault was taking within the underground world and why information was appearing about it. You were zoning out, more concerned with the slight possibility that Annie and her goons could show up, regardless of their pride. You didn't want another showdown with them, even with Levi there to stand with you.

That aside, you were not too keen on the idea of going undercover into a place crawling with people who wished the Phantoms dead. If the Dark Angels weren't going to be there, supposedly, then that meant even if you weren't masked, no one would know you were part of the Phantoms though. Your identities were tightly kept under wraps, thanks to Armin and his hacking skills and Hanji being your ally within the police force. You were grateful for their efforts; if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't be able to go about your normal daily lives.

"You're expecting me to bid, aren't you?" said Levi suddenly. His tone was laden with annoyance and it brought you out of your thoughts. "Because I'm the only one with the money to do so."

Erwin shrugged and you were sure there was the slightest smirk at his lips. "I don't care how you retrieve the information, Levi. Buy it, steal it...just obtain it. How you do it isn't of any concern to me."

"You mean, as long as we don't blow our cover," you said.

"Precisely."

Levi made no effort to hide the roll of his eyes. "Which really means 'buy it.'"

********

"Holy fucking shit," you hissed. "Five thousand dollars for the entry fee!?"

Levi and you had just walked into a grand auditorium, filled with even grander men and women talking among each other. That is, after Levi handed the collector at the entrance a large stack of cash just so you could walk through the door.

"They don't fuck around in the black market, (f/n)," Levi replied, an edge in his low voice. You knew he wasn't pleased with the fact that he was forking over money for the sake of an operation, especially at that price.

You were amazed. Just to get here, you had to fly out to Dubai and stay in a extremely fancy hotel, because that's where this black market auction was being held. However, you had no idea that the hotel held such a large auditorium underground, hidden behind a trick mirror door within a women's dressing room. It was incredibly confusing; you weren't even sure how you even ended up here because there were so many surprising hoops to jump through to prove you knew of the secret auction. Trick doors, high priced fees, secret passwords.

Levi impressed you greatly, to say the least.

Your eyes darted within every direction of the massive room, making sure to keep your arm linked with Levi's so you wouldn't get lost in the crowd. To your right was a long table of hors d'oeuvres for the guests to consume before the auction went underway and admittedly, you wished Levi would let you eat something to calm your anxiety. Among the crowds of elegantly dressed men and women were servers in tuxes, handing out champagne flutes or glasses of red wine to anyone who wished. Without consulting Levi first, you swiped the nearest flute and downed the liquid as you both continued to weave through groups of people.

To think that celebrities or politicians or big shot CEOs like Levi were in here, without a care in the world, sickened you. Was there simply no moral righteousness, no sense of justice in the world anymore? How could these people feel it's acceptable to be a part of such illegal dealings of prized art, artifacts, and more?

Everyone one was wearing different masks, some extravagant. some completely simple, some fully covering their face, and others hardly covering anything but their eyes. Each one was tailored to that person's taste, it seemed.

So much for being anonymous, you thought as you saw one particular woman's mask. It looked similar to the Phantom of the Opera where only half the face was covered. Still, you had no idea who that woman was anyways.

You tugged on your black ballgown, feeling out of place and anxious. Needless to say, you weren't much for heels; you had been practicing your walk in them for the last week just so you didn't look like an idiot among all these opulent people. Out of nervousness, you brushed your hand against your thigh, checking to make sure your knife was still secure within the holster under your voluminous dress.

"Why don't they do pat downs?" you asked quietly into Levi's ear. "Why isn't that a thing?"

"Because everyone in here has a weapon of some kind and everyone knows it," he replied blandly. "No one is going to start a shootout with that kind of knowledge."

Levi himself had two hand guns hidden in a shoulder holster under his expensive suit. Prior to getting dressed several hours ago, you begged for a gun instead of a knife but Levi refused to let you have one. His excuse was that one of you needed to have a silent way of injuring someone if the need arose, but you didn't think that was entirely his reasoning. You, however, did not bother to press that matter because he was so firm on his decision and you wanted to respect that.

You glanced over at your partner as he adjusted his mask. You had to admit, Levi in masquerade attire was surprisingly attractive, even though the majority of his face was covered and his hair had been slicked back from it's normal hairstyle.

Trying to quell your nerves, you adjusted your own mask, making sure it was secure.

"By the way," you heard Levi whisper beside you, "you look stunning."

A deep blush hit your cheeks; it was not often he complimented you like that. "Thank you," you barely managed to murmur out.

Levi checked his watch and glanced around the hall. You were supposed to meet the informant at twenty minutes before midnight, when the auction started. According to Erwin, she would be wearing a white ball gown with a matching, feathered mask and she would be mingling with others near the back pillars near the auction hall entrance.

"What a vague description," spat Levi, weaving through the mass of people. "Half these women are wearing white."

"Yeah, but none of them have feathered masks," you said, keeping your eyes away from anyone who looked at you. You scanned the crowd for a moment as Levi led you.

A group of giggling women strode past you, all speaking in hushed whispers about all the rich men that were meandering this hall. You could not stifle the indignant snort that escaped you, causing one of them to cast you an annoyed look. However, once they passed, you had a clear view at the end of the entrance hall.

"There," you said while Levi was looking in a different direction.

Your informant was standing with a group of men and it appeared she was being fawned over. This woman was slight in figure, and her white, long sleeved dress hugged her body closely before giving way to a slight train in the back. The left side of her mask was completely decorated in feathers of white and silver and beneath that mask were sparkling golden eyes.

