END GAME

Chapter 22: Mizaru (See No Evil)

Contains scenes of gore and whatnot. Do read with caution.

Bitter winter wind tugged at them, biting through their thin jackets, numbing their fingers, ears, and faces. Silence filled the air. There were no sounds. It was fitting in a way, considering what they were looking at, considering who they were looking at. The beam from Levi's flashlight fixed on Ilse's limp body. Levi swallowed as he gazed upon his dead friend.

Ilse hung from the door leading into the chapel. She was suspended between the two doors. Her head was tilted forwards, her chin buried into her chest, and her short, black hair hiding her eyes. Blood-stained hands hid her eyes, held in place by two nails that had been hammered through her wrists. Crimson trails worked their way down her arms: blood. Levi wasn't sure because of the distance, but it looked like there were faint, red rings around Ilse's wrists.

The beam of light wavered and worked its way around Ilse's body. There was a nail in each shoulder, and one through her feet, which were bare and placed one over the other. Trails of blood leaked out from around each of the nails, staining her white shirt and dripping onto the wooden floor. A knife jutted out from her stomach, a stain of crimson spreading out from around the blade.

How long had she been dead? It couldn't have been long. Her corpse was probably still warm. Levi stayed at the entrance. It wasn't that he couldn't walk in: it was that he didn't want to walk in. Perhaps if he just shut the doors and stayed outside, he could delude himself into thinking Ilse was still alive, even if it was only for a few more minutes. Maybe he could even pretend that the case was a dream, that none of it was real.

A warm hand curled on his shoulder and shook him gently, pulling him back to reality. "Come on Levi… we've gotta go in." Levi nodded and stepped into the church. Eren must have still had his flashlight from the tunnels because a second beam of light joined Levi's, sweeping through the lobby of the church. The beam danced over light gray carpet, heavy oak benches, depictions of various Bible scenes, and tan walls before it joined Levi's light on Ilse's body.

Levi tucked his flashlight under his arm and pulled out a pair of gloves as they slowly approached Ilse's corpse. "Watch for any movement," he breathed as he tugged on his glove and took his flashlight back into his hand.

"What about calling the police? I don't have my gun. Do you?"

"Of course I do. I'm not an idiot. We'll do that in a minute." Eren snorted in indignation. Levi turned towards the chestnut-haired man and pulled the pistol out of the waistband of his jeans. "Try not to shoot me." He handed the pistol to Eren, who took it and stepped back a few feet.

The raven-haired man stopped a foot away from Ilse's body and hesitated for a moment before he pressed his fingers against her neck. The skin beneath his fingers was cooling. There was no pulse throbbing through the veins, not even a faint one. I knew it...

Levi brought the light down to the knife jutting out of her stomach. The handle was smooth, made of a light-colored wood, with little metal circles set into it. It looked like something Levi could have found in his kitchen. There was something scratched into the side, just beneath the blade. Another letter was scratched into the blade, just like how the rest of the weapons were.

The raven-haired man leaned closer and peered at it. No, not one letter: there were two this time. Why two letters? What the hell are they thinking? The Titan's had carved a 'T' and an 'O' into the blade. 'T' and 'O' as in two separate letters… or are they intended to be read together? That means we have CTR, which is Court, and then we have a 'K,' a 'G,' a 'T,' and an 'O.' What the hell are they spelling out now?

A gust of frigid winter air snaked its way into the lobby of the church and Levi shivered. He glanced up to Ilse's face, swinging the light up. Why did they nail her hands there? The red rings on her wrists were about three inches from one side to the other. The pattern of a length of rope was visible around her wrists. The rope had cut through her skin in some places, leaving raw and bloody scrapes on her hands.

He could see something from beneath the edges of her hands: mottled pink-red in color and lumpy. Levi pulled at her fingers. They clung to her face, but they came away after a bit of tugging. In all of Levi's years, both on the streets and as a detective, he hadn't seen anything quite like it.

The skin stretching from just above her eyebrow to a little below her nose and down to her ear wasn't white and smooth, not anymore. It was harsh red in color, almost like her face had been burned, but there was no soot, nor did her face look burned. Instead, it looked like something had eaten holes through the skin, straight down to the bone in some places.

Other places with covered in rigid peaks of skin and muscle while others were cratered, like whatever had been eating at her skin hadn't been soon thick in those areas. Mottled skin stretched across the bridge of her nose and disappeared beneath her other hand, still clamped over her eye.

