Alright, so this is my first attempt at an AOT fic. I'll come right out and say it. This will definitely be at least slightly AU. HOWEVER, I am going to do my absolute best to try and stay in sync with the actual timeline and canon. If you see blatant horrific issues (and I'm capable of fixing them) I'll do my best to tweak and correct whenever I make mistakes. Again, not everything is true canon and I'm taking some artistic liberties considering how much of the lore isn't even concrete yet. That being said, please enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Attack on Titan storyline or its characters. This story is written for entertainment purposes only.

SLIGHT AU/ LEVI X OC/SMUT/GORE


Chapter One—Street Rat


"I guess I'm still just confused as to why I can't come with you? I mean, for fucks sakes, it won't be long until I'm finally enlisted!"

Mike sighed into his hand, rubbing his temples in vexation. He turned to once again repeat his reasoning to his niece. It was too early in the morning for this shit frankly. "I really don't get which part is confusing you, Cora? Was it the part where I said it was too dangerous, or the part where I reminded you that you're not a soldier yet?"

Glaring, Coral's emerald green eyes narrowed dangerously on him when he used her proper name and for a moment he was reminded of the wild little devil spawn that he'd seen that day when he first dragged her out of the slums.

Coral was practically seething. If it weren't for their close relationship, he would have been worried she was going to spring and latch onto his throat; her expression was that distasteful.

"How is that even relevant?!" She seethed, "Despite the fact that I'm not a soldier, you know damn well I'm a capable individual even as young as I am. Are you forgetting how many years I survived down there WITHOUT YOU?" Cora dragged the last two words out loudly, purposely digging into his most sensitive spot and doubling down with her cruelty. She was no longer a complete savage in the belly of the Underground, but her ability to cut through with her words was still just as unwavering and brutal. Mike Zacharius cringed visibly despite himself. He knew she was angry about being left behind, but he was surprised by the utter ferocity that was underlying his teenage niece's words. He scanned her face again, trying to understand her motivation when he saw the twinge of something else behind her eyes.

It was fear.

"Cora," Mike said softly, choosing to ignore her venom and instead dropping down to his niece's level to grab her by the shoulders gently. Her anger twinged slightly to something less animalistic and more soft. "What's actually bothering you so much?" Her uncle asked quietly, making sure to make extremely direct and unblinking contact into her eyes.

Cora began to quake, shaking in his grasp as she struggled to maintain her composure. "You don't know what it's like down there, Mike." She sniffed, clenching and unclenching her clammy fists, "People aren't like they are up here, okay? I know you've been down there, but still...you just...you just have to promise me that you're gonna be careful, okay?! I'm never gonna forgive your stupid fucking ass if you die down there and I have to go join the scouts all by myself!"

Exhaling in relief, Mike dragged Cora forward and wrapped her in his massive bearlike hug. "I promise."

Cora sagged into his hug and tried to relax. She had to acquiesce no matter what anyway. Mike had told her why he was going down there in the first place. He and some others, most notably Commander Erwin Smith, were going down into the Underground to apprehend some wanted thugs. According to the irate Military Police higher ups, a few of the gang members of the underground city had been caught stealing ODM equipment and were even so bold as to come back for replacement gas tanks. She could still remember the astounded and simultaneously impressed expression her uncle had displayed when Erwin told him as much in their scout headquarters.

Having grown up alongside the scouts ever since Mike had found her, Cora had become an integral and commonplace staple among the scout leaders. Although she had yet to participate in legitimate ODM training, they had had no qualms with her honing her other combat skills. The only thing they'd remained adamant about was that she was not to touch ODM gear or blades until she'd been properly trained. That being said, any attempt to go and apprehend some criminals while all of them were using their ODM gear would make her presence nothing more than a severe hindrance. Cora knew there was no way in hell Mike would actually allow her to come down there with them while she had no actual means of following him. It was idiotic even from her point of view. Not that that was going to stop her from throwing a hissy fit about it.

Releasing her from his embrace, Mike held her again out at arm's length. "Listen, it's not going to be a big deal. I have Erwin with me and Rashad and Marlene. We're going to be outnumbering a group of dirty little thieving brats. There's nothing down there that's any more intimidating than a Titan-that much I can damn sure promise you."

Begrudgingly, Cora nodded in admittance that he was right. She had personally yet to see a Titan face to face, but she had seen the faces of her uncle's comrades and personally been affected by their devastation. She had lost many friends due to her close proximity to the scouts. It was part of the fuel that drove her to enlist. She was sick and tired of watching her fellows die while herself and the others hid behind walls. Ever since she'd managed to emerge from the Underground, Cora had understood that, although this area might technically be "safe", those walls were essentially the next ceiling she needed to breach. She'd be goddamned if she was gonna sit behind the curtain and never dare peek over to the other side. The scouts had dragged her from a life of filth and depravity in the squalid slums of a nightmare that never ended, and there was no way she wasn't prepared to give her life for their continued existence.

