Beginning Here

Where am I? Why is it so dark? I can't see anything. But why do I feel so warm and relaxed? Wait, no. It couldn't be. This isn't happening! I won't accept it! This darkness, I remember. It's so comforting but I want to cry. It's lonely and quiet.

The last thing I remember were those lunar moon eyes. Red with a splash of sunset orange. So beautiful yet so sad. Sadness dulled them as they stared at me. But why were they so sad? And why were they staring at me? I'm nothing special. Just a lonely soul wandering in the sea of shadows, wrapping itself around me. An orb. That's what I am. A fragment from a deceased body, floating around confused.

He was so sad yet beautiful. Wait, 'he'? Oh right, the eyes that were looking down upon my very being was a man. I could tell he loved me very much. But I can't remember what he looked like. Or the way his voice sounded. Or the feeling his touch gave me. Or his scent, his perfume. I can't even remember his name. Do I love him back? Do I even know him personally?

So, if I was able to see or remember certain things, then it wasn't madness that has absorbed me. And it wasn't cold, so I'm not underwater. So, what has its coils wrapped around me, giving me warmth and denying me sight? What on earth could be so welcoming and comforting yet gives me a reason to question its loving touch?

I want to leave. The loneliness I feel is too unbareable. I want to go home! I want to find the man with red sad eyes and embrace him! I hate the darkness! It scares me! I wan-!

Wait a minute, the feeling of loneliness, darkness, warm and welcoming touch?... Am I…

Dead?

デッド

Am I dead?... No, I'm alive, I can feel pain. Why is it so quiet? So bright? I can't be at the manor. Not even close. All I see is a bright ocean blue light. Why is that so? Hold on, no. No. The light disappeared and was replaced with a dark crimson. All I see is red. Within seconds, I find myself on my knees, kneeling before her pale, cold unmoving person. Tears crept out of both corners of my blind sight. I scream but can't hear it. Crying would do me no good at this point, but now I'm afraid that's all I'm ever good for.

Oh my best friend, my big sister, my savior. She's gone. Dead as a door nail. Why didn't I stop her? No, not again. Not again. Why? Falling on all fours, sobbing like a newborn. I thought I left long ago but the memories still linger. Those stupid, painful memories. I don't understand it, I thought I put my past behind me. But no. As usual. I'm just a moth drawn to the sun, a train wreck waiting to happen, an emotional bubble waiting to burst.

God damnit! I'm supposed to save people! This isn't fair! If this was how it was going to end, I would've gladly taken her place. Now what? There's nothing to say. All five of us were crying. My crimson partner embraced me from behind. I can hear his sobs and feel the vibrations of his quaking figure. The red-eyed demon was holding my dead sister in his arms, mourning the loss of his second love for the second time. Coldness was all I felt now, and I'm glad. The pain was so familiar to me that it soon became numb and the droplets that fell from my eyes had dried up once again. Oh death, embrace me, take me away from this hell.

I'll admit, I may be young but I'll welcome death as an old friend. I've been so close to dying so many times, I'm practically used to it. But somewhere in the corner of my mind, I know he won't come. 'Why' you ask? It's because I've begged for it so many times for so long that it's useless to even try now. Pain hits my body again. Oh no…

At that moment, I felt something rip in the center of my chest. It felt so painful and the only organ that is located there is my heart. Wait, is this it? Is this my punishment for being unable to save her?... How… How did it come to this?

Oh right, it was that day that got us here. If only she hadn't opened those stupid doors, we would be laughing and playing with our pets right now. Not that I'm pointing fingers or anything, but in retrospect, it was her fault. Well, I guess beginning here would be a bit confusing, so I guess I'll have to start from before we even ended up in this god forsaken city. Back to the day everything we ever knew was left behind and the life we lived changed forever. The day we met him… The day we met Phantomhive.

Three Years Before

New Orleans, Louisiana, December 29th, 2022, 10:43a.m.

Four days have passed since Christmas day and it was wet and cold. To most people, it felt as if they lived in Seattle. On the east bank, there were two bridges that led to the west bank or east bank. On the bridge, there was a black Camaro with light blue stripes on the hood and top of it.

