"Please let me see Lilliana or Adrian! I have to see if they're all right," Annabeth cried as she was being pushed to a room on the far side of the rehabilitation center. When they left the human realm, she got to be with Adrian, but soon, they had to separate them as they put him in a holding cell, Lilliana in a Shinigami hospital, and her in the rehabilitation center. They didn't even let her clean up, but only pushed her into this room. "Please! I need to know!"

"I'm sorry, but my orders are from on high," a young Reaper said as he guided her to the room, pushed her in, and locked it before she could leave.

"Please! Let me go! You can watch me, but I promise I'm no threat! I just want to know if they're all right."

"I'm sorry, but I can't," he said before leaving her in the cell. She kept yelling for him to release her, but she was unheard. Soon, she began to cry, feeling helpless in her situation. Everything's that happened, Adrian's arrest and Lilliana's life-threatening injuries, was all her fault. If she had drank blood when she could, she wouldn't have been the monster she had become. Luckily for her, she couldn't remember much. The last thing she remembered clearly was her lying on the bed and the scent of blood filling the air. The rest was a blur until Adrian gave her some of his blood. She was a completely different person and she couldn't control herself. Her instincts took over and she became a monstrosity that ate the flesh of the living. The poor dear just . . . kept consuming until she could be filled. Who else would do that? She ate a person. The mere thought of it made her want to vomit. True, it was her captor who she thought she could trust, but it was a person. Nothing could ever excuse what she did!

Not only that, but she actually managed to hurt Lilliana, a Grim Reaper. She was an inhuman creature that had incredible strength, but . . . she managed to immobilize her and potentially kill her. Sebastian actually looked legitimately worried for her, even though he was a demon. After all, why would he carry her with so much care, presumably when Annabeth tried to kill her? Now, she was being treated for her wounds, but there was doubt that she was going to be all right. Even the other Grim Reapers seemed to give up on her, as if she couldn't be saved. Could she die? By her hand even? Could a human actually kill a Grim Reaper? She took it back. She wasn't a human; she was a monster.


"You can't lie to us, Adrian. We have strong evidence pointing to you as the perpetrator behind that disgrace on the Campania," William said as he, Grell, and Ronald interrogated him in his holding cell. They thought they would get his testimony or even his confession, out of him. True, he had Grell and Ronald, who were witnesses to his crimes, but they wanted to hear it from Adrian to see if they should file him under insanity.

"There is nothing to lie about. I'll admit that I did bring back souls from the sleep they were trapped in. I was curious to how they would behave in such a state. Despite they were what you called 'monsters', I found them quite lovely; free from the human chains that bound them."

"But you still attacked us! You dare would hurt a lady?!" Grell said in flamboyant anger as he slammed his palms on the table.

"I'm sorry, my dear," he said, making Grell blush a bit. "But don't forget that it was you that attacked me. I was only defending myself against you and that demon butler."

"S-Speaking of which, you hurt my dear Bassy! I won't be able to forgive you for that!"

"I'm sorry, but he attacked me as well. What was I suppose to do against a demon?"

"Regardless of who was at fault in the attacks, you still violated the very basic rule: don't manipulate the souls of the living. Even worse, you desecrated them by deforming their Cinematic Records and turning their bodies into flesh-eating monsters," William said.

"You made us quite busy that day," Ronald commented, but was soon hushed.

"And not only have you done it then, but you've done it now with your new abomination-,"

"Her name is Annabeth Phoenix, if you don't mind," Adrian said assertively.

"All right. You brought back Ms. Phoenix's soul and although she seems to be in a much better condition than the others, she is still just as bloodthirsty as them. Look what happened to that boy and Ms. Kiliamo-,"

"And you want to scold me about what happened to Lily? The bloody boy kidnapped Annabeth and she wouldn't have been what she was if it wasn't for him. I had her under good watch and care if that boy didn't interfere. Besides, I'm not the one that almost abandoned Lily because she is different from the rest of us. Hell, I've been called a Rogue Reaper since I left, but I received no discrimination. Then you guys came in and separated her from her demon brother to 'recondition' her into the perfect Reaper, but she couldn't be, now could she? So, you brought me in to help her-,"

"We're getting off topic here," William said.

