"Of course I'll help you all," you determinedly stated, your gaze intently locked onto William's own. You had grown close to the reapers - William excluded - and you wanted to do something that could help them. Let you not add that there was a chance that it could be Grell or Ronald that was taken next, this being something you desperately wished against.
"Great!" Grell exclaimed while William did nothing but give a curt nod of his head. "See I knew she would agree to it," he boisted to William.
You gave an amused laugh at Grell's response before turning to look at the message that was on the wall. It was truly a demeaning one and something about it greatly bothered you. The foreigner ink that had been used to write it dripped down, staining the white wall red with color.
There was some type of essence that lingered on the writing that seemed vile and corrupt. A shudder flashed down your figure as you continued to stare at the hated words.
"So what exactly do you want me to do?" You questioned, your gaze remaining locked onto the writing.
Ronald gave a look to William before turning to address your question. "William wants to see if you can obtain something from this that our researchers couldn't. I'm not exactly sure as to what you can do, but if you could try anything we would be greatly thankful."
"So as long as I can feel something," you muttered softly too yourself. Glancing back to the writing, you questioned yourself on how you were going to do it. Just as you were about to lay your hands on the wall, you however, was interrupted.
"I guess Grell and Ron was successful in convincing the magic-user to help us with this case," a light voice called out. You glanced to the side to witness a olive haired reaper heading for the four of you.
Surprise at the interruption, you stepped back from where you had been at the wall. You had no clue as to who this reaper was, this being the first time that you had ever seen him.
"Nice to meet you," he addressed to you. "The names Othello. I work at the Forensic Department here at the Grim Reaper Dispatch. I'm currently working on this case." He gestured to the writing on the wall, letting you know that he was one of the researchers that the others had told you about.
"Othello," William began. "Were you and your team able to find anything else about this dilemma?"
Othello shook his head to William's question, a puzzling expression soon taking over. "Unfortunately no. The only thing my team was able to figure was that the ink used to write this... was out of some foreign blood. We have no clue as to which creature it comes from, but I don't think it would be very useful in finding out where the reapers are at."
"No it doesn't," William agreed with a sigh. His eyes flickered to the writing to then look back at Othello. "And what about the German Branch what do they have to say about this?"
'There's a German Branch?!' You thought bewildered as you listened in on their conversation. 'Though... I guess it would make sense as there's one here in England. I wonder just how many more there are.'
"They said they haven't been able to find anything either as well," Othello answered. "Which I'm sure is very worrying for them as the disappearance of their own is way drastic compared to ours. So do you think that she'll be able to find something?"
William glanced over to where you were watching them, his cold piercing gaze examining your own. "I'm not to all sure-"
"Don't worry!" Grell exclaimed out, cutting William off from what he was going to say. "You have to have faith in (Y/N)! She's an extraordinary person, I'm sure that she would be able to do it!"
You gave him a bashful smile, happy that he had praised you for your powers. Muttering to him a thank you, you turned to look back at William. "So what exactly do you need me to do?"
"Do what you think you need to do in order to find more," he quickly replied back to you.
You nodded your head, even unsure yourself as to what you needed to do. At the back of your mind, there was a spell that you figured you might as well try, having learnt it just recently. Heading back up to the wall, you placed your hands on the dried... blood, shuddering in the process. Quietly you muttered "Dig deep to the unknown so that I may be revealed to the truth."
Flashes of images and words began to flicker through your head. Each time they appeared and vanished, you attempted to grasp onto them so that you could remember. You soon stumble back, a large headache threatening to overwhelm you due to the large amount of information you had just received.
(Y/N) are you okay?" Grell called out, racing over to prevent you from falling to the ground. A tone of worry was in his voice as you staggered to gain your balance.
"Yeah... I'm okay," you told them, sensing a wave of anxiousness coming from Ronald and Othello. Lightly tapping Grell to let him know that you were okay, you straightened up to face the reapers.
"What did you see?" Ronald quickly asked.
"Lots of images and words, though I couldn't focus on which was what," you responded. "I saw a man, I think he was in his early thirties."