"Wow, she is really pretty," you whispered, more to yourself. Maybe it was merely for the fact that this woman seemed so naturally elegant, while you were completely out of your element.

Levi scoffed. "Please..."

He tugged on your hand and you both approached the woman cautiously. She noticed you two immediately and grinned, waving you over as if you knew one another. You weren't sure how she knew that you two were the correct people looking for her or if she was just acting her part, but you could not help but be wary nonetheless.

"Gentlemen, I appreciate you spending time with me," the woman in white said to the other five men, "but I have some business I have to attend to."

The men were visibly put out by her words and begrudgingly parted ways. The woman kept a bright smile on her face the entire time until every one of them was out her line of sight. However, the second they were gone, she dropped her grin immediately.

"Bunch of creeps," she grumbled. "Playing the part of the dumb, rich, yet single woman is really starting to get old."

You smiled to yourself at her honesty.

"Anyways," continued the woman more cheerfully, "I believe our mutual friend, E, sent you my way. He and I have had a good many talks as I do provide him with much desired information."

"Indeed, he sends his regards," said Levi, giving a short head nod of respect.

The woman half curtsied. "Ah, return mine to him then," she replied. She reached out and took your hand to where the palm was facing up. "As you know, I can't reveal my identity aloud but I do wish for you to know in case we do business later."

The woman began to spell our her name by tracing letters into your palm. After half a moment, she spelled out the word Petra.

"It's nice to meet you," you replied, grateful that Petra had enough respect to not trace in Levi's palm. You turned her hand over. "We are..."

You spelled out Levi and your own name in her hand and she grinned wider. "It's a pleasure to meet you. E speaks highly of the both of you. If I'm ever in need of a good marksman, I know who to call."

Petra winked at you. She was very friendly but you didn't get a strange vibe from her as you initially expected you would when you saw her flirting with all those men. Erwin did explain that her day profession was an FBI agent, surprisingly but you had not expected her to be so warm and open. You wondered if she went undercover for personal reasons or if she was on a job assignment from her agency.

"The items in question," said Levi, tone a little stiff. You knew he wasn't particularly interested in idle chit chat and wanted to get to business. "What are they and how much is base price?"

Petra frowned. She jerked her head slightly towards a more secluded area of the hall. You both followed her and when she began to speak, her tone was low.

"E didn't tell you?" she asked, concerned. "If you participate in the black market auctions, you should already know base price for most items start at ten thousand dollars."

"Jeezus christ," you choked.

Petra made a grave face. "Right?" she said. "But I'm glad no one decided to quiz you on that at the entrance. It could have turned out ugly."

Levi made no noise of acknowledgement but you already knew he was quietly seething about how much money this was going to cost him.

"What's the centerpiece of the auction?" You were curious as to what could replace the Pink Rose.

"A Latin written codex of some sort, called the Crypta," said Petra. "It's supposedly describes what lies within the Vault. It's a really sought out piece tonight. Everyone is talking about it."

You and Levi exchanged a meaningful glance. "Base price?"

Petra bit her lip uncomfortably. "Twenty thousand...Sorry."

Involuntarily, you cringed slightly at her words and looked over to Levi again to find him as stoic as ever. You were sure he was going to be having a very serious and heated discussion with Erwin over this topic when you returned home.

"How do we know it's a genuine artifact and not someone's great idea to make a bunch of money off of naive rich people?" Levi pressed.

"Black market has their ways," she replied knowingly. "They carbon date everything, making sure it's actually as old as it's claimed to be. I'm sure for Crypta, they had found someone who could translate Latin to confirm its authenticity...and had that person killed for good measure."

"Unfortunate," said Levi lifelessly. You shook your head, appalled with the underworld's tactics.

Petra adjusted her mask. "There's a lot of trust within these halls," she continued. "Well, to some degree. If there was that much trust, no one would be hiding Smith and Wesson's under their suits."

You chuckled lightly at her joke.

"Even if it were a fake article," Petra went on, glancing around the hall. "Whoever put the item up for bid would certainly be killed."

Before either of you could reply, there was a resounding gong like sound within the hall. You had no idea what that meant but it seemed everyone else did, as they began to move like cattle into the adjacent auction hall.

"Time to move," whispered Petra. "Good luck in there."

Petra disappeared into the crowd, her white train following after her. As everyone continued to file into the hall, you were handed placards with numbers on them for each group attending to use for bidding. You number was 47.

Within a few minutes, you were seated in the third row to the stage and you could see Petra in the row in front of you, about five seats to your right.

You weren't even going to be participating in the bidding but you were still very nervous. Levi, on the other hand, was characteristically calm and impassive. This type of atmosphere suited him, to some strange degree. It was as if he was in his element.

Right on the dot of midnight, the auction began.

Your stomach seized painfully with anticipation as the lights dimmed within the hall. Just the idea that you were here undercover, with people who would rather see the Phantoms disemboweled for disrupting business was just making you queasy. Add to the fact that Levi was about to drop thousands of dollars for information on the Vault, and had to fight other bidders for it, did not put you at ease either.

A warm hand enveloped yours and glanced up at Levi while the masked auctioneer introduced himself. After a moment, he leaned in towards your ear.

"Everything is going to be fine, ok?" he said. Levi's tone was reassuring and strong. "Have faith in me."

He kissed your cheek lightly before straightening up again. "I do," you answered quietly, squeezing his hand a little. A very faint smile appeared at his lips before he turned a fierce gaze towards the stage. There was a sudden fire in his eyes, a determination you hadn't seen in months.

"Let's do this."