Ahm.

So very sorry that I didn't update as soon as I had planned. School work's dragging me down for awhile, and I've been having the case of writer's block recently, as I've been re-writing this chapter several times. This chapter's a lot complicated than I had first imagined, that, and the fact that I'm not very good at writing fight scenes. But hopefully this would satisfy you enough.

I've also thought about giving each chapter a title, as I'm starting to find the roman numerals to be quite boring. At least the chapter drop-down box gets to be longer now.

So before I go on, some cheers to the still few people who reviewed last chapter !

To Migoto Nami, for her fantastically long review. I hate to burst your bubble though, but I have to continue this story through season two. I also did not like that season, however, this story would never have been thought upon had I not watch season two. What happened in the anime will basically be the backbone of what would be the ending of this story. Trust me; you will not regret anything after I'm done with this fanfic.

Also, a very big thanks to pretty-little-liar-girl70 and the ever loyal follower KuraiNezumichan for their reviews!

Now, Onwards!

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VIII

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The heels of her black boots sank into the sand as she stepped out of the boat. The strong waves splashed to the jagged rocks, damping the linings of her lilac-colored skirt.

Viessa checked her surroundings; taking note at how darkly-colored the pines and hills were in the island. Up at the sky, grayish clouds circle the rocky mountains over a dark, starless background. There was a moon up as well, always full and always bright, even when the clock reads ten o'clock in the morning. The island – called a sanctuary for all demons – did not change since the last time she stepped foot on its sandy shores around 300 years ago, when she was still wholly a demon. Now, she feels she no longer belonged here, and it made her slightly awkward.

Taking sight of a different pair of footprints at her left, Viessa remembered the task in hand, and resumed walking up the shore, now following the path the footprints led. Soon she was surrounded by trees, and was now walking on solid ground instead of sand. The footprints soon faded, and she started using her nose to track him down. The faint smell of musky spice and dried up blood lingered in the air, the scent getting stronger the closer she gets.

Reaching the entrance of the ruins of what probably used to be a castle, Viessa leaped up, landing gracefully at the tallest tree she could find that has a good view of the scenario below her. Balancing on a thick branch, she hid herself under the shadows of the leaves and magnified her eyesight towards the two black figures down below.

In her mind, the words of her fellow fallen demon rang repeatedly in her head, but she has to worry about that later. What she's really worried at the moment is Sebastian's reaction to the news, of which will probably be very violent – considering how much of a hot-head he is.

Like that time on the snowy cliff with her two colleagues 150 years ago, Viessa once again looked down at a demon about to feed on his latest prey. Only this time, she needs not to wait.

The sound of church bells ringing seemed to suddenly echo in the air. It surprised Viessa for a moment, and she looked up, perked her ears in order to find the source of the strange noise as she was positively sure there was not a single church in the island. It confused her, and she pondered about it for awhile until her ears picked up Sebastian's voice instead.

"This is…"

Viessa quickly turned her attention back down. Sebastian was stepping back, his eyes wide with utter shock and his mouth was agape. He dropped down on his knees. Viessa could see that he was shaking for a bit and she wondered whether it was because of shock or anger or both. She swallowed a lump that she did not realized had formed in her throat, and her grip on the branch above her tightened as she anticipated his next reaction.

She saw him drop his head, making his black bangs shadow his eyes. He spoke in a tone of utmost disbelief, "My young master has become a void."

Then the earth rumbled beneath them. The floor below Sebastian cracking and what was left of the walls of the ruins crumbled. The force of Sebastian's rage opened a hole on the ground and the rocks were burst upwards by the force. His demonic aura became so intense it fused with the surrounding until it exploded, causing everything around him to turn into dust.

Viessa hang on for dear life, shielding her face from the debris with one arm while the other held on tightly on the tree's bark. She gritted her teeth as the explosion reverberated in her ears. Looking up from her arm, she quickly dodged a large piece of the ground that flew up by the explosion. She landed on the ground below as the boulder broke the branch where she had been standing, as well as a large part of the tree's top. She breathed out – that branch could have been her.