"Did you happen to catch what he looked like?" Ronald exclaimed out, leaning forward with large eyes.
You shook your head. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to see what he looks like. I think there might have also been an image of a book, along with the words 'Crucible' and 'Reticence'."
"Crucible and reticence," Othello mumbled out. "I wonder what those could possibly mean. We can already assume that this young man that you see is our culprit. Though as to what the book and the rest of the words mean I have no clue."
"Could the book stand to represent a library?" Grell asked from where he stood next to you. "You know whenever you think of a book, you would always think it would be associated with a library."
"There's a good chance that it is," Ronald stated. "Though there are tons of libraries here, it would be hard to find which specific one we would have to go to."
"There's a chance that the words might led us to the right one," Othello stated. "I have a computer in my lab that can help us locate some of these libraries in the human world. If you would follow me," he gestured for the four of you to follow after him.
William, Grell and Ronald did so without so much of a protest, although you lagged for a bit slightly unsure with how things were going. You began to follow after the four of them, the white design of the building still remaining constant. Every so often you would notice that you would receive contemplating looks from other reapers, they obviously wondering why you were there.
You just ignored them, following the others into a pastly white room and Ronald closed it behind you. Othello headed his way to his computer, sitting down in the leather seat so that he could better access it. "What was the words that you heard?"
"The crucible and reticence," you answered watching as he began to to type in the names.
It was a couple minutes in before William asked "Were you able to find anything?"
Othello was silent before glancing up from where he sat in his chair. "Yes, although I wasn't able to find anything related to the crucible, I did manage to find two locations that go by the name Reticence- the both of them being libraries. Both of them are located in the London area."
"So there's a good chance that whatever we have to find next will be there at one of those," Ronald stated out.
"I'm still wondering just what will we be having to find there at the libraries," you remarked. "I mean what does a library has to do with missing reapers?"
"We'll find out when we go there and search ourselves," William stated. "We'll split into teams of two that way we can cover more ground. I'll go with Ronald to this spot, you and Grell will go to other."
"So I get to spend more time with (Y/N)! Oh how that sounds wonderful!" Grell exclaimed out with a happy smile. "I already know that we will be a wonderful team you and I. Although it would be lovely to be with Will, I can admit that I love being paired with you (Y/N)."
You blushed upon hearing Grell proclaim this out loud. "Well I'm glad to be with paired with you as well Grell," you stated with a small laugh, leading a large blush to blossom onto his cheeks.
"Ooh! I'm looking forward to this case!"
"Remember. We are not here to have fun. We are here to discover where the missing reapers might possibly be at," William corrected, sending a pointed glare over to Grell.
"You really are no fun," Grell pouted out as he rearranged his red glasses.
"I wish all of you luck," Othello called out, coming to stand up from his desk with some papers in his hands. "These are the addresses of the libraries," he stated, handing each of you one. "They should be helpful in finding where they are at."
"Thanks for everything," you thanked him.
Othello smiled down at your figure with an amused expression. "I should be thanking you. Although Will won't admit it, you've been a big help in this case. For once we might actually have found where our reapers are disappearing off to."
"Well I'm just glad that I'm able to help you all out" you told him with a sincere smile.
"(Y/N), we're about to head out," Ronald called out to you, prompting you to turn to see the reapers beginning to leave.
"It was really nice meeting you Othello."
"And you as well."
You waved your hand goodbye as you exited the room, closing it behind you softly. The other three reapers were there waiting patiently for you to come.
"I'm really curious. How do you all even get to London? And where is this place anyway?" You had been curious on this topic every since the reapers had what you would call magically transported you here.
"Sorry love, but that would be classified," Ronald stated with a laugh. "Like I said before, people who aren't reapers just can't know."
"Well I think that's stupid," you muttered underneath your breath.
"It may be stupid, but its protocol," he added.
"We're wasting our time while the two of you talk," Will rudely interrupted. "If we wish to quickly solve this case, we can't linger." He stalked off down the glossy hallway while you did nothing but glare at his squared back.
