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Bard sighed as he examined the chewed up wire in the ceiling, a hard hat on his head which provided light. "They got us..." He began wrapping some tape around the cord. "Guess they really like wires. Damn rats."
"Rats again?" Mei-rin asked, looking up at the chef who sat on the ladder.
"There've been a lot this year." Finny said worriedly.
"I've heard there's been a plague of these freaks in London." Bard said, climbing down the ladder. "They couldn't have come by foot all the way here...They're constantly causing power outages, it's bad for business."
Finny yelped when he spotted a rat scurry behind Bard. "RAT SIGHTED!" He yelled before grabbing a bust and attacking the rat with it, much to Mei-rin and Bard's shock.
"It got away!" Finny said with a giggle.
"Don't give me your 'tee hee' you almost killed me too, dumbass!" Bard yelled while Mei-rin tried to calm her heart beat. "Anyway, it's useless to challenge them head-on! You gotta use this!" Bard said, pointing to his head.
"This..?" The servants gestured to their heads as well, looking confused.
"Use your brains a little and read the enemy's movements. Just charging in isn't a fair fight. We need a diversion!" Bard pulled out a large pot. "So here's my plan...by mass producing this, those bastards will have some digestion problems. Hunger on the battlefield is the worst. We'll use this! Entitled 'Chef Bard's Home Cooking Straight-Forward' tactic!" Inside the pot was some foul, bubbling concoction that was no doubt Bard's attempt at homemade rat poison. "Well! This is the work of a professional!" Bard said with a smug grin and a cigarette in his teeth.
"Then I will... use the great 'Eternal Enemy, Tom and Julie' tactic!" Finny said, lifting one of the many cats he had gathered for the task.
"I=I won't lose!" Mei-rin said, pointing to the hallway that she had covered in mousetraps. "This is the great 'If You Catch Them a Second Time, Don't Let Go' rat-killing tactic!"
"Alight! Mission start!" The servants cheered
Inside the billiards room everyone could hear the servants yelling. "It went over there!" "That bastard!"
"They're quite boisterous." Sir Randall said. All the guests were playing billiards. Ciel was playing as well, as he quite enjoyed games and Nyra decided to have a go at it as well. "Somehow there seems to be a rat in here, too."
In the billiards room was Sir Clause, who was still in England for the time being, a Chinese trading company manager named Lau, Ciel's aunt known as Madam Red, a portly german man named Diedrich and an italian named Azzuro Vanel who was taking the next shot.
Diedrich spoke while eating a sandwich. "How long do you intend to let that harmful animal that scavenges for food and spreads disease around do as it pleases?"
"Shall we let it do as it pleases?" Lau asked. "...or shall we make it swim?"
"Yes, he always aims for the nine-ball." Madam Red said before turning to address her nephew. "Will you pass again, Lord Phantomhive?"
"Pass. The ball that you can't help hitting is an un-hit principal." Ciel said, leaning back into his chair.
"That's good judgement." Randall said. "When will the rat be exterminated?"
"Soon. I've already received the ingredients from Clause." Said man was having a drink and Lau took a shot after Nyra as Ciel continued. "We will eradicate the rat that finds its nest after we break a few of its bones. When can I receive the compensation for it?"
Randall's hand tightened on his pool stick. "You vulture." He growled.
Nyra stepped towards the police commissioner. "Sir Randall," she said, her tone similar to that of a parent scolding a naughty child. "You should mind your tongue, especially since you are in Ciel's territory right now." She placed a hand on Ciel's shoulder and stood protectively beside him. "Even more so, the servants of this mansion would be more than willing to rip out your tongue if you can't keep it in check." Nyra glared at the officer with her vividly green eyes. The coldness of her glare told the commissioner that she would carry out that threat in a heartbeat.
"Too bad, it's a fall." Lau said in disappointment at his shot. "Billiards is hard..."
"Next is the count. What will you do?" Azzuro said. "Will you put an end to this waiting game?"
Ciel stood up and began to walk towards the table, passing by Sir Randall. "And? When will you be able to prepare the compensation?"
"Th...This evening." He said, clearly not happy about the situation.
"That's fine." Ciel said before taking aim at the ball. "Afterwards a carriage will come to pick you up. Please wait for high tea to be prepared."
"Will you aim for the nine-ball with the remaining three-ball?" Nyra asked Ciel, twirling her cue stick a little in her hand.
"Of course." Ciel said, shifting the position of his hand slightly.
