END GAME

Chapter 21: And So He Called

The ride to Ilse's home was a blur for Levi. So many things were happening and they were happening almost too quickly to process. Eren, the blood, Ilse's discovery, the man on the other end of the call, and his past, all of it slammed into Levi like a ton of bricks. It left him breathless and dazed, which was something that didn't happen often.

Eren sat beside in him the back of the cab, his emerald eyes flickering over to look at Levi every few seconds, his gaze searching. Levi had no doubt that Eren was wondering what the man's words had meant. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to tell Eren.

Those were dark things. Things that were best left in the dark, in a steel box, wrapped in chains and covered in dust, never to be touched, never to be opened. Touching that box was not a good idea. Levi sighed and ran his hand along his face. Where did they get that information? I left years ago. Then they disbanded soon after that. So how could they know? Perhaps it was an informant.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, silver eyes sliding out to look at the city as they passed. They simply couldn't go fast enough. He knew that by the time they reached the apartment, Ilse and Mike would be either dead or taken, most likely the latter. After all, the Titans had to have their 'game,' now didn't they?

Levi clenched the hand on his knee, his nails digging in through the fabric of his pants. He had to do it, otherwise he might punch something. It was typically preferable to not punch the seat and startle Eren, punch the window and break it, or punch the back of the driver's seat and possibly cause a wreck.

A warm hand settled over top of his and Levi stiffened momentarily before he glanced down and saw that the hand was Eren's. Eren squeezed Levi's hand to reassure the raven-haired man. Levi felt his throat tighten at that. If Eren knew the half of it, the emerald-eyed man would have jumped out of the car, even if it was going ninety miles an hour.

He knew there would be questions sooner or later. He wasn't sure whether he preferred for the questions to be over and done with as soon as possible or for them to be held off as long as he could deflect them. They both had the same conclusion, the only difference being that one just delayed the inevitable outcome he dreaded so much: Eren's disgust, probably even hatred; the emerald-eyed man walking away from him and never looking back; being left alone. Again.

They heard the sirens from nearly a block away before they saw the flashing lights, red and blue, bouncing off the buildings. The cab pulled to a stop near the road blockade and held his hand out for money. Eren shoved a twenty and a five into his hand and leapt out of the cab. Levi emerged behind him and together they walked towards Ilse's apartment.

Police officers swarmed the place, most of the ones who covered the night shift for Shiganshina aside from those on patrol at the churches they had picked out. People were huddled outside the apartment, most likely the residents. Several had blankets wrapped around their shoulders and were talking to officers who were writing down what they said. Those were probably Ilse's neighbors.

Levi spotted a somewhat familiar face and called the officer over, although the name eluded him. "Can you take a group of five or six and go search a manhole? I was on the phone with the woman who was kidnapped at the time. She said people came out of the sewers, on the side with the fire escape." The officer nodded and darted off to gather a few others to go with him.

One of the officers from another station in Shiganshina stopped them, asked for IDs, and then led them upstairs, up to Ilse's apartment. They took the stairs up two at a time. The door was unlocked, but the police said that they had been forced to pick the lock in order to get in. The attackers must have left by using the fire escape then. That means they might have left using the manhole.

Levi stepped into the apartment, his eyes sweeping around. The first thing that hit Levi was the state of the apartment. It was worse than the usual disarray that Ilse had. Her apartment had had been completely trashed. Drawers had been pulled out and upended. Glasses, test tubes, and more had been shoved onto the ground and broken, the various liquids inside seeping into the carpet. Papers had been scattered about and shredded. All this in such a short amount of time… Just how many of them were there?

The second thing that hit Levi as he stepped further in was the acrid stench of gunpowder, although it was faint. Silver eyes flickered around the room and spotted a window. The glass had been knocked inwards and flown forward a couple of feet from the windowsill. Someone had either hit it with something heavy or had hit it while running. The fire escape was just outside the window. That wound explain both how the assailants got in, out, and how the scent of gunpowder had faded.

There were signs of a struggle: a lamp on the floor, an overturned end table, and five bullet holes, thee in the wall and two in the ceiling. There were no splatters of blood, so none of them had connected, not that blood would have done them any good based on the labs that Hanji had run on the blood. "Eren, stay here and look around. I'm going to check out Ilse's bedroom." Eren nodded and moved around the apartment, dutifully moving to inspect every inch of the place.

Levi stalked back to Ilse's bedroom. The door was open. Her room had been torn to pieces, just like the main section of the apartment. Her nightstand had been shoved to the side, revealing a patch of carpet that had been torn away. There was a gap in the floorboards. It was empty. The man had either taken or destroyed everything. Levi clenched his hands into fists and glared around the room for something, anything.

