Disclaimer: I DO NOT own characters from Kuroshitsuji and The Walking Dead, as they belong to their proper, respectable owners. The story follows the Walking Dead game (which belongs to it's owner), but changes to the plot and scenarios are of my own making, therefore it is by right considered fair use. This story is not used for financial gain, but by solely for non-profit creative freedom.
On My Own
I. The Shoeless Boy
It was dark. Freezing cold. There was but not a sound as he drifted further into the depths of blackness. He felt weightless in this blank dream. Comforted even. It was as if he had to worry no more about anything, but to simply relax in the darkness that surrounded him.
What felt like an eternity in the abyss, the boy woke with a sudden start to the sound of faint, but still loud gunshots. His mismatched eyes, wide from shock, darted around the small room taking in the surroundings that were unfamiliar to him. He looked down to see that he was in a small bed with lavender sheets covering it. The boy slowly brought his legs over the side edge of the bed as he then stood up groggily.
"Wh â where am I?" The boy's groggy, yet soft voice muttered. "Sebastian, where are you?" He said a little loudly as he took the first few steps, but his balance was thrown off slightly.
Stopping for a bit, he lifted a hand to brush through his dark hair but quickly brought it back to his side, feeling something amiss. The pace of his legs quicken to the mirror that was a few feet away from him to look at his reflection. His eyes widened, slightly in confusion, as he saw that his eyepatch was missing, but that was not why he was shocked.
"What is this?" He breathed out. His right eye was still the deep violet, but there was no indication of his indenture with his butler, the demon whose covenant priorly marked the violet hue. "The Faustian mark is...gone. What is going on here?!"
The boy relaxed himself as he let out a breath as he tried to remember how he ended up in the unrecognizable room. He closed his eyes, trying to recall any indication, but the ache in his head halted him from prying more into his memory bank. The moment the memory he wanted to see was vividly coming back, he felt a snap, a pull in his brain that he fell to his knees, clutched his head tightly, groaning in the pain. It was as if whatever, or whomever, got him here in this strange room has made certain to not let him remember how nor why.
"I need to get out of here." The boy said with a wince, his hand still gripping his head from the agonizing feeling.
The boy opened the room's door and slipped into the small hallway in catfooted steps.
The hallway was small with striped wallpaper, a few simple paintings and photographs hanging on the wall. The cool wood of the floor was pleasant on the boy's bare feet, he noticed that detail immediately once he stepped out. He did not how he was shoeless but looked down at what he was wearing. He wore his blue shorts and a white, untucked, long sleeve shirt, his rings on his thumb and middle finger, and his gun safely tucked behind but that was it. He looked like someone who had just recently woken up and sloppily dressed. Was he getting dressed when he ended up here? Shaking the thought he continued the trek.
There were whispering voices that faintly echoed the hall. The boy walked at the end of the hall to see a set of stairs that led to the main floor. He took a step but stopped on the second when he looked below him to see the way down was blocked by a large case. He then heard the gurgle and raspy hissing sound that was all too recognizable. It was a noise that he never wanted to hear again for the rest of his life.
Please let this all be in my head, he thought.
The boy heard a shriek and a scream coming from below. He quickened his pace to make his way below and climbed over the railing to get down. Once he was on the main floor, he saw the body of a woman with an indecent skirt length on top of a man. When the boy walked a bit closer, he saw that the girl was not like any of those things he saw back on the cruise ship. No, this thing was a decayed, living body trying to chomp on the man. The man, who had dark skin, a blue shirt, blue trousers and brown shoes, struggled to keep the thing away from him. In a time like this, the boy wished Sebastian was here, or Snake with his venomous snake that obeyed his every command, even Elizabeth with her extraordinary and surprising sword skill. But none of them were here, he knew. In hindsight, watching the live corpse trying to dig its teeth on the man below it, the boy knew there were always more of them; he'd seen them on the Campania.
The dark skinned man forcefully pushed the corpse off himself as he scampered back towards the opened door with a trembling, small girl standing behind, a hammer clutched in her small hands. The man saw the boy ran the little distance from where he stood to where the moving stiff began crawling back to him, the child's bare feet clapping on the wood with every step.
"Wait!" The man shouted. He did not wanted to see the boy hurt. It all happened so fast. The boy pulled the gun that was on his person, like an expert marksman, and fired two shots on the back of the cadaver's head, instantly killing it.