In it was a woman in her early twenties, who was tired of the traffic. She was sighing and tapping her thumbs on the steering wheel, tapping to the rhythm of the song she was listening to. All of a sudden, a car came at full speed from behind her and honked the horn while stopping and cursing at her. In which, the woman's eye twitched, looked in the mirror, pulled out her middle finger as a sign that means 'screw whoever you want', and shouted "Fuck you, man! I want to get home as much as you do!"

In which, the person honked the again. She put down her middle finger, narrowed her eyes at the person in the mirror, and muttered "Tsk, asshole."

This woman was none other than the flower child, Judith Mariana Anderson (Jodie for short). She was a rather… interesting character. A brunette with hazel eyes at the height of 5'4', giving her the name 'short stake' or 'little lady', which she happened to despise. At the age of 22, she was more of a teenager with anger management problems rather than a respectful and patient adult. Yes, she can be patient, just not on the road. The girl was quite skilled both academically and in sense of strength and will power.

Every now and then, she would find herself cracking a couple of skulls and sending thugs or random people that hit on her or insulted her to the hospital. And her personality was pretty complicated so getting into it would take all day but let's just say that her stubbornness went down to her bones and she runs on instinct rather than common sense.

Jodie heard a 'meow' in the passenger's seat, revealing a pure black, thin furred kitten with golden eyes looking at her. She sighed, leaned back, and looked at the kitten. Being cute has its advantages, one of them being able to calm her down. So she picked it up, set it on her chest, and rubbed its back and face while saying "I'm sorry, Recluse. I'm just hungry and I'm grouchy when I'm hungry. You're gonna be tired when we home to the girls and the dogs and Shadow."

In which, the kitten snuggled underneath Jodie's neck and purred.

40 Minutes Later

After forty minutes of slowly moving traffic, Jodie got to their home up -town near that separated the city from the suburbs. Jodie pulled into the driveway, shut down her car, grabbed her purse, wrapped Recluse in a sheep wool blanket, and got out the car with a small bundle in her arms. Jodie took out her keys and heard the dogs barking from the other side of the door. She shook her head with a sigh as she unlocked the door and tried to push the dogs back. Once she was inside, the three dogs (two small, one large) started to try and hop onto Jodie.

Jodie then put her purse down on the nightstand next to the door, held Claude's bundled up figure close to her chest, and said "Hey, quiet down. I know you're all happy to see me but I need you three to be quiet down and not disturb Shadow."

But her command was short lived, Jodie then felt something with four paws land on her shoulder, rub against her head, and heard a soft yet deep 'meow'.

Jodie shifted her gaze to the side to see her other black furred, hazel eyed kitten, Shadow. She sighed and walked towards the living room only to see her youngest friend sleeping on their red couch with their flat screen TV on. Jodie sighed, walked over to her chair, set Shadow and a bundled up Recluse on it, and went into the kitchen. She grabbed a cup, turned on the foiset to the sink, filled the cup with cold water, and smirked.

Jodie then walked down over to her friend's sleeping figure, closed her eyes grinned, and poured the cold water onto her friend's while saying "Wake up, sleeping beauty."

Once the cold hit the girl's face, she screamed bloody murder, tumbled to the floor, and pointed what looked like barrel guns at Jodie face. The girl heavily breathed as she and Jodie stood in their places, waiting for one or the other to move.

This little beauty is Scarlett Natiel Wood. Now this 20-year-old was a bit on the quirky side. Being as blind as a bat, only able to see at arm's length without her glasses or contacts was aggravating. Ice blue eyes that can pierce through anyone's soul and hair of dark crimson and silver that could make anyone dizzy. She was rather tall for a girl, having a height of 5'8 was annoying. She wished she could shrink back to her middle school height.

Being born as a slow learner was more than enough trouble. Having the mind and personality of a 5-year-old was even worse. She hated everything about herself, especially having double-d breasts. Even though it was an exaggeration, she complained all the time about them weighing over 60 pounds. Of course, Jodie understood since she had double-c breasts herself but she wouldn't go as far as claiming they're forty pounds over how much they really are.

Scarlett's vision went back too normal and realized it was Jodie with that 'innocent' smile on her face. Scarlett sighed in frustration and put down her barrel guns. Scarlett got up, walked over to her friend, and said "Are you trying to get yourself killed? I almost blasted your head off. Thank god I let my vision come back. And honestly, was splashing water on my face really necessary? You scared the shit out of me."