Silver eyes flickered from one side of the roof to the other. The closet doors were open. The man must have been hiding in there. Her books had been scattered about on the floor, as well as her notebooks. Pages were torn form them and shredded. Some were even burned. Levi had no doubts that even more were missing, having been taken to be disposed of. His eyes flickered around the room before something on Ilse's bed caught his eye.

There was a small yellow note sitting on her pillow. Levi walked over to it and plucked it from the pillow. He slowly pulled it open, eyes scanning the words.

Well, l'homme rouge… it's your turn. Just try not to get any more of your friends killed. It'd be a shame for what happened to Farlan and Isabel to occur again… especially to Eren.

Levi stared at the note for a long time, slowly mulling over the words. No… what happened to them is not going to happen to Eren. I refuse to let that happen! The sound of footsteps reached his ears and he glanced up.

Eren stood in the doorway, emerald eyes peering anxiously at him. "Levi… are you done in here?"

Levi shoved the note into his pocket as he turned around. He could only hope that Eren hadn't seen it, not that it would matter when Eren got around to the questions. "Yeah… I'm done here. Let's get out." Eren hesitated but nodded. They left the apartment in silence, but that didn't last long.

"We should contact each of the locations," Eren murmured as they descended the stairs, taking them two at a time. It was mildly surprising that neither of them missed a step and fell considering how distracted they were. "That might give us an indication of where they are."

Levi nodded and shoved the door to the complex open, stepping back out into the frigid night air. "Someone grab me a radio." He grabbed the first radio someone brought up and turned to the frequency that the one the groups stationed at the church had agreed upon.

A wave of static crackled through for a few moments. He pressed the buttons down and started to speak. "This is Levi. Two victims have been taken. Have any of you seen anything strange in the last half hour to hour? Name your location." Silence and static greeted him for a few moments until voices, one by one, crackled through the speaker.

"Officer Turner reporting with Officer Langley and Officer Thompson. We're at the Maria Presbyterian House of Worship. There's no unusual activity going on here."

"Officers Ral and Bossard reporting from the Light of Maria. There's nothing going on here."

"Officers Mathews and Smith here at the Baptist Church of Maria Division. Nothing's going on here."

"Officers Evangelista, Novik, and Ruiz reporting. We're at Maria's Guiding Light, but there's nothing here aside from a couple drunks."

The replies cut off. They were one short. "Is the unit at the Catholic Church of Maria there? I need a response within the next sixty seconds or we're sending a unit your way." Silence met his words. Levi waited, clutching the radio in one hand, tapping his foot impatiently. The silence continued. Levi turned to Eren. "Eren, go-" The radio crackled to life again.

"Sorry, sorry, the radio died on us halfway through. Officers Hampton and Parks reporting in from the Catholic Church of Maria. Nothing strange is going on down here."

Levi sighed. That meant they had time to head the Titans off and get more officers around each of the locations. The only problem would be pulling enough away from various stations, most of which were understaffed, in order to stop them. Even two more officers at each scene would be a massive help in attempting to catch the Titans. Levi wasn't optimistic about Ilse and Mike getting out alive. It was best to keep his expectations low.

"Alright, I want hourly reports, starting at eight o'clock sharp. If you fail to respond within five minutes of the deadline we will be sending reinforcements to your location." Murmurs of assent came in response. Levi crammed the radio into his pocket and turned to Eren, an idea already forming in his mind. It disgusted him, but it was necessary.

"We need to go look at the sewers and tunnels. That might lead us to something." Levi's nose wrinkled in disgust. He would rather be dipped in acid that slowly burned his flesh away rather than head into the sewers. He had spent more than enough time in them once and was reluctant to do so again, even if it was for a good cause. Hopefully, if they got lucky, the manhole would be one of the ones that led to a service tunnel, but he wouldn't know until someone went down or until someone was able to discern which it was.

"Who should we send and how many?" Eren pressed as they rounded the corner of the building and walked over to the manhole in the street, which was surrounded by officers and a barrier of yellow caution tape and poles. The officers were rigging lights up, pointing them at the manhole. Five officers had clothing and shoes in their hands, a small measure of precaution to protect them from some of the shit that was down there.

"Eren… I hope you aren't claustrophobic."

With clothing better suited for running through sewers - on the off chance he managed to fall into the water - a radio, a helmet, gloves, and a flashlight, Eren was prepared to head down into the manhole. One of the officers he was going with had managed to identify it as a manhole that led to a utility tunnel, although that could become a sewer at any time.

