AU: This is an AU Attack On Titan Fic. This fic starts from around the Trost arc and will largely follow the flow of the manga from there. It's a fic about my OC Florence who is from our world and somehow finds her way into the Attack on Titan Universe. Hopefully no cliché's or Mary Sue. Rated M for later chapters. Multiple pairings. Eventual OC/Levi…I think?
Florence my OC is 25 and a surgical doctor.
Wide Awake.
Chapter 1 – Crashing From The High I'm Letting Go Tonight.
Florence sighed as she clipped back the wispy blonde hairs that were beginning to come loose from her bun and stick to her damp brow. The smell of blood, vomit and every other bodily fluid almost smelled scentless to her now. She'd been on call for fourteen hours and she looked exactly how she felt. Every part of her body ached and deep purple shadows bloomed above her freckles and beneath her hazel eyes. This was only her first full year as a graduate surgical doctor and she saw why a lot of people she went through college with hadn't made it. She'd never been so emotionally and physically exhausted in her life.
"Flo you still here? Get going. I'll finish the handover notes."
Florence smiled warmly at Jackie who had just come in. One of the older nurses she got on with very well. She was like everyone's surrogate work mum.
"Thanks Jacks. Ok, ok I'm going. Just one thing Mr Rogers is still Nil by mouth his scan wasn't clear so he's getting CT'd again later."
"Sweetie you work too hard. You work like a nurse." Said Jackie giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Um…thanks?" Said Flo.
"That's a compliment sweetie. The rest of the Docs round here aren't worth shit."
Flo laughed at her brutal honesty.
"Thanks Jacks. I feel like a special little cupcake now."
"And so you should. Pretty, young girl like you should be out there partying at night. Not stuck in here in scrubs and crocs getting puked on. I know how hard it is to give up a normal life. I've done it for 20 years. But you're doing good kid never forget that."
Flo nodded. Lately she had been forgetting why she'd gone through all the hardships of medical school. Was all this really worth it?
"Thanks. I'll get my heels on tonight. I'm off for 36 glorious hours." Said Flo sarcastically.
Jackie shouted after her.
"You better!"
Flo grinned and shook her head. She knew she was getting into her pyjamas, lying on the couch and eating for all of those glorious hours.
"Doctor Adams! Can you please get this IV for me? "
Flo exhaled slowly. She really wanted to go home. She turned to greet the voice and was met with a student doctor. Her eyes were shining with youthful zeal and she was biting her lip nervously. Not so long ago she'd been in her shoes. She nodded with a tight smile.
"Sure. I'll just go grab the kit ok?" Flo said as she headed to the drug cupboard.
She massaged her temples as she rummaged for the correct kits and needles. She was exhausted.
Why did I even become a Doctor anyway? Can I really say that I personally have saved anyone's life? Probably not. She thought absently that it must've been far more rewarding during war time to be a doctor. She had considered becoming an army medic but she was a doctor not a soldier. Patient care always came first for her. She suddenly found herself dreaming of somewhere else. Somewhere far away. Anywhere but here.
She dropped the kit she was holding as her eyes widened. There was no back to the cupboard. Where the wall had once been there seemed to be an endless abyss. She scrunched her eyes closed shaking her head. Flo it's just sleep deprivation. She opened her eyes and gulped. The wall was still missing. She approached the wall with a shaking hand. Her legs felt hollow. She could feel heat and hear noises from the darkness. Battle like noises almost: Heat, blood, and chaos. She marvelled at the way her hand disappeared through the blackness as if cutting through water in a pool. She could feel almost scalding moist, heat on the other side. Her heart raced as the noises of the trollies and the beep of the machinery in the hospital began to fade. She was being pulled through. She didn't have any time to think before she was rushing through the blackness. She was falling down and down and down she held her breath and closed her eyes too afraid to scream. And then her body hit ground. Hard, dusty ground.