The man panted as he slowly, carefully, stood up and grunted from the pain of his injured leg as he finally stood. He saw the rusted red colored fluid pooling below the corpse, then he turned to the young boy as he tucked the gun behind him, his face devoid of emotion, but his eyes shown a hint of fear. The small girl walked a the few steps near the man, looking at the body of her former babysitter.
"Did you kill it?" She asked the boy as she broke the silence between the three of them.
"I think something else did. Before him, I think." The man muttered.
"Yes. I did." The boy simply replied with not a trace of emotion.
"It's okay. I think she was a monster." She said a little frightened at the corpse. "I heard her scream two nights ago. Maybe one of the monsters got her." She looked at both males before her.
"Two nights ago?" The boy looked at her. His face scrunched at her appearance. Her dark brown hair was unkempt under the cap on her head, she wore a slightly dirty, long, white sleeveless shirt with a white ruffled skirt, dark blue leggings and black flats. He sighed knowing he looked worse for wear, too. "Was that when all this started?"
"Probably, I came to today." The male answered. "You're not from around here are you, son?"
"No. I don't even know where I am." The boy's smooth voice said.
"Do you mind telling us your name? Where you're from?" The male softly asked the boy. Even with the blank face on the youth's features, his eyes were filled with confusion and fright. He acted very mature, the man noticed. But what was he doing here in the little girl's home? Or how did he even get here?
"My name is Ciel Phantomhive. I'm Earl and Head of the Phantomhive household." He pompously replied. "I live outside the city of London. Now do you mind telling me your names and where I am?"
What a little brat. The man thought distastefully, eyes narrowing at the youth. "The name's Lee," the man said. "The little one here is Clementine." The little girl shyly waved at the boy before hiding behind Lee's legs. "This is her house. And you're a very long way from London, kid. You're in Atlanta, Georgia, in America."
"America?" Ciel's eyes widened from the revelation. He stepped a few paces away from the two, shaking his head in disbelief of the news he received. It was absurd that he was thousands of miles from his home. It was preposterous! And the dead reanimating once more, that was not possible. Sebastian and he ruined Undertaker's plans for the reanimation of the dead, twice. How could he be in America with the dead living once more, killing and eating the flesh of the living? It was just not possible. "That can't be. I can'tâ" Ciel hyperventilated.
"Please, son, calm down." Lee slowly approached the frightened boy. He placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders only for the boy to violently slap the appendage away from him.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He ferociously snarled at the man. Clementine gasped, scared of the boy, as his blue and violet eyes stared at them menacingly.
"Alright, alright," Lee said, unaffected by the sudden hostility from the youth. "Just take it easy. Calm down. Please, you're scaring her."
Ciel, breath heavy, looked at the man for a brief second then looked at the small girl huddled at the corner near the door, whimpering, trembling in fright and with her eyes closed. The way she was reminded him of that time when he almost hurt Elizabeth for breaking his ring. He then looked at Lee. The man was unshaken from his tantrum. His face was calm yet disapproving of the boy's behavior, fatherly was what came through the youth's mind.
The boy slowly calmed himself, but his breathing was still quick and uneven; with his weak health, it would be disastrous if he did not calm himself. Relaxing himself, Ciel's face was emotionless once again. Feeling a sense of guilt within, which was often rare on his part, he walked slowly towards the scared girl, and like the gentleman he was, he crouched to her level and extended his hand to her.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, his face remained unchanged. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
Clementine slowly opened her eyes to meet blue and violet. She looked at his extended hand, unsure whether to take it or not. She looked at Lee for guidance, despite just knowing him, but he felt like a father figure for her the moment they spoke. The man nodded, a faint smile on his face, reassuring Clementine that it was okay, and she took Ciel's offered hand.
Ciel pulled the girl back to her feet, then turned to the sturdy man. "What do we do now?" Ciel asked the man.
"Yeah. I want my parents to come home now." Clementine said, a bit shaken, to the older male, swinging her body back and forth.
Lee gently crouched, ignoring the pain that surged in his wounded leg, to be eye level with Clementine. "I think that might be a little while, you know?" he looked at her gently, saddened, unable to tell her the truth from the messages her mother left for her.
"Oh." She replied sadly.
The older man moved gently to her, voice still soft and gentle. "Look, I don't know what happened. But I'll look after you until then." He said to the young one who nodded in reply, then turned his gaze to the boy next to her. "Both of you."
The boy was taken aback at the man's proclamation, but hidden his shock instantly. "I-I can take care of myself." He frowned, face flushed in embarrassment. Lee snickered quietly at the boy's attempt of acting like an adult.