There were five others coming with him: Officers Grant, Truman, Youngblood, Hicks, and Rivers. Officer Grant was apparently one of the best trackers in Shiganshina, perhaps even in the entirety of Eden. According to Officer Truman, who spoke to Eren while they gathered their equipment, Officer Grant had quite the knack for finding trails and traces that others couldn't.

Eren slid a flashlight, slim and black, into his pocket. Officer Youngblood handed him a gun: a pistol, along with several cartridges. If he came down to it, he would have to shoot, but all of them hoped that no shots would have to be fired. They strapped on bulletproof vests and checked their gear one last time.

"Alright guys, let's go," Officer Grant said. The six of them clustered around the manhole and began to descend one at a time. Officer Grant went first, her flashlight hooked to her belt and pointed down, her fingers curled tight around the metal rungs of the ladder. The ladder itself was starting to show signs of rust, but it would hold.

Looking down into the darkness below, Eren had swallow down a small whimper. Something inside him, something instinctual, told him not to go in. It pressed against the back of his mind, faint but there. He had never been afraid of the dark or enclosed spaces, not really, but he had never gone down or into something quite so narrow, so dark, so... so cage-like.

Simply looking at the dark hole below sent a faint wave of panic rushing through him. I don't want to go down in there. He was starting to regret agreeing to go down into the tunnels. Eren glanced up at Levi as Officer Truman eased himself down into the hole, black aside from the weak glow of streetlights and Officer Grant's flashlight, the light of which was barely visible between their two bodies.

The black-haired man was watching him closely with calm silver eyes. The calm and stoic look of his face couldn't mask some of the less obvious things Levi was doing: biting his lip, shaking slightly – although Eren doubted his was cold – his silver eyes following Eren around. When he got Eren looking, Levi gave a weak twitch up his lips in an attempt to smile. "Good luck," he mouthed to Eren, who nodded in return.

Luck would certainly be needed for this. He was just as likely to get mugged and stabbed by a squatter as he was to slip, fall, and break his neck, or perhaps even be ambushed by the Titans. It wasn't confirmed that they were down there, but it was a good place to start. They could at least try to retrace the Titans' steps. It was likely that the Titan's had even used the tunnels as an escape route. Despite all the dark possibilities that awaited them in the depths of the tunnel, Eren managed to steel his nerves.

Officer Rivers lowered herself into the gaping maw of the manhole, a thin but long flashlight clenched between her teeth. Eren shot one last look at Levi, gave a thumb up, and approached the manhole. He waited till Rivers was a few feet down before he lowered himself into the darkness. Levi was the last thing he saw before damp stone walls and a rusting metal ladder took over his vision. The raven-haired man was watching him, arms crossed, hope and fear warring in his silver eyes.

Eren's feet hit the concrete with a soft smack and he glanced up. Lights were being set up around the manhole, strong beams that sliced through the darkness of the night. He turned around and pulled his flashlight out of his pocket. The five officers were visible in the gloom, broken by the sporadic number of weak and flickering lights on the walls and by three of their six flashlights.

"Come on," Officer Rivers murmured gesturing for him to follow. "Get in front of me. I'm the one with a gun, not you." Eren squeezed past Officer Rivers and fell into place behind Officer Hicks. Officer Grant led the way, one hand holding a pistol, the other holding a flashlight and bracing her arm to keep it steady in case she had to shoot.

It was disturbingly quiet down in the utility tunnels. Without the usual sounds of the city in the background, they were left to move about silently in a place where the few sounds that were made echoed off of every wall. Footsteps, the chitter of mice and rats, the soft hum of the lights and electricity that coursed through the cables overhead, and the occasional drip of water falling into small pools that sporadically dotted the stone floor.

The tunnels had narrowed in on them, barely wise enough for Officer Hicks, who was the largest of the six, to fit through. Being down in the tunnels was like hell for the claustrophobic. Is it possible to have sudden-onset claustrophobia or something? If so, I'm royally fucked. It almost felt like the walls were slowly pressing in, like the darkness was wrapping its invisible fingers around his throat to choke the life from his body. The feelings were still vague, but they were present, tickling the back of his mind. None of the others seemed to be bothered.

The tunnel hooked to the right and they kept walking. So far they hadn't come across any tunnels that split off, but it couldn't be much longer before more tunnels started joining with the one they were in. Five minutes in, they came to a section where four tunnels met. There was a circular space where the tunnels met, large enough to fit ten or so people inside with a little room to spare. The size of the space took away some of the tension of being enclosed, of being underground, from Eren, but not much.

