They stopped at the top of the stairs, breathing heavy, to hold a war council. Feliciano brushed his hair out of his forehead and looked back down the stairs, frowning slightly.

"That guy was bigger than before, don't you think?" It wasn't really a question and he didn't wait for an answer. "Maybe we should go back to help them, after all—"

"No," Ludwig interrupted. "First we must accomplish the mission that was given to us. Japan can take care of himself." But it had been bigger. But that didn't mean anything, did it? In the mad dash to get out, get to where they were needed, it would be easy to trick yourself into believing that the thing had grown. He calmed his breathing and continued. "We need to fully understand this house so that we can also lighten his burden."

"All right," Feliciano sighed, smiling again. "Also, if we run into that thing, I'd rather run away."

"Duly noted," Ludwig replied, letting himself smile just a bit. Who wouldn't rather run away from that thing? "Anyway, let's search these rooms once more and then…ah…report to England."

Feliciano nodded happily. "Okay! Let's do our best, Germany." Leading the way, the two went back downstairs to the very first floor. Feliciano practically bounced, barely scared or at least hiding it well, as they tried the key in the first locked door they found.

"The key isn't for this door," Feliciano finally said after several minutes of fiddling. He pouted at the key in his hand.

"Well, there was one more locked room—a Japanese-style room. Let's try that one." Ludwig led the way this time as Feliciano gave a happy "okay".

This time the key turned easy in the lock, and Feliciano laughed as he opened the door. Ludwig followed him into the room. At first it looked like just another hallway, but after a few steps it opened up to the left to a traditional Japanese room, tatami mats and all. Feliciano ran his fingers against the wall, the white paint cold beneath his fingers. Ludwig watched him, marveling at the apparent ease the Italian regarded their circumstances.

Something is wrong.

"Italy!" Ludwig grabbed the Italian's arm and jerked him back, off of the mats and onto the hardwood of the hall. For half a second he didn't know why he had moved, he had acted on instinct and fear, and then his eyes caught movement and the horrible sick grey that was, somehow, alive.

Run!

Neither one said the word but they both ran, out into the hallway. It followed them, more a promise of violence than anything else. Feliciano wasn't laughing now, he was running, almost stumbling over himself as they tumbled out into the hallway and around corners. They made it into the bathroom, all elbows and knees and short, sharp breaths, and there they waited, trying to make themselves small and unnoticeable instead of sharp and oh-so-visible.

Finally, long after their breath quieted and their hearts beat normal again, they ventured out into the hallway. Ludwig's hand rested on the whip at his belt, the worn leather comforting even as he remembered his panic.

There was nothing there.

Ludwig released a breath he didn't know he had been holding as Feliciano elbowed his way past the German. The hallway was all sunshine and afternoon warmth; absolutely no sign of the thing. Feliciano smiled, perhaps not quite so wide as before, and headed off down the hallway. Ludwig followed.

They ended up back in the kitchen, where Ludwig took a moment to sit while Feliciano fiddled. As long as the thing wasn't in the room with them, it was okay to ignore their mission for a bit. Just a bit, just to pretend this was a normal day in a strange house with a….creature and with friends who went missing. Yeah. Normal.

"Aha!" Feliciano looked over at Ludwig, beaming triumphantly. "The key fits in this door, too!"

He pushed open the door and gestured like a magician, happy with his success. Ludwig smiled slightly, the Italian's enthusiasm spreading to him. Only Feliciano would be happy while in a haunted building.

The room they entered was small, furnished in the western style as other parts of the house. They rifled through the bookshelves that held the exact same volumes as in other rooms, all untouched and showing no signs of aging.

Feliciano was the one who tripped the switch, messing around with some books. He leapt back as the bookshelf groaned and moved to the side. Frowning slightly, he cautiously reached out to touch the wall.

"It's a safe!" he told Ludwig, who had appeared at his side. Feliciano tugged at the handle. "But it's locked."

Ludwig sighed. "If it weren't there wouldn't be any point to it. It looks like it's a four-digit numeric combination…" He looked at the oddly modern bit of technology before him and then shook his head. "We still have insufficient information. Let's investigate a bit more." And not spend the next four hours trying to crack a safe.

"Too bad," Feliciano said, rapping his knuckles against the cold metal. It was a puzzle and an intriguing one at that.

The pair turned and finished their cursory investigation of the room. There weren't any other surprises, so Feliciano led the way out and through the kitchen. Back in hallways, they wandered around the first floor until they found themselves back in the room they had unlocked.

Ludwig's hand brushed the handle of his whip, taking comfort in the worn leather. His heart was beating faster than normal. There was no oppressive feeling, no inexplicable heartbeat. The thing was no longer here, small comfort that it was.

The Japanese room was small, with closets at the end. Feliciano grabbed a piece of paper off the floor inside of one, holding it up to show Ludwig.

"Another piece of paper," he said, waving it under Ludwig's nose.

"Is it similar to the piece we found earlier?" he asked, and then just grabbed it out from under his nose. "Let me take a look."

The page was messily ripped, showing two rectangles—one yellow, one red. No writing or helpful hints. Feliciano and Ludwig stared at it, thinking.

"It looks like the cross-section view of pasta or something like that!" Feliciano finally said. Ludwig raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled and shrugged, not bothered in the slightest.

"Why?" Ludwig asked, not really expecting an answer.

Surprisingly, he got one. "You think it's something else?" Feliciano shot back, still smiling. "Well, it doesn't look like a map either. I wonder what it is…"

Ring-ring, ring-ring.

"Aaah!" Ludwig jumped, nearly tearing the page again.

"Don't scare me like that, Germany!" Feliciano shouted, hands covering his heart.

Ring-ring, ring-ring.

"Sorry, sorry." Ludwig took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heart. "That sound—isn't it your cell phone?"

"What?" Feliciano asked as the phone rang again. "Oh, you're right…why? Our phones get no signal here?" He shoved his hand in his pocket, fishing around for the phone.

"How am I supposed to know? Anyway, try answering it," Ludwig suggested. Feliciano finally succeeded in locating his phone and held it up, squinting at the screen.

"Huh…it's a blocked number." He frowned, but hit the accept button and held the phone up to his ear. "C-ciao?"

Ludwig watched, annoyed that he couldn't hear whoever was on the line. Feliciano frowned, obviously confused. "What's wrong?" Ludwig asked quietly, not quite able to keep patience.

"I'm not sure. I heard a sound and then the call was cut off." Feliciano shrugged and put the phone back into his pocket.

"A sound?" Ludwig pressed.

"A piano. It was only one note, though." Feliciano tapped his chin thoughtfully, eyes distant. "I wonder what that was all about?"

"The sound of a piano?" Ludwig repeated, feeling twenty steps behind and not liking it. "Well, we have this piece of paper now, so let's get back to England." Who is where the piano is. He shook his head to get rid of the thought. "Japan and the others will probably join us there if all goes well."

"Yeah! Let's go back to the piano room, then." Feliciano turned on his heel and strode confidently out of the room. Ludwig paused, watching Feliciano go, his hand on his whip. Everything will be fine. It has to be.