She gasped breathlessly her ears were ringing and she couldn't see. She felt dust and stones raining down on her. She coughed violently trying to get some air into her lungs. She opened her eyes and instantly blinked from all the debris that surrounded her. The air was steamy like stepping into a shower. There was a scream. She shivered it didn't sound human. She crawled forwards slowly on her belly as the dust began to settle. She coughed and got to her knees as she took the scene in around her. A teenage boy covered in blood, a teenage girl. Bodies, but not human bodies. They were huge, bloated and stinking like rotten flesh. They disappeared in clouds of steam before her eyes. She swallowed thickly as she stood on shaky legs. What the hell? The outline of a man became clear as the steam cleared. He turned to her. He was about her height perhaps around her age or a little older. He stared at her evenly with hollowed, grey eyes. His black hair and cape ruffled in the breeze. He had strange clothes and weapons at his side. He raised them slightly upon noticing her. She glanced behind her nervously. A giant stone wall with a giant boulder sticking out of it. The wall…the world started to spin as more people dressed like the man came forwards. She glanced downwards to see her own croc clad feet standing on dusty, old cobbles. Her knees began to give out.
"What are you?" asked the man. His voice was deep and demanding.
She made to answer but her body had other ideas. She felt her eyes roll back and her body slacken. Hard ground met her again before she slipped into unconsciousness.
Florence swallowed thickly her throat was dry. Her lips felt cracked and sore. Her eyes seemed glued together with grit. She opened her eyes slowly. Her eyelashes fluttered. The room she was in was dimly lit by candles. Weird. Maybe there'd been a power cut. Power cut? Was she at home or at the hospital? Her body ached as she moved beneath the thin sheet. She was naked beneath except for some sort of thin cotton shift.
"It's awake." Said the same deep, bored tone she remembered before passing out.
Rude. Oh that's right. She remembered now. The strange dream with the giant bodies and the people with the capes then blackness.
"Hey. Not It. She. I ran basic tests and she's as human as you or me." Said a female voice.
Flo's eyes were still adjusting.
She groaned. What was this?
"Can I get some water please?" She croaked out.
She heard shuffling and a rough hand placed a tumbler of water in her hand. The water was gritty and warm but she was so thirsty she didn't care.
She attempted to sit up but the person that had given her the water pushed her back gently. She could see them clearly now. The woman had a wonderfully androgynous face and vibrant brown eyes that sparkled behind spectacles. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. She felt a little exposed as the woman watched her intently.
"Lie back. You hit your head pretty hard." She said softly.
Flo touched her forehead gingerly and winced. It felt tender behind the bandages. She wasn't used to being a patient it felt strange.
"We have some questions." Said the man with the harsh voice to her left.
She squinted and realised it was the man she had seen before she passed out. His cape was gone and he wore a pristine cravat at his pale throat. His dark undercut peeked out above the white.
"Jeez Levi give her a break she just woke up." Said the woman tersely.
The man called Levi made an aggravated noise and rolled his eyes at her.
"Do you remember your name?" Asked the woman gently.
"Yes. Florence Adams." She said quietly. Her heart began to race again. What was going on here? What was this?
"Good. Do you remember how you got here?"
Florence hesitated for a moment.
"I was at the hospital. I'd just finished a shift when… I went through a wall? Then I fell. Sorry, I'm not sure. Then I remember the dust, smoke and hitting the floor." She said as steadily as she could manage.
A man entered the room then. He was tall, blonde, handsome and very neat. He looked like he was in the same faction as the other people she had seen. What were they? They looked like soldiers but like no soldiers she'd ever seen.
"Commander she says she came here through the wall." Said the woman.
She watched the Commander's blue eyes brighten.
"Miss, did you come from outside the walls?" He asked.
His voice was commanding too but it was softer than Levi's.
Florence hesitated.
"Wall? I come from Vancouver." She said in confusion.
There was a ripple of silence in the room. So Flo decided to break it.
"Look, where am I right now?" She asked a tad impatiently.
"Don't tell her. We don't know enough about her yet or who she works for." Said Levi.
She was literally going to throttle this guy. From the second she'd arrived here, wherever here was, he had been nothing but insanely rude. She glared at him.
"Look Mr! I don't know who you are to think you can talk to someone like that, especially a stranger. I'm tired, thirsty, hungry and understood absolutely nothing you just said. I don't work for anyone but myself. I'm a doctor. And neither of the three of you look sick. So if you don't mind I'd really like to just go home and forget about this nightmare!"