"How about a look at the skill of this game's prodigy?" Diedrich smirked.
"Greed will destroy your body...Ciel..." Sir Randall said.
Ciel chuckled and smirked before taking his shot. "Greed huh..?"
"...What are all of you doing?" Sebastian asked. He had taken the words right out of Nyra's mouth. The governess had slipped out of the billiards room to check on the other servants but it appeared that the butler was already on it.
"'What' you say...We've decided to capture the rats!" Bard yelled as Finny, who was wearing a cat costume, was attacked by the felines he was trying to use.
"Sebastian!" Ciel called, gaining both the butler and the governess's attention.
"Young master?" Sebastian asked as the earl walked out towards them, papers in hand.
"Tonight, escort Duke Randall by carriage to his mansion. Will you take care of the carriage?" Sebastian made sure to keep an eye on the other servants while Ciel spoke. "Leave tonight's plans open."
Sebastian smiled his butler smile. "Understood." He placed a hand over his nonexistent heart. "Then when I finish the preparations for the carriage, I will bring up some afternoon tea to your room."
"We'll be studying ancient Egypt today, Ciel." Nyra said with a smile. She had a few artifacts from said time period in her room. Like Sebastian, she was also ignoring the panicked and maniac screams of the other staff members.
"I have prepared apple and raisin dip pie for today's snack. I will bring it to you when it's baked, so please wait just a bit."
"Okay." Ciel said before walking off to his office.
Sebastian sighed as the other servants ran around in blind panic. "Now then..." The butler dove and snatched the two rats that the servants had been chasing. He held out the two of them to the servants who were in varying states of disarray. "Now. Please do your work without playing around. We will be having guests tonight." He then threw the rodents out the window.
Nyra went down to her room as she left Sebastian to finisn dealing with the three servants. It didn't take her too long but she eventually found her Khopesh, her canopic jars, her snake armband and her large necklace that looked like a bird spreading its wings.
She levitated her items except for her Khopesh as she strolled down the hall. She walked up to Ciel's study and on the way she met up with Sebastian. He noticed the weapon in her hand.
"That is a Khopesh if I am correct?" He asked as he pushed the cart.
Nyra nodded. "Ironically though, the Egyptians used these to behead witches."
The Khopesh was an Egyptian sickle-sword that evolved from battle axes. A typical khopesh was 20–24 inches in length, though smaller examples did exist. The blade was designed for hooking an opponent's shield or disarming them. The weapons changed from bronze to iron in the late period.
The blade was only sharpened on the outside portion of the curved end. Unlike an axe, the khopesh did not make push-cuts, but rather slashes, like a saber. The khopesh went out of use around 1300 BC.
"It seems as though every civilization has had its share of witch hunts." Sebastian mused. "Did you ever see one?"
"Most of the time humans captured people they just thought were witches." Nyra said with a slightly far-off look in her eyes. "The reason why witch hunts started was because there are actual monster witches. Some idiot witches try to use advanced summoning magic before they are ready and they go crazy because they are corrupted by whatever they try to summon." 'Usually demons.' Nyra thought to herself, glancing warily at the demon beside her
"Hansel and Gretel is based off of a true story, a witch actually tried to eat them. But they survived and moved on to be the best witch hunters in history. They destroyed hundreds of senile witches, a great service to the rest of us, since we try to hunt them down before they do anything crazy." She took a deep, slightly shaky breath to steady herself. She was reliving a rather painful memory and she needed to get a rein in on her emotions.
Sebastian didn't comment on her tone of voice and knocked on the door. "Young master, I've brought your pie and afternoon tea for you to enjoy while you complete your lesson." There was no answer. Nyra immediately became worried. Ciel never turned down sweets. Sebastian opened the door.
"Ciel?" Nyra called. She gasped when she saw that the room was in complete disarray and the window was wide open.
"Ah...how terrible." Sebastian said.
Nyra and Sebastian then both spoke at the same time.
"Ciel's been kidnapped!"
"Now the tea I have worked so hard to prepare has become meaningless."
Nyra felt her eye twitch. "THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT?!" She was so angry at that moment that a crack and made its way right across her mask.
"Your face is cracking." Sebastian said calmly, taking the jars and jewelry out of the air and setting them on the tea cart.
Nyra growled as she focused on putting her mask back together.
SOMEWHERE IN THE EAST END
"The backside of England's public. The order. Traitors will be bitten to death by our power, by the Queen's watchdogs. I have come to take over the dirty part of the government that has spanned many generations. How many street names have they burdened you with and how many families have been crushed? Who would've thought that the president of the world's best toy factory is just a boy? Right? Ciel Phantomhive."
