Hey, so yeah, I haven't finished the Alternate Universe thing, and I apologize for that, but it seemed to be much more complicated than it looks. Forgive me! ;w; I decided that I would just post this chapter to get it over with and let you guys read. Why have you wait for the Alternate Universe Explanation to read this, right? Oh, and I mention a drug in this chapter, and I need to inform you, tetradotoxin does NOT work this way. It will kill you almost as soon as you ingest it, so please to not try to obtain this substance for the fun of faking a stupid death. It only acts like this in fictional movies and stories, not in real life. I gave you warning!

The Capture

Chapter VI: The Beginning Act

Roderich landed with a simple, quiet thump, like a ball of paper, which should have been nearly impossible for any other human being. After he landed, he searched his surroundings with a careful eyes, hoping to have not been spotted leaving the inn, before pushing his legs at a sudden jolting speed. Stray animals moved out of his way, already well aware that he was going to go "hunting" this night. Gossip spreads like a wildfire in the animal world, and Roderich knew that much too well. He remembered a certain mission he went through, and animals were in the way. Many. But that was another story, for he was currently closing in on his own household, not but a half a mile away.

Once finally reaching the gates of the mansion, he stopped, not tired from his outrageously long trek, considering he's been through worse, having to swim across the sea, with no boat, and climbing over the mountains of Japan. (Damn Mt. Fuji, I'm never going back to Japan! That was horrid!) He had stared at the gates for a long time, pounding in bitter amusement of the irony that he was breaking into his own home. "How pathetic." He he snickered, unlocking the gates easily with the key he had snooped from his father quite easily. The old man wouldn't notice, nor care, anyways. Roderich would give it back by sunrise.

The gates swung open with a metallic scratching sound, which would awake sleeping creatures guarding the house for sure. The guard dogs respected Roderich, at least, so they wont hurt him. (Other than that knew one that was taken in off the streets and trained, it hasn't ever seen Roderich before. But surely, he'll be fine. That dog was still a newbie.) He ghosted around the front garden, vigil eyes darting left and right to make sure there was no one following him, or at least getting any glimpse of him and living to speak a word of it. He wouldn't let that happen, for Feliciano's sake.

He made it to the doors, but did not open them. Checking through the peephole, he found two maids, outside of their chamber's, one being Elizabeta. "Hm..." A suspicious look crossed Roderich's features as he watched the young woman take out a few files, and he saw a flicker of a claret mark on one of the pages. Realization slowly sunk in, and he wasn't sure what to do. Kill them both? But that would leave blood on the files. And they already know that Elizabeta was next, considering that one of those files was hers. He was in a pickle. A big pickle. And he needed a way out of this. And excuse of some sort. But what could he say? What could he do? They had enough proof to claim that he was the murderer of all those innocent people, they have more power than Roderich could deal with, so what could he say to make those two woman believe that he's not the one? That he's not the Living Shadow?

"...I got it." He whispered, going out of the doors way and heading to the library window. It was left wide open, much to his likings, and he jumped through carelessly, not really thinking about what could happen. He sat down at the desk and got a journal out, titling it "Investigation journal #2." He jot down some logical things into the first entry, and sighed. If only he wasn't the Living Shadow, but he was. And he had to-

"What are you doing here?"

Roderich jumped out of the chair, hiding the pen behind his back, realizing much too late that he left the book out of plain view. "O-oh, hello, Elizabeta! Um, good day to you? Or night, I guess, considering that it's 12:30."

"What is that?"

"Absolutely nothing." Roderich said, grabbing the book feverishly. "Just something I forgot to bring on the journey. I came to get it back."

"How did you get here?"

Roderich frowned, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Your questions are beginning to give me a headache, miss. I suggest you go back to your quarters now... And lock your doors."

"So you may kill me in there?"

Roderich pulled a convincing look of confusion, letting his arms drop to his sides. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb. You want to kill me. You killed all those other people, the ones in those files. They all had red starts stamped onto their pages. Mine did too. You want to kill me, with that bloody silver knife of yours."

"I do not want to kill you, Elizabeta, why would you ever believe that?" That was true. Roderich did not want to kill the poor woman. He never wanted to kill anyone. All he ever wanted was to keep Feliciano safe and sound, let him sleep peacefully at night, and stay cheerful in the morning. (He wondered, really, if that was too much to ask for.)

