No sooner had he taken the turn then the voice returned. Not a literal voice, nothing Eren could point to and say, "There. It came from that direction." It was just a whisper of thought here and there that wasn't his own: go left, go right, go right again, no not that way it's a dead end… left… left… left… and onwards until Eren was so turned around he swore he'd never find his way out again. The entire time he bit down hard on his lower lip, working not to snap at someone who obviously wasn't there. Eren only hoped he was actually chasing a voice worthy of being followed.

It did help that… well. It was just that every once in a while, really just once or twice, when the voice carried itself through the corridor's air Eren thought that maybe, just possibly, it sounded sort of, kind of, just a teensy bit familiar. Not real familiar. Not, oh-my-god-I-know-that-where's-it-from-that's-going-to-bug-the-shit-outta-me, familiar. More boring familiar, like Eren had heard it once before, promptly forgotten it, but now it had come back and he briefly thinks, 'oh yeah, that' before moving on with his life. Except that there was no 'that.' Eren couldn't place it, no matter how hard he tried, and he strained his ears each time it sounded hoping to get a better taste.

He didn't and soon enough he had bigger things to worry about. The ornate doors to Irwin's rooms were just up ahead.

"Here," the voice whispered to which Eren responded: "No, shit."

They opened at his approach.

Though slow, the creaking of the doors nearly blinded Eren. He'd grown accustomed to the dark hallways and now light spilled out over him in a wave. Creeping forward with one hand pressed to his eyes Eren prepared himself for the possibility of meeting Irwin. The place certainly seemed deserted but if the lights were on in here…

But no. Eren's shoulders leveled out as he entered the thankfully empty office. Neat little knick-knacks still whirled on silver stands and more than one lamp was lit without cords or gas, but beyond that the signs of life were nil. It also didn't escape Eren's notice that there was no blood in this room. Everything looked as clean and tidy as Irwin no doubt loved it, which meant that Corporal probably hadn't come this way. There was a door directly behind the desk and another off to the right. Eren hesitated between them.

"Got any more directions to give out?" he asked aloud. The voice stayed silent.

"Well thanks a lot then," Eren muttered and randomly chose the door on the side.

The office really was huge and as Eren traversed the carpet he had time to hope really, really hard that this wasn't a bedroom. Did sorcerers sleep? All the spirits did but if anyone would be different around here it would be Irwin. Eren prayed it wasn't so because he could definitely go the rest of his life without seeing where a guy like that slept. What would it be then? A coffin? Something resembling a torture chamber? No. An old storybook rose from the back of Eren's mind, one involving dragons. That would be Irwin: a shrimpy dragon-wannabe who slept on a horde of gold, probably naked. Eren cringed at the mental image, working his mouth in distaste. Oh god. Ewwww.

In fact, Eren was so absorbed in this horrific imagining that he never noticed the strange blue light emanating from beneath the door. If he had, he might have thought twice about opening it.

As it was, Eren turned the knob with both hands.

At first he thought he was still imagining things because this room looked an awful lot like his morbid fantasies. In that it looked rich; super rich. Expensive looking pieces of furniture lined the walls, topped with equally expensive looking adornments. Eren saw clear crystal classes filled with jewels and others spilled over with coins. There were encased pieces of wood with seemingly ancient ink strokes, glittering statues of cats and birds, a mannequin draped in what were no doubt the softest silks available, piles of books with unique, two inch covers, a chandelier propped in the corner that was roughly the size of a baby elephant... Eren felt his breath leaving him in an outward gasp. All that wealth just locked away. The only difference between Eren's imagination and reality was the everything wasn't piled together like a dragon's hoard and everything was also, oddly, bathed in a blue light. It took Eren a moment to realize that there was even a source.

The room did in fact have an order to it. Every other treasure might have been pushed hazardously against the walls but that was only to make room for what was in the middle. There, at the very back, was something balanced on a silver stand roughly the size of a coffee table.

A crystal… and there was something else inside it.

Eren felt the hairs on the nape of his neck beginning to rise even as his legs crept forward. The crystal was massive—phenomenally huge. It was shaped like an egg and Eren could make out a hundred different planes cut into its body, blue light emanating from each and every one. That blue light was continually fractured not only by the cut of the glass but by the ropes that bound the crystal to its stand. They crisscrossed around the base and the sides, pulling upwards and disappearing into the darkened ceiling. Eren couldn't see where they stopped but they must have gone on almost for forever because every few seconds, seemingly at random, a spark of that blue light would move across the ropes, like a current of electricity shooting by. Eren watched one travel up, up, up, the light illuminating its own passage even as the rope blended into the shadows. Soon enough it too was lost and Eren was left craning his neck with his mouth open wide. He shut it with a snap.