"What? Am I hitting a soft spot in our dear Willy here? Am I tapping into some unconscious sympathy for her? True, you and your sect have discriminated her for years, but if I remember correctly, there was a time when you and Ms. Sutcliff were actually friends with her. That's right, I know about the examination that she failed, but you two passed. Right after that, they called me in to help her. Her treatment was the reason why I left."

"He called me 'Ms.'," Grell said gleefully to himself, blushing uncontrollably.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Ronald asked. "I mean, I wasn't around when she was supposedly 'rehabilitated'. I just thought she was cool since she was different from the others, mainly because she was a girl, but regardless."

"Who's the worse criminal; the one who brought back the dead for experimental reasons or the ones that took an innocent girl and tortured her and made her into their own kind by force? I'm sure if she had the choice, she would have been a demon just like her brother and that butler," Adrian said with a smirk, but his tone was serious.

William's pupils dilated a bit, but he still kept his emotionless expression. "One is breaking the rules and one is correcting a Rogue Reaper. By that technicality, it would be you."

"But morally?"

"That's a human invention."

Suddenly, the door slammed open and in came a furious Katia, who had red eyes and had her katana in her hand ready to kill. "Where is he?! Where is that bastard?!"

"Ms. Vendoa, please calm down," William said, but he had to admit that he was scared. She was absolute terrifying when she was angry since she was usually the sweetest girl he'd ever met.

"You're telling me to calm down?! Lilliana is severely injured and you're telling me to calm down?! It's that bastard's fault that she's there," she yelled as she tried swinging her Death Scythe at him. "(Censored) you, you killer!"

"Katia, please calm down, darling," Grell said as he held her back as she continuously swung her katana at him.

"But he got her hurt! He . . . he . . . he . . . ," she said before she started to cry.

Grell gave her a hug and rubbed her back as he said, "It's all right. I know how you feel for her, even though I will never understand why. However, killing him won't be the best idea."

"But he could have killed Lily! This bastard was suppose to be her friend, but he . . . ," she tried to say, but words wouldn't come out. Her eyes were slowly turning back to green as she took in deep breaths.

"So, when were you going to tell me you got another Rogue Reaper?" Adrian asked. She glared at him, but didn't say anything. "However, she's labeled that for different reasons than Lilliana. That much is clear since there is no discrimination against her."

"You would be dead wrong," she said, tightening the grip on her katana, but her eyes still stayed green. "I only fit in because everyone here is used to being around a Rogue Reaper already, one more dangerous than me apparently since I was warned to stay away from her," she said as she looked at Grell.

"Why are you staring at me? I only said that because it's true."

"But . . . there's a lot more to her than you realize."

"I know she has a hunk of a demon brother and she works for that brat. What else do I need to know?"

"Still, we need to clarify that it wasn't Adrian that hurt Lilliana, but it was his abomination-" William tried to say, but was interrupted.

"Annabeth," he corrected.

"Right. Annabeth. She was the one that took bites out of Ms. Kiliamo."

"That may be so, but he is the one who made her. He has responsibility over that thing!"

"She isn't a thing," Adrian yelled as he slammed his hands on the table, startling everyone, even William. "She is a living human being and I would greatly appreciate it if you treated her as such!"

"Human? Are you kidding me?" Katia asked as her eyes grew back red. "You call that thing a human? She feasted on the flesh of the living! That thing is not normal! I'm sorry, Adrian, but I cannot let it roam around, supervised or not. She is a menace and needs to be destroyed and as the creator, you should be locked away for your crimes. I don't care how much Lily respects you."

"And how do you think she'll react to such a rash decision?"

She was silent for a while, but said, "I'm sure she would understand better than anyone that you violated the rules and need to be punished. If you cared about her, you wouldn't have involved her in this sick little play of yours! That thing isn't alive; it's a living corpse. The fact it needs Reaper blood to survive is sickening."

