Disclaimer: I only own Faye.

Phantomhive Manor

Faye stepped out of her room and almost bumped into Sebastian. She knew better than to chastise him for standing so close. It was the third morning since Claude's kidnapping attempt and Sebastian seemed to prefer for there to be no more than four feet of space separating them at all times. The only exception was at night when Sebastian patrolled the grounds.

They were silent as Sebastian escorted Faye down to breakfast. Faye felt trapped in a box living like this, but it was better than the alternative.

Ciel watched Faye and Sebastian balefully as they entered the dining room. "Well?" He demanded, glaring at Sebastian. "What are we to do about this?"

Sebastian stared at Ciel emotionlessly, though Faye had the feeling it took most of Sebastian's restraint to keep his true feelings bottled up. "I'm afraid a head on attack would accomplish very little," Sebastian admitted. "Claude and I are too closely matched. There is no guarantee that I would win in a fight against him."

Ciel leaned his head against his fist and tapped the fingers of his other hand on the table. "Can a contract with a demon be changed after the fact?" He asked.

Sebastian blinked in surprise. "I suppose it's possible, though very rarely done. Why do you ask?"

"We could talk to Trancy and negotiate a deal. In order for us to help Trancy kill Hannah, Alois has to change his contract with Claude to include both that Claude must help Alois get his revenge, and that Claude must leave the Phantomhives alone. If that were in the contract, Claude would back off after obtaining Alois' soul, right? To do otherwise would ruin a demon's aesthetics."

Sebastian stayed silent as he thought about the logistics of Ciel's plan. "It's a gamble," Sebastian finally said. "Claude would have to greatly desire Alois' soul in order to allow a contract change such as that. Though, I see no problem on the part of Earl Trancy. Given his determination to see Hannah dead, I believe he would willingly go along with your terms."

"Do you think you could borrow Grell's death scythe?" Faye asked, finally breaking into the conversation. She'd barely paid attention to Sebastian and Ciel's exchange, instead trying to think of her own way out of this mess. She wanted Claude gone for good.

"That would be entirely against the rules of the Grim Reaper Dispatch Society," Sebastian said.

"Of course it would be," Faye scoffed, "but Grell's never been one to follow rules. He went so far as to commit multiple murders with a human and received nothing other than a demotion; do you think that deterred his willingness to break the rules? Grell does whatever he pleases whenever he gets the chance. I'm sure all you'd have to do is bat your eyelashes at him and he'd give you his death scythe."

"Or maybe a kiss or two," Ciel added mockingly.

Sebastian's disgusted look clearly conveyed what he thought of that. "Still," he admitted, bringing one hand to his chin, "a death scythe is one of the very few things that can harm a demon. Perhaps we should enact both your plans. We'll act as though we plan to go along with Trancy's revenge, but betray them at the first opportunity and eliminate Claude entirely."

"In order for this to work, I think Ciel would have to meet with Alois in secret," Faye said. "I'm sure it would be better if Claude weren't there during that discussion. He might try to convince Trancy that it's a trick. We have to convince Alois of our sincerity first."

Ciel picked up his tea and swirled it around in his cup as he thought. Looking up at Faye he said, "I don't think you should be there for that. If Claude gets wind of the meeting, he might try to use it as an opportunity to take you and I don't want him near you. That means that Sebastian can't be present for that meeting either. He needs to remain near you."

"Ciel!" Faye burst out, looking to Sebastian for support in her outrage at the suggestion. He refused to look at her. "It's dangerous for you to be alone as well, Ciel. Trancy isn't stable. There's no telling what he might do, and what if Claude does find out about the meeting and tries to kill you?"

Ciel looked pale as he met Faye's gaze and Faye realized what this suggestion must have cost him. For over three years Sebastian had never left Ciel's side. Sebastian had been his constant protector and companion through innumerable dangers.

"Isn't Ciel's soul your first priority?" Faye demanded of Sebastian.

"I'll take the rest of the servants except for Tanaka with me," Ciel assured Faye. "I'll have Mey-Rin and Bard's arsenals, Finny's strength, and Snake's poisonous serpents."

"Ask Prince Soma if you may borrow Agni as well," Sebastian suggested. "With those four plus Agni, you'll have a force that will be difficult for even a demon to handle."

Ciel nodded his acceptance of this plan, still looking pale. "I'll have a letter sent to Trancy immediately."

Somewhere in the Woods

That evening, Ciel stood outside his carriage waiting, his cane in his hand, a gun at his side, and a glare on his face. Snake remained sitting at the head of the coach. Mey-Rin and Bard hid in the trees. Agni and Finney remained inside the carriage.

Ten minutes later, the Trancy carriage arrived and Alois stepped out, looking as though he'd already obtained everything he wanted. He looked Ciel up and down with a sneer on his face. "Given in already have you? We didn't even have to successfully kidnap your sister, though it's best for you we didn't. Or perhaps I should say best for her. She might have been missing a few body parts once we returned her."

Ciel's grip on his cane tightened. Only the sound of a gun being cocked let him keep his temper. If he lost it, he knew either Mey-Rin or Bard would shoot Alois. "We're here to discuss my terms for helping you."

"Your terms?" Alois asked with raised eyebrows. "What makes you think you're in control here?"