"I'm think I'm going to have to agree with you on what you said earlier Grell," Ronald wearyingly agreed.
"I think that anyone would agree."
The four of you had returned back to 'human world' as the reapers would call it. The reapers had once again blind folded you, this clearly irritating you as you greatly wanted to know how they traveled between the worlds and where the Headquarter's was at.
London square was crowded with people as it always had been, everyone revolving around you all keen on heading to their next duties.
"Based on the information that Othello has given us, the libraries should be in opposite directions of each other. Ronald and I will head to the furthest one," Will stated. "The two of you will head to the other. We'll meet up here one we're done with our search."
"Okay, got it." Ronald gave you a wave as they headed their way down the street, and you watch them go before turning to face Grell.
"Oh hooray! I'm glad that I get to spend this lovely time with you, even if we are on work in a way!" Grell cheerfully promoted, leading you to laugh at his words.
"I can say the same as well Grell. It's been a while since I've last seen you," you pointed out. "How are you doing?"
An annoyed expression crossed onto Grell's face while the two of you walked. The library was in the direction that the two of you were currently heading, your steps lightly tapping on the ground while the two of you walked.
"Will has been so demanding lately~" he whined. "He keeps nagging me about work and never gives me time to myself."
"Well William is prone to doing that," you sighed feeling sorry for the red haired reaper. "Maybe he might give you some time to yourself."
Grell dishearteningly sighed with a shake of his head. "Now that would be something that I doubt would happen. Though at least I can say that the highlight of these months was being able to be here with you."
"Oh! Well I'm glad," you responded, a wistful smile on your face. A sign from ahead caught your attention, the large printed word 'Reticence' inscribe on it. That was the library that the two of you were looking for so you notified Grell that the two of you were there.
Chimes of bells rang as you both entered the library. The quiet soothing atmosphere was the first thing you noticed once you stepped foot inside the small room. That and the fact that numbers of books stands were logically placed around the room.
Stands and stands of such books were divided into different sections, some classified as mystery, romance, and nonfictional. Small tables had been set up in the corner, so that if anyone wanted a place to sit and read they would be able to.
"I wonder what we're supposed to find here?" Grell questioned, his phosphorescent eyes gazing over the stands. "Oh how I do love romance books, Shakespeare's works are just the best. Romeo and Juliet really broadcast the forbidden love that's oh so similar to the love I have for Bassy."
You chuckled at Grell's ecstatic self, before a inquisitive demeanor took over you. What was it that the two of you had to look for. There had to be some clue as to what you needed to find- well if it was even in this library.
"So what have to two of you come looking for?" An elderly man at the stand asked and you slowly gravitated your way over to him with Grell.
"Well... We were just looking around for anything that happens to catch our eyes," you responded as this was technically the truth as to why you two were there.
"Well just let me know if you happen to see anything that you like." The old man gave you a smile before gesturing over to a smaller section to the right. "Those are our most popular books as of this month. Feel free to to glance through it. One of our most popular books at this time would be the Crucible."
You paused to then glance back at the man. "Excuse me, but did you say the crucible?"
The elderly man nodded his head using a finger to point over to the section. "It's been so popular lately that we now only have one in stock. You can find it over there."
You thanked the man before heading over to the section, Grell following after you. "So all we're doing is looking for the Crucible book," Grell said in a questioning tone.
You nodded your head as you began to search for the book. It took only a few sections before you were able to find the book and you pulled it out. For such a light book, it surprisingly was a lot heavier than you had pegged it to be.
You couldn't help but darkly snort at the irony of it. The fact that this book that the two of you had been searching was in a centered around magic-users in a way. However, in this case people were hung for being deemed as witches.
"I think there may be something inside," you muttered lost in thought. Grell and you had went to a table in order to fully examine the book. You were curious and soon you opened the cover of the book only to only be shocked at the inside.
A hole which seemed to be cut in the pages to form a small box was on the inside of the book. To your surprise several objects had been placed in the space.
"What is this?" Grell questioned out as he reached into the box to pull out some papers. Once he has done this, you had noticed there was a key, one that seemed to be for a room door was underneath to them.