He watched as light danced across the stone walls as the officers studied the signs over the tunnel entrances, keeping to the edges of the 'room'. Officer Grant, on the other hand, peered at the ground, occasionally touching it with loved fingers. She reminded Eren of a hunting dog poking around until it found the scent. Officer Grant rose after a minute or two. "Come on. They came from here." She took them down the tunnel to the right.

The process continued. Every five or so minutes, there would be another circular space where at least four tunnels met. Officer Grant would crouch down and study the ground, searching for clues to lead them on. Her eyes took led them in a random route through the tunnels. Right, left, left, straight, straight, right, left, straight, left, right, straight, straight, straight.

Eren wasn't even sure how she knew where they were going. When he looked at the same paths she was looking at, he couldn't see anything that might have hinted at the Titans' passage through the tunnels. Then she would point out things: a scuff mark in the dust and dirt; barely visible footprints on the floor; marks where it looked like one body, sometimes even two, had been dragged; patches of slime on the wall that had been recently touched and smeared by human hands.

Officer Grant shook her head when she saw those and murmured something to Eren after seeing the smears once or twice. "It's like they're trying to tell us where they're going."

Maybe they are. The thought was grim, and despite how strange it seemed, it was probably true. That was how the Titans operated: lead them along and then throw them something that would make them slam face-first into a wall.

The walk in the darkness was long. They turned right again and kept walking. After a few minutes, they passed by a part where the wall was thin enough that they could hear water rushing alongside them to their left: the sewers. Thankfully, there were no paths to take them to the left along that particular stretch.

As they walked, the sound of water began to change. Eren couldn't quite place it, but something about the sound was changing. It took him almost three minutes to realize what about it had changed. It wasn't the sound: it was the direction that he could hear the water from. "Guys, the water isn't beside us. It's above us. We're going down."

Eren took another step and slammed into Officer Hicks' back. He wasn't sure if the policeman had stopped at his words or if Officer Grant had stopped up at the front of the line. "Hold still. There's a trap door here," she called back. The sound of metal screeching and grinding against metal filled the tunnel, scraping against Eren's ears. He fought the urge to clap his hands over his ears and focused on Officer Grant's words. "There are steps here."

"Dare I ask which way?" The question came from Officer Rivers.

"It goes down. It's cut straight into the floor, although the tunnel continues on. Turn your lights on. We're going down." Eren stifled a groan. That was the last thing he wanted to do. One by one the lights turned on, slicing through the darkness, although it wasn't that effective with all of them crammed up against each other. "Let's go."

Eren grimaced and clenched the flashlight hard enough that the grooves dug into his palm and fingers. This was not going to be fun. Note to self: never, ever go down into narrow underground tunnels again. They began to advance, moving into the unknown.

Levi tapped his fingers on his desk with impatience as he waited for the nine o'clock report to come in. The officials were still scrambling to find reinforcements to send to each of the locations. That was the problem with being both understaffed across the whole of Maria, coupled with the fact that many of the officers had cases and incidents of their own to handle.

Knowing that Eren was in the utility tunnels didn't help any. God knew what was down there in the dark depths aside from the Titans, who could be lying in wait to ambush Eren and the other officers at any moment. Thinking about that just led to him leaving the station for a cigarette or three.

It didn't help that Irvin had ordered him to stay at the station. According to him, at least one person handling the case had to stay in a somewhat secure location. So Levi was confined to travelling back and forth between his desk and the wall outside the station, a gun nearby at all times.

Levi could have gone into the tunnels – he should have gone into the tunnels. He was the one who had practically been raised underground. Admittedly, that had been in Sina, not Maria, but weren't sewers more or less the same no matter where a person went? Doing something, anything, other than waiting would have given him at least some time to do nothing but focus, not think.

Levi sighed and stood tugging his jacket on as quick as possible. He grabbed the radio as he stalked out of the station, a frown on his face and a cigarette already in hand. Wintry air slammed into him when he stepped outside, stinging his face and creeping through his jacket, but Levi didn't care. He stuck the radio in his pocket and pulled his lighter out.

Light danced across his face and hand, disappearing as soon as the end of the cigarette began to smolder. The scent and taste of lemongrass washed over him as he took a deep drag, tilting his head back to stare up at the night sky. It was dark and the glow of the city lights masked the gleaming stars. A plume of smoke flowed from his lips, drifting up into the air before the wind snatched it away. He managed to take another drag before his radio crackled to life.