Whatever that was, it definitely wasn't just light. It looked almost tangible and Eren was pretty damn sure he didn't want to touch it.

Still, he moved a little closer. There was something inside that crystal and it looked pretty big. What would someone possibly put inside a—?

"Just put him in here."

Eren jumped but recovered quick enough to slap a hand over his mouth before a frightened squeak emerged. It was Irwin. And by the tramp of footsteps he wasn't alone.

Indecisive between moving further into the room and hiding, or trying to sneak back to the door and get a look, the decision was taken out of Eren's hands when he heard the name "Corporal" slip from Irwin's lips. Turning on his heel he tip-toed as quietly as he could to the far wall, sneaking an inch at a time until he could just peer out the door that he'd left open a crack. From this angle Irwin's desk was just visible, as was the door behind it that Eren had bypassed. Now he was glad he had because Irwin was walking through, accompanied by Corporal's team.

… and Corporal himself.

A tiny noise did escape then. It slipped right out from between Eren's lips.He couldn't help it, of course he couldn't, but luckily no one seemed to hear. Eren was left biting through his thumb as Corporal's body was dragged into the room. He was still in his dragon form and it took Petra, Gunther, Erd, Oluo, and Mike, all of them combined, to heave him through. Despite the difficulty Eren could see that they were trying to be as gentle with him as they could. Gunther cradled the joint of a leg as tenderly as a man his size was capable of. Oluo cried silently, looking back at the trail of blood they were leaving behind them. The rest of them didn't look much better.

Eren wanted to run to Corporal. Right then, right that very instant. He almost did, the only thing stopping him was a tiny voice whispering how foolish it would be. Irwin would find him, capture him, do who knew what for breaking into his quarters… and then where would Corporal be? At this point Eren didn't even know if that voice was the one he'd heard before or simply his own inner thoughts but he heeded it. He dug his hands into his thighs and refused to let his legs move.

"Toss him there—yes, there." Irwin snapped as they lowered Corporal carefully onto the rug. "You've been a nuisance since day one, haven't you, Corporal?" Irwin said the name with a sneer. "Even now you don't have the decency to die cleanly. I'll have to have these rugs replaced…" A sharp ring interrupted this morbid reflection. Eren pressed himself more tightly against the wall as Irwin made his way to the desk and snatched up a phone.

"Yes, what is—?" Irwin cut himself off, his face going stone cold. "Well don't just—! Fine. Oh very well, you fools, I'll be down in a moment. Don't let him eat anyone else before I get there." With a sigh Irwin lowered the phone back to its cradle, rubbing his other hand against the bridge of his nose. "It appears that there's a… disturbance downstairs." He paused, as if expecting one of the others to inquire. None of them spoke of course. With a frustrated huff Irwin slashed his hand through the air and all five spirits stumbled away from where they'd still be clustered around Corporal. Each lifted a hand to their throats, swallowing.

Oluo let out a harsh sob.

"Disturbance, sir?" Mike asked obediently, even as Irwin eyed Oluo.

"Yes. There seems to be a rogue spirit loose in my bathhouse. He's eating the workers." Irwin shrugged casually even as Eren felt his stomach drop. Armin. Armin wouldn't eat anyone… would he?

'Maybe he wouldn't have if you'd been a little nicer.' That was definitely his own conscious speaking and Eren shook it away, fiercely. Not now. He strained his ears to catch Irwin's instructions. He was rolling up his shirt sleeves even as he spoke, revealing pale, muscled arms.

"Considering that I am obviously the only competent person here I will go deal with this pest. Watch him." Irwin's hand shot out to point at Corporal. "If you attempt to help him, I will know. If you try getting help from another, I will know. You will do anything other then watch and make sure he remains exactly as he is… I will know. Don't worry. It won't be long now. Then you can report back to me."

Oluo gave another sob and this time he was joined by Petra. Both of their cries drowned out Eren's.

"Is that understood?" Irwin cried.

"Yes, sir." Erd managed. His jaw worked forcibly.

"Good."

With that Irwin turned from them dismissively. He tip-toed around the bloodstains with a sneer and, to Eren's horror, made towards his door.