She ran forward to where the entrance used to be then halted at the sight of a dark figure emerging from the dust and debris of the explosion. Viessa caught site of red glowing eyes slowly approaching. As the smoke cleared, a very upset Sebastian walked out, carrying the soulless body of his young master with his one good arm. Viessa did not move, only tightening her fists and biting her lower lip. She tries not to talk. With the current state of his aura, the last thing Sebastian needs is a cocky remark coming from her mouth.

When he fully appeared before her, Viessa stud up straight and held her head up. The move made Sebastian stop on his tracks. His eyes continued to glow even while he stared at her.

Viessa thought about her next words carefully, and when she finally formulated a good enough sentence that did not involve any words that might rattle up the already infuriated demon, she opened her mouth.

She did not expect him to suddenly appear right in front of her, his glowing demonic eyes staring intensely at her purple orbs. His right hand shot up and his fingers coiled her neck once again, only this time tighter than back at the roof of that burning building. Viessa was taken aback, and awed at how fast he moved with his aura hiked up at the highest level – she did not even see him run, nor put down his young master to lean on a boulder.

With a force so strong, Sebastian pushed her backwards until her back crashed into a large piece of what was left of the ruin's wall, his hand still gripping on her neck. Viessa gruntled at the pain and raised her hands to wrap around his, trying to pry his fingers off.

"Se…bas….ti…." She stammered as his grip on her became stronger and tighter.

For a second, she thought she heard him growl, and as he spoke his voice became different: no longer was it that suave baritone, instead it sounded deep and raspy like a mixture of two voices, one belonging to a snake-like human and the other from a tiger that learned to speak. "What did you do to my young master?"

Viessa shuts one eye while the other twitched. She stammered for awhile as she tried to catch some air with her mouth with much effort. "I…did…nt…–"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY YOUNG MASTER?" Sebastian's aura, which was intense enough to be seen rather than felt, stormed up at the same time he shouted. Viessa's closed eye opened a bit so she could stare at his glowing red eyes.

"I…di…did…not…thing…"

"Liar," he pressed himself at her body, their nose and foreheads bumping into each other. He gave a quick, but tighter squeeze at her neck, making her let out a whimper before biting her left ear enough to draw blood. "I'll kill you," he whispered into her ear before letting out his tongue and licking off the blood that trickled down her earlobe.

With that action, Viessa's eyes flash from purple to red, and her hands, which had been preoccupied with prying his hand away, suddenly shot up at the back of Sebastian's head. She grabbed a handful of his black hair and gripped tightly, then yanked. Sebastian grunted at the sudden pain on his scalp before Viessa's other hand turned into a fist and punched him on the side of the face. The force caused him to lose his footing. Viessa took this opportunity to pry his hand off of her, but as soon as his fingers were loose from her neck, it fisted and shot upwards to aim at her chin.

Fortunately, Viessa was able to leap up in time, and as she came down she tried to give Sebastian a kick to the head when he too evaded quickly and landed at a short distance. Now standing opposite each other, Viessa took a moment to breath and rubbed the wound on her ear, which had commence healing as well as the bruises around her neck. She eyed Sebastian, who was panting a little. Blood ran from his mouth and he had a cut on his cheek where she had punched him.

Viessa gave a little cough, just to check if her voice box was fine enough for her to speak clearly. "Sebas…tian...Listen to me…" she stud up straighter, "I've done nothing to your master."

His head was dropped again, his eyes shadowed. His only hand squeezed into a fist. "Liar," he whispered loud enough for her to hear. Suddenly, he flashed forward and swung his fist at her. Viessa dodges, then stepped back to avoid more blows.

"Sebastian just calm down!" she cried between leaps. Sebastian swung a leg, and she jumped and summer-salted backwards. Sebastian reached out to grab her but instead caught the fabric of her skirt, ripping it.

When Viessa landed at her feet a good distance from him, she checked the torn edge of her dress and frowned, "You just ruined a perfectly good dress!" She shouted at him, "I'm going to make sure you regret that."