All five reports came in, one by one, and by the time Levi had finished his cigarette, the last report had already come in and the radio had been stuffed back in his pocket. Levi bit his lip and lit another cigarette. Was it good or bad that nothing had happened yet? Did that mean that they had marked the wrong locations? Had they missed some important clue? Or were Mike and Ilse still alive, being dragged through the tunnels beneath the streets to some unknown location? There were so many questions and so few answers.

How is this going to end?

"How long have we been going down?" Officer Truman muttered, waving his flashlight around. The beam of light bounced around the stairwell, illuminating some things as they walked. The stairwell had expanded within a few minutes of entering. Three people could fit, side to side, and still have space between them and the stone walls, not that they would have wanted to get close to the walls anyways.

Dark green slime coated the walls, glistening wetly in the light that bounced over the gargantuan patches. Water and patches of slime and moss made the steps dangerous to maneuver on as a slight misstep could send them sliding down into the darkness beyond. There was a slight path through the slime, straight down the stairs. Bodies had been dragged down this way.

"We've been going about ten minutes," Officer Youngblood murmured as he consulted his watch. His voice echoed through the stairwell, slowly fading away ahead and behind them. Every sound was louder than normal, so every suspicious sound brought six heads and at least two guns snapping up in its general direction. It was amazing none of them had been accidentally shot yet.

"How far down are we going? Surely these weren't in the original plans for these tunnels," Officer Rivers muttered, her voice echoing off the slime-coated walls.

"These were added on," Officer Truman said. "The walls seem to be rough compared to the ones in the tunnels above. I can't say how long this has been here, but it's definitely been a while since it was built."

They plunged back into silence as they continued, leaving only the drip of water, the squelch of the slime beneath their feet, and the sound of their breaths to fill their ears. Officer Youngblood called out the time they had been descending in five minute intervals. They were just past the thirty-five minute interval when Officer Grant's light revealed that the stairs flattened out and became a hallway of sorts

After a few more minutes of careful maneuvering, their feet touched the stone floor. Officer Grant reached the bottom first and aimed her flashlight ahead. She stopped walking. "Damn…" Officer Grant muttered, gazing forwards. "They sealed the tunnel off."

One by one they gathered around her, peering around each other and aiming their flashlights down into the hallways beyond. Part of the ceiling had caved in, leaving a wall of rock in their way. There were scorch marks on the ground, like something had been set on fire. Or like something had been detonated. The roof hadn't caved in: they had used explosives to close it off. Their path was gone. Their hope of discovering something at the end of this trek was gone. The hope of finding the Titans, Mike, and Ilse was gone. They had nothing now, nothing.

There was something in front of the rocks, a flash of yellow. Eren stepped forwards, squeezing his way past the officers, much to their protests, and he walked down the length of the tunnel. He crouched down, plucked it from the ground, and slowly peeled it open. It looked just like the other notes, with its yellow paper and typed words, or word in this case.

Sorry!

Some of the officers were waiting outside the manhole when they emerged at around one in the morning, Officer Grant leading the way. Within minutes of reaching the surface they were hustled off to get out of the jumpsuits and boots they had been given in case the trek had necessitated some swimming in sewage.

Thankfully, they hadn't had to resort to that, but black and dark green slime covered their legs and boots. It was also good that he still had his clothes on. Stripping outside in the middle of winter was not something Eren wanted to do at the moment. He held the clothes gingerly as he brought it back. Someone held out a bag and he dropped it in. Hopefully it would be burned, although it was more likely that those things would be washed and reused due to budget cuts.

Officer Grant was the only other one done when Eren approached. She leaned over a map on the hood of a patrol car, a flashlight pointed down at it. He stepped up to her side and peered at it for a few moments before he realized what it was. It was a map of the utility and sewer tunnels. Officer Grant had a red pen in hand, slowly tracing out their route. "Do you need any help?"

She glanced up at him, amber eyes grim, and shook her head. "I remember the layout for the most part. Charles can help me when he returns." Eren had no idea which one Charles was but he nodded anyways. Officer Grant straightened and looked at him. "Your name is Eren, correct?" Eren nodded again.

"There's no doubt in my mind that they took those two people down in there. The drag marks led further into the tunnels, not towards the entrance we took. We'll try to work out where they were headed based on their path. There's no possible way to pinpoint an exact location, but we'll our best. There's a general area though. They were heading south, towards the southern region of Shiganshina." South… that's where the station is. "Also…" she glanced at him, her eyes cloaked in darkness.

"What is it?" Eren pressed, leaning a little closer.

Officer Grant shook her head. "It's nothing… well, I think it's nothing. At any rate, you should find your partner. He'll probably need some help. We'll get some officers stationed around a general area if we find anything." "Alright… thanks."