"But have you ever been curious to know how a human would react to a second chance in life. Her life wasn't very satisfying for it to end so abruptly."

"I don't care if she had a good previous life or a terrible one. What I do care is that thing she has become is not normal. Besides, you have disgraced the sanctity of life and death. It is beyond disrespectful to disrupt the order."

"Oh, but couldn't I argue that we are all just living corpses just like her?"

"We were chosen to become Reapers," William said.

"But have you ever been curious to know what your life was like before you died? Ms. Sutcliff could have been the most beautiful woman that ever existed." Grell blushed at the thought that raced in his head. "That boy there could have been the most successful ladies' man in the world with women flocking to him." Ronald smiled. "William here might have been a very important businessman that had everything he ever wanted in life." William had to force himself not to smile. "And Ms. Vendoa, perhaps you were a woman in search of love because you couldn't get it from whoever was keeping you down."

She blushed, but angrily said, "So what?! You've disrupted the natural order and need to pay!"

"We will handle it on our own, Ms. Vendoa and if you don't want to be detained yourself, I suggest you leave the room," William said sternly.

She glared at him, but took a deep breath and her eyes turned back green. However, she walked up to him and said, "This isn't over. If something happens to Lily, I won't hesitate in killing that creature." Adrian got up, as if he was about to walk up or even attack her for saying that, but sat back down.

"That will not be necessary. She is vital evidence and if we were to lose her in any way-,"

"Oh yeah, she's the vital evidence! Not his confession or Lilliana's injuries. How can you say that when she could be dying-,"

"I highly doubt that. She's got demon's fate on her side," Adrian commented.

She took a deep breath and looked at Will, but said, "It's like you don't care about her at all."

"Actually, he cares about her more than you realize," Grell commented. William glared at him, but he only chuckled. "Don't think I haven't noticed. Why else would I up my flirting game whenever she's around?"

"I've noticed too, boss," Ronald said.

"Regardless, we will deal with Adrian and Annabeth the traditional way and pray that Ms. Kiliamo will be all right. For now, would you kindly exit the room and we will inform you of our decision," William said. She glared at him, but she left the room, followed by Ronald.

"I'll be back, boss. I just want to make sure she doesn't do anything too bad," he said before he left.

"Can I just have one day at work without having a headache?"


Night fell in the Shinigami Realm and Annabeth couldn't sleep. How could she? She was stuck in this room with no knowledge of what was to become of her. However, that wasn't her biggest concern. For starters: will Lilliana recover? They had mixed feelings surrounding her recovery, but Adrian seemed to believe she would be fine. She hoped so. She could never forgive herself if she died. Also, her biggest concern was for her love, Adrian. What were they going to do to him? They did say that he needed to "pay for his crimes", but she had no idea what those crimes were. Was it as bad as they say or was he falsely accused? She hoped the latter, but if that's the case, why wouldn't he fight back? She remembered them talking about the 'others on the Campania', but she never figured out what they were talking about. All she could hope for now is that everything would be all right: Lilliana would be healed and she and Adrian could finally leave and be happy.

Still, being in this isolated room terrified her. Were they going to come back to torture her? How long would they keep her here? Would they keep her here forever? Would she ever see Adrian again? These thoughts and more prevented her from sleeping. In fact, the room was driving her mad. Everything was just too white: the furniture, the bed, the sheets, everything. There were no decorations or anything to distract her from the madness, but all she could do were close her eyes and try to dream of her true love saving her from this hell.

Suddenly, she heard the door open down the hall and she quickly sat up on the bed. Her heart raced and sweat started to form. Who was that? Soon, she heard footsteps walking down the hall and she started to shake uncontrollably. What did they want? Then, she saw a shadow on the other side of the little window of the room followed by the sound of the door unlocking. The door opened and all she could see was a shadow and it walked into the room. "Don't be afraid, Annabeth, I'm here to help you," a raspy female voice said.

"Wh-Who are you-," she tried to ask out of fright before a hand covered her mouth, making her even more scared.