He couldn't move fast enough, but he still had to keep silent, and the result was Eren awkwardly shuffling towards the nearest, largest surface. That turned out to be the broken chandelier and Eren dove behind it like a soldier leaving the line of fire. He got his bare feet pulled under him just as Irwin pushed open the door and clicked it shut behind him. The chandelier hid him well, with only a bit of pink from his clothes showing through. Nevertheless, Eren went entirely still.

Irwin walked right past him. Not even a glance. It occurred to Eren, when he could again hear his thoughts over the frantic beating of his heart, that Irwin couldn't possibly be as knowledgeable as he claimed. Yes, he might know most of the workings of the bathhouse thanks to numerous spies and yes, maybe he had specific ties on Corporal's team… but he wasn't omniscient. If he was he would have noticed the human boy breathing into his palms just a few feet away.

"Why hello there, my dear."

But if Irwin didn't know he was there… then who was he talking to?

The muscles in Eren's legs turned to water but Irwin's boots didn't come his way. He didn't speak again either. Instead, Eren watched the floor, fascinated, as that blue light grew in strength. It pulsed, pulling back and forth across the tile like the ocean across sand. Then Eren heard it: a low hum crawling up into the air. It wasn't unpleasant exactly but the volume increased to the extent that Eren moved his hands from his lips to his ears. With one sense blocked he needed to see, really see, so Eren rose up onto his knees and dared to peek over an arch of the chandelier.

Irwin was standing before the crystal, his arms outstretched and his fingers spread. The blue light wasn't just pulsing, it was emanating, flowing—directly into his flesh. The light disappeared into his body and gave his skin its own bluish hue; it made Irwin look foreign, a true other bathed in unnatural light. Eren couldn't see his face but if the gentle rocking he was doing was any indication, his expression was most likely one of rapture. The humming grew as Irwin seemed to absorb more and more.

Then it stopped. Suddenly. Irwin rocked back on his heels as he'd been released all at once and he drew his hands against his chest, like he was clutching something precious. Eren thought the saw something else in the crystal move.

"There now," Irwin said. "That wasn't so hard now was it, my dear?"

Then he turned. Eren was forced to duck back down behind the chandelier.

Irwin's footsteps came closer… too close… then stopped just a foot from where Eren hid. He could hear Irwin tapping lightly against the wall beside him until there came the softest swoosh, like cloth brushing cloth. Eren popped up again just in time to see Irwin exiting through a door that hadn't been there a moment ago. As he swung through the magical archway his arm casually flit backwards and the skin of his wrist was visible. That blue coloring remained but it was already getting lighter. Eren was close enough to see that it was merging with the blue of Irwin's veins.

Then he was gone. The door melted away as if it had never existed.

That was good. Even in the midst of everything else, Eren realized that it was good. It was really good. After all, if Irwin didn't leave by the front then those knockers couldn't alert him to the fact that Eren was here, hiding. Good. Good, good. If he didn't go back the way he'd come then he couldn't torture Corporal or his team anymore. Good, good, good. Something at least was good and Eren held onto that, madly. It was something at least, in a world where giant crystals pulsed blue and sorcerers absorbed that light into their skin. Good.

Eren rolled to his feet, running silently back to the door. Irwin had closed it behind him when he'd entered but Eren had to take the chance. It was far easier than he'd thought it would be to ease the knob to the right just an inch, to quietly provide himself with a sliver of space. Petra and the others didn't turn as the door opened just a smidge. In fact, that didn't seem to be moving at all. They stood exactly where Irwin had left them, some still crying but none of them daring—or able—to move.

Eren thought that maybe strands of Corporal's mane were still fluttering from his breath… or that might have been wishful thinking.

Then suddenly there was another movement, something soaring across the window outside. It was a bird, a vulture to be exact, and Eren recognized it immediately as the one that had been hunting him when he'd first arrived. It dipped and soared a moment before plunging towards the bathhouse's main gates. Irwin—making an impressive exit. Eren shivered against the wood.

"Crash and burn, you fuck." He whispered.

The need was still there, far stronger now that he was sure Irwin had actually left: to run to Corporal and check his wounds, to make sure that he did not die. But could Eren actually do that? What if Corporal's team attacked him, or told Irwin, even if they didn't want to? What could he do for Corporal then? But what exactly could he do in here either?

The crystal pulsed behind Eren.

Stay or go?

It throbbed.

Stay or go?

'Turn.'