"I don't believe it." The woman said stubbornly. "I know it. Why else would you have those stars there? It's like a trophy for you isn't it? You kill that person, find their files, then mark them, like they're some type of sick trophy for you. Do you plan on killing everyone in the bloody files that you carry?"

"I do NOT MAKE PEOPLE MY TROPHIES!" Roderich angrily threw his book at Elizabeta, nearly cracking her in the head, just nearly. It fell by his side, wide open, to the entry that Roderich had just wrote down. Elizabeta gazed down at the book, his eyes curious, yet suspicious, before lifting it up into her hands and reading the entry.

"I have encountered a woman today that fits the description. I'm almost positive that she is going to be the next victim. She probably knows this too, because she is a new made. She knows about the protection that this house carries. I'm glad she came here, it makes this investigation much more easy. The man might come here! I may be able to finally figure out who he is... and possibly, his background story. No one murders in such a way for the sake of it. He has a reason, even if it's just a little one, or because it's a silly reason like realizing that the world doesn't have his same views. No one becomes a murderer for nothing. Every criminal has a reason, even if it's a ridiculous one."

Elizabeta stayed silent, staring at the cursive writing in horror. Roderich did not dare break the silence, watching as her body trembled all over. She slowly looked up, her eyes watery. "You are him, aren't you? You're forced to do this."

That's when Roderich realized that it was impossible to trick this woman. She knew everything, and there was no way out of this. "Yes." Roderich admitted, sitting down at the desk and rubbing his temples. "My father is a psychopath and has my little brother hostage. He knows my secret, so I can't just leave and take Feliciano with me. I'd have to live in secret that way, and that's too much for Feliciano to bear. I also can't just kill him, because then it would be so obvious that I'm the murderer. I have violet eyes, and I'm the closest one to him. I can't tell anyone else but one person, and he isn't much of a help, considering that he doesn't have any solutions either."

"And you're just going to live like this forever?" Elizabeta questioned, sitting down on the table and slamming the book down. "Listen, I know you're out to kill me, but you've made it fairly obvious that you really don't want to kill people. So why don't I help you out?" Roderich raised an eyebrow, looking over the woman's devious face, asking her to continue. "I'll pretend to be killed. I'm already a renowned criminal in Turkey, and my husband is wanting to take my head off with an axe. I'll just live in hiding, again! Fake my death, and your done. Leave some blood around here. I've got a few bags."

"You what!?"

"I'm a criminal, what can I say?"

Roderich continued his horrified look for a moment before sighing. "Fine, I trust you. But what about that other woman that you gave the files to?"

"That was Bella. She's a bit nutty, but she's a pretty fun person. You don't need to worry about her giving out your secret or anything, she didn't want to do it in the first place. I gave her those files so she could keep them safe in her cellar. She's got some good security." Elizabeta casually laid down, kicking her feet up onto a stack of books. "You need some help, right? Why don't you try gathering up a team? It'll be a lot easier and less stressful."

"You're good at making solutions, huh?"

"Duh." She sat up and pushed herself off the desk, stretching a bit and letting out a loud yawn. "Anyways, lets finish up this fake death thing really quick."

"How are the cops going to know it's you? You can't just lie down and pretend your dead, you have a pulse." Roderich got up and looked over her features. "Not only that, but if we just leave blood everywhere, they aren't going to know it's you, then take a DNA sample."

"The cops in England are pretty stupid." Elizabeta concluded. "They wont take a DNA sample if I fake a suicide death, and leave my body."

"You can't do that. Like I said, you have a p-"

"A drug."

Roderich raised an eyebrow, before slowly realizing what she meant. He smiled, crossing his arms. "Tetradotoxin. Clever. I never would have thought about that. But you do notice that it can actually kill you if you put the wrong dose, right?"

"Oh well. I've got nothing to live for anyways. Besides, you wouldn't be accused. It would be suicide... An accidental suicide, but a suicide nonetheless. They would never know."

Roderich frowned, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I truthfully don't like the idea of putting someone in danger for my sake."

"I'm still going to do it, whether you like it or not." Elizabeta said stubbornly. "I crave for work, and to me, this is an important job that I want and need to take. You can't change my decision once I've made it, and I have made it. If my decision is right, then it benefits us both. I keep my life and you keep yours. If my decision is wrong, then I guess this is the final act for me."

"No." Roderich said, smirking deviously. "I'm sure this is only the beginning act for us both. And maybe your friend Bella as well."