More of the skin around her eye socket had been eaten away by whatever had caused the rest of it, revealing a thin ring of bone. Her eye and eyelids were gone. A dark, empty socket that still wept blood stared at Levi instead of an eye. The remaining muscle and tissue inside the socket bubbled up in some spots while others had simply melted, running together like molten Crayons.

I've heard of a few cases where this has happened before, but those are few and far between… The worst part is that they usually did that when the victims were alive. Levi recoiled and let her hand go, stumbling back a step or two. Eren was by his side in an instant, his hand on Levi's shoulder, emerald eyes focused on him instead of Ilse. "Levi? Levi, what's wrong?"

The raven-haired man shook his head, disgust, shock, and anger welling up inside. "They poured acid on her. They blinded her." Eren glanced at Ilse's body, where her face was still illuminated by the light of Levi's flashlight. Her fingers cast shadows across her face, but they couldn't hide everything.

Eren's hand tightened on Levi's shoulder, his fingers digging into the skin. Levi could feel the tremors rolling off of Eren. "Come on. We've got to find Mike," the raven-haired man murmured, his voice soft. Not that Mike had any hope of being alive either.

Eren glanced at Levi and didn't look away. "Where the hell are we supposed to look? This place is huge! There's probably catacombs for their priests, the tows, the chapel, all the little side rooms, and God knows what else!" His voice rose as he talked, the words coming faster, his panic showing in every syllable. Eren fell silent after that, surprise showing in his eyes at his outburst.

Silver eyes stared at Eren, an eyebrow raised, "You good now?" He was mildly surprised his voice stayed even despite the guilt and God knew what else was burning its way through him.

Eren let out a huff and ran his fingers through his hair, "Yeah, a little."

Levi nodded and turned back to the door, his eyes narrowing in thought. They nailed her to the door for a reason, and not just for show. It's a clue about Mike… He's inside the chapel. "Come on. We need to find another entrance into the chapel. Now… do you have any idea where one might be?"

"Levi… have you ever been in a church?"

"No, they burn me," he snapped. Dry humor. An automatic response. It was something to block people out so that he could hide the turmoil inside.

"No surprise there. Churches usually have side entrances into the chapel. You're bound to find one if you go in one direction for a few minutes. So help me God, if you suggest splitting up, I will knock you unconscious."

Levi rolled his eyes and elbowed Eren in the gut, just below his ribs, before he started walking. "I wouldn't have survived this long if I was making dumbass choices like that."

Eren quieted down after that. Silence wrapped around them, broken only by the sound of their footsteps echoing off the walls. Their lights danced around the darkened hall, carving through the darkness until they spotted something jutting out of the wall: the frame of a door. "Here we go," Levi muttered as they approached.

There was a small click from behind as Eren disengaged the safety. Well, Levi hoped it was Eren disengaging the safety. If not, they were royally screwed. No gunshots, no voices. It must have been Eren. The raven-haired man approached the door and tugged on one of the brass handles. It swung open with a creak that seemed loud enough to be heard across the city, although it couldn't have very loud.

The chapel was dark for the most part. Moonlight streamed through the circle of colored glass in the ceiling above. The bits of glass depicted Jesus standing in front of a couple of clouds, a sun rising just above them. His arms were outstretched. Little naked angels – the ones that looked like chubby babies that Levi couldn't remember the name of – flew around his feet, tiny golden trumpets clasped in their chubby fists.

They stepped further into the chapel and brought the beams of light up to the walls. Levi took the left while Eren took the right. The beams of light began to slowly make their way across the room. Silver eyes tracked his light across the wall, which curved along the sides. Pillars that had been painted white and etched with images of weeping angels obstructed his view, but that could be more thoroughly examined later. It would be more irritating if they had to look through each and every row of the pews.

The beam of yellowish light skipped up onto the raised platform where the preachers and priests stood. There was a piano set off to the side – an upright if Levi remembered correctly. The beam continued. Beyond the piano, Levi could see several raised bits jutting out of the floor, level and wide. Was that where the choir stood? Levi couldn't remember the last time he had actually set foot inside a church, if ever.

His light bounced over the podium, a light brown in color, with a small, white cross set in the front. The light kept moving before he jerked it back to the podium, the same height as before. The edge of the beam went just over the top of the podium. It illuminated a pair of polished black shoes. Levi swallowed but it wasn't easy. His throat was dry.