Jodie just sighed, gave Scarlett a towel, and said "You know the rules, Scarlett. No sleeping past ten a.m. The number one rule is no boys unless they're relatives or not romantically involved with us."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Jeez, you are so much demonic now than you ever were then." Scarlett said as she dried herself with the towel Jodie gave her

Jodie giggled and said "Thank you, Scarlett. Now, is Zoe up yet?"

In which, Scarlett shook her head as an answer. Jodie sighed, picked up Recluse from her chair, motioned Scarlett to follow her, and walked up stairs. They then got to their friend's room and Jodie gently set Recluse down at the foot of their friend's bed. Scarlett tried to hold back her laugh while Jodie just chuckled quietly. Recluse wobbled over to the girl's face, pawed her nose, and made a 'meow' sound. All of a sudden, the girl's eyes popped open, she then growled, pushed Recluse off of her, causing him to fly through the air.

Luckily, Scarlett caught him. In which, the girl jumped out of her bed, ran over to the girls and black kitten, and threw a punch. Before she could slam her fist into them, Jodie caught her fist and caused a sound like 'Boom!'. Jodie had a calm expression while she clenched the girl's first. The girl; however, was panting, then she growled, and narrowed her eyes at Jodie.

Last but not least, Zoe Jasmine Holmes. Let's just say having a Torus personality in the form of a woman with massive strength and emotional problems wasn't exactly a good combination. Think about a bull having a bad day and ends up getting annoyed with looking at red all the damn time. The next thing that happens is that the bull busts through the fence and ends up hitting a car rather than its intended target. Yeah, that was Zoe.

Black hair with snow white skin and chocolate brown eyes that you could lose yourself in. Zoe was a serious yet sarcastic little woman, well not exactly 'little', more like 'giant'. The girl had only just turned 21, and she's still growing. Being at exactly 6 feet tall wasn't anything she was happy about. Single-b breasted and a slim figure, guys would drool all over. However, she wasn't exactly 'friendly' with a lot of people, having also social problems. But the weird part was that she would never stop talking. She also wore glasses which made her even more irresistible.

As Jodie held Zoe's fist, Jodie smiled at her and said "Good morning, sunshine."

Zoe narrowed her eyes at her best friend, growled, and said "You know how much I hate those cats of yours and you know I can crush either of them in an instant. Why do you wake me up by putting Shadow or Recluse on my bed?"

Jodie then gave her a frown, then she clenched Zoe's fist even harder, making a cracking sound and causing her to give a small yelp in pain. Jodie narrowed her eyes at the raven head and said "You know if you ever try to harm either of my babies, you would be sorry. And besides, you know that Scarlett and I are the only ones that can control your strength when you can't even control ours. And you know I don't want to hurt you. So, fix that attitude of yours and stop complaining. Besides, I have something I need to discuss with both of you. Downstairs, now."

In which, the brunette let go of Zoe's fist and left the room. Zoe gave a sigh of defeat and cursed under her breath. Scarlett giggles and said "You do need to get a hold of that attitude of yours though. Try meditating or something. And you kinda deserved that lecture."

"Shut up. And get that damn reject of a cat out of my room. The cats aren't allowed in my room, remember? I'll come down in a minute." Zoe said while giving Scarlett a frustrated expression

December 31, 2022, 9:13a.m.

"Jodie-chan, Scarlett-san, come here! Come here!" Zoe yelled from her room

"Ugh, what is it now?!" Jodie said as she and Scarlett ran up the stairs. Whenever Zoe yelled for help, the two had to go to her right away; otherwise, she'd throw a fit and come stomping towards them like a five-year-old that didn't get his/her way.

When they just got to the top of the staircase, they heard Zoe scream. Jodie's eyes widened as her instincts kicked in. She knew something wasn't right. Zoe wouldn't scream just for the sake of it. That was a terror scream. Once the two got to Zoe's door, Jodie kicked the door open, breaking it off its hinges, and ran towards Zoe, who was covering her eyes while lying on the ground. Jodie and Scarlett shook her to open her eyes.

When she did, Zoe looked up at her friends, grabbed them, and said "There's something in my closet."

