Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan. I own my OC and her backstory, but the rest of this story is fiction about Attack on Titan (that I do not own have rights to) and the story.

Riley Love

Not once had it occurred to me that my life had purpose in this world. Perhaps it was because it didn't. For purpose in this dimension, my value falls short. It would take a different world, a new universe, to truly feel like my life had meaning, and that every breath I took would be for a greater cause; A cause that could change the world for the better.

Two Hours before the transportation

"Tch."

I grip my index finger in my right hand in an autonomic reaction to the kitchen knife that had stained my skin with a light crimson. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was enough to momentarily cease my dishwashing to place my finger into my mouth. I quietly pray thanks that my blood hadn't stained the fine china next me, as lord knows how much these things are worth.

"I absolutely hate my job."

I work as a housecleaner, which is probably the most lackluster job for a 20 year old, to make ends meet. Although it's a shitty job, it keeps food on the table and pays the bills. If it weren't for my father's passing, we would be more well off. However, he died two years ago in the Marines, in some third world country that was surely mentioned yet slipped past my traumatized mind. Life today fills me with too much melancholy, and I never pay mind to details like I used to.

After three or so hours spent sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, polishing, mopping, scrubbing, and even getting between every floor tile with a toothbrush, the house was deemed clean enough for me to leave. Even though I seem tedious with my work, I detest cleaning with a passion. Life is too short to clean with so much vigor, and my room is personally tousled with clothes and beauty products. But if I wanted to earn the amount of payment I needed, making sure there isn't a speck of dust is my best bet.

Thankfully the homeowners of this place trust my skill enough to pay me beforehand, so I didn't have to wait for the couple to return from their stupid, pretentious banquet. So instead, I rush over to the coat rack, taking my jacket and my leave. I make sure the door is locked behind me before stepping out into the brisk winds of early winter. Then, I pull out my extremely out of date iPod, whisking the earbuds out of my pocket as well.

"Looks Like it's just me and you," I sigh. My fingers instinctively scroll to the Imagine Dragons album, where Polaroid plays at a medium volume so I can hear the world around me, you know, just in case some robbers or molesters are out and about- not like I can even defend myself anyway.

The walk from this wealthy neighborhood to the rundown apartment complex where we live is about five miles, so nearly a two hour walk. The warm, rich tones of the sunset were quickly fading to a blue, darker hue, signaling I need to walk faster. If you walk in my neighborhood at night, it gets pretty sketchy.

My small feet leave light sounds as I tread the sidewalk. I silently curse at my mother for giving me her short genes, making me weak and fragile in this cruel world. Yes, this world is a cruel place, and even though I'm privileged to live in a first world country, I can't help but think of the negatives in this world- particularly death. Why do we have countless wars against ourselves for what seems like miniscule reasonings. Fighting for land? We're all one race, so why can't we share the land? Fighting for resources? We can literally share resources. Fighting for peace? That statement is redundant in itself.

The human race is selfish. We have the power to be the highest being on the planet; to be the top of the food chain. There are no immediate threats around us besides natural disasters and ourselves, so why are we out here killing each other instead of working together for a greater good? Maybe I'm asking too much. I'm not one to speak, as I'm human myself. I don't take extreme measures to save the environment or protect things that go beyond my life. I can't afford to.

Within the catacombs of my philosophical thoughts, I hardly realize that I'm only a mile or so away from home. I'm one step closer to my younger sister and mother, both whom I have tended to the past couple of years. Mom has gone into a mindless state ever since Dad's passing, and ever since her dysfunction, she has had no mindset to try and get out of bed, let alone get a job. Though she's supposed to be the motherly figure in our lives, Avery and I took over the parental roles, me more my sister, seeing as she is only eleven years old.

Eventually, my feet carry past the last strip of the shopping area I have to pass in order to reach the rundown apartment complex I am almost ashamed to call my home; the final dangerous part of my trip consisting of the alleyway. Though I never had any troubles walking past the alley on my way home previously, my mojo just seems off this night, causing waves of anxiety to course steadily through my veins. In a bittersweet fortune, my gut doesn't tend to steer me wrong, and this time is no excuse.

My eyes were set on the lights of the complex just less than a mile ahead, so there was no time for me to react nor see the shadow of the person who grabs me by the hood of my coat, pulling me into the depths of the shadowed side street. The air hitches in my throat as the person presses me firmly against the wall, the impact forcing my eyes closed. God, that hurt…

"You." Their voice is full of grated cogency, their strong grip establishing they have the dominant standpoint of this confrontation. I try to force my eyes open to see the harasser, but I'm too weak to manage even the simplest of tasks. They continue on, ther grip tightening on my wrists.