Levi tugged on Eren's sleeve, keeping his beam as level as he could, but his hand was shaking slightly. "Eren… I think I found Mike." Eren twisted beside him. Levi heard the sharp sound of surprise escape Eren's lips. "Come on." His voice was cold, so cold.

Keep it together. Stay strong. You can do it. You can do it. Can't you?

Levi started walking. He didn't want to. He had to. Petra and Oluo were waiting for him. Levi's hand grabbed Eren's wrist, holding it tight. The edge of the flashlight pressed into his hand. Eren was his anchor, helping to keep him calm. Eren was the main reason he hadn't walked out of the church yet. Together, they walked up the steps to the platform and brought their lights up to illuminate the rest of Mike's body.

The Titans had bound him to a large cross behind the podium. Three feet spanned the distance between the floor and his feet, which had been bound around his ankles with rope. Mike was wearing his police uniform. He must have gone straight to Ilse's after his shift at the station. His pants were darker than usual: darkened by blood.

More ropes were stretched around his wrists, which had been stretched out across the horizontal part of the cross. There were two nails, one in each palm, with a small trail of blood leading down off his palm. Silver eyes watched as a crimson droplet formed on one of his hands and hung there for a moment before it fell to the ground, where two minuscule puddles of blood hand formed, one for each hand.

The beams raked across his chest. His shirt had been torn open, revealing a gaping wound in his lower abdomen. It was circular, about the size of a softball, and delicately cut. It was around the area where his liver would have been. Levi was pretty sure a liver was supposed to be there. Even with his limited knowledge in human anatomy, numerous autopsies with Hanji tended to lead to memorizing the generic shape of most, if not all, organs.

Instead of a liver, he saw a lumpy mass of organs – the intestine perhaps – coated in slowly drying blood. It glistened wetly beneath the harsh, yellow glare of the flashlights. Why the fuck would they want a liver? Are they experimenting on their victims now?

The flashlight beams continued upwards, derailing his thought for the moment. Mike's head bowed forwards, but they could clearly see his face from their angle. A mask of molten, bubbled flesh similar to that on Ilse's face marred his own.

Flesh, marbled a harsh red, had formed ridges and patches where it had run together. Both of his eyes had been scorched away by the acid, leaving dark, vacant sockets staring back at them. Paths of scarlet blood worked their way down his cheeks, making him look like he was crying. It was like a grotesque mask, except this mask was a part of his face.

Levi's hand slipped down and he clutched Eren's fingers around the handle of the flashlight. The light from Eren's flashlight rose a little higher and moved to the right, revealing something white just above Mike's shoulder. Levi tore his eyes away from Mike's face and looked at what had caught Eren's attention.

It was a lump of sleek, white feathers that poked over Mike's shoulder. "What the hell?" Levi muttered, bringing his light down to Mike's side. They were wings. The fucking Titans had put wings on Mike's corpse.

"Weeping angel…" Eren whispered, gazing at Mike's body. "They made a weeping angel." His voice sounded hoarse, disbelief coloring it. Levi wasn't surprised. Something was wrong with the Titans, very, very wrong.

They're insane. Fucking bat shit crazy, that's what they are.

Levi let go of Eren's hand and turned away, not really wanting to look any longer. Eren stood still beside him, frozen.

Where's the note? Levi brought his light up and sent it bouncing across the platform. It passed over the stands where the choir stood, over a doorway, over the piano, back to the podium in front of him. The little yellow slip of paper was sitting on the podium, resting on top of a Bible bound in white material. Gloved fingers closed on the edge of the note.

Levi tucked the flashlight beneath his arm and opened the note, crinkling as he opened it. The noise must have dragged Eren out of his strange trance because the chestnut-haired man leaned over Levi's shoulder pointing his flashlight at the slip of paper. They read together, eyes skimming over the black ink.

Unfortunately for us, the time draws short,
but this far in the game, we shall not abort.
Several clues we shall give you to be kind,
for you will soon have many bodies to find.
Six pieces left till the game is done
Four more will die before the clock strikes one.
Amongst the gears and the clouds towering so high,
Search for the ones who shall soon die.
Mizaru knows the evils within,
and so he takes the eyes with which they sin.