"No time for questions. Just follow me. Understood?" Annabeth nodded slowly and the shadow let go of her face. "And don't make a peep or else they'll catch us."

The shadow led her out of the room, down the hallway, passing the sleeping guard with a sword Death Scythe in her hand, out the rehabilitation center, and soon through a portal back into the human realm. She made sure to be quiet or else she would have to outrun Grim Reapers, and being a human, she wouldn't get too far. The shadow didn't speak to her the entire time and she wondered who it was? Was it Adrian? No, because he would have said so and she would recognize his soothing voice. Was it Lilliana? No, she was injured and the voice is far too raspy to be hers. Maybe the other Grim Reapers? No, because they were determined to keep her as evidence. Who was this mysterious person?

However, as they reached the human realm, she finally got a good look at the person thanks to the moonlight, or at least, as much as she could. The person was wearing a dark green hooded cape that covered her face. The person was female due to the noticeable curves on her body. "I have to take you somewhere safe," the person said.

"Wait, who are you?" She didn't answer, but directed her to a place very familiar to Annabeth: the Phantomhive Manor. She was shocked she was being taken there, but she knew this would probably be the safest place for her at a time like this. The woman knocked on the front door and waited anxiously for that devilish butler to answer. Annabeth got a better look at the person and noticed that she had bandages around her. Wait, it couldn't be . . .

Soon, the door opened and Sebastian poked his head out. However, he glared at Annabeth, still upset for what happened to Lilliana. "Huh, I thought they would keep better care of their things," he commented.

"Sebastian," the person said in that raspy voice.

He looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, but the young lord isn't expecting guests at this hour."

"Sebastian, it's me," the woman said as she took off the hood to reveal her face: it was Lilliana. Both of them looked in utter shock. How could she be fine now?! Several hours ago, she was on the verge of life and death, but now she seemed to be recovered. Well, maybe 'recovered' wasn't the best word; she still had the bandages all over her arms and torso, her voice was raspy due to the bite out of her neck, and she just . . . didn't look too good.

"Lilliana," he said under his breath before he hugged her, which surprised Lilliana, but she winced in pain. As soon as he heard her wince, he pulled back immediately. "I'm sorry, but you do realize that you had me worried."

"I worried a demon? Have you gotten soft, Sebby darling?" she teased, making him chuckle.

"Please come in. We have a lot to discuss," he said as he let the two women into the manor. "And please keep your voices down since I have put the master to bed not too long ago." He directed them to the nearest room and proceeded to make some tea and sweets for his fellow servants.

The two waited anxiously, but one thing was on Annabeth's mind. "Why did you save me? If I were you, I would have left myself in that prison. After all, I was the one who hurt you severely."

Lilliana chuckled. "Honestly, that's not the worst thing a person has done to me. Anyway, I saved you because I know how much Adrian cares about you and I can't let you be terminated if that decision has been made."

"But-,"

"Would you rather have me put you back in that cell?" She shook her head. "I thought so. Anyway, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you or Adrian."

"D-Did you manage to get him out? Please tell me you did," she said in a worried tone, far more worried than she wished she expressed.

Lilliana arched an eyebrow, but said, "In my state, there would be no way. I only managed to free you because I knew that there would be minimal security around a human. Adrian, on the other hand, is heavily guarded that even I at my full strength would have a hard time getting him out."

"Oh," she said before Sebastian returned with a cart of tea and sweets.

"Our tea tonight is Earl Grey accompanied by a chocolate soufflé," he said as he gave the tea and dessert to them and Annabeth wasted no time in eating the dessert since she now realized how hungry she was; she hadn't eaten practically all day other than the human flesh she devoured. Lilliana chuckled, but soon began to cough, covering her mouth as she did. However, when she pulled back her hand, she saw blood.

"Well, I'm going to have to deal with that for a while," she said as she grabbed a napkin and wiped off the blood.

"Again, I'm very sorry for what I did," Annabeth said with a mouth full of soufflé.

"I forgive you. I know it wasn't really you who attacked me, but I'm surprised that after taking a few chunks out of me, you didn't go back to your normal self, especially if Reaper blood is the only way to subdue . . . the corpse you."