Ciel was bound up on the floor by the use of belts. His face was covered in bruises and his nose was bleeding. The young Earl didn't know where he was and he was slightly wary of the Doberman in the room but he kept a collected face. He looked venomously up at the man smoking his cigar.
"Looks can be deceiving. Well, it oddly makes sense that the king of a toy palace is a child."
"It really was you. Ferro family... Azzurro Vener." Ciel said.
He was one of the guests who had been in Ciel's billiards room. The man chuckled. "You know, little Phantomhive, the Italian mafia finds this country bothersome. It's really a pain." A Doberman growled in the corner. "All of the English and their goddamn tea stained heads! Think about it. What's the most beneficial market for people like us?" Azzurro smirked. "It's not cleaning up, carrying things, nor women, nor spare parts. It's drugs, ya'know?"
Azzurro's hand tightened around his cigar. "Even so, when we came to this country, thanks to the successful glares of the watchdogs, we haven't been able to catch a single relaxing scent." He began to grin again. "The Queen! The Queen! That's all they ever talk about. In the end aren't we two sides of the same coin? So I just want us to cooperate a bit."
"Sorry, but I have no intentions of conspiring with a filthy rat." Ciel said, glancing up at Azzurro.
"You may say that, but what about the others? Right now it might be only the watchdogs who are scared and obedient." Azzurro crossed his legs. "I guess Ciel Phantomhive is someone who cleans out corruption." Azzurro took a puff from his cigar. "Even though I specifically made it so that I wouldn't sell in Italy... I didn't expect to be tracked this early on."
Azzurro laughed. "Who would have guess that guy Clause would go to such lengths to obtain it. It's because of that I only get half my share. Now then...do you understand business yet?" The cigar moved up and down in his mouth as Azzurro spoke. "If you're lying about where the goods are kept, you'd better run home while your neck's still attached little runt."
Ciel smirked. "If I don't return, evidence will soon make its way to the government through Clause. It's a shame, huh?"
Azzurro bit into his cigar and pointed a pistol at Ciel. "Don't mess with adults... 'little master'! We're already keeping your servants waiting. Where are the goods? If you don't spill quick...I'll kill your servants one by one."
ciel smiled mockingly. "It would be nice if cute little puppies were able to 'fetch'."
Ciel responded calmly. "The pharmacy act of 1868 listed opium as a restricted substance, it is the Queen's decree, and I will eliminate those drugs and the vermin who sell them."
Azzuro sighed in aggravation. "You know this is why I hate all you Englishman. 'The queen this, the Queen that.' You act like this woman is your own mother. You line your pockets while pretending the whole time you're better than us but in the end we're no different from each other. Why can't we get along?" Azzuro said, gripping Ciel's face while smirking at him.
"I've left orders about your key. If I don't come back my servants will make sure the authorities get it." Ciel smirked. "I'm sorry, but I have no interests in getting along with someone like you."
Azzurro chuckled before violently kicking Ciel in the head. He then grabbed a phone. "Didn't you hear me? Negotiations are over. Kill him!" Azzurro stomped out his cigar.
AT THE MANOR
Nyra walked down the hall with Sebastian who was still holding the pie while Nyra still held her Khopesh. Her face was contorted in a frown of worry as she twirled her weapon in her hand. Sebastian took notice of the gleam coming off of the sniper's rifle. He sighed before he too began to speculate on where the young Earl could have been taken to.
"M-Mr. Sebastian! Ms. Nyra!" The familiar voice of Mei-rin echoed through the hall. The maid was running towards the two senior staff.
"Just now, in the enterance hall, a letter-!"
"Who is it for?" Nyra asked.
"Um, it's addressed to 'Sir Ciel Phantomhive and valet..." Mei-rin then tripped on one of her bootlaces.
As luck would have it, she crashed into Sebastian just as the assassin fired his shot. Due to her positioning, the bullet would have hit Nyra had Sebastian not grabbed her and pulled the witch down with him. She yelled angrily but immediately stopped when she saw the bullet come through the window. It was incredibly close, it even took off some of his bangs.
Nyra took a few shaky breaths as she lay on the ground next to Sebastian, his arm still around her. Once she calmed down she sat up brushed her hair out of her face. Sebastian sat up as well, making the maid who was still on top of him sit up. Sebastian then caught the pie on the plate. Nyra sighed but couldn't stop the tiny bemused smile that spread across her lips. Even during such a situation, the demon still had time to worry about the damn pie. He then turned to the maid.