She watched his face closely and noticed only the tiniest of flickers in his grey eyes. Was this guy a robot or something? The woman to her left snickered.
"About time someone put him in his place. You're a Doctor? Me too! I'm Hanji. Well when I say Doctor I mean mostly scientific as opposed to medical but still. I'll get you something to drink and eat. But can you tell me what this is? We found it on you along with your strange clothes and shoes it was the only thing you had." Said Hanji as she pressed her stethoscope into her hands.
She frowned.
"I thought you said you were a Doctor? It's a stethoscope you know, to listen to patient's heartbeats and lungs?" She answered incredulously as she demonstrated how to use it. Hanji's mouth fell open as she inspected the stethoscope with fascination.
"Outstanding. Truly outstanding." She said as her glasses gleamed.
"She is from a far more technologically advanced place Commander. That is for certain. But I'm not sure about much else. I'll be back in a second Florence."
The Commander nodded at her as she left the room.
Florence swallowed thickly. Hanji seemed very strange but she felt more comfortable in her presence than alone with these two guys. The commander moved closer to her. He really was tall especially when he stood next to the scowling Levi. Typical small man syndrome.
"May I ask you something Miss Florence?" The Commander asked politely.
She smiled slightly his countenance reminded her of a character she'd seen in an old black and white movie once. He was like an old Hollywood movie star. It was like he was from another time entirely.
"Sure Commander." She replied.
Levi glared at her and her smile widened. People who ask nicely get nice answers.
"Where you're from, what is it like there?" He asked.
"Ummm…well what kind of things do you want to know about? It's quite a big city. There are a lot of tall buildings and it's really close to the Pacific Ocean-"
She noticed the Commander's blue eyes alighting with some unknown emotion.
"Are there Titans there?" He asked quietly.
They were interrupted by Hanji's return. Flo thanked her as she greedily tore into her roll.
"What's a titan?" She asked innocently through mouthfuls of bread.
She watched as all three of them watched her intently with various expressions of shock and intrigue.
"Tell me more. Everything you can." The commander asked eagerly.
Flo nodded. She was happy too. Anything to help them understand what was going on. The Commander who looked at least to be in his mid thirties was gazing at her with the innocent intrigue of a school boy. This dream just kept getting weirder.
After a few hours of questioning Flo had to admit she felt a little better the food Hanji had brought for her had revitalised her.
Hanji was sitting on the edge of her bed deep in thought.
"Well the most logical theory I can come up with is that Florence is from some alternative world. Very similar to ours, but more advanced and without titans. She arrived after Eren plugged the hole in the wall. That action must've caused some sort of…instability in her world that caused a passage way to open so to speak."
Florence snorted.
"That's crazy. You're saying that I- time travelled to another time and place? But—why me?"
The commander nodded at Hanji and looked towards Florence.
"As crazy as it may sound. I agree. It's the only explanation we have right now."
Levi sighed as he rubbed his temples.
"Just. Great. So what exactly are we supposed to do with this alien thing? We can't exactly just unplug the hole in the wall and send her back."
Florence exhaled heavily and ground her teeth together.
"You call me anything but my name one more time and I swear to God-"
They stared at each other intensely until Hanji coughed breaking the tension.
"Well, Florence is a Doctor. A medical Doctor. She would be very useful to us until we find a way for her to get home. If she wishes to help us that is." Said Hanji with a warm smile.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa hold on a sec. I'm a doctor in my world. Here you don't even have stethoscopes? What exactly do you think I can do here?" She asked nervously.
"See, she's useless." Said Levi coldly.
Florence balled her hands into fists.
"Right that's it! I have had enough of your rude bullshit. The second this concussion wears off I am literally going to beat the shit out of you." She said her hazel eyes burning with a deep fiery passion.
Levi smirked. He actually smirked. Oh he was infuriating!
"I'd like to see you try." He said with his cat like smug expression.
She wanted to slap that smirk right off his smooth, delicate face.
"Why don't we let her try?" Said the Commander deep in thought as he ignored the bad aura surrounding both Levi and Florence.
"Try what?" Asked Hanji.