They left the chapel and the church, note clutched in Eren's hand. The chestnut-haired man had called the Shiganshina Police Force hotline. Officers from other branches of the SPF arrived within a few minutes of Eren's call. Neither of them bothered to wait around at the scene after the officers had appeared. There was no time to wait, no time to not be working. Their feet slapped the concrete as they walked back to the station, moving quickly through the dark streets.

"Six pieces…" Levi muttered, "Petra and Oluo for sure… Who could the other four be?"

Eren shook his head, just as miffed as Levi. "It could be anyone. We don't know for sure which branch they're going to strike. It's not like they've given us any clues about that." Levi let out an irritated huff, a small cloud of white vapor streaming from his lips. "What about the line after that? The one where it talks about the clock striking one," Eren continued.

Levi threw his hands into the air in exasperation, narrowly missing Eren's face. "Like hell I know. I need to get some fucking coffee, sit down, and analyze this." His voice was short and sharp. Levi wasn't himself. Ilse and Mike's deaths had definitely hit him harder than he was willing to let on.

Eren hesitated but nodded. He wasn't surprised about Levi's outburst considering it all. Considering they had just found two friends of Levi in a church, dead and disfigured. Eren shuddered at the thought of those dark voids where their eyes had once been, about the mask of flesh that had bubbled and melted and- Stop, stop, stop. Think about the riddle. Think about what the fuck Mizaru is. What the hell language is that even from, Chinese?

The rest of the walk was in silence, leaving the two of them to stew over their thoughts. Levi pushed his way into the police station first, leaving Eren to follow behind and shut the door tight too keep out the winter chill. It was almost four in the morning. Eren pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting back a yawn. He was amazed he was still standing considering it all. When was the last time he had actually slept?

Levi disappeared back into the break room. That left Eren to set the not out and look over it while Levi snagged the desperately-needed cups of coffee. Eren sat down and peered at the note, running through the lines in his head.

Why are they running out of time? Could six and four have anything to do with the clues? But no… they mention time and time-related things several times throughout the riddle. Gears and clouds… clocks… Time… Are they talking about a clock shop? What about an exhibit? Clouds doubtlessly meant the sky. 'Amongst the gears and the clouds towering so high…' Towering... Clocks, clocks, clocks… towering… clocks… towering clocks… "Clock tower!" he cried out as realization slammed into him.

"Okay," Levi muttered, coming up behind him. Two steaming gray mugs were clutched in his hands, the liquid inside a light brown. "I'm sure clock towers are interesting, but I doubt they pertain to this in any way. Here," he held out one of the mugs and Eren took it. One sip of the hot, caffeine-filled liquid brought a smile to his face.

"Thanks. I needed that. No, I think clock towers do pertain to this. Look at all the references to time." Levi sipped at his coffee as he leaned closer to peer at the note, to the parts Eren was pointing at. "Gears can be used in lots of things, but clocks need gears to run typically."

"And the talk of what exactly makes you think of towers?"

"The part where it says 'and the clouds towering so high,'" a tan finger tapped the note, pointing out the part to Levi. "How often do you hear of gears being up high, at a level where clouds can reach?"

Levi threw a hand up into the air, exasperated confusion in his eyes. "Rarely, I suppose. Eren, do you even know how many clock towers Eden has?"

Eren drew a blank at that. Emerald eyes narrowed n thought. "Well… I know there's one in Shiganshina. Isn't there one in the center of Sina too?"

Silver eyes nearly disappeared behind Levi's eyes as they rolled in the sockets. "That's what Google is for. You can figure that our while I find out what the hell Mizaru is."

Within minutes, the computers roared their way to life, the hard drives and other components straining to start up. Eren shook the mouse a few times, waiting impatiently as the system finished booting up. When it finally loaded, he opened an internet browser and waited for the page to load.

The tap of keys and click of mice filled the air for a few moments before Eren found what he was looking for. He set the pages to print and snagged them before he sat back down, looking over them. Once he had glanced over them, the chestnut-haired man spun around in his chair and rolled over to Levi. "There are nine clock towers in all."

"Fantastic," Levi muttered as he tapped the desk, waiting for his computer to finish installing what seemed like an infinite number of updates. "I made a map the other day when you were… occupied." Eren winced at the indirect mention of that particular incident. "Check it. See if any of the towers are near the southern part of the Adam's River, or anything south of the edge of Sina in general. That's where most of the crimes have occurred for some reason."