"Mei-run is that letter-"
"Right here." Mei-Ron said shakily before handing the butler the letter and quickly hopping off of him.
"We've got your employer. You have what we want. Bring it to White Chapel on Black's Row."
Nyra read the letter over Sebastian's shoulder and quickly became angry. She even felt her face crack but quickly covered it. At least the knew where Ciel was.
"What an undignified invitation." said Sebastian.
"What the hell happened?!" Bard yelled as he and Finny came running.
"Are you alright?" The young gardener asked.
"Oh it was nothing much." Sebastian said, smirking as he helped the maid and Governess up while temporarily balancing the pie on his head. Mei-rin proceeded to collapsed in a blushing pile of happiness, having been so close to Sebastian. The butler patted the front of his suit, getting rid of any wrinkles.
"My apologies everyone, but can I entrust the cleaning and supper preparations to you?" Sebastian asked.
"...That's fine, but..." Bard trailed off, wondering why Sebastian would want them to handle it when he usually didn't let them do anything.
"Nyra and I have a bit of minor business to take care of. After you finish, clean this too, please." Sebastian said handing the pie to Bard.
"Okay..." Bard said slowly.
"We shall return before dinner time." Sebastian said, serving tray under one arm and the Governess on the other.
"Mm? You mean I have to clean thi...Hey, can I eat thi...huh?" Bard looked and saw that both senior servants were gone.
Not so far away a car was speeding through the forest. It was the gunman and his partner, who was driving. THe sniper himself was on the phone. "I'm sorry, we failed."
On the other end, Azzurro was furious. "You failed?! You useless bastards! This is why you're worth less than shit! I'm through with you. Return at once!"
"Wait! Some trouble just came up." The sniper tried to explain himself while the driver glanced in the rear view mirror. What he saw made him pale significantly.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Azzurro had to pull away from the phone in order to spare his hearing. He stared at the receiver, confused.
He then smirked and chuckled. "What's wrong? Did a bear show up or something?"
The driver put the gas pedal to the floor, screaming all the way as two shapes from the dust were slowly gaining on them.
"What's with you guys?" Azzurro asked. "Is it something you can't handle?!"
"Gimme more speed!" The gunman yelled.
"That's not possible!" The driver replied. "It's no use! They're coming!"
"What's coming? Jokes won't be-"
"It's..."
"Cut it out you bastards!" Azzurro yelled into the phone.
"It's here..." There was a terrified scream, a crash and then no one was there.
Azzurro stood in shock, phone still in hand. He snapped out of it after about a minute. "Hey! What's wrong?"
Ciel chuckled from his position on the ground. "It would appear that 'go fetch' has failed."
Azzurro snapped and kicked Ciel several times as hard as he could in order to vent. "Shut up! You stupid brat!" By the time he was done his shoe was covered in blood. He turned and grabbed the phone again. "Hey! If you don't answer, I'll kill you, you mongrels! HEY!"
"Hello." A new male voice answered. Azzuro frose, a child riding up his spine at the sound of the unfamiliar voice.
"Excuse us but we are members of the Phantomhive household." A woman on the other line said.
"We hope our master hasn't been troubling you." The man said.
Azzuro glanced at the bloody young earl. The boy just lay there, bound up and motionless. Azzuro began to shake and his heart was beating so loud he thought the people on the other line could hear it.
"Hello?" The woman asked with mocked concern.
"Is something the matter?" The man added.
Azzuro then began to stutter, so scared that he was unable to form a word.
"Woof!" Ciel said. Azzuro froze.
GUNMAN NOW NYRA/SEBASTIAN'S END
"Understood. Right away." Sebastian said, smirking. Nyra was resting her chin on his shoulder.
"We're coming to get you Ciel. We shouldn't be long." Nyra said calmly, as if she was talking about picking up a child from a play date at his friend's. Sebastian then tore the cord in half.
"Thank you for the use of your field telephone." Sebastian smirked. He and Nyra were kneeling on the hood of the car as it balanced on the edge of a cliff. Nyra was kneeling behind him, her chin on his shoulder with her arms wrapped around him, her fingers interlocking. She had her broom with her as well and kept it levitating behind her, since she didn't feel like using the magical energy required to fly herself. She didn't want to run either. Although witches were faster and stronger than humans, she wasn't anywhere near on par with a demon on foot.