Blinking back tears she hadn't realized were threatening to spill, she brushed her uncle's hands off her arms and stomped off upstairs to her room.

"Just don't fucking die, okay?" She called over her shoulder, causing Mike to smile and sigh. If his sister were here she'd probably smack him for not getting on to her for all her daughter's cursing.

"Yeah, yeah, Margaret. I get it." He snickered to himself, recalling Cora's mother's own rapier like tongue. She'd once called her best friend and neighbor Tom a "puffed up gasbag ass for brains" or...something to that effect. All he could really remember was how hard he'd laughed at the expression on Tom's face.

Tom...

Despite the fact that Coral was almost the spitting image of her mother, Mike often saw remnants of his old friend. It was mainly her determination and her ferocity. That almost animal like fervor and relentless strength that reminded him of Tom back when the man used to get especially out of control. Every time it crept up in Coral, Mike would find himself involuntarily shuddering. There was something mildly unnerving about that raw passion. It wasn't just her dogged perseverance, but the knowledge that she was more than capable of acting on those ambitions. It was a truly lethal combination.

It often made Mike muse over his own unfounded suspicions about his little niece, and it was for this reason too that he had to protect Coral no matter what the cost. Her ability and her true origins (if he was right) made her a target, and he refused to fail her or his sister ever again...

Shaking his head of old and uselessly painful memories, Mike gathered the last of his gear and quickly pulled on his forest green cape bearing the Wings of Freedom. He and Erwin were scheduled to meet at the entrance less than 20 minutes from now. Opening the door to their current suite, Mike called back from the balcony walkway encircling the building. "This shouldn't take long. If I don't come back here, then I'll meet you at the training grounds. I love you!"

With that, the door swung closed and Coral mumbled back to herself in their room, "I love you too."

Growling at her own current incompetence, Cora went to the window and watched as her uncle hurried to the nearest stairwell leading into the Underground. For a second she wondered why he wouldn't use his gear to get there faster and then remembered where she was. The folks in the interior weren't generally a fan of grappling hook holes in their walls and likely weren't used to men zooming around over their heads all the time. They probably viewed it as slightly barbaric frankly. You could see it on the faces of the aristocratic lords and ladies that sneered as her uncle and Commander Erwin passed. Even now as he ran to go and join Erwin, Cora could see faces in the crowd mean mugging the tall strange sandy-haired man who wore the crest of the Survey Corps. She didn't have to be able to read lips to know what it was that one woman uttered as Mike made his way through the throng.

Fool.

Gripping the window sill tightly, Cora glared death rays into the woman's skull. That woman didn't have a fucking clue. None of them had a fucking clue. They stayed back here away from the death, away from the horror, away from the loss. The vast majority of these prodigious pigs couldn't even conceive of a titan-much less describe the horror of seeing one or its rapacious appetite. Most of the folks living in the interior were completely oblivious to the true plight of the soldiers who endeavored to venture into danger. Their whole existence was completely dependent on these walls and it didn't bother them one bit. They had the audacity to look at men like her uncle and consider him a fool for risking his life. When in reality, the only fools she could see were the ones who were arrogant enough to think they'd be safe for eternity, nestled in luxury and avarice while man-eating monsters still dominated the land.

Coral recognized slothful vulnerability when she saw it. It had been one of her earliest lessons taught to her back when she was just a crummy little street rat. Those who thought themselves safe or invincible were indelibly the first to die. True power was derived from constant vigilance and the knowledge that anything could go wrong at any time. Not only that but realizing that you were susceptible to those whims just like anyone else. No matter how prepared or skilled you thought you really were.

It was for these reasons, among others, that she'd actually decided to go with her uncle that day when he'd found her. She recognized the true power of the man in front of her, and instead of using it to dominate her, he'd used it to demonstrate his vulnerability. She could still remember to this day the awe she'd felt at his appearance.

She'd been strutting around near the canals, trying to dredge up information, materials, food, or anything useful really when she'd spotted Mike's figure flying in from the corner of her eye. Within mere seconds, he'd appeared before her, bouncing off the cobblestones as he retracted his gear. He was extremely tall and handsome with his evenly parted blonde hair and large golden eyes. Plus, he was fully outfitted in the uniform of the Survey Corps, which she'd never before seen down in the slums.

Coral had stood there gawping at him like a landbound fish. It was rare that she let her guard down that much. To be so surprised by his appearance meant his showing up in that manner was about as shocking as the Ceiling of the Underground suddenly eroding into thin air.

"Hello there. Are you Cora Zacharius?" He'd asked quite simply.

She'd blustered for a second. How in the hell did this guy know her real name and who in the the Devil's name had actually told him?!

"Who the fuck's asking?" She'd responded, taking a step back that brought her closer to the edge of one of the underground canals. Worst case scenario, she'd jump in. She'd had to do it before in order to save her skin. It certainly wasn't her most appealing option, but she'd just seen this man fly across the city specifically to find her. Evading a soldier like this might prove difficult even for Cora. She was fast, quick-witted, and unusually strong for a malnourished girl of her age, so she'd made a name for herself throughout the city as a child who shouldn't be fucked with. Many men who'd tried to had ended up either dead or sporting newly mangled bits. She knew it paid to leave a lasting impression on her enemies, but those she couldn't defeat, she could almost always outrun. This guy however...