"Alright," Eren turned away. There was a sharp smack and several muttered curses from Levi. "Hitting the monitor won't make these pieces of shit work any faster. Just use the one I had up."

"… Give me a moment." Levi grumbled as he slid over the desk Eren had occupied moments before. The emerald-eyed man shifted over to the stand littered with dozens of maps. The one on top seemed to be the one he was looking for.

Adam's River had been highlighted till it resembled a red snake weaving its way through the city. The southern half of Eden had been marked off by green marker, splitting Eden in half for the most part, although the border went around Sina instead of through. Numerous blue X's dotted the map. Most of them were inside the green border.

Most of those were clustered east of the river, which cut a little more to the east than it did to the west. Eren glanced at the sheet, skimming over the addresses. Four towers were located in the southern half of Eden. Three were on the west side of the river. One, the clock tower in Trost, was east of the river. The one in Shiganshina was right next to the river, on the west side.

"I've got two near the river, in Trost and Shiganshina. What do you have?"

"Mizaru is some Buddhist thing. Apparently there are technically three monkeys: Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru. You ever heard of 'See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil'? That's what they are. Mizaru is 'See no evil,' so they burned Ilse and Mike's eyes out. There's also a fourth… that's Shizaru. Apparently he represents 'do no evil.' Lovely, we've got some crazy-ass cult running around murdering people and kidnapping kids and they throw us some Buddhist shit."

Eren sighed and ground his fingers into his temples. "Well that doesn't help…"

"Oh, wait. There's something here under the meanings. Apparently, the Western world believes it to refer to a lack of moral responsibility. I doubt that applies to Mike or Ilse. It also could be something along the lines of a code of silence. They use things like that in gangs and whatnot."

Eren started to beat his head against the map, lightly of course, but beating it all the same. "Why the hell can't they just be clear for once?! I mean, how the fuck is that supposed to help us? Are we supposed to take it as a clue?" Levi shook his head, not even bothering to comment. Neither of them knew.

"Come on," the raven-haired man muttered as he stood, taking the papers from Eren. "We've got to get people to both of those locations as they are the most likely. Get a gun. There's one in the bottom drawer of my desk." Levi snatched his radio up and marched over to the doors, a scowl on his face.

Eren watched him go. The shorter man's shoulders were squared and set, his face was as blank as ever, but his silver eyes couldn't hide the guilt or the pain. Eren opened the drawer Levi had specified and pulled out a gun: another pistol. There were several cartridges inside. He grabbed those too. Who knew what they might need?

He could hear Levi snapping orders over the radio, his voice steadily rising. "No, no, no! Not Yalkell, I said Trost. Trost and Shiganshina, do you have that now? Finally! Send as many units over there as soon as possible. Yes, right now."

Eren rose to his feet, jamming the ammo cartridges in his pockets, and jogged through the office to join Levi at the front. The raven-haired man pulled the radio away from his mouth, a wash of static squawking coming through the speaker. "Gun," Levi said, holding his hand out. Eren pulled the first pistol out and gave it to Levi.

The raven-haired man took it and checked the safety before he jammed the pistol into the pocket of his jacket. Once it was in place, Levi shoved the door to the station open, charging back out into the cold. Neither of them had bothered to grab their jackets. "We're going to have to split up."

Eren grimaced at Levi's words. It was a stupid idea, such a stupid idea, but it would cover more ground. It really was the best, probably even the only, option they had at the moment. "I'll hit the tower in Trost. You cover the one in Shiganshina." Eren nodded in agreement. "One of the officers, Nix or something, will be coming by in a few minutes to get you there. He'll have a radio. Contact me on that if anything happens."

"Okay," Eren murmured as he glanced around the darkened streets. "Don't worry. I'll try not to shoot anyone that doesn't look suspicious."

"You couldn't hit an elephant," Levi muttered. Eren opened his mouth to retort but the raven-haired man held up a finger for silence as more garbled voices came over the radio. "Nix is almost here." Levi turned to Eren, his silver eyes serious and guilty. They made him looked more vulnerable than Eren would have thought possible considering it all. Headlights appeared behind him as a car turned onto their street.

"Hey Eren... try not to get yourself hurt or..."

Or killed. Eren took Levi's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "I wouldn't dream of it. I promise."