Eren did turn, only half aware that he hadn't truly decided to do so. That had been a voice. A third voice distinct from his own thoughts and the one that had spoken to him in the hall. Whisper thin and sounding so tired, Eren had barely caught it passing over his mind… but it was there.

"Who's there?" he whispered. No one responded. Eren was very much alone in the room. He didn't feel alone though. Not at all.

There was definitely something in that crystal.

Eren didn't forget Corporal—never—but he put him aside for just a moment and walked forward with as much daring as he could muster. Nothing good could come from this surely. Anything Irwin took so much pleasure in was something Eren wanted no part of. Yet for all that rationalization the crystal didn't feel evil. Or even bad. Not like how the constriction around Eren's heart felt or the cold that ran down his spine whenever he got near the titans. In fact, Eren realized now that Irwin hadn't so much absorbed that light as outright taken it, stolen it even. The room was noticeably less blue now and the crystal itself lacked its previous luster. The bits of energy still shot along the ropes but now they moved at a sluggish pace, some even sputtering out halfway on their journey, like little lights just giving up. The crystal's entire body seemed to sag and Eren wondered if those ropes could even hold it up much longer. All of it, the entire picture just looked… sad. How the hell did a crystal look sad?

Eren got his answer. Just three feet away he found it and froze.

Perhaps not the best description given the circumstances but it was accurate at least, considering that there was a person inside that crystal—frozen. Frozen in time and space. Eren sucked in a harsh breath and forgetting entirely about his previous worries, he rushed forward until he was just inches or so from the stand. He peered upwards into the face of a girl.

What. The. Fuck.

She was really pretty, in a harsh sort of way. Or maybe the harshness just came from the crystal's hard edges cutting into her face. Blond hair fell in sharp sections down both her cheeks where it wasn't tied up in a messy bun. She was dressed in a simple white tunic and pant combo… one that Eren immediately recognized from his dream.

Did he know her? No. Definitely not. Eren would swear he'd never seen her before and she didn't feel familiar either, not like how Corporal sometimes felt. Really though, did any of that matter? At all?

"Fuck no," Eren muttered. He felt woozy. Nauseous. "Because, Irwin, you're apparently really into this whole kidnapping thing, aren't you? And now you're trapping people in crystals? No. Ha—no, no, no… I need a baseball bat."

Eren literally did look for one, more than half hoping that he'd find one encrusted with jewels or something. No such luck, but there was some sort of scepter propped against a glass case. Eren hefted it in his hands. It was a good head taller than him and a hell of a lot heavier than it looked. Nevertheless, he gripped it tight and with a tremor of rage shaking both arms he swung it hard against the cabinet.

Glass shattered in an impressive arc across the floor and Eren grinned like a feral wolf. The wood with its ancient markings tumbled out and split into pieces on the ground, utterly ruined. Good. Excellent. What was even more impressive was the sound: a shriek as glass burst into a thousand shards, the scratching they made as they skittered across the floor… the shouts coming from Corporal's team just in the other room. Eren knew he only had seconds before they burst in but even then he still thought about taking the scepter to the rest of the room because boy, was he sorely tempted. Eren forced himself to resist though. He turned back to the crystal.

Was this girl another human?

He didn't know.

Would the scepter be able to break the crystal?

He didn't know.

What would happen if he touched the light? Would it hurt him?

He didn't know.

Should he be wasting time on her when Irwin was hunting Armin?

He didn't know.

Should he be wasting time on her when, just feet away, Corporal lay dying?

He didn't know.

Was this girl even still alive?

Eren didn't know. He didn't know… but he sure as hell was going to find out.

Not allowing himself to think on the consequences Eren raised the scepter for another blow. He could feel the metal rubbing against the top of his palms where he didn't have enough callouses to protect him, the cold easing away under his body heat, slick with sweat, his knuckles aching with the force of his grip. Eren swung from his shoulder and rocked from his hips. The scepter flew right through the blue light and struck the crystal at its base. Eyes wide, Eren watched as two ropes snapped from that force alone.

That was more than enough. Something else snapped then, something intangible, and Eren was blown backwards from a force that could have only come from magic. He flew the length of the room and his head struck something familiar. Spastically he reached a hand up and found his chandelier. There was blood too.

The world was very blue then. The color rose from floor to ceiling and rushed at Eren with purpose. Then everything jumped three shades darker, thickening from blue to a deep and terrible black.

'This is just like drowning,' Eren thought and under he went.