"Because I'm confident in my ability to protect Faye from you. I haven't come here to give into your demands. I'm here because there's now something I want from you." Alois looked doubtful but remained silent. "Your butler has an interest in my sister that goes beyond your schemes and he has approached her outside of your orders."

Jealousy flashed through Alois' eyes and he adopted a mutinous look as he lifted his chin. "What makes you think Claude could possibly be interested in your sister? I fail to see one single thing about her that would attract his attention."

"Why hasn't Claude harmed Faye once then?" Ciel demanded. "Haven't you tried to order him to? You've been threatening her for months now, and she's yet to be injured in the slightest." Alois started to look unsure. "Claude told Sebastian that he would not allow you to harm Faye. He wants her, and as soon as he's down with you, he'll take her."

A flush creeped across Alois' cheeks as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger. "That lecherous, ungrateful demon! He has me and he still—" Alois broke off abruptly, trying to gain control of himself. "Fine then. Say Claude is interested in your sister. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Change the terms of your contract. Tell Claude that he will get your soul if he helps you get your revenge on Hannah and if he swears to stay away from the Phantomhives."

"And why would Claude agree to do that?" Alois asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Because Claude cannot fulfill his contract with you without our help, which he will not receive unless you make that change. Either Claude will agree, or he will never obtain your soul and he'll be bound to you until the day you die."

Alois' face turned devious and he held out a hand for Ciel to shake. "I have no problem with depriving Claude of your sister. It's his own fault for looking at others, anyway. We have a deal, Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel took Alois' hand.

Near Grim Reaper Dispatch Headquarters

"If any reaper other than Grell notices you, we're going to have problems," Faye said, sitting on a fallen log with a shawl wrapped around her. The nights were chilly after the sun went down. "They'll hardly appreciate you being so close to their headquarters."

"Nonsense," Sebastian argued. "We're not on their actual grounds, and I'm doing nothing to aggravate them. It would be a completely unprovoked attack."

"Other than the fact that grim reapers wish death to demons in general?" Faye asked.

"Are you concerned for my safety, my Lady?" Sebastian asked with a flirtatious smile.

Faye paused to consider her answer before she returned Sebastian's smile. "Well I suppose there's not much cause for you to be concerned. If grim reapers do attack, you have me to protect you. My grim reaper binding spell generally works quite well." That took the smile off his face.

They didn't wait more than two hours before a blur of red threw itself at Sebastian. "Bassy!" Grell cried. "It's been so long." Grell wound his arms around Sebastian, who stood stiff as a board. "You couldn't stay away from me any longer, could you?" Grell asked, bringing his face close to Sebastian's. "I knew you felt the pull just as I did. You simply couldn't bear our separation anymore, could you?"

Sebastian raised his arms and pushed against Grell's chest, putting some space between them. With Grell's vision no longer full of Sebastian, he noticed Faye. "You! Why are you here? Bassy, how could you bring this harlot with you? You know she only wants to get in the way of our love."

Sebastian's face twitched as he tried to hid his look of disgust. "I need a favor from you, Grell."

"A favor?" Grell questioned, putting a finger to his lips and tilting his head. "What kind of a favor, Bassy?"

"I need to borrow your death scythe."

Grell backed up, making an X with his arms in front of his torso and shaking his head. "Oh, I can't do that. It's forbidden for a reaper to let anyone else handle their death scythe. If I were to give mine to a demon, who knows what William would do."

"Not even for me?" Sebastian asked, peering at Grell through his bangs.

Grell's face softened as his eyes became starry eyed. "Bassy…" He whirled around so he couldn't see Sebastian's face and shook his head fiercely. "It can't be done." He peeked over his should at Sebastian. "Unless…Well, such a favor would come with a high price. Would you be willing to pay that price, Bassy?"

Sebastian's eyebrow twitched. "And what price would that be?" He asked in a warning voice.

Grell turned back around to consider Sebastian, looking him up and down. He took a few steps closer and walked his fingers up Sebastian's chest. "A night with me."

"No." The answer was swift and immediate.

Grell pouted. "What do you need a death scythe for anyway?"

"To kill a demon. Surely, that's a cause you can support."

"Hmph. I don't care." Grell crossed his arms and tried to stare Sebastian down. "You have to give me something. I won't just hand you a grim reaper's most important tool for nothing." He glanced at Faye and a cruel smile crossed his face. "Embrace me passionately and kiss me. With tongue. In front of her."

"I know how Sebastian feels about you," Faye said dryly. "Making him do something he finds abhorrent will hardly make me jealous."

Grell pouted at Faye, which made him miss Sebastian's hand shooting for his throat. Grell gagged as Sebastian dragged him down low by the throat and stared at him with blood red eyes glowing brightly in the night. "The woman I love is in danger," Sebastian annunciated. "I will allow nothing to harm her. Anything and anyone that comes in the way of that goal I will completely and utterly destroy. You can give me your death scythe willingly, or I can take it from you, cut out your throat, and then keep them for my own."

"Oo 'an 'ave it!" Grell gurgled out around the force of Sebastian's hand, reaching into his coat and pulling out his chainsaw.

Sebastian took the scythe and straightened up, releasing Grell. "There now, that wasn't so difficult, was it?"

A/N: So, only one chapter left now. I realize the end is a bit rushed, but I've had some stuff come up and wanted to finish this fic rather than continue and update it sporadically. Hopefully, most people will still find the story and the ending satisfying. Thanks to all those who reviewed, favorited, and followed!