The car, a police cruiser, rolled up in front of them and stopped. "I'll see you in a few," Eren said as he slid into the car, leaving Levi standing on the street, arms folded, as he waited for his own ride.

The clock tower in Shiganshina was circular and climbed high into the sky, maybe two hundred feet tall. The faces of the clocks on each side were set into circular extensions that jutted out. Each face glowed with gentle white light, bright enough for the numbers and hands to be visible. Eren didn't know what the rest of the tower looked like: it was both dark and he had never paid attention when passing them when it was light outside.

Nix pulled the cruiser to a stop by a small line of other cruisers. Officers milled around, some gesturing and some shouting commands. Eren slid out of the car and shivered at the cold. At least I can't get sick. He followed Nix over to a small trio of officers. They surrounded the hood of a patrol car, pointing a flashlight down at a map they had spread out.

"If we go here, here, and here, we'll have the most visibility to see 'em when they come," one of them, a woman, said, loud enough to be heard from ten or fifteen feet away. Her finger slid across the map to point out the spots.

"Hey," Nix called as they approached the officers, "I've got one of the detectives." The three officers looked up. Two spared him only a glance. The third, a man with dark hair and tan skin, stared at him for a few moments before turning back look at the map.

"Charles, Makarov, Jones, Wilson, and House will be sweeping the building. Stroud, go inform them. Tell 'em to wait until I talk to the detective." The dark-haired man that had been staring at Eren nodded and jogged away, calling out names as he ran off. The woman jabbing at the map glanced up.

"You Eren Jaeger?" Her question was met with a jerk of Eren's head. "Good. You'll be going in with them. Pair up with someone and stick with 'em. You get shot 'cause you went on your own, that's your fault."

"Understood."

"You have a weapon?"

"Yes, a pistol."

"Alright, good. Follow Charles here and he'll take you to meet the sweeper group."

The other man peeled himself from the hood and started to move, not bothering to speak as he led Eren over to the steps of the building. He glanced up as they walked. The clock tower loomed above, imposing with its size. The glow of the clock faces revealed etchings surrounding them: rock that had been carved and chiseled to be reminiscent of vines. It was half past four. The sky would start lightening soon.

Eren's eyes jerked back to the ground after a few seconds of staring. A little group was starting to form at the stairs. Four more joined them. No introductions were made, not this time. He'd only need to know one name anyways. "Alright," Officer Charles barked, "Jaeger will come with me. Makarov and Jones will pair up, Wilson and House will pair up."

"Yes, sir!"

"Someone has the key, correct?"

"Right here, sir," a small woman with dull brown hair stepped forwards and held out her hand. A small silver key dangled from a leather cord. She dropped it into Officer Charles' palm and stepped back. Well, at least we don't have to break in. They were inside the clock tower within a minute.

Beams of light sliced through the darkness, waving around as they searched. There was a desk in the center of the tower, several pillars, and a couple benches. There were two sets of stairs that followed the curve of the walls. The group fanned out and started searching every inch of the first floor.

Within minutes, one of the officers found a small panel behind the desk in the center of the room. Eren looked over the desk as they pried the panel up. He swallowed nervously when he saw the narrow tube beneath, a ladder visible on the wall. I am not fucking going down there. I fucking refuse.

"House and Wilson, will you two go down and see what that leads to?" Eren sighed in relief. Two tunnels in two days is not something I want to handle. The two officers nodded and disappeared down into the tunnel.

"Makarov and Jones, you two stay here and watch this floor. Jaeger and I will sweep the upper floors. He knows what he's looking for." Jones and Makarov nodded, shifting around the bottom of the tower till they were hidden from the entrance. Officer Charles went to one flight of stairs. Eren crossed over to the other set and started to climb.

Most of the floors resembled each other: white floors and lots of clockwork-related things. A few had some old but fancy-looking clocks, made of brass, silver, and even gold. Eren doubted that any of it was actually real. Everything was probably a replica. The real stuff was doubtlessly in the tower in Sina, where the rich would be able to visit and fawn over such baubles and trinkets. Some of the floors held little gift stands: the tower was considered a tourist attraction after all.

Nothing came over the radio. Presumably, no one had found anything yet. Or perhaps their signals weren't strong enough.

Eren climbed up another set of stairs. If he had been counting to start with, he probably would have lost track of how many floors they had ascended by that point. His legs ached and the caffeine from the coffee had worn off ages ago. He dragged himself up another flight up stairs and glanced around once he reached the landing.