"What should we do now?"
"We need to find help before it gets dark." The man's deep voice said assuredly.
"Yeah, it's not safe at night." Clementine said, turning towards the sliding door. Lee carefully stood up to his full height as Clementine took her small hand in his large one. Then she turned to Ciel, offering her left hand to him. The boy looked blankly at her then looked at Lee. The man had an eyebrow raised at him, daring the boy to refuse the sweet little girl next to him.
Ciel sighed in defeat and took her small hand in his. He made a face feeling the sweatiness from it, probably from the heat that emitted from the outside, but kept his composure for her sake, and to keep the man from riling him for the fun of it. The man reminded Ciel of Sebastian to some extent. Of course he being human and his butler a demon. He looked down at Clementine. She was so small compared to him, giving him an air of superiority since he knew Elizabeth, his betrothed, was a few inches taller than he was but she wore flats so she would be the same height as he. Then Ciel remembered an important detail. He looked to his feet. They were still bare.
"Let's go, you two. Stay close to me." Lee said in a hush tone.
"Wait," Ciel said stopping the two.
"What is it, Ciel?" The man said. It felt strange for the youth to hear his first name without any prefix or title. He was not content, but knew the man would not address him in a title. He was intimidating to a degree. Lee saw the boy looked down to his feet and the man followed. "Where're your shoes?"
"When I awoke, I didn't have any." He said blankly.
Shaking his head in weariness of the day, he replied "We'll get you some shoes when we get to somewhere safe." The boy nodded, conceding defeat.
The three walked out together, Clementine loosening her holding from both males to stare at her now empty home, solemnly. She quickly slid the glass door shut and looked at the man indicating she was ready to leave. Ciel stared at the yard to see the tree house in the tree, a round wheel tied to the tree by a strong and sturdy rope as a makeshift swing. A wagon and other items littered on the grounds. Clementine slipped her hand back into Ciel's, the boy a little flabbergasted at her boldness, and she pulled him down the small set of stairs that led to the pavement below. The boy looked at the man slowly walking to where they were, grunting from the pain every now and then.
Turning to the right to where the gate was, the three stopped to see two men struggling to push a damaged car out of the road. Ciel looked at the many cars on the street. Where he was from they only rode a horse-drawn carriage; automobiles were extremely rare, but the style was different, almost futuristic.
Where did I end up in? More precisely, when? He thought.
"Maaan..." Said one of the two men on the street.
"I ain't never gettin' home to mama at this rate. " Said the other man, in a strange accent the boy could not quite place.
As they neared the gate, Ciel felt his hand tugged back by the little girl next to him. "What's the matter?" he asked her softly.
"Should I stay?" She said unsure of what to do, her head down cast. The boy sighed, it was to be expected for children her age to be indecisive about mature decisions.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't want to sleep in the tree house tonight," she looked up at him, "but, I don't know if I should leave. What if my parents come home?"
"He won't leave you alone." The boy replied assuredly.
"What about you?" Clementine asked him. The boy taken a bit by surprise at her question, did not know what to say. His face reddened slightly. How was he going to answer her? He barely knew her. But knew he should just answer her like he did before.
"I won't." He replied forcefully, hoping the girl wouldn't notice. Luckily for him, she smiled.
"What are you two talking about?" Lee asked as he came back to see why the young ones were lagging behind. He crouched to Clementine's level, smile present.
"Let's go somewhere safe that's close, okay?" Clementine said, unsure of herself.
"That's a good idea." The man replied getting himself back up.
They walked to the closed gate, the men that were pushing the car were still struggling with it did not notice their presence, as Clementine opened the bars of iron with a loud creak.
"Hey, man," Lee said, scaring the two before them.
"HOLY SHIT! DON'T EAT US!" The plump one said, waving his arms. The boy smirked at him, he found it amusing that they thought that their older companion was one of the dead.
"We're not going to hurt you." Lee limped to them, reassuring the two men.
"Phew," the thinner male sighed with relief, then looked at Lee. "Thought for a second you and the little ones were both going to give us the chomp."
Ciel scowled at the man. He did not like being labeled as little. He blamed it on his health and malnourishment from that long month when he contracted with the demon. Besides, he was 158 centimeters tall, that was not little. He was still growing.
"We need help." Lee said lowly to the two other men.
The thinner man, worried face, answered the dark skinned male. "So you've seen them then," he said as he turned to look at the carcass, blood underneath it. It was pale, it's clothes shredded, ribcage poking. "Are you trying to get out of here? Because you should be. Those things are all over the damn place. I haven't seen anything as gnarly as this neighborhood since downtown Atlanta, fifteen miles back."