With a swift of her arms, two thin blades slide down from her hidden sleeve pockets into each of her hands. The blades this time where different than the one she used against the black smoke trails of humans' tormented souls; the twin knives where ordinary, with the typical silver-colored steel blades and black leather handles.

She raised the blades in an attacking stance when Sebastian raised his right hand to reveal silver cutlery knives in between each finger. They stud still for awhile, quiet. Then when Viessa took a small step forward, Sebastian stormed in lightning speed.

One of Viessa's blades met Sebastian's knives with such a force, sparks came by contact. But with Sebastian only having one arm, Viessa was at an advantage. So while her left blade shielded her from his attack, the other blade swung diagonally on his chest. Sebastian jumped back, ignoring the blood that was staining his suit, and then leaped forward to attack again. Viessa continued to parry, leap back, and swing her own blades at him.

At a few points she was unable to dodge an attack, earning her three gashes on her cheeks, a dozen cuts on her shoulders and a kick on her abdomen. Sebastian, on the other hand, had a deep cut on his shoulder when she had thrust a blade forward after he kicked her.

After leaping backwards to dodge another attack, Viessa's back touched something solid. She took a quick glimpse behind her to find that she was leaning on a large rock. She was at a dead end. She inwardly cursed before Sebastian caught up, and she crossed her blades together to shield herself from his knives.

Sebastian's eyes glowed a brighter magenta, "Return my young master!"

Viessa tightened her hold on her blades, "I don't have him!"

"Liar!" he gives her another kick on the stomach with his knee, but Viessa continued to hold on to her weapons to protect her face against the sharp edges of his knives. "I loathe liars. Give me back my young master or I'll rip your heart out!"

"I'm not lying! I don't have your master! I have no interest for the boy at all!" She screamed back at him, and with a powerful force, she uncrossed her blades, causing his knives to fly off his fingers with her blades. Viessa swings her leg in an attempt to kick him, but Sebastian was fast enough to dodge. He grabbed her leg and pulled her down to the ground. The back of her head hit the solid ground, the reaction causing her to shut her eyes. When she opened them again, Sebastian loomed above her. He grabbed her wrists together and place then above her head. Despite having only one hand, he was able to hold down both her hands. He kept her still by crashing a knee on her abdomen and putting his weight on it.

"You've been following me for two months. Surely you took the opportunity to steal the soul of my young master when I lost my arm. You…" he put more weight on his knee, squeezing her at her stomach, "You, who could no longer make contracts to feed, would rather be a scavenger waiting for the right moment to steal my prey."

"It's not like that!" Viessa said, trying to free herself from his grip.

Sebastian's eyes glowed brighter as he leaned down, their face an inch or two apart, "return my young master."

Narrowing her brows, Viessa's eyes glowed crimson again, then with much strength and effort she forces her body to turn laterally. She knocked his side with her knee, pushing him down, and then kicked him square on the chest, the force propelling Sebastian away until he crashed into boulder.

Sebastian sat up, shaking. The intensity of their fight opened the wound of his still healing arm, causing it to bleed again. He tried to stand, but fell back. After using so much of his energy on his rage and his healing, he was weakening. Trying to stand up again, Sebastian used his good arm to push himself up, but when he touched the ground, he felt something like leather. He took a quick glimpse down, then smirked.

"Listen to me Sebastian," Viessa said, trying to sound as calm as possible. She approaches him, halting only when she reached a foot away from him, "I want you to calm down and listen to me. I don't have your master but I – "

Viessa felt a shot of pain across her stomach. Looking down, she saw the glint of her blade ran through her abdomen. Sebastian's hand was gripping the handle.

Viessa suddenly cough a mouthful of blood, some of it splattered on Sebastian's face. He merely smirked, but it vanished when he heard her chuckling.

"You…you think this…will kill me?" she whispered between chuckles.

All of the sudden, Sebastian felt something cold run through his midsection. Looking down, a similar blade emerged from Viessa's sleeve and had pierced him as well.