The station was silent. Everyone was gone, either out doing their nighttime rounds or at home, resting for the next day shift. Levi sighed and stared at the slip of paper that had been on Ilse's bed. How they hell are they planning on putting Eren through that? Farlan and Isabel's deaths weren't exactly normal considering it all. "Levi." Eren's voice broke the silence.

Levi glanced up, relief surging through him when he saw the green-eyed man walking closer. He was fine, without a scratch on his body. The relief broke his usual stoic mask for a few moments before he pulled it back in, his wits coming back to him. He grabbed the note and shoved it back into his pocket.

Silver eyes tracked Eren as he moved closer, rolled a chair up, and sat a foot or two away from Levi. They faced each other, silver eyes fixed on Eren's face while emerald eyes were fixed on the cushions. Questions lurked behind Eren's eyes. The chestnut-haired man looked like the questions would burst forth at any moment.

Levi felt nauseous. Answering those questions would not be enjoyable. Hell, if he could have written everything down in a letter or something, he would have done that in a heartbeat. He watched as Eren picked at the cuffs of his sleeves, his brow creased as he mulled over questions. Levi knew what was coming. He'd been thinking over it for the last few hours, pondering what to say, what to do. Those plans had gone out the window the moment Eren had walked in.

He gripped his knees with his hands, nails digging in through his jeans. There was an icy block of fear in his chest. If he told the whole story, what would Eren think? I have to tell him. I don't want to, but I have to. He deserves to know. Eren shifted uncomfortably and then looked up at Levi, his beautiful emerald eyes steady with determination.

"Levi… what happened the other night? Why would you come back if you pushed me away? Was it something I did?" It was better than some questions he could have started out with. Levi sighed and pressed his fingers to his forehead. The truth was never easy, but sometimes it was necessary. Necessary for trust. Necessary for love. Is that what this is? I'm still not sure… "No Eren, it wasn't you. It's because I was confused. I was scared."

"Scared?" Eren murmured as his brow scrunched in thought. "Scared of what?"

"Eren… it's a long story."

"We've got time."

A million other excuses passed through Levi's mind then, but in the end, he decided to trust Eren: to trust that his past wouldn't ruin his future this time. Eren deserved an explanation and, more than that, he deserved the truth. He didn't want to speak. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him not to: every fiber but one. One that didn't scream, but merely told him to follow his heart and trust for once, to love for once.

"From a young age, I lived on the streets. It's not easy to support yourself on the streets unless you've got connections, typically connections with the gangs. I got involved with one when I was ten or so… the Sombre Cœur… the Dark Court. That was a gang in Sina, originally founded by some French guys. You start out low in gangs. You do what you can to survive."

"And you?"

"I whored myself out for a year or two. I dealt drugs when I had them. Used them when I had them. Killed people too. That's how I got that lovely little nickname, l'homme rouge. The Red Man. I liked it. Not the sex. The drugs. The killing. Those parts of it I enjoyed." Well, I certainly didn't beat around the bush there, now did I?

Eren blinked, startled, but he didn't say anything. He didn't give up and leave. That was good… right? A flicker of hope slowly came to life in his chest. Silver eyes dropped, focusing on his knees. It was better than looking at Eren. It made talking easier.

"I… I didn't want you to be like one of them. Like one of those faceless, nameless people. I just… I didn't know what to do. I'm not exactly the romance type. It's not like I've ever engaged in a relationship that I wasn't paid for."

"What about now? Do you know now?"

"… Absolutely."

Tan fingers crept into his vision and covered his hand. Levi looked up, the small flicker of hope swelling. It mixed with the quick thud of his heart. Eren met his eyes, his brilliant emerald eyes blazing with joy. "It's alright…" he murmured. "All that's over now, it's in the past. Don't worry about it. That doesn't change how I think. How I feel. Just focus on the present. Focus on the future. Focus on me."

Levi hesitated for a moment, just a moment, and then nodded. A small smile flickered onto the brunette's face and he rolled his chair closer. Eren leaned in and cupped Levi's face with one hand. It warmed him, gave him the shred of courage he needed. Levi grabbed Eren's collar and pulled him closer, turning his head a little as he pressed his mouth against Eren's.

His nerves were on fire; his mind was blank as he breathed in Eren's sweet scent, mixed with the musty, but faint, stench of the tunnels. The brunette's lips were chapped but soft against his own. Levi pulled away after a few moments, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Eren leaned back slightly, a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks and a jubilant smile on his face. Seeing Eren like that sent a bolt of warmth through Levi, knocking away the last bits of dread that remained inside, a sense of happiness taking its place.

