Grass is Never as Green as One Expects it to Be

Eren Jaeger woke up in the middle of the night to a strange sound. His first thought was that the castle was under attack by titans. That was not the case. The boy ran towards the window in his room and saw something fall from the sky in the distance. He could see the object, because it was illuminated as it fell.

Eren threw his boots on, and ran next door to the captain's room.

He burst into the room without knocking. "Levi! Something just fell from the sky beyond the forest."

Since he was a light sleeper, Levi woke up instantly. He also knew Eren wasn't making up a story. Training for the Survey Corps withdrew all remaining traces of foolish play from everyone who graduated. "Grab your gear. Let's go check it out."

Levi slept with his gear beside his bed. He had it on in less than a minute. "Aren't we going to wake anyone else up?" Eren asked, frantically.

"We don't have time to. Plus, I'll have you with me. You're the strongest member of our team," Levi said, encouragingly.

The two rushed to the stables and jumped on a couple of horses. They rode side by side, so Eren could tell Levi what he'd just saw.

"I heard a cracking noise, and then a bright orange object hit the ground. I could feel the vibration from the impact when it crashed, so it must be very heavy," said the boy.

As they approached the area, the orange light grew brighter. "I smell smoke, Eren."

The horses picked up their pace as the slope of the land began curving upward. Eren and Levi continued to ride. They were entering another forested area, so they rode single file.

"Take the lead," Levi said, looking over at Eren.

The boy nodded, and got in front of his captain. The smell of smoke was pungent in the air. Eren didn't want to breathe too much of it in, so he tied a handkerchief around his face.

When they were out of the forest, a faint orange glow was visible from over the peak of the hill.

"Whatever it is, it's just over this ridge," said Eren, as Levi rode up beside him.

Though the both of them were expecting to encounter titans, they weren't about to find a single one. Eren and Levi slowed down and continued on foot to the top of the hill. They could see the smoke billowing up into the sky and hear the sharp crackle of burning trees.

Since Eren and Levi were virtually fearless, neither of them hesitated to fulfill their curiosity. At the top of the hill, the two men looked down at what lay on the other side.

A huge, steel, mechanism, spanning hundreds of feet in diameter, sat ablaze in a large crater. It appeared to be running on an alternate source of fuel. The smoke smelled unusual. There appeared to be no one around. The only sounds and sights were of the fire.

"What is that, Levi?" Eren asked.

"I've never seen anything like it, before," he replied.

They sat down behind a rock for a minute to analyze the foreign object further. Levi looked over to the boy after a few seconds to compare reactions, but Eren had collapsed onto his back.

"Eren! Get up!" Levi shouted, in shock.

Eren didn't reply. His eyes didn't open, and he was hardly breathing. Levi suddenly started to feel faint as well. He laid down next to Eren, trying not to let the foul, smoke-filled air take him.

Levi tried with all his might to get the boy to wake up until he could no longer muster the strength to move either. Just before his eyes closed, he saw someone looming towards him from out of the strange, burning heap of steel and technology.

"So… these are 'titans'?" A warrior said to herself, as she approached the fallen bodies of Eren and Levi.

They were unconscious, but weren't dead. The warrior picked up the two men and carried them away from the smoke.

Somewhere, far beyond Earth, a race of life forms similar to humans had created a vehicle advanced enough in technology to reach this planet. Unfortunately, only one survived the crash.

Though she was alone, the alien decided to continue her mission. She locked Eren and Levi in a cage-like enclosure until the fire went out. The ship's engines were compromised, but some of the structure was still habitable and suitable for studying titans.

After several more hours, the female warrior was able to activate all of the sprinklers on the ship. Most of the job had to be done manually, but eventually the flames went out. She retrieved Levi and Eren from their temporary holding place on the other side of the hill. Their loyal horses were sitting beside the metal cage.

The woman pulled out a small pistol and shot both of the animals. "Damn beasts aren't stealing my game, now." Her language was audibly foreign. She watched the two horses fall to the ground screaming in agony. The noise only lasted for a few seconds more.

Eren and Levi had begun to recover from the poisoned air, but they weren't conscious yet. The woman slung both of the small men over her shoulders and walked back to her ship.

When they arrived, the alien woman placed her two captives in a cell. As a precaution against unknown tech, she removed their 3D maneuvering gear. She planned on studying the two men while they were still unconscious, but she had wounds of her own to tend to from the crash.