"L-Let me go!" I cry, though my words fall on hushed ears. Already I feel the effects of some sort of soporific substance radiating off the person trapping me, forcing me to be drowsy and unstable.

"You…" the person repeats, their voice too indistinguishable for me to determine if they are a man or woman. I try to resist with whatever strength I have left, my thoughts turning to my mother and Avery, who is waiting for me to walk through the doors of our home at any given moment...The person continues, ignoring my petty struggles. "I've been here for too many years, you see? I'm not from here, and I can't go back to my world without a host. They told me I couldn't…"

"W-What…" my words begin to slur, and all I can do is droop my head against the wall pathetically. Their voice becomes blurrier as each second tics by.

"If I'm here any longer, then I will disappear from all forms of reality as we speak. I have to get back… There's no cure here. No cure to solve the issues of my world. They were wrong." They continue on, their grip loosening on my frail body. I can't open my eyes… "I have to bring back someone to fight for humanity, and I'm forced to rely on you. I'm fading away as we speak, so you have to be the one to save humanity, alright? I can't die!"

Before more words ensue, I can vaguely hear the attacker rummaging around through a bag, their hands fumbling against some sort of clanking metal. Though I'm feeble and on the brink of fainting, the sharp injection of something into my arm causes me to let out a vexed scream, one so loud that anyone in our radius will be able to hear. My eyes widen at the sharp pain, and that's when I catch sight of the insanely large needle slammed into the crease of my arm, a thick liquid quickly being injected into my body. Another scream falls from my lips, the pain absolutely excruciating.

"This will make you strong," the person says quietly over my distress. When my eyes flash to them, I have no clear sight as their face, seeing as everything is distorted, and their hood covers all of their face. "You have to fight! Fight until there's no reason to fight anymore. If you die, they will kill me, you hear? DON'T DIE!"

"WHY?!" I scream my last breath of energy, my eyes squeezing shut once more. "WHY ME?!"

"I'll have to tell them that you're the cure, that's why!" They shout. "I have to lie to them so I can live! Can't you see?! They sent me here with the last of their power to find a cure for our world, but there is no cure! You have to become the cure, for my safety! For humanity's safety!"

Don't die. Don't die...Don't die...Don't...die…

"FIGHT!"

Shit…

Vision is out of the equation, but my other heightened senses make up for that fact. Sharp pain stabs my lower ribcage, the feeling almost indescribable. I felt myself gripping at the location of the burning sensation, only to feel more pain.

God, I am an idiot.

I'm fortuitously conscious long enough to open my eyes, but it doesn't do me much good with the darkness of my surroundings. Wait...Where was I?

Once my eyes adapt to the lack of lighting, I realize that I'm outside, surrounded by trees. The sky is dark, with cloud covering a majority of the night sky. Confusion starts to set, and all I can really do is lay in this forest and try to gather my thoughts. Unfortunately for me, they seem to have gone haywire.

"My name is Riley Anne Love…" I begin in my head, trying my best to focus amongst the pain. "I'm twenty years old. I… I live… My family… I can't remember...who I am."

The crashing blast of thunder distracts me from my distressing thoughts. I have no time to think about my life and who I am. Not while I'm in this kind of situation. I'm trapped, with nothing but possibly fractured ribs, lack of clothing for this cold night, thunderstorms, and the chance of being miles away from any source of civilization.

Tears start to well in my eyes, softly leaking down my abraded skin without consent.

I'm so scared and disoriented, and I don't know what the hell to do.

For starters, Riley, try to find shelter or people. Use your Goddamn logic, unless you can't remember that you have that, too.

I shake my head before trying to sit up, only for my lips to cry out with a pained yell before I collapse back to the ground. The pain takes more than a few moments until it subsides enough for a second attempt. This time I move around a bit slower, making sure to take my time as I stand up. The feeling is agonizing, but nowhere near as excruciating as it was my first failed attempt.

Next step; try to stand up.

I go against all the warning signals my injured body fires me with and try to stand. The process takes another gaudy amount of time, consisting of me slowly rocking onto my knees, and placing my hands on the ground as a support to slowly push myself up with. A small whimper escapes my lips as I lean against one of the stout trees.

God, it feels like someone is kicking me with a steel-toed boot. Repeatedly.

Just breathe through the pain, Riley. Breathe.

