A/N: Hi guys! I've been entertaining this idea in my head for a little while and thought I would write the first chapter of it. I currently have a poll on my profile whether you can vote for which fanfic you would like me write next. If you would like me to continue with this one primarily, you can vote for this story there. OK, anyway on with the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan, any of its characters, locations etc or anything to do with it. They belong to Hajime Isayama.
Chapter 1: Curiosity killed the Cat
The sun began to roll behind the looming stone walls that contained the only specimen of human life left on the planet. The skies above were blazing in a wish-wash of pinks and ambers, painting the serene fields a golden hue. Had the walls had been lower, then, Levi supposed, the land wouldn't have been so golden and the air so cool. The sun wouldn't have been disappearing so early either. Beauty was created by ugly things, he concluded, which would have all been well and good, except in a few minutes, the beautiful skies would be gone but the ugly wall would still remain. Typical.
He let out a long nose sigh, his eyes drifting to the girl lying in the long grass next to him. With the exception of her hands, she was completely hidden from sight, her form engulfed by the corn-coloured strands. In her digits, was a small object; whatever it was, she was examining it with furrowed eyebrows, which were partly obstructed by the rim of her glasses. It was a wonder how she could see out of them, Levi thought, being as dirty as they were.
She didn't seem to notice him watching her, still spinning the object between the arc of her finger and thumb. It was only when Levi leaned in a little closer from his elevated sitting position that her eyebrows relaxed and she looked at him with big brown eyes and a smile.
"What's that?" Levi questioned whilst running a hand through his ebony hair. The wind was doing a really good job of blowing it into his eyes.
"You should lie down, it's not so windy down here." She wriggled, flattening the grass around her slightly more. He could see the dirt entangling her dark mane, a grimace flashing across his face.
"No thanks. Unlike you, four eyes, I don't enjoy being filthy, besides," He paused, something apparently catching his attention for a moment. "You didn't answer my question."
"Well," Hange sat up with a little too much excitement, nearly smacking her head off her knees. She would have, had Levi not put his hand out. "It's a puzzle piece." Levi frowned, his thin eyebrows squeezing his forehead together. He reached over and offered his hand, to which Hange plopped the object into his palm. He flipped it over with his fingers, running his pads across its smooth curves and concave edges.
"It just looks like an ordinary jigsaw piece to me." He grunted, passing it back to her.
"Well, you are right that it's a jigsaw, but it is by no means ordinary." Levi could see a glint forming in Hange's eyes. Oh no, not this again, he thought. Usually that glint meant trouble or a wild theory of some sort. Another one of her silly so-called 'hypotheses' to test out. Which normally meant him getting dragged on a stupid 'adventure'. A filthy adventure, he added mentally.
"If this is one of your stupid hypotheses..." Levi groaned, as Hange rolled over onto her stomach, still inherently fixed on the piece.
"Nah, this is good." She started scratching at its surface, though Levi couldn't understand why. It was just a jigsaw piece, why...
"This has a picture of a strange object on it..." She pointed to it, and Levi leaned in, squinting at it. The jigsaw piece had a blue mark on it, a sort of rectangle shape. It had four black wheels, lots of windows and what Levi could make out to be four seats inside it. What it was, Levi didn't know. He'd never seen anything like it in his life; it looked far too advanced for their humdrum lives.
Levi tried to remain focused on the fragment but something was distracting him. He felt his eyes keep drifting up to Hange's slightly dirty face, watching the way her eyes sparkled at the piece and he couldn't help but think that under the dirt and her oval shaped glasses, that Hange's eyes were her most defining feature. Especially when they lit up like that, he thought.
"What is it?" He probed to no one in particular; even the brainiac next to him probably didn't know. She turned to him abruptly.
"Exactly. That's what I plan to find out!" Levi saw her face drop slightly. "Though..." Her eyes settled onto the expanse infront of them. The rolling fields tumbled over each other in hills of green until they were slashed through the middle by a harsh brown fence. Made of riffraff, and certainly was a ramshackle eye sore, the fence was never crossed, and when it broke in a storm, it had a strange repelling attribute. Usually in the event that a restricted area suddenly was open, people would sneak in, but not here. The citizens of the nearby village, be they thugs or the elderly would make it a priority to build it back up again, which was strange, considering the fact that beyond the fence, for all to see, was an abandoned house, marring the landscape.
"Though what? Let me guess. It involves crossing the fence." Levi groaned. So many of her plans involved crossing the fence, but her morals of 'it would be wrong to do so' often stopped her. It didn't stop her constant conflicted whining about it though.
"Why are you so obsessed with crossing the fence, four eyes? What compels you?" Hange paused for a moment. She guessed Levi couldn't not know forever. Besides, he wouldn't go tell her mum. They were best friends after all.
"I want to know what is beyond the fence." Levi rolled his eyes.
"Duh." He grunted and Hange gave a curt laugh.
"Well, what I mean is..." She sat up, pushing her glasses back up her nose. With the onset of the twilight, Hange hadn't realised how cold it was until now as a gush wind thrilled her skin with goosebumps. She hugged her knees.
"Everyday, when we leave school, I see that thing." She motioned towards the lone house. "And I can't help but wonder why it's deserted. I mean, people are having construct new houses everyday. Why not just use that one?" Levi blotted it out with his thumb, tilting his head.
"Maybe its 'cos of that big ass fence." Hange smirked, pulling a face to resemble Levi's.
"Duh."
Levi glanced at her before returning his attention to the blip on the landscape.
"But my question is, why is it there? Why is that piece of land and that house fenced off? There are space issues as there is, you know, given that we live in a walled off area. So why are people so scared of that tiny piece of land with a tiny little old house on it." Hange held up her puzzle piece.
"I got up super early this morning, and went up to the fence." She quickly added, "It was too dark for anyone to see me." Levi's concerned expression flattened back to his usual stoic one.
"And that's where I found this. It's obviously not from our time. And I can't help but wonder if there's more stuff like this in that house, no..." She corrected herself. "In that entire patch of land.
"But, if mum finds out I went over the fence..." Levi looked at her face, as she glanced away, thinking of the consequences. "I'd never be allowed out again." Levi nodded, agreeing with a hum.
"Same here."
He stood up, the only light caressing the curves of the landscape now was the pale moon's glow. The boy seemed to twinkle like a star under it as he offered a hand to the girl at his feet. She gladly took it, standing up and wrapping her worn cardigan around her shivering form. He took the brunette's shoulder in his hand, staring her deep in the eyes.
"But that's why we should go there anyway."
A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Again, if you would like me to continue with this fanfic primarily, then please vote for it on my poll on my profile page. Any reviews, favorites or follows would be greatly appreciated!