Nyra wasn't in her typical dress either. When Ciel was first kidnapped while she and Sebastian were in service, Nyra wanted to change into trousers. But then Sebastian said that would not be proper for a lady, which lead to the witch yelling at him about it not being the proper time to bring up propriety. She wanted to wear something that wasn't as constricting as her typical dress, which would hinder her mobility and restrict her fighting ability. Next thing she knew Sebastian had redressed her so fast that she blinked and she missed it.
He had dressed her in a black, floor length dress of leather and feathers. Her sleeves had cuffs that flared out a little bit, the hem was pointed and the collar was high in the back but dipped sharply in the front to show a hint of cleavage. The feathers made up the neckline and wrapped around the dress like some kind of scarf or shawl, getting narrower towards the bottom. The dress did not have several layers and it was not heavy, unlike other dresses in the current style. She didn't even bother asking him where he got it or getting angry at him for changing her. She just let him pick her up so that he could get them to Ciel's position faster.
The demon and the witch stared down at their victims with similar smirks. "Incidentally, there are a few other things we'd like to hear from you. Is that acceptable?" Sebastian said.
"First, we would like to know who you work for." Nyra said. When they hesitated she continued, "Careful, Sebastian here is not patient, he completely lacks that virtue and I can only hold him back for so long." To scare them a little bit Sebastian lightly lunged forward and let Nyra pull him back. They both knew that if he wanted Sebastian could easily escape Nyra's grasp and pounce on the gunmen before the witch could stop him.
"You do remember what happened to Humpty Dumpty don't you?" Sebastian mocked, that made the two men brake.
"The Ferro family's Azzurro Vener! He's setting up a hide out nort of the East End!" Sebastian smiles slightly before tucking the telephone into his pocket. "Is that so?" He asked.
"...yes." The sniper said, shaking. "We were...o-o-only hired out!" He said.
"We understand." Nyra said with a mocking smile.
"Sorry to interrupt your work gentlemen, we'll let you go now. Have a safe trip." Sebastian wrapped an arm around Nyra's waist and they both leapt off the vehicle. It began to slide. Sebastian turned away, muttering about the Ferro family and checking his watch.
Sebastian pulled out his pocket watch. "Oh dear. It's this late already. At this rate, I shall be late for dinner."
Nyra roiled her eyes before tilting her head back and howling. Sebastian sighed in aggravation as the vehicle exploded from behind them. It seemed Nyra was calling one of her friends. Sebastian hated them with a passion but he had made peace with them. If they didn't bother him then he wouldn't bother them.
A large grey-wolf padded out of the woods. Nyra had previously explained that some of the Stark family witches had a connection to wolves, even the ancient Dire Wolves, which were still around and as big as horses. The wolf that stood before them was still young, but soon he would be as big as a horse. He walked up to Nyra and bowed his head, keeping his weary golden glare on Sebastian, who glared right back.
"Stonepaw, could you please bring this back to my room? Try not to be seen." Nyra said. The witch knew that having Sebastian carry her would be faster so there was no point in keeping her broom. She handed the young wolf her broom, which he clasped firmly in his jaws.
"Of course, daughter of Stark." The wolf said telepathically. Whenever a wolf or any canine for that matter was near Nyra, they could communicate with everyone if they so chose, using their mind.
Ciel didn't have a problem with it, especially when a gang tried to invade the grounds of the mansion and then suddenly ten giant wolves came bounding out of the shadows, snarling and barking. After they finished helping get rid the gang members, Ciel said it was okay for them to live in the forest so long as they didn't disturb anyone, much to Sebastian's annoyance. Ciel was a bit more of a dog person, and he found it funny that it bothered Sebastian so much. So... all the more reason to do it in Ciel's mind.
With that, Stonepaw ran off towards the mansion. Sebastian then picked Nyra up, the witch complied and wrapped her arms around his neck. She knew the drill. What Sebastian did next however was not part of the drill. He had leaned down, and kissed her. Nyra froze and tensed up in shock. She pushed him away, but not hard enough to push herself out of his arms.
"W-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Nyra yelled, face bright red.
"You look quite fetching when interrogating humans." Sebastian said, smirking down at her as she blushed even redder.
"Th-this is not the time!" Nyra yelled.
"Very well, than we shall continue when we return with the master." Sebastian said. He then took off at full speed, causing Nyra to get pushed closer to him, her head resting on his chest and her arms tightening around him.
"DAMN YOU SEBASTIAN!"