Windows stretched across the entirety of it, tinted from the outside and occasionally broken up by strips of stone and metal. The room was empty except for a floor-to-ceiling ladder. They had reached the top floor. The only thing left above was the bell tower itself. They still hadn't found anything. He walked over to the ladder and glanced up, swinging the beam of the flashlight up to look. There was a small panel above.

Officer Charles appeared a few seconds later and glanced around before joining Eren by the ladder. "We go up," he muttered, slipping his flashlight into one of his pockets and grabbing the ladder. Eren watched and waited till Charles reached the top, pushed the metal panel open, and hauled himself up before he began to climb after the officer.

The bell tower was illuminated faintly by little lights stuck along the edges. There were five bells: a massive one, two of medium size, and two smaller ones. Thankfully, they were still: they had tolled five or so minutes ago. Frigid winter air cut through the gaps in the tower, numbing Eren's face within a few moments. He shivered and clutched his arms, teeth starting to chatter. He walked around the half of the tower behind the panel with the ladder.

Dark shapes milled below on the ground, small and indistinct. "Hey… you guys get yellow notes?"

Eren's head snapped up. "Yes. Did you find one?" Charles came around the massive brass bell, his flashlight in one hand, a small slip of yellow paper in the other. Officer Charles held it out for him to take. Eren hesitated a moment before he took the slip of paper and unfolded it.

Two more moves left to play,
when they come, the dead cannot say.
Locked in a cellar, that's where he found,
the ginger girl lying on the ground.
Another riddle, another pair,
you shall know the true name of despair.
We strike tonight when the clock strikes ten,
and again in three days, for then
everything shall come to light.

Levi took one of the cruisers behind the police station in order to get to Trost, pushing the speed limit where he could. Several laws had doubtlessly been broken on the thirty minute drive over to Trost, but Levi didn't care. There were more pressing matters at hand. The tower was visible from a few miles away, with the faces of the clock lit up so all could see it.

It was tall, a couple hundred feet tall. He had passed by it a few times over the years, although he had never actually gotten close. In daylight, a person could see that the tower was a circular structure made out of large stone bricks with windows made of colored glass set in it. The top rounded off in a dome that had been whitewashed.

Levi glanced up at the clock faces that jutted out as he pulled the cruiser to a stop. It was starting to edge towards five o'clock. He found officers already at the clock tower when he arrived. There were ten officers altogether. Most had just arrived minutes before he had. Levi wasted no time once he slid from the cruiser. All traces of exhaustion disappeared, chased away by the caffeine and the adrenaline that was starting to seep into his veins.

He marched over to a small cluster of officers who were talking in hushed voices. One of them noticed him approaching and made a move to intercept. Levi nearly rammed his badge through the poor woman's face in his haste to approach the group. "Have you organized a party to search the premise?" he snapped, the words coming out sharper than he meant.

One of the officers, a blonde man, glanced at him, eyebrows raised in surprise and confusion. Yes, I'm short. Yes, I'm not an officer. Suck it the fuck up.

"Yes, we were just about to split up. We're going to have six circling the premise while four go inside."

"Good. I'm going inside with them."

The blonde eyebrows arched even higher. "Sir, I think you should leave this to us.

Levi glared at the man. "I am going in. If you try to stop me, I will not hesitate to contact your superiors for preventing me from working my case. Now, if you don't mind, hurry up and figure out who is going in before I go in myself."

To the blonde's credit, he managed to not give away any signs of anger aside from the corner of his mouth spasming into a slight frown for a moment. "Brown, Garth, Snow, and Bell will go in. Bell, you lead."

The four specified officers nodded and one, presumably Bell, broke away and headed for the entrance. Levi followed her and the other three officers towards the entrance. Officer Bell reached the door first and tested the handle. The handle didn't go down. The doors were still locked. "Brown, come here and pick the lock."

A short man with ginger hair stepped forwards, his body obstructing Levi's view. The man fiddled with the lock for a few moments before he pushed the door open and stepped back. They filtered in, one by one, into the dark building. Five beams of light cut through the darkness. "Ah, I found it."

Lights flared to life inside. Obviously, someone had found a light switch. Levi looked around, soaking in his surroundings. The ceiling was about twenty feet overhead, supported by gray marble arches and pillars. The floor was made of similar gray marble flecked with black. Brown benches that curved with the wall dotted the wall. There was a desk in the center with a rack containing pamphlets on top of it. There were two staircases, both following the curve of the wall.