Eren took Levi's hand from his knee and cupped it between his own. "Tell me everything," the brunette whispered, "Please."

Levi hesitated, still doubtful, but opened his mouth after a few moments. "It's doesn't get any better…"

"I don't care," Eren breathed, his voice so soft, so compelling, while his emerald eyes glittered with hope. Relief and elation rushed through Levi's body, chasing away all his doubts and worries for a few moments. I can talk… I can tell him everything.

A wash of static filled the air, scraping harshly against their ears. The two of them flinched, startled by the sudden noise, and were jerked back into a world that consisted of more than them. Levi jerked the radio out of his jacket pocket and slammed it down onto the desk. He glanced at his watch: 1:59 AM. Damn. Interrupted by the freaking hourly reports of all things.

"Officer Turner here with Officers Langley and Thompson. There's no activity at the House of Worship as of right now."

"This is Officer Hampton speaking. Neither of us has spotted anything suspicious at the Catholic Church."

"Officers Novik, Ruiz, and Evangelista reporting in. No activity at Guiding Light."

"This is Officer Smith. We've got nada at the Baptist Church."

The radio fell silent. Five minutes passed. No report from Petra. No report from Oluo. Levi felt his bones grow cold. "Come on Eren," he said, jerking to his feet. "We've got to go. Something's happened." Eren stood and followed him out the door. Neither of them bothered to grab their jackets. Levi leapt down the steps and glanced both ways. He didn't know the way to the church and there were no cabs out, none that he could see. That created a slight problem. The door slammed shut behind him.

"Eren, do you know a way to the Light of Maria?"

"Yeah!" the brunette leapt ahead of him and took off to the right in a dead sprint. Levi darted after him. Their feet pounded into the concrete sidewalk as they sprinted through the streets, illuminated only by the streetlights. Few were out, mainly the homeless and druggies. That made it easier to sprint down the streets without worrying about hitting too many people.

What happened to them? Fear twisted his guts. The streets blurred to him, leaving only Eren and their directions the brunette took clear in his mind. Right, right, straight, left, straight, straight. Eren hooked to the right and Levi followed.

"How much longer?"

"One more block!"

They sprinted across the street, which was thankfully devoid of cars. Eren slowed his pace as they crossed and stopped halfway down the street. He turned to his right. Levi came to a stop beside him. "We're here."

Their breaths came in ragged gasps, huge clouds of white vapor billowing from their lips as they stared up at the church. There were no gravestones in front of the church. Everyone inside of Eden was cremated. That left a bare stretch of ground in front of the church, covered in carefully trimmed grass with a large oak tree growing on either side of a cobblestone path.

No one was walking the darkened yard. Four tall towers were positioned at all four corners of the church, with another tower, taller than the others, in the middle. A cross hung above the door. All of it was enclosed by a high iron fence, painted black. Tiny crosses were wrought into the tops of the fence posts. The gate was open.

Threads of dread curled through Levi. There was no movement. No sounds. No lights from flashlights bouncing around. Where are they? "Come on," he murmured, voice low, as he approached the gate. They walked through, glancing either way. No voices called out to them. No one approached them. Levi had a bad feeling about it all. The ascended the steps of the church, Levi leading the way. The door was closed.

He moved forward to open one and his foot knocked into something. Levi glanced down. A flashlight sat just in front of the door, pointed to the right. He stopped down and picked it up, fingers curling around the slim, black handle as he looked at it. There was something written on a piece of duct tape in silver Sharpie along the side. There was just enough light to read it. Property of: Officer Petra Ral.

Levi felt cold then. It wasn't from the frigid air outside, nor was it from the lack of a thick coat. "Whose is it?" Eren murmured, glancing behind them. "Petra's…" Levi replied. "Do you see her?" "No." Levi glanced back at the doors. This was not good. He set his hand on the door handle, only to jerk it away like he had been burned when a clamor of bells burst into the air. It took a few moments for Levi to realize what the sound was. It was his phone.

Levi internally cursed whatever person had gotten the idea to call him, wishing them a sudden, painful death, or at least to have their phone taken and crushed. The raven-haired man fished it from his jacket pocket and glanced at the screen. Call from Unknown Number. This can't be good. He accepted the call and held the phone out, letting the voice crackle to life over the speakers. Eren glanced back at him, eyes wide and hidden by shadows.

"Hello l'homme rouge. I take that your night has been going well. Or as well as it can go, considering you and Eren are searching for those two."