Just as the boy predicted, there were more than just the one in the house, and the ones that bit her.
"I'm Shawn, Shawn Greene." The thin man introduced himself.
"Lee," the man answered, then turned to the two young ones. "This is Clementine, and he's Ciel."
The plump man looked at Ciel's face, feeling slightly scared of the boy and decided to crouch to the little girl's level, introducing himself. "I'm Chet." He replied, waving at the small girl. Clementine smiled shyly as she then slightly hid behind the boy.
"We shouldn't be out in the open like this," Shawn said anxiously as he searched around him for any sign of the reanimated dead. "How about you help us clear the way and we'll take you and your kids out of here, and down to my family's farm. It should be safe there." He offered, a smile on his lips.
"I'm not their dad. I'm..." Lee hesitated to answer.
"He's our sitter." Ciel answered, feeling both impatience at the man's hesitance and anxious that there could be more dead out there walking, and he was not going to have none of that. "Our parents' are out of town on business, seeing as I'm only a child, they asked this man to care for us because I'm not responsible enough."
"So, you two are related?" Shawn asked a bit in disbelief.
"Different fathers, but same mother." Ciel replied, Clementine was confused at the boy's lie. If the thin man thought Lee was their father, then that meant that mixing different races was no issue here. He squeezed the small hand in his tightly as if saying to go along with it. Clementine looked at Shawn looking at her for confirmation and she nodded.
"Oh. I take it your mom's English then, what with your accent?"
"Yes. Mum and I are from London, but we moved here in Atlanta when I was five. She and my sister's father met over there and married here." Ciel faked a smile to the thinner man. Clementine was a little scared of that fake smile, she knew it was fake just from the feel of it.
"Alright then," Shawn said satisfied, "Let's get going. Staying put for too long is a mistake." Lee nodded at Shawn, then turned to look at the two behind him.
"I..." Clementine stammered, looking at Lee, then to the house, to Ciel, but was interrupted when Chet spoke.
"Them monsters comin'! WE GOTTA GO!" Chet said urgently. The raspy growling and snarls from the dead was growing closer towards them.
Shawn ran to the dented car then turned to Lee. "Lee, quick! Let's go!" He said quietly and alarmed to get the man to help push the vehicle.
Lee ran to the car that Shawn was pushing and helped him move the dented scrap metal from the road. As they pushed more, they stopped briefly as the car was stuck. Lee then turned to the boy and called to him. "Ciel!"
Ciel did not know what to do. How can he help push the damn thing. He knew his strength limits, but groaned in annoyance and ran towards them, Clementine behind his heels as they all pushed the banged up car away from the road as much as they could. Damn this thing is heavy! He thought as he strained to a halt. Once the snarls got closer, they all made their way into the car. Clementine and Lee took to the front as Chet helped Ciel in the back, Shawn getting into the driver's seat.
Shawn revved up the red pick-up and floored it, giving his back passengers a bit of backlash from the insane escape route.
Ciel muttered an ouch when his head hit the back of the cab. He rubbed the sore spot and saw Clementine looking out the window as she stared at the monsters that were left behind. Thinking that the insanity was over, Shawn turned on the curb, knocking some roadblocks in a sharp right turn making the boy recoil and hurt himself once more.
I'll murder whomever invented this damn thing! The boy swore vengeance. He made an oath to never get back into one of these contraptions ever again, or at least with one Shawn Greene behind the wheel.
A/N: So that's the first chapter. I'd never thought about writing a crossover story, but I was tempted to. Now, I would've done a Kuroshitsuji/ The Last of Us crossover, but there would be no way for Ciel to interact with the main cast. What would he alone contribute to Joel and Ellie on their journey? Nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada! Only getting himself in trouble or killed.
So I thought, why not put him in The Walking Dead universe (the game version of course since I'm a bit behind 17 issues of the comic series, but I love Clem and Lee in the game). I thought it would be fun to mess with our beloved little lord and take away his only strength and have him do and think for himself than relying on Sebastian. Ciel will still be Ciel, but it's about time our Young Master learns how to survive on his own, even playing nice with others.
This story is all in Ciel's third person POV. I HATE first person. If the perspective of the character changes, I'll place it with the chapter title to let you know.
If you enjoyed this story, leave a review, add it to your alerts and faves. Until next time!
::NOTE:: Edited on 3/27/15