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked

Zoe pointed at her closet as she clung to the dark gray head's shoulder. The two looked at Zoe's closet and gasped. There was black mist coming from the cracked open closet doors. Jodie narrowed her eyes at it as she slowly stood up. She put something tugging her towards the closet. So, Jodie slowly approached the closet with caution. Zoe then asked "Jodie, what the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Jodie said as she stretched out her hands on the closet handles. Once she opened the doors, Scarlett gasped as Jodie froze in place. There were three sets of eyes in one line. There were no bodies' just eyes. The background was this purple, black mist. The pair on the right was on the left eye, it was navy blue and on the right eye, it was purple with a pentagram on it. On the left, the pair of eyes was a mixture of light green and camouflage green with red glasses. In the middle, were a pair of dark crimson eyes, in which, they then turned the color of red with pink, creating a dark purplish-pink with a thin pupil.

Then, the girls felt the ground beneath them start to rumble and crack. First, Scarlett felt her skin grow hot. Her eyes turned almost white and these black thorns and red petals started to form all over her body and exposed skin. She couldn't move. Zoe then felt a force pull her back into a 'U' shape and purple vein-like marks go all around her arms and face. Lastly, Jodie felt her throat burn and her eyes turned velvet. On her iris, there formed tribal symbols. Then her wrists, ankles, and the back of her neck started to glow golden. Their surroundings turned into purple and black. Wind started to pick up and everything went black.

London, British Empire, January 14th, 1890. 2:43 p.m.

"Jodie! Jodie-chan! Come on! Snap out of it! Wake up!"

Jodie groaned as a familiar feminine voice shouted at her, not to mention the back of her head was pounding in her ears. She was definitely laying on something hard. The ground, maybe? She also felt wet, cold, and uncomfortable. No, that doesn't sound right. So, Jodie opened her eyes and saw Zoe with a worried expression on her face while panting. She also saw Scarlett next to her with her eyes looking like they were about to pop out and her mouth open to where she was drooling.

Zoe said "Oh thank god you're okay."

Jodie groaned as she slowly sat up and held her head while asking "Zoe, Scarlett, what's going on? Where are we? What happened?"

Zoe shook Scarlett to wake up and froze at her best friend's statement. She slowly turned her face towards Jodie and gave her a nervous smile. Jodie took this as a sign that they were not where they were supposed to be. So, Jodie got up, looked around, and saw that they were in an alley somewhere. Then, she went to look in the street but when she did, she thought she had completely loose her mind. They were defiantly NOT in New Orleans, or the 21st century. There were bricked roads, carriages, and people with 18th to 19th century clothes on. Jodie gasped and almost forgot to breath properly, in which, this caused her to stumble and fall to knees. Zoe and Scarlett ran to her for support. Scarlett held Jodie in place while Zoe gently patted her back while saying "Come on, Jodie. Come on. Breathe in, just like we practiced. Come on, breath slowly. Breath through your nose."

Unfortunately, Jodie has been in poor health ever since infancy. Her lungs weren't as strong against viruses and bacteria like her immune system was. At one point in her life, she became so ill, she nearly forgot how to breathe and was put on life support until she got better. However, this unknown illness never fully went away. In fact, by the time she had recovered, the damage had already been done. In the end, her left lung was split in half, being a near organ failure. Every now and then, whenever she became panicked or something became so unbareable to cope, she would have fits or forget how to breathe.

Once she caught her breath again, Jodie gasped for air and sighed. Zoe then said "There you go. Good, you okay now?"

Jodie nodded, coughed, and asked "Where exactly are we? I know we're in the 19th century, but where are we?"

Scarlett nervously laughed. Oh she wasn't gonna like this. In the era of corsets and high society wasn't her strong point. Being all lady-like wasn't in these girls' genes either but at least they had manners.

Jodie narrowed at the both of them in the retrospect she suspected they were hiding something. Either that or they just didn't want to answer in fear of facing the hazel-eyed woman's wrath.

Zoe gulped then sighed and answered "That's the thing, we aren't really sure. But I think this is London due to my observation of the weather and the type of clothing the people are wearing, so I'd say my theory has a 73% chance of being correct."

That dork, she may never admit it, but her observation skills were very impressive considering she was a pediatrician. Guess it shows how hard she's worked to get to where she is now.