Mike eyed her movements cautiously. The orange glow of the subterranean city gave her reddish-yellow hair an almost luminescent quality. Despite the fact that she was a filthy, black rag wearing street rat missing baby teeth, Mike had been able to spot the child from the air. The local inn keeper, Tammy, a woman who'd known Cora since she was a baby, had given Mike the information he'd sought easily. She had taken one look at the burly, handsome scout with his attentive eyes and well groomed facial hair and known that any life he could give her would be infinitely better than her current existence in the slums.

Using his ODM gear effortlessly, he'd flown above the rooftops until he'd found the area the woman had said she'd likely be in. Looking down, he'd spotted her almost immediately. She was the spitting image of Margaret at that age. But now...

Now as he looked at her gleaming eyes and the small tensed muscles that seemed ready to spring into action, Mike was suddenly reminded of someone else entirely.

"You look just like them..." He'd muttered to himself, unconsciously speaking aloud.

Cora's eyes narrowed at him, "What did you say?"

Blinking, Mike shook his head and sighed at the feral expression on her face. "I...I'm your uncle, Cora." He'd said quietly.

Cora's face turned even paler than it already was. Her uncle? If that were true...

"What the hell do you want? Why would you show up now?" She'd demanded, fingers slipping into the waistband where she kept her knife. Mike noticed the small movement and took a step forward, "Cora, please, don't be afraid. I want to take you with me. I want to get you out of this godforsaken place!"

Snarling, Cora's fingers wrapped around the small knife and she drew it, threatening him to back off with a short jab. "Back the fuck off, outsider!" She'd snarled at him, edging even closer to the canal's edge. "I don't know if you're really my uncle or not, but I don't need help from top worlder. I know I'm just a kid, but I can take care of myself!" She spit venomously at him, daring him to come any further.

Mike's eyes widened in the gloom. He saw what she was preparing to do.

"Please, don't-" he stepped forward slightly but it was all she'd needed. Placing her feet together on the lip of the canal, she'd crouched and leaped backwards, spring boarding off the wall like a nimble little frog. Without thinking, Mike followed. Jumping after her, he'd snagged her small frame in the air while simultaneously shooting off an anchor to the far side of the canal. Clenching her into himself protectively, Mike spun midair and used his back to smack into the opposing wall, mere feet above the water below. He'd cried out in pain as some of his ribs cracked but continued to hold onto the small girl who—in her surprise—had dropped hold of her tiny knife and was watching as it disappeared into the stream of water below. His cry ripped her back to reality and she looked up to stare into his face. His chiseled features were contorted in pain.

"Cora, I'm so sorry..." he mumbled out, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes.

If she was surprised before, now she was just blown away. "W-what?"

What in the name of Satan could this man possibly be apologizing to me for?

"I-I'm sorry I didn't come for you sooner. I hate seeing you here. I hate seeing her here." He'd sobbed out a litte. Cora regarded him intently. If this was a trap then it was a damn convincing one.

A strange flash of hope flickered in the recesses of Cora's depraved mind. Was this man really her family? Was she really not alone anymore? Past experience had taught her to doubt it. There was no reason in the world that she—a street brat who couldn't remember anything but garbage and dirt and blood—should suddenly be offered a piece of legitimate happiness. This wasn't a stray crust of bread dropped by a merchant or a kick to the stomach that was only followed by darkness and not more pain—this was actual hope...

"Ugh. FUCK!" Mike coughed, suddenly glaring at her through his visible pain. "Your mom should have named you Coral and not just Cora. Between that red-yellow hair of hers and your dad's venomous nature, you're practically a little snake."

That had caused her to blink. "D-did you really know my parents?"

Mike nodded solemnly, still clutching her to his chest, "Yes, little Coral Snake...I did. I searched for you for a long time. You're all that's left of my family. Although," he smirked at her cheekily, "If I'd known you were gonna be this much of a pain in the ass, I might have decided to leave you here."

Something sparked inside the young girl that had never before existed. Maybe it was because of his kind face, or the way he'd risked his life to save hers, or his prowess with the amazingly powerful gear he was wearing, or perhaps it was just the prospect of learning about her family that did it, but she made a decision right then and there that would eventually be the major turning point of her entire life. Cora decided she wanted to live, and not just life as it was in the shithole of the Underground. She wanted more, and this man was offering it to her. Who was she to turn that down?

Scowling at his light-hearted insult, she'd jabbed him in the chest none too gently, "Are you gonna keep whining or get us out of this stinking canal with that crazy contraption of yours at some point? It smells like two tons of shit down here."

Mike Zacharius's laugh had echoed through the Underground.


++There it is, folks. Chapter one. A little bit of heroine backstory. Let me know what ya'll think.

-Saber