My eyes dart down every possible path I can take, but the attempts seem futile. Every path looks the same, and there are no lights in the distance to signal signs of human life.

What the hell is going on? The gaps in my memory are immeasurably frustrating. How do I know just my name, my age, and nothing else? Is this what amnesia feels like? Is it a feeling that makes you want to do nothing but cry?

The tears don't want to come out.

What kind of person am I? Am I serious, funny, carefree?

Right now, I'm better off dead.

Maybe you can find footprints in the ground. It seems pretty muddy, and now is the time before it starts to rain.

I grit my teeth as I try to push off the thick tree without crying out as loud as I have previously. I must be quiet because honestly, what kind of people would be out here?

No. I have to throw the idea of being tortured or worse out the window because I will simply die out here if I don't get help. My state of being is probably a solid four out of ten, and that's pushing it.

Shaking the thoughts away, I peer down at the ground in hopes of catching a glance of something. The ground is very dark, but eventually my eyes adjust enough to see that there are not, in fact, human footprints. However, my luck hasn't run out. Hoofprints, specifically horse prints, litter the ground beneath my feet. By the looks of it, there are a lot of horses. A lot of horses in the middle of a random forest means that, most likely, they are being led by people. And they all seem to be pointing in one direction.

Grudgingly I allow myself to press forward, against all of my body's wishes. I figured the pain would subside as I adjust to walking, but it does the opposite. Sweat starts to trickle down my forehead, but I endure on.

It's probably a mile of walking whenever the tears start to form again, like my body is crying for me to stop. But I keep going. I scream, cry, moan, and curse. The decent pace I was going at is practically at a halt now as I begin to hobble. I barely make it to the two-mile mark before I collapse on the ground. The fall winded me as well as amping the pain levels up to unbearable.

Just as I'm about to faint, my eyes dart towards the shimmer of light up about a quarter mile ahead. Hope begins to fill me before quickly switching to dejection. There's no way I'm going to make it that far. No, not with the spots forming around my line of vision. All I can do is cry out, praying that someone will be able to hear my pleas before fainting.

Year 849, Survey Corps Headquarters

Levi

"Commander!" A soldier whom I have yet to allot the time to be familiar with knocks on the door of Commander Erwin's office frantically before rushing inside, ignoring common formality.

If this isn't an emergency, he'll be taken care of later.

The young soldier notices Erwin and me casually sitting, coming to the realization that he had just interrupted our discussion before apologetically saluting. "My apologies, but there has been a woman found a quarter mile outside of headquarters!"

"A woman?" Erwin questions, sitting up straighter. I observe his inquisitiveness before letting out a sigh, placing my teacup on the desk in front of me.

"Yes, sir!" the sweating soldier replies, nearly making me roll my eyes. There's no need to shout in a room as small as this, but it's obviously been ingrained from years of training. "She was found unconscious by me and Lockwood! She seems to be injured and-"

"Would you quit yelling," I mutter, placing my fingers to my temple. The soldier darts his attention to me before standing up straighter, obviously intimidated by me. At this point, I'm used to it.

"I'm sorry, Captain!" He begins to shout, but then he notices my increasing agitation and says a bit quieter, "I'm sorry, Captain… I was unsure if we could take her in to be medically evaluated, since we don't know her intentions."

"Does she seem like a threat?" Erwin asks, making me let out a humorless breath. As if a woman who's injured and unconscious would be deemed as a threat.

"No, sir…" The man continues, dropping his salute. "She's dressed in just a shirt and pants, and there is some blood seeping through, but not enough to deem severe. She isn't wearing a uniform and doesn't seem to be dressed undercover."

"We can never be too sure," Erwin mutters as he peers down at the papers at his desk; information for our next expedition. "You and Lockwood can take her to the infirmary. We'll be down shortly with the other section commanders to discuss further action."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier respectfully salutes, earning a nod from Erwin to dismiss him. As soon as the man walks out, I glance over at Erwin.

"I don't know any sane person who would be in the woods this late of night," I comment. "And there's no way someone would sustain injuries as he explained with a simple fall."

"Perhaps she was running away from someone, or something," Erwin says in thought. "Or maybe it's an act. You never know the intentions of the government or military police at a time like this."

"This would be a weighty act," I mutter, looking down. I ponder for a moment the options. I then shake my head before standing up, following Erwin's movements. "But sitting around and guessing won't do anything. We should ask the culprit herself."

"Get Mike and Hanji," He orders. I nod my head before dismissing myself from the room.