"Perhaps it's because you aren't exactly fully a Reaper," Sebastian commented as he took a seat next to Lilliana and tried to help her eat the soufflé, as if she was a child, but she swatted his hand away.

"I'm not a child; I can feed myself," she said angrily, but he chuckled.

"I know you're not, but I would like to pamper you a bit since you are injured." She blushed and gave him an angry look, but reluctantly allowed him to feed her, making Annabeth giggle a bit. They glared at her, but she quickly sipped her tea as if nothing was amiss.

"Anyway, I should be getting back. If I'm gone when the nurse checks on me, I will be in a lot of trouble," she said as she tried to get up, but was stopped.

"Wait, Lilliana, don't go! I have a lot of questions that I need answered," Annabeth pleaded.

"I can't stay. I need to look like I never-,"

"At least answer this question: what crime has Adrian committed, if he committed one at all?"

"Oh, he committed the crime. Make no mistake of that," Sebastian said.

Lilliana sighed, but she said, "He messed with the order of life and death. Once a human dies, we are suppose to collect their souls and evaluate if they are worthy of a second chance or not. Usually, it's the latter. However, he gave life to the souls that were already deemed worthy of death, but not in a humane way, like you. He botched their Cinematic Records and gave them false memories that distorted their humanity and made them into monsters. They ate the flesh of the living and there seemed to be no soul within them. There was no salvation for them and I have to admit, I thought he was sick for doing such a thing . . . until you."

"M-Me?"

"Yes. On the Campania Cruise Liner, Undertaker mentioned his curiosity of a second chance of a human life. How would humans behave if they were given a second chance? Even though he will never admit it, those monstrosities on the Campania were a failure and forever cemented an image of zombies to the idea of a resurrected human . . . but then there you arrived. You were different. You still maintained your humanity, your personality, and partially your memories. You were . . . just another human being. If it wasn't for you . . . I would never get to know why Undertaker would be so curious. He managed to make a perfect human being . . . well, one that needs Reaper blood to live, but still perfect."

"Well, to you, maybe," Sebastian said.

"Still, I need to go."

"Before you do, I want to give you something," Sebastian said before reaching into his pockets and pulling out a simple silver ring. She was surprised, but he explained, "This ring will help you heal quicker."

"Where did you get this?" she asked curiously. He was a demon, after all, and there were many demons she didn't trust.

"Lucifer, surprisingly." Her eyes widened with surprise. "I was as shocked as you, but apparently, he was watching all of us fight and how injured you were. As his underling, he wanted to make sure you would heal quickly."

She smiled and laughed. "'Underling'. Yep, that is like him. Ok, I'll take it." She took the ring from his hand and out it on her right ring finger. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said with a smile, but as soon as she turned away, his smile vanished.

"Annabeth, I want you to stay here and act as if nothing has happened. We don't want to alarm the other servants anymore than they are already. Sebastian, please look after her until I get back."

"Of course," he said with a little bow.


"I want you to give Lilliana this ring," Lucille had said back at the street when she was talking with Sebastian and Ciel.

"Why would I trust anything you have to offer?"

"I'm certain that you wouldn't want to watch our little Demonic Reaper suffer due to her injuries. I'm certain she won't die, but I'm sure she'll be recovering for a long time after her injuries. I mean, she is strong, but even I don't know her limits."

"How am I suppose to give this to her if she is in the Shinigami Realm?"

"They will discharge her because she seems to be recovering, but we both know that she will be far from fully recovered. This ring will help heal her wounds so she will be her old self in no time."

"And what is the price for this? I know you don't like doing favors for others without something in return."

She chuckled. "This is a gift from Lucifer. It is not mine to put a price on."

"How would he know about her injuries if he wasn't here to witness it?"

"You are just full of questions today. You do realize that Lucifer knows all and he doesn't want to see his little Demonic Reaper suffering." Sebastian was reluctant, but took the ring from her hand and she smiled. "Pleasure doing business with you."