"You're lucky…I didn't use the demon blade I have in my sleeve. This is just a regular dagger." Sebastian looked up, only to find her smiling down at him, "I would have killed you…after all, you ruined my favorite dress…not to mention you blaming me all the time," both of them simultaneously coughed out blood and Viessa withdrew her blade from his stomach, but Sebastian still refused to let go his.

"But if I kill you, I'd be in big trouble," Viessa continued as she place her hands above his which held on to the handle and then pulled the blade out of her, "Just calm down…I'll explain everything."

Sebastian held on to the bleeding hole in his midsection. His eyes where no longer glowing, as his body has weakened. He noticed Viessa's wounds began to heal quickly, even the wound on her abdomen which would have been quite fatal to any human being.

But she was no human. She was a demon, not purely, but still.

"Where is my young master?" he asked again, his voice calmer this time and finally returning to that smooth baritone instead of the demonic two-toned voice.

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Lucilla's green eyes seem to darken as she spoke, "Viessa, there is something you need to know."

The pale blond haired fallen demon raised a questioning brow. For Lucilla to be so serious was a sight to behold, as she is normally laid-back; never quite so stern with the happenings of her job unless they truly perk her interests. But at the moment, her grass-green eyes were narrow and deep as if any minute her dark pupils would thin into slits and her irises would glow to its bright red hue.

Viessa turned her full body to face her. Her fingers unconsciously pressed deeper into the fried dough of the curry bread in anticipation. "What is it?"

The brunette raised her chin up, her eyes averting to the left, like she was watching something at a certain distance. "It seems the demon assigned to me is interested in the crow's meal."

Viessa furrowed her eyebrows, "It wouldn't matter anyway. Both of them are in a contract. They cannot touch each other's food."

"True, that is unless their master orders them to." Lucilla continues, moving a few steps forward, "Apparently, the spider is cunning and his master's a blundering fool. He was able to easily manipulate him into ordering him to obtain Ciel Phantomhive."

Lucilla watched as Viessa contemplated for awhile. The latter had a coiled finger to the chin while lightly biting her lower lip. A few seconds later, Viessa raised her head, eyebrows still furrowed, "That order's improbable. Demons are prohibited to touch a soul marked by another demon. It was a rule raised in order to avoid any conflicts. Besides, what business do we have with an order like that?"

"I don't think you understand Viessa," Lucilla said, her own brows narrowing, "Our job is to make sure the marked soul is devoured. It's our job to make sure there is no conflict." She raised her left hand, which was covered with a tan glove. Using her teeth, she slips off the glove, revealing a black and green pentagram, obscured slightly by a horrendous scar that ran across it. "As demons, we claim a soul as ours by leaving our seal on them. We, however, can no longer mark humans because of this scar, which permanently destroys that ability." Lucilla puts her hand back to her side while still staring straightly at Viessa's questioning gaze.

"Viessa, there was a disturbance in your assigned demon's contract with his master. That disturbance practically vibrated across the continent."

At those words, Viessa's eyes widened in utter realization, and the memory of a severed arm ran across her mind.

"Sebastian," she whispered as she stared at her feet, "He lost his left arm during his fight with that angel. That means the contract was temporarily tarnished and his tasty little meal is open to bid!"

Lucilla nodded, "Apparently, the spider demon was able to sense that disturbance and took that opportunity."

Viessa's hand fisted, crushing the pastry. She turned away and walked towards the boat, the curry filling dripped from her fingers as she spoke. "I have to go, as it seems there will be an extension on my assignment."

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Sebastian carefully laid his young master's dormant body on top of the thick, off-white sheets of the four-posted bed, tucking the down-feathered pillow under his head. He adjusted the linings of his black suit so it wouldn't wrinkle while the boy lay on his back, then took his hands to place them on top of each other over his chest. After removing the boy's leather shoes and placing them neatly at the floor by the foot of the bed, Sebastian stud straight. His only hand, which was now gloveless, went up to his bloody left shoulder as the open wound pained slightly.