One of the officers moved forwards, over towards the desk. He peered over. "Guys, they've got a basement. There's a little wooden panel here."

Bell turned back to look at the rest of the group. "Brown and Garth, come with me. We'll be going upstairs. Snow, you accompany the detective. You two explore the basement and see what you can find." The officers nodded and one left with Bell, leaving Levi with the one he could safely assume to be Snow. The man was taller than Levi and thick with muscle, with a shaved head and dark brown eyes.

"Come on," Snow muttered, jerking his head towards the desk. Levi let Snow lead the way to the desk. He held Snow's flashlight as the man pried the wooden panel up. Snow finally jerked the panel up and leaned it back, revealing a small, circular hole that stretched down for a while. The darkness inside was broken by blue-white lights that dotted the stone surface, the light shining off the metal of the ladder.

Snow held out a broad, flat palm for his flashlight and Levi dropped it in. The bald man lowered himself into the tunnel. It was just big enough that he could fit. Levi watched and waited for Snow to get down about ten feet before he slid in after him. It's like being back on the streets again. I doubt this leads to a sewer or some underground hideout. Admittedly, I've been wrong about such things before, but it's still unlikely.

The ladder rattled against the wall, but it was sturdy for the most part. They had only been climbing slowly for a minute or two before Snow spoke. "I've reached the bottom." Levi hummed in response and kept moving until there were no more rungs for his feet to find, only smooth, solid ground. He turned around.

Everything was dark, although lights dotted the walls occasionally, giving a rough guess of where they were and how big the room was. Electrical equipment was strewn about. There was the faint hum of a generator coming far off to the right. There was probably a backup generator to go with it.

The room wasn't big, perhaps about thirty feet by fifty feet, most of the length going to the right. Levi stepped further in and pulled his flashlight out and raised it. Snow followed in suit. Two beams bobbed around the room, searching quickly and quietly. Levi turned to better inspect the left. Almost total silence filled the room, broken only by the hum of electrical equipment.

"Jesus Christ…" Snow's voice was quiet, laced with shock and fear. Levi turned as another voice broke through the near-silence. "L-Levi?" Levi froze. He knew that voice. It was recognizable even though it was littler more than a hoarse, broken whisper.

He saw the ginger hair first.

He saw the half-lidded amber eyes.

He saw the blood on both sides of her face, the blood bubbling out of her mouth.

He saw Petra leaning up against the generator.

Dying.

"Le… Levi? Is… that you?"

Chapter 22: End

Any questions? PM me if so, but read the following first please~ ... I get the odd feeling some of you are making voodoo dolls of me. I won't comment on whether Petra is going to live or die. You'll find out in the next chapter~ Yes, the Buddhist monkeys are important. Yes, I did just desecrate a fictional church. Yes, more letters will come in the next chapter. Ah, I missed writing the murder scenes :3 ... Don't question that. Anyways, I've got math to do if I want to pass my exam on Tuesday, so ciao~ There probably won't be any updates till after exams, but I'll see what I can do.

Artmeis1020: It took me a minute to remember but once I did, I couldn't stop grinning that you caught that.
Anon (FMA): Haha yep! Glad you caught that~ Ah, I'm glad you are! no problem. Probably because my absurd fear/paranoia about such things
TheOtaku2: So, so true. At least it'll make other ones easier... hopefully. Thanks so much for that, it means loads~
calleyrose: Course I did! It shall be~ Haha, only a little! Maybe, maybe not. As for Annie, who knows? Not me. It was horrifying... so long since someone died...
Anon (potatogirl12): Ah, thank you! Heh heh... are you a mind reader? Yes, Levi's going to uke. In the end. I hope you've got patience~
Anon: Ehh... maybe? If I say sorry and pretend to feel bad will that make it better?
Kunougi Haruka: Hahaha sorry~ Oh, so cold to Oluo! I'm happy you think so~ Curiosity is good! Haha no worries~ I know . Although happy New Year is a misnomer cause that means exams... T.T
mara-kun: I'm glad you think so ^^ Ah, thank you~ Yes, search for the core, it compels you... :D Huh. I never realized they were developing. Glad you feel that way though~ I hope you continue to enjoy!