"This must be the next clue," you reasoned as you grabbed onto one of the sheets that Grell held. Running your eyes over the text, you realized that the writing was an address to a building this including what seemed to be a room number. "I think that we'll be having to head here if we want to find anything else."
Grell groaned out before standing to his feet and placing the book over to the side keeping the papers in his hands. "Let's just go now before this whole things gets dragged out more than it should."
You couldn't help but full agree with him. Gripping the key in your hands, you thanked the elderly man for his help before leaving the premise with Grell. "The address says that the place isn't that far from where we're at now. It should just be down that way."
It took only a few minutes before the two of you had reached the location which was surprisingly a decent sized apartment. Though this explained why there had been a room number etched on the paper. Exchanging a look, Grell and you entered the lobby area of the building, swiftly making your way past the front counter.
The lobbyist barely looked up from the newspaper that he was reading, this allowing the two of you to easily breeze your way by. The flooring transferred over from tile to carpet, the design itself being a very ugly rust color with swirls of apricot and yellow.
"By the looks of it the room should be on this floor," Grell noted having looked off from the papers that he had passed over to you. You yourself had stuffed the papers into your back pocket, having no use for it as you had already memorized where you needed to go.
"Room 14." You pointed to the oak door that stood adjacent to where you were all at. "That's the room that we need to be going to." You pulled the key out of your back pocket, inserting it into the lock and twisting it. A clicking noise was immediately heard afterword letting you know that the key itself had worked.
Grell stepped in front of you as if wanting to shield you from whatever might be lurking inside of the room. "Be careful going in," you warned Grell once he had begun to step his way inside. The room itself was dark. Your eyes played tricks on you as shadows danced across the walls and ceilings, projecting humanized beast that leered from corners of the room.
"I don't think no one's here," Grell stated after a moments notice, having dropped his guard as he leisurely glanced throughout the room. "Though whoever lives here really is messy. Oh well its none of my worries. I just wonder what we're suppose to be finding here."
Your gaze darted around the trash littered room, trying to find something that may happen to catch your attention. "I'm sure that there's something here that we need to find. If not then why on earth would that paper have an address leading us to here?"
A desk at the side of the room adjacent to the bed caught your attention. A sea of unorganized papers were spread across the surface, so many that one could barely see the wooden covering beneath. There had to be something there that was worth the two of you coming here.
You began rummaging through the cluster only to then find several things that happened to capture your eyes. Off to the side of the desk there was a notes paper, one that had information jotted down onto it. Next to it laid a small neat stack of letters, some that were halfway written and some that had been taken out of envelopes.
Your gaze first gravitated over to the notes paper, your eyes widened as you glanced over what had been written. "Grell come here," you ordered and he did so without protest.
"Did you find something?"
You handed him the paper to which he begun to read out loud. "Check on reapers at Houndsville. Be sure to-" he cut himself off, his gaze quickly flickering over the rest of the writing with an intensive expression on his face. "What the hell is this?"
You didn't answer his question, your attention to focused on the letters had been next to it. Ever so slowly you reached over to pick several of them up, vividly reading over them. These... these were the letters that you had sent to James. You hadn't gotten a letter from him in months and you could only conclude that he was doing fine after the aftermath with Houndsville in the previous year.
The half written letters were addressed to you each one bearing the same handwriting that you had been used to reading whenever you received his letters.
But what did he have to do with all of this. When you had first met young man, he had seemed like a kind soul, one who only feared for the life of himself and his beloved dog. You had thought things would go well for him having after escaped Houndsville and the clutches of Lord Barrymore, but to be involved in something like this.
"Is there a name on those notes paper?" You quietly asked.
Grell hummed in answering. "The only name that's written on here is James. It seems to be the same handwriting as the letters that you're holding in your hands, but what does this mean?" Grell questioned out noticing your quietness, his phosphorescent eyes gazing over your shoulder to read the letters that were in your hands.
You were quiet. Your gaze kept flickering over the text again and again, making sure that you were reading it correctly. "...It means that we'll be having to go to Houndsville."