"Joining the survey Corps. You're right Hanji her medical knowledge would be very useful, especially in the field. With training I think she would be a great asset to us while we figure out how to get her home."
Levi let out a sigh of disbelief.
"You're kidding this greenhorn wouldn't last a day out beyond the walls. Look at her. She's weak, untrained and uncouth." He said observing her body beneath the flimsy shift.
Florence swallowed and resisted the blush fighting to appear on her cheeks. He was scanning her like how a boxer eyes up his opponent before a bout in the ring.
"I'm uncouth?! Oh that's rich coming from you. Look, what is this survey corps? What would you like me to do? While I'm stuck here I promise I'll try and help any way I can." She said glancing at the commander and Hanji. They had been helpful to her and seemed genuinely desperate for her help.
Levi exhaled and looked deep in her eyes. His stare was unnerving but she held it.
"You want the truth? You think you can handle it? The Survey Corps goes beyond the walls and we try to reclaim back the land we lost from the Titans. Titans are giants that have power over us in this world. We live like caged animals behind these walls because when we go out we die. Titans don't feel pity or remorse they won't stop until we are all in their bellies. Most people in the Corps don't make it past their first mission outside. Could you watch all your team mates be killed as you wait to be put out of your misery? Could you watch-"
"Levi!" The commander interjected angrily and Levi shrugged innocently.
"Is that true?" She asked quietly. Her voice shook. The images of those horrific giants filled her mind.
Hanji hesitated but nodded.
"Well shit. I thought my world had problems. Look, I can't promise I'll be good at this. And yeah I'm not a soldier but I'll try to help in any way I can because no one deserves to have to live like that. In my world at least we have freedom. If I can help get you closer to that I will. Even though I don't know how…" She said.
Her voice sounded surprisingly strong. It was the right thing to do. She was terrified of what her words would mean. But it felt right somehow. She didn't know whether it was the surreal aspect of all of this or sleep deprivation that had made her agree but either way it felt right.
Levi was staring at her with some strange, unknown emotion in his eyes.
The Commander stuck out his hand towards her and Florence shook it eagerly. His hand was huge and roughened from years of combat it enveloped hers entirely. He had a trustworthy face. She decided in that moment that she liked the Commander.
"Thank you and welcome." He said with a warm smile.
Levi groaned.
"I can't believe this is happening. How? Look my Squad and Eren are leaving to go to the fortress before the next mission in a few days. To even catch up to the level of the current cadets she'd need to train for three years. Assuming she even makes the cut and survives training. I mean who'd be crazy enough to take responsibility for that?" Said Levi in disbelief.
"I was actually thinking you could take responsibility for her training." Said the Commander with a small smile.
Hanji burst out laughing to the point where she could barely breathe.
"Can't. Breathe. This is priceless." She said between wheezes.
Levi scowled.
"Commander, I'm good but I'm not that good. You want me to train her in two months what it took the cadets three years to learn? I don't have much patience with teaching students don't you think it'd be better if-"
"No. Captain, I think this is perfect. Miss Florence can try the training if she finds it too much then we abandon the plan before the next venture outside the walls. If the plan doesn't work and Miss Florence is satisfied with being permanently stationed in one of the towns as a resident medic that would be an alternative for her until we can figure something out."
Florence nodded in agreement happy with that plan. She had no other option. She was stuck here for now.
Levi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We leave in three days. If you aren't ready by then we aren't waiting for you Adams."
"Yes Captain!" She answered giving him an overtly sarcastic salute. Well, Adams was better than it or alien thing. It was a start.
Levi left muttering darkly. And the Commander excused himself with a polite nod following after Levi.
Hanji erupted into laughter.
"You know I didn't think Short Stack could get any moodier. Well done."
Florence shrugged and smiled.
"He started it."
"I promise Florence. I will try my best to get you back home. I know it must be scary being in this world."
Florence nodded.
"Thank you. Yeah but I made a promise to help and I always keep my promises." Hanji smiled at her warmly.
"Me too. Get some sleep." She said gently as she adjusted the covers for her.
Florence nodded weakly as she let the pressure of the sheets comfort her. She was so exhausted. She drifted off instantly. Maybe tomorrow when she opened her eyes this extended nightmare would be over.