She wore a heavy suit of armor, because her body wasn't used to the level of gravity on Earth. Its force was was slightly stronger than what she was used to. She couldn't take her suit off for a long period of time. Although the atmosphere of Earth and her home planet were similar, her body wasn't built to withstand the environment.

Meanwhile, Eren woke up. He saw Levi lying next to him. The boy shook his captain gently, but the man was still too weak from the polluted smoke to sit up.

"Levi, are you alright?"

"Yeah. I think so. You?"

"I'm fine," Eren replied. He took off his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Levi's forehead. "The smoke from that fire must've done a number on you."

"Yes, it has. I'll be alright. More importantly, are we inside the object that crashed?" The man suggested.

"I believe so. Someone must've put the fire out. We've been taken hostage," Eren said, as he stood up, gripping the bars in a doorway that led to a long, dark hallway.

"I think it's safe to say that this…piece of machinery, did not come from our planet," Levi said, beginning to sit up finally.

Eren's face grew angry and desperate. "Whoever trapped us in here is going to pay!"

"Eren, we have no idea who...or what did this to us. We don't know anything, except that we're probably dealing with something from another planet. I never thought I'd say that, but I've learned that life is full of shock and unexpected problems." Levi was standing now, holding Eren by the shoulders. "We just have to stay calm for now, and try to figure out why we're here. We'll act once we can determine that."

The boy tried to listen to what Levi said, but he had a very hard time letting things sink in. "Okay, Levi. I'll try not to get angry, but I just can't help it sometimes."

"It's alright, Eren. Try to keep a clear head."

Upon hearing their voices, their captor started down the hall with heavy footsteps. Eren felt a spark of fear ignite inside him. It was a long-forgotten feeling he hadn't had since before he'd even seen a titan.

The boy stood firmly, acting as though he wasn't scared. However, Levi could tell Eren was frightened, from looking at the way the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He was truly in rare form, whether he was willing to show it or not.

When the armored woman finally appeared in front of the cell, she lifted up the tinted glass panel on the front of her helmet. She had bright red hair and teal eyes. She looked human, but was easily twice the size of the average person.

The alien spoke to them in an unfamiliar language. Levi and Eren looked at each other blankly. They weren't able to determine a single clue about the woman's motives, until they heard her utter the word "titan". She pointed at both of them, and continued to repeat herself until she began to laugh wickedly.

The tall, foreign woman unlocked the cell door, and grabbed Eren by the arm, lifting him up. She swatted Levi away with her other arm when he tried to prevent her from taking Eren away.

Eren tried biting into his hand, but he couldn't transform into a titan. He cried out for Levi, but the alien silenced him immediately. The boy felt his body go limp in seconds while she twisted his neck, snapping it in three different directions.

When she got to the half-singed laboratory, the alien ripped the boy's head off, and placed it in a bucket. Her physical strength was incredible. She snapped bones and disconnected joints with almost no resistance. Then, she stripped the clothes off of Eren's body and began to tear off each of his limbs.

She started with his arms. After each amputation, the woman collected the boy's blood. After wringing out the severed pieces of Eren with her iron grip, she let gravity drain the deep crimson liquid into a clear, glass canister.

Back in his cell, Levi was unaware of what was happening. He remembered Eren cry out his name once, but that was the last sound he was capable of hearing from the isolated corridor in which he sat.

Soon, the armored woman appeared again, without Eren. Levi glared at her. He knew she wouldn't understand him if he spoke, but he wanted to know what she'd done with the boy.

From a compartment in her suit, the alien pulled out a large flask filled with dark liquid. She handed it to Levi. At first, Levi had no idea what the substance was, but soon realized. It was still slightly warm. She left it with him in his trembling hands, and walked back to her laboratory.

Levi didn't know what to do. Judging by the size of the flask, it was unlikely that Eren was still alive. He didn't know for sure that it was Eren's blood, but by using process of elimination, he was pretty sure it was.

"Eren, I don't know what's happening." Levi whispered, holding the large flask.

He slowly drew the opening closer to his mouth, until the brim of the glass was touching his lips. Taking a deep breath, he began to drink the rich, iron-flavored substance.

Levi wiped the blood from his lips and reminisced the metallic taste in his mouth with his tongue. He didn't want to accept that Eren was gone, but he had to. The one person he was sure would never be taken from him was dead; the only person he knew he could count on no matter what.

"I'm sorry, Eren. I wanted you to learn not to let fear control you, but I got too obsessed with what I was trying to teach. It's impossible for someone not to fear a single thing in his entire life. My one and only true fear was losing you."