It's been repetitive between expeditions. Our main goal is to lay down supplies from Trost District to Wall Maria's Shiganshina District in preparation to seal the breach caused by titans and reclaim Wall Maria. Each expedition has been concluded with too many deaths, forcing us to retreat. Until we reach the next outpost with supplies to set up our logistics base, this will be a constant battle. And it's only a matter of time before the Colossal and Armored titans return to invoke damage and havoc to humanity once more.

So to say that a random, battered woman crawled her way to us without any other information linked to her does in fact spark some interest. In about five minutes, I find Hanji and Mike and inform them of the situation. Mike perks up but remains serious, while Hanji leaps up out of excitement. Annoying.

"I wonder what kind of information we can get out of this girl," she immediately begins to question everything beyond the stars. "Could she have appeared out of nowhere? I wonder if she knows any information from the day of the attack-"

"Shut up, shitty glasses" I utter before turning around to walk away. They both follow, and I grudgingly have to deal with the insane woman and her words until we walk down the corridor leading to the infirmary.

When we enter, I see the doctor and a couple of nurses, as well as Erwin, surrounding the bed that contains the woman. Erwin turns once he hears our presence, a serious expression engraved on his features. He seems unsure of what to do.

"Her ribs seemed to be fractured, but not to an extreme extent," The doctor informs. I look over at the bed, still unable to see the body with all the people surrounding it. "It should take only a couple of weeks to heal at the most. She's only bleeding due to falling on a sharp rock, but the wound isn't deep and isn't a major concern."

"Why is she unconscious?" Mike asks. The doctor gives a small smile. One that is full of pity.

"She must've came a long way to find someone, and that someone is us. Most likely, she fainted from the overwhelming amount of pain."

"So her injuries aren't from contact with others? Or an animal?" Hanji chimes, placing her hand against her chin in thought.

"It seems like she fell, judging by the areas of injury. From where she fell? It would have to be a tree or a ledge."

"When is she going to wake up?" Asks Erwin, inspecting the girl. By now the nurses have moved out of the way, allowing me to take in the young woman in the bed. Her eyes are closed, but I am able to notice her pale skin and strawberry blonde hair spewed about in messy in wisps against her pillow and heart shaped face. She looks to be petite, most definitely smaller than me. She doesn't look familiar, nor does she look intimidating.

"Probably in the morning," the doctor concluded. "Until then, we'll keep an eye on her and inform you when she wakes up, Commander."

"Thank you," Erwin nods dismissively at the doctor. He lets out a small sigh once the staff is out of earshot, turning around to face the three of us. "When she wakes up, one of us will need to interrogate her."

"I'll do it," Hanji says with a closed eye smile. "Surely we don't want to frighten her with Mike's sniffing and Levi's well...Levi."

"What if she needs to be intimidated?" I retort, taking my eyes away from the girl. The shitty glasses waves her hand at me in dismissal, making me scowl.

"Let me do the work," she persists. "If we need to take it to that level, I'll be sure to let you know."

"Alright," Erwin nods. "We'll let the nurses take care of the night shift. You're dismissed until tomorrow morning."

Erwin walks out of the room, and I'm the first one to go back to my indifferent stance.

"Ohh, I'm so excited to learn about this pretty girl!" Hanji squeals, putting her fists in the air. I roll my eyes at her irritating outburst. "Let's hope she's on our side! Maybe she's a soldier? You never know- we need all the people we can get at this point!"

I just ignore the woman. I give a nod at Mike, who returns one back. Taking one last glance at the girl, I simply shake my head and take my leave.

You better not cause any trouble.

This is my first Attack on Titan Fanfiction, and I am a romance kind of writer, so some scenes will contain humor and some OOC moments (though I will try my best to write the A.O.T characters to the best of my ability). I like cheesy, I like love, but I will try not to stray far from the style of the show. There will be chapters that are silly and mainly for entertainment, but there will also be chapters quite serious and full of tension.

This is a LevixOC fic, and as of right now, it is rated T. As it progresses, I'm not sure if I will make it rated M, as I'm not sure if I will include sexual content (though I'd like to experiment with it). What do you guys think? Leave your responses!

I wrote this story for myself because I love the show and characters, and if I had a chance to transport myself to this universe to meet my favorite characters, I would. So yes, I want to share with you this story because it makes me happy writing about it, and hopefully it'll make you happy. I appreciate criticism! Please offer tips or ideas with my writing and what I could do to better myself as a writer!