So, Jodie smirked, got up, and walked to the sidewalk. This caused Scarlett and Zoe to panic and run to her. Zoe grabbed Jodie's arm and whispered "Are you crazy? What are you trying to do, expose yourself?"

"No, I'm just trying to see if what you said is true. Now let me go, Zoe." Jodie said as she tugged back

"No, you're always having to be shown proof and get yourself into looking odd. I; however, don't want get too cocky and look suspicious." Zoe said

"What you're doing now is suspicious. Just relax and follow my lead. We won't be out here for long. Trust me. Now, come on you two. Let's go." Jodie said as she kept the two girls close to her.

With that, the trio started to walk through the crowds. However, as much as they tried to look normal, they noticed how everyone was looking at them and that they were whispering how unlady-like they dressed. They were wearing jeans, Zoe was wearing a baggy shirt, Scarlett was wearing a tight shirt, and Jodie was wearing a black tank top with a white undershirt underneath. Scarlett practically clung to Jodie's arm while Zoe was trying her best not to scream and run for the hills. Jodie; however, was as calm as ever.

Then, when they went far enough, Jodie turned around and saw that Scarlett and Zoe weren't behind her. So, she panicked and started calling for them. Although, when her foot got to the curb, Jodie accidently tripped and ended up being pushed into the street.

Her head landed hard against the ground. As she looked up, with her hand on her head, she saw a carriage coming towards her at full speed. She didn't have time to react and get out of the way. Her eyes widened as she screamed for help. Scarlett and Zoe heard their friend's screams, looked in the road, and couldn't believe their eyes.

A man in a black coat with pale skin had his arms wrapped around Jodie's shoulders, as if protecting her from harm. The carriage was tumbled over. Jodie had her eyes closed tight with tears streaming down her cheeks as her body shook in fear.

The crowd looked at the two people in the road, gasping or whispering in shock. Scarlett and Zoe ran over to their friend to see if she was alright. Jodie then heard a deep yet soft voice say "You're safe now, miss. You can open your eyes now."

Jodie's eyes widened, that voice. It was so calming yet so dark toned. It drew her in like a fish baited for the hook. The mere sound of his accent made her skin crawl. To see who it was, she looked up and felt blood rush to her cheeks.

The man was no other than the head demon butler of Phantomhive Manor; Sebastian Michaelis. He had black as night hair that hung over his face, broad shoulders, he was tall, white as snow skin, and last but not least, those blood red crimson eyes. His expression was a face of concern and relief. The two stared into each other's eyes. Hazel eyes meeting blood red. It terrified yet excited her. For what reason, she didn't know.

A certain almost adult-like voice interrupted them. "Excuse me, miss. Are you alright?"

She then looked up to the side, she gasped. There was a boy around the age of twelve to fourteen. He had light bluish gray hair with bangs that covered the right side of his face. He had light peach skin, almost navy blue eyes, and had an eye patch over his right eye. He also had a black walking cane with a golden handle. Jodie almost mistook him for a another man for a minute there. It was Ciel Phantomhive, Earl of the Phantomhive Family. Sebastian's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Miss? My master has asked you a question, are you unable to speak?"

Her eyes widened as she gulped. After a moment, she cleared her throat, held her head, and said "No, I'm-I'm okay. I just hit my head. Really hard, but I'm okay."

Ciel and Sebastian sighed with relief. All of a sudden, Zoe tackled Ciel with a huge hug with her face full of bliss as she screamed in excitement. "Oh my god, you're so adorable! Can I take you home with me?! I want to squeeze you until I don't have the strength to hold you anymore!"

Ciel looked at Zoe while he lost his breath. Jodie looked at Ciel in shock, she noticed he couldn't breathe with Zoe squeezing him to death. Jodie broke away from Sebastian, missing his embrace already, grabbed Zoe by the collar, threw her over her figure, and into the concrete. Ciel and Sebastian looked at Jodie in amazement. What on earth came over her? She didn't know. It's just all of sudden, the brunette felt the urge to protect the poor kid. She was strong for a young woman. Although, Jodie's stance was short lived, she grabbed her head and almost fell face forward, but Sebastian then caught her in an embrace.

The last thing Jodie saw were his blood red eyes. With that, her head fell onto his shoulder and everything went black once again.