A/N: Not gonna lie, this one's very short. Not gonna lie about the next chapter either, because that one will be about as short as this one.

And then the two-chapter-finale will come, and then there will be an epilogue and hen I shall mark this fic as complete. That's the plan. Hope you'll stick with me until then =D

Chapter 33

On one of those days (or nights), the door was opened and a thud was heard when Edgar's weak body hit the ground.

The door closed again immediately, but Ciel had not intended to try an escape. Maurice was immediately off the bed, kneeling next to Edgar and shaking him. Maurice did it in a way that strongly suggested he feared that Edgar wasn't real. Ciel watched them, but didn't dare move towards them. He felt like he wasn't allowed to.

Edgar finally awoke just before Maurice went from very worried to crazy. He stirred, moaned softly (so he still had his voice), and when he saw Maurice, he went very still. Ciel looked away then, giving them at least that much privacy. Their relationship had developed, it was obvious even to Ciel. He couldn't help but think about Sebastian again.

"Phantomhive?"

Ciel looked back at them, saw the way Maurice touched Edgar: lightly, painfully carefully, and the older model came to his feet, swaying. He looked malnourished, but then again, all three of them did. Edgar though was far worse off than Maurice and Ciel. He went to the bed and sat down on Maurice's side. "So we're in this together."

"It seems like it," Ciel muttered, just as Maurice informed Edgar of the devices in this room. Edgar nodded when the younger model finished his explanation.

"How come you're here?" Ciel asked.

"Trust me, my brother did not give his consent," Edgar murmured. He spat out the word 'brother' as if it was something vile, but his voice was shaking, betraying his actual feelings on that matter. "He will know soon enough. Probably does already. Where am I?"

'At Ash Lander's house,' Maurice told him. 'Possibly.'

Edgar had been pale already, but that didn't hinder his skin from becoming sickly white. "Oh, god." He combed his fingers through his hair and a few golden strands were tangled in his fingers, but he didn't care about that. "Damn it. Are you serious?" he asked Maurice.

Maurice nodded, concerned.

Edgar put a hand on his mouth. He shook his head once, twice, and then hid his face behind his hands. "Oh, god," he said again. "Shit."

Maurice, too focussed on Edgar to notice the confused look he was given by Ciel, came up to the older model and carefully took his hands in his own, frowning softly at Edgar. Edgar rejected the touch, pulled his knees to his chest and buried his fingers in his brittle hair.

"What is it?" Ciel asked.

"When my brother visited me, during my… stay at his place, he'd tell me how he'd protect me from people like…" Edgar stopped, but Ciel didn't have to hear the name to know that Edgar had wanted to say it: Aleister had told Edgar he'd protect him from people like Ash.

Ciel remembered that one moment during Ash's New Year's party: How he and Edgar had practically flirted with each other. He remembered Aleister's angry and then devastated expression, how he had talked to Ash afterwards.

"I highly doubt there's anything you can do," Ash had said.

And then Aleister, his voice almost poisonous: "Believe me, there is. You're the one who's in danger."

"I dearly hope you aren't threatening me. If Edgar wants to talk to me, he can. You shouldn't try to restrict him."

Aleister must have been aware of Ash's true nature back then. The way they had talked suggested that they both knew a few secrets about the other. Looking back at it, it sounded like a lost battle for Aleister. It seemed like he was all too serious about protecting Edgar – he'd gone as far as abducting him in hopes of keeping Ash away from Edgar.

It didn't justify any of Aleister's actions, but it was still shocking to understand what could have triggered Aleister to the abduction. Ciel had been right there, overhearing two fateful conversations that evening, and he'd only mulled over this for less than two minutes.

"We need to get out of here," Ciel mouthed. Only Maurice saw it. Edgar was too busy getting over his shock. He was simply sitting there now, staring blankly at one of the two cameras.

'We can't,' Maurice told him. 'I told you we can't.'

And that was very true, unfortunately. Things looked grim: Lau seemed to be working for Ash, having provided him with substances that undoubtedly had to do with murdering one or all of those present in the room. He had betrayed Sebastian, and if it came down to who had greater power, it would undoubtedly be Lau, for Sebastian was simply an outcast in the end, and Lau had played his trust. This was not going to end well.

Later, all three of them slept on the bed. Or maybe none of them did. Ciel certainly stayed wide awake, staring at the red curtains in the garish electric light.