The voice was soft and delicate, but there was no doubt that it was a male. There was a faint accent to the man's voice - German. Oh yeah. He definitely wanted this person to have a sudden, violent, death. "What do you want?" Levi demanded, cutting straight to the point. There was no point in taking the conversation slowly, especially with murderers. Well that's hypocritical considering both Eren and I could be classified as murderers…

"Oh come now, surely we can talk for a few minutes. Let's start with introductions. I already know your names, so I'll introduce myself. My name is J. Well, not my birth name, but identities must be kept a secret for the sake of… well, of secrecy. Although I'm sure you aren't fans of secrecy. Especially since that's what is keeping you from solving this case! We are exceptional when it comes to keeping secrets."

Eren and Levi glanced at each other, eyes wide. J. The man from Masters' notes – one of them at least. He was one of the ones that had kidnapped children. A sudden, violent death wasn't enough for a man like this. Dipping J into a somewhat weak acid and left there to have his flesh slowly eaten away till he died sounded like a much more fulfilling option. J continued talking, his voice sounding almost cheery.

"It's quite nice to finally be allowed to talk to you both, such an honor really. It's too bad that the circumstances aren't the best… I do hate to be the bearer of bad news. Unfortunately, that has to happen sometimes."

"What circumstances?" Eren snapped. "What bad news?" His voice was shaking slightly with rage.

"Oh, you know… just the usual humdrum stuff. Murders… kidnapping… the same old same old really."

Levi almost thought Eren was going to break the stone railing he was gripping. His knuckles were white and his face was tight. The chestnut-haired man was practically shaking himself apart with anger. J continued to talk in their silence. It was startling how menacing he could sound with such a sickeningly cheerful voice.

"Ah, it's such a lovely night outside! Absolutely perfect for visiting churches, right? Some of your friends were even visiting a church tonight. Two of them won't be leaving. Would you like to speak to one of them? Here you go!"

Levi's fingers tightened around the phone. Please don't be who I think it is. There was a rustle and a small whimper. Then a new voice crackled over the speakers of his phone.

"L-Levi…?"

Levi nearly choked. It felt like someone had just knocked the wind out of it. It felt like someone had just reached into his chest and torn his lungs out, straight through his ribs. He couldn't breathe. Even though he had already been coming to that conclusion it still shocked him. Not her. Not them.

"Levi… Levi, are you there? Oh God..." Her voice was thick with tears and the static from the phone distorted her voice, but it was recognizable. Petra.

"Good, good! And now for the children…"

No words this time, only the muffled whimpers of children. Levi couldn't determine how many. There were at least three. His mind wasn't exactly focused on that part. It was still frozen on Petra's voice. They've got Petra… they've got Oluo.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but you've got bodies to discover. Farewell for now Hochrote Mann, farewell for now kleine Kraetur!"

The call dropped, leaving them in silence. Neither of them moved. Levi wasn't sure he could move. He felt like he was made of ice, cold and fragile. They're picking up the pace… why?! Levi shoved the phone back into his pocket and turned the flashlight. "Come on Eren. We're going in." He grabbed the handle to the door and jerked it open.

He regretted that choice instantly.

Chapter 21: End

Quick notice: If you have questions, any questions, just PM me. I'll answer as many of them as I can without revealing any plot points.
... Yes, I have to pick them. Unfortunately. Don't worry about them not having found Mike and Ilse yet. Levi's past will have more light shed on it soon. No idea when. I'll get there when I get there. Anyways, thanks to calleyrose for looking over a little segment for me~ By the way, merry/happy late Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/whatever-you-do-or-don't-celebrate. Gods... I just realized how long it's been since I've written an actual death T.T

The-Probably-Not-Accurate-Translations Translation Notes (German):
Hochrote Mann: Crimson Man
kleine Kraetur: Little Monster

TheOtaku2: It's going to be black as pitch at this rate. Thank you and Merry (late) Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate)!
Kunougi Haruka: Haha just a little bit for him~ Hanji is quite the 'catalyst' there ^^ ... Sorry about those two. Haha, perhaps you'll find the meaning of the next half together. Thank you~ Excellent, someone caught it~
calleyrose: ... Pretty much. Just a little bit. How dead are we talking here? Cause I have lots to write before I die... Who needs self control? And yes, I do like my floors... they're good for a quick nap.
Guest (Anon): Haha, just a little fucked up~ Ah, thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy!
Guest (shnack): Ah, thank you for the translation! I'm woefully behind language-wise T.T I shall!
ichiruzuka: ... Just PM me with your questions. All of them.