April 1996

The ocean breeze brushed against his fair skin, the taste of salt water seeping into his mouth as he rested his elbows against the metal railings of the ferry taking him back to Paradis. Visiting Marley was a bust once again. Erwin's eyebrows furrowed at the impatience growing inside of him. Even after dedicating 10 years to the force, he was no closer to finishing his father's research than when he began.

All these years, dead end after dead end – his will was beginning to crumble.

A small smile curved upon the edges of his lips as he lifted his head and stared at the deep blue sky. Gingerly, he stood up tall, his chest pronounced and his shoulders pulled back – immediately shunning away the doubt beginning to fester in him.

There were far too many dark secrets concealed behind the walls of Paradis. With the walls falling, a lot of them escaped and disappeared; people, files, victims – all traceable.

He wouldn't give up now.

The sliding doors opened and Erwin greeted the nurse at the front desk with a warm smile. Gentle were of his blue orbs as he caught her eyes waver from his view, a warm tint of pink just over her tiny brown freckles.

"Good evening – I'm here for Darius Zackly." Quickly, he showed his badge and the nurse gathered herself before running from behind the desk,

"O-of course, right this way." He was lead to a private floor – one usually kept for detained criminals. This made him raise an eyebrow – but he wouldn't dare ask the nurse for the details. The hallway was darker, poorly lit compared to the rest of the hospital and he realized this the moment he stepped out of the elevator. Immediately, he nodded to the police officer on duty in front of his friend's room before walking in and closing the door.

Turning on his heel, Erwin was met with two detectives from the Garrison police force. He froze, his once kind blue eyes growing grim by the second.

"Detective Erwin, how are ya? - Name's Ian Dietrich." The younger detective spoke rather casually. Erwin then rested his stare upon the female detective in the room; her eyes were uninviting to say the least.

"Annie Leonhart." She introduced herself short and simple before turning her attention to the person on the patient bed.

"We're here questioning your partner."

"About his hit and run I presume?" Erwin pretended to play dumb – knowing his partner would not be detained on this floor if it was over his accident. He wanted them to speak clear and not dance around, not with him.

"No. He has several charges against him."

"And those are?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Suppression of human rights, illegal detention of minors and several charges of extreme child abuse."

Annie replied dryly. The news shocked him – but nowhere on his expression did he display this.

"When the walls fell, a lot of corruption and atrocities were revealed – isn't that right Mr Zackly?"

Curiosity stirred warmth in his chest.

Was his longtime partner a part of the darkness held in Paradis?

"An anonymous source left us documents pointing us to him and others. Except the first few we tried to contact were either murdered or died by suicide."

"Pertaining to what?" Erwin would not conceal the intimidation in his deep voice as he spoke, forcing the blonde woman to glare in his direction.

"Kinderheim 511."

Erwin froze his shock now visible.

It was like a dirty word, a curse no one wanted to repeat.

The infamous Orphanage Kinderheim 511.

Rumors spread but after the fire, all evidence of that place was lost.

Those who knew of that place were silenced by the government.

But now that the walls have fallen, not even the King could control the darkness from seeping out.

Erwin tried to resist the temptation of excitement.

"A lot of important details are blacked out with ink. But his name, his occupation and his own sick treatment of children were not." She held her stare, icy and unforgiving. Erwin smiled softly in response and walked over to Darius and stood by the window.

Darius looked terrified – which was peculiar.

Was he guilty?

No, he wouldn't show such apprehension to a bunch of rookie detectives.

His eyes narrowed, focusing on his trembling hands.

"However, he refuses to talk and I am not allowed to use any means of force – otherwise I would have gotten my answer by now." Annie spoke so nonchalantly about her disappointment in not being allowed to harm a patient.

This country certainly breeds such callous human beings.

Erwin entertained the thought for a moment, looking at Annie's empty expression.

"Darius was just hit by a car and suffers a head injury – let him rest and then come back to question him." Erwin demanded airily. For a moment, Annie held her stare against him, as if the two were battling for dominance. But she broke hers first, getting up from her chair as she said,

"We'll be back tomorrow evening Mr Zackly."

Darius began to shake even more, eyes lost in a trance as he stared down at his hands. When the pair of detectives left, Erwin finally sat down beside his friend, wondering what choice of words would be best right now.

"Darius…how are you feeling?" his partner seemed to stiffen as he called his name. Erwin paused for a few moments before continuing.

"…You know…when I got the call they described your accident to me. You suddenly ran out intro traffic in a state of panic before you were struck by an oncoming car."

Darius flinched.

Erwin cupped his hands together, leaning his elbows on his knees before continuing,

"You're one of the most careful men I know…" He sighed.

Erwin was going to ask directly.

"…What were you…running fro-

"The monster..."

Darius replied hastily, cutting Erwin off. This shifted his attention back to his partner who was now staring at him with widened eyes.

"The monster is…coming…" Darius uttered.

His shaking was becoming more prevalent now and his eyes opened so widely that the fear in them was becoming evident to Erwin. He had never seen him so afraid, not even when faced with a gun to his face or in the presence of underground crime lords.

"The monster?" Erwin reiterated, inching closer to hear his soft murmuring.

"What monster – what-"

That was when Darius grabbed him by the collar of his black trench coat and yanked him closer to scream,

"THE MONSTER IS COMING!" And then Darius started to scream horribly, saliva falling from his mouth. His heart rate skyrocketed, bringing the nurses into the room to help subdue him. Erwin simply stared at his old comrade's face as helplessly screamed out his terror.

"THEY'RE ALL DEAD. HE-HE!"

They slammed him back onto the bed, wrestling with his manic arms flailing before there was a slow company of peace and quiet. They had tranquillized him. Erwin was in the corner, readjusting his tie that was loosened from his friend's grip.

Had his partner finally gone mad from the head injury?

No – that was pure terror.

What is he so terrified of?

Levi will make an appearance next chapter.

Then ch. 4 will introduce Historia.