Behind him, Viessa held on to the candle lamp with her right hand. She stared at his back, specifically at the still closing wound in his midsection. The dark-haired demon has been silent for awhile after she had explained to him the true intentions of the spider demon on their way to a small manor located at the outskirts of London.

According to him, this small manor is under the property of the Phantomhives, and is recently on sale. It was situated on a cliff with a good view of the sea. The only caretaker had died; having been at downtown London on that day when the demon dog set it aflame.

Viessa approached the side table to set down the lamp. She stared at the candle's dancing flame for a moment before turning when she heard Sebastian break the silence of the night.

"What is his name?" he said, his tone was soft but firm. He did not look at her when he spoke but continue to stare intently at his young master. "What is that spider demon currently called?"

Viessa blinked once, and then stared out the window through the small space between the curtains. It was completely dark outside.

"Claude Faustus." She said softly as she shuts her eyes, the sound of the waves crashing to the rocks outside soothing her.

Sebastian drops his head as he gritted his teeth. "Who is his master?" he muttered, suppressing the growing vile as he thought about the demon who stole his young master.

Viessa opens her eyes, remembering Lucilla's description of the boy as a blundering fool who is easily manipulated, "Alois Trancy." By the mention of the name, Sebastian suddenly turns and began walking out the door in a fast pace. Viessa quickly catches up and grabs his sleeve, and Sebastian pauses.

"Where do you think you're going?" She said with her voice firm. Sebastian could practically feel her eyes burning though the back of his head. "If you think about facing that demon in your current state, then forget about it. In reality, you are a bit more stronger than that spider demon despite being in the same hierarchy as him, however you just lost more than fifty percent of your energy healing your arm, not to mention wasting some more in that bloody tantrum of yours. There's also the fact that you haven't eaten for more than 200 years, which is close to your limit, and probably why you're not healing properly. If you fight him now, you wouldn't win. And if you lose, you lose your precious dinner."

Sebastian turns to glare at her through his shoulder.

"Three days," Viessa said as her grip on his sleeves tightened, "You need to stay put for 3 days, give yourself some time to heal and plan a strategy. Anyway, that demon cannot use the soul he stole when the body is still apparently alive." Sebastian turns fully to her, and although he was still glaring at her for stopping him, he has to admit that she was completely right.

"I deduce Faustus would probably lock the boy's soul in a material object for the time being. That object could be anything and may be something he could hide easily," She continued, "Ciel Phantomhive's soul still has your mark; the break in the contract is only temporary. The sooner your seal would heal, the easier it would be for you to detect your master's soul."

Flicking his wrist to shake off her hand away, Sebastian's eyed her intensely, "I'm starting to wonder whether this secret job of yours has anything to do with why you know so much about this current dilemma of mine."

Viessa gives him one of her signature smiles, "You've wondered close enough for it to no longer be totally dubbed as a secret."

"Then if that's the case," Sebastian steps forward, now standing a foot away from her, "I think it's about time for you to enlighten me."

Viessa stared up at his red eyes, which were slightly dull and hazy due to weakness. She felt a drop of blood land on her boot, probably coming from the reopened wound of his severed his arm. Sebastian was still clutching on to his missing limb.

"Which version would you like to hear? The long one or the short one?"

Sebastian shifts his weight to his right leg, after suddenly feeling the left side of his body numb slightly. He tried to give out a smirk at her strange question, but the pain of his shoulder as it merge with his weak demonic energy for another round of healing prevented him from doing so.

"Medium."

Viessa blinked. That wasn't an option, but still she rolls her eyeballs up to look up the ceiling though her focus was more on trying to put coherent words together in order for her to give him a 'medium' version of an explanation. Sebastian only watched her expression of pure contemplation.

A few seconds later, she shuts her purple eyes to a close, only to open them again. "I am your sentry," she began, "All demons who fall into a contract are assigned a sentry in charged with making sure the covenant is a success. In becoming a Fallen Demon, we are completely renouncing our ties with hell to take the side of humans. Such an act would have sentenced us to death; instead, an indenture was made between the first fallen demon and the bosses down below: In exchange for our life to continue along with the appetite for living souls to be nullified, we are to prevent any forms of conflict between the demons on earth, prevent any form of misdemeanor and disobedience between them and their masters, and make sure that the soul they are bounded to are completely devoured by them. If we are to sense anything that may put the contract in jeopardy, may it be a demon's plan or a master's order, we are given the authority to alter or end it. The demon is then put on trial to either burn in hell again or, if the demon possesses an ability too valuable to destroy, then he or she is converted to a Fallen Demon."

Sebastian was taken aback; pausing to blink at her while her words sank in his head. Viessa stud still, waiting for a response.

Then she heard him release a quiet snort, followed by a short chuckle.

"That's your medium explanation?"

"Yes."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes again, looking down at her as if she was a child who just made the most preposterous excuse to get away with doing housework. But despite of the questioning way of explaining the odds of her 'job', he could tell from the way she looked at him – from the way her deep purple eyes stared up at him firmly and unblinking, and her face suddenly still and devoid of a smile – that she was downright and utterly serious.

The pale-blonde suddenly shrugged after a moment of silence, "Believe me, it's a lot more complicated than it sounds," she raises her right hand, curling her fingers to her so she could check her black fingernail. There were specks of blood on her knuckles and dirt under her nails, and she grimaced slightly at how dirty she was. "You were the one who requested a medium answer, so I delivered." She continued while flicking some of the grime in her nail.

"That sounded short to me."

"Well, it's not much of an epic tale either."

They were silent for awhile. Then Sebastian shuts his eyes. In his mind, he replayed her words. When he reopened his eyes again, Viessa's back faced him. She was walking towards a closed door several feet from a large cabinet.

"I didn't ask to be watched over." His words stopped her in her tracks. She turned her head to look at him through her shoulder, "It's not a choice." Was her simple reply, and then she continued walking until she stood in front of the door. She turns the handle and opens the door to reveal a large bathroom. The flames of the lamps within the bathroom flickered on by Viessa's doing, and she steps in, slowly undoing the buttons of her already torn dress and unknotting the bows and ribbons. She approaches the tub to turn on the knob to fill it with warm water, her back still facing him. Sebastian had made his way to the bathrooms entrance, watching her as she began to strip of the first layer of her dress.

"I am a demon," she heard him say behind her "My principles stand. I will never do anything to jeopardize the contract I have with my young master. I will heed his words until the day I devour his soul."

"How zealous," Viessa said while smirking. She gave a quick chuckle as she pulled on the ribbon that tied a small portion of her hair at the back, letting more of her curly waves fall behind her shoulders. "It's funny that I used to say those same words before."

She pulls off the second layer of her blouse by the long sleeves then letting the fabric fall to the floor. Sebastian heard the clanking sounds of metal when the fabric touched the marble, indicating that her secret weaponry was hidden on that particular article of clothing.

Now left with only her laced corset and frilly bloomers on, Viessa checked the water's temperature with her bare left hand, the scar blaring. Sebastian gazed at the disfigurement as the orange-glow of the candles seems to focus its light on it, and as he clutched his bleeding left arm, he wondered: Temporarily losing his seal is painful enough. Will permanently losing it be agony?

He looked up at Viessa, who had turned her head to him. She had a sweet smile on her face – that smile she always gave him ever since he first laid eyes on her.

"Now, if you excuse me," she began as her hands reach behind her to unknot the strings that tied her corset tightly to her bodice, "I'd like to clean up. I'm filthy."

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And there you have it! This is all I could come up with under my busy schedule. By the way, finals are coming up, so don't be surprised if I don't update for a while. But don't worry, chapters 9 to 10 are already thought over and outlined. On a side note, I might be finally raising the ratings of this fanfiction to M by next chapter; the reason for now will be a secret (tee-hee-hee). I'm just giving you readers a heads up, as you might get shock that the story suddenly disappeared in the T sections. My advice, Follow the Story, but don't forget to give a review before that!

Until I return, pleasant something everybody!

-SafireLupe, 9-19-2012