It was pitch black when they reached the sea. The moon was directly overhead and it was late into the night, but Jim could see the ship. It was a regular fishing vessel, sitting there with nets and cages still attached. It was actually owned by HELLSING, however, commandeered from the Scarlet Order.
"Miss Munier, we're here." he said, looking over at the woman in the passenger seat. "Wake up. It's just up ahead."
"Mm?" the minister made a noise before she snapped upright, her eyes wide open. "Huh? Right now?"
"Yeah, unless you're fine with staying here."
"No! No, I'm—uh… I'm okay… Thank you for your service..."
"Glad to help."
The car lulled to a complete stop and the man unbuckled his seatbelt. Stepping out of the car, he opened the door for a the woman, helping her up as her legs felt numb. With that, he turned to meet the agents who were here to pick Minister Munier up and take her back to England.
One was a fair-skinned woman with short hair, heavy eye makeup and a green suit, while the other was a dark-skinned woman with long hair in a purple one. They didn't have names. Everyone at the organisation who knew of their existence simply called them "Miss Green" and "Miss Violet." They were spies who worked for HELLSING and would typically be in the place of Jim on a mission like this, had their opponent not been a demon.
"You're slow." Miss Green stated as she approached the pair with folded arms. "We've been waiting here forever!"
"What are you talking about? It was a clean job." Jim replied, only for Miss Violet to hold up a hand.
"She's messing with you. Good work, Phantomhive. You saved us a lot of trouble." she said, prompting her partner to smile. "We'll take the Minister from here while you complete the next phase."
Miss Munier, however, looked uncertain, turning her gaze to the menace to make sure everything was alright. He smiled, however, in his funny way. It was boyish with a hint of mischief, but Munier found it reassuring. "Thank you for your help, Sir Phantomhive." she said, reaching out and taking his hand in both of hers. She shook it, showing her appreciation to the man as he reached back to rub the back of his head. "If there is ever anything I can help you with, I will gladly return the favour, someday."
"All in a day's work, Ma'am." he said with a chuckle. "You really need to get going, though. Like, right now."
Rudely, he shoved her toward the two other women, following them while keeping hie hand on the side of his head. He pushed her quickly, making it so the two of them were right next to the two spies. Then, Miss Munier heard him say something that made her blood run cold.
"Go now. We're being watched." he said. Green and Violet nodded in response, with Violet putting her arm around the minister while Green reached into her blazer, pulling out a pistol. Then, a gunshot.
"Aah!" Munier let out a yelp as she stumbled, instinctively wanting to freeze, but Violet kept her moving. She couldn't open her eyes, but Violet could, furrowing her brows as she saw the demon blocking her head with his arm.
"Ow..." he hissed, grasping the appendage with his free hand. "Anti-freak bullets… This is going to be a fun night..."
"Don't worry about us! We're disposable!" Violet replied, ducking as more bullets came their way. "Get out of here so you can move on with the mission!"
"My current order is to protect Munier! Get on the fucking boat and I won't worry about it!"
Black fire gathered in his hand, materialising a pistol as Green fired back at their attackers, blocking Munier with her body as the trio got onto the boat. The two of them laid down cover fire, with Green shooting into the dark while Jim could clearly see. The bastards were hiding behind a small, metal shack and among various other debris scattered about the docks. Bullets got uncomfortably close to Munier as Jim tried to keep them at bay, firing and firing until he couldn't sense anyone else. The wooden boardwalk splintered beneath Munier's feet as she was shoved aboard the small fishing vessel. Violet climbed on after her as Green untied the vessel, prompting it to move.
"Come on!" Violet shouted, prompting the other woman to run, barely making it as she leapt onto the boat, only to immediately hit the deck as projectiles whizzed overhead. She and the others crawled to the cabin and shut the door, leaving Jim alone to fend off their attackers.
He dodged this way and that way, laying flat on the ground at times as he did his best not to get hit, but a few stray shots pierced his flesh, grazing him if he were lucky. He took out a lot of them just by using his sixth sense and superior reflexes, all the while slinking back to the car for some cover and to get away. The boat was moving fast, so it would be out of sight for them in mere moments, so it was time for him to make his escape.
Jim leaped forward, ducking behind the vehicle as bullets tore through it. The time between each shot grew greater and greater as the group could no longer see him or even see that he was alive, but then, it stopped. The menace paused, listening carefully. While the skirmish seemed to be over, the silence made him uneasy. There was no way that they were going to give up that quickly.
The man started up the car, but instead of driving away from the humans he sensed, he drove toward them, knowing they had guns and knowing that they wanted him dead. The car sped along the pavement, whizzing along as the bullets started up again. This time, they were shooting at only him, ricocheting off of the cab and tearing through fiberglass. His windshield shattered. Shards of glass embedded in his cheeks and sprinkled his clothes as the smell of petrol filled the air. He saw a wall of Honeycutt grunts blocking his path. The car was toast anyway. Why not let it go out in a blaze of glory?
Reaching into the glovebox, keeping one hand on the wheel and his eyes darting back and for the between the road and his searching, he rummaged around until he found the exact object he was looking for. A wicked grin graced his features as he held the lighter in hand. Leaning down, he pulled the floor covering up so it trapped the gas pedal firmly in place. Then, he lit it up.
The demon laughed, throwing his head back in laughter as he leaped from the car, guns drawn. He rolled before landing on his feet as the abandoned, flaming vehicle careened through the mob as a few stragglers were able to jump to the side and avoid it. Bodies rolled over the hood and caught fire as the burning petrol got on their uniforms, running, screaming, and rolling on the ground in an effort to put themselves out as the car itself slammed into a pole.
While these were experienced militia members, they were not quite expeirienced in this sort of Loony Tunes warfare. Most were distracted, leaving the menace room to advance. He simply passed through them, shooting a few that got a bit brave, all while making a beeline for what the Honeycutt soldiers had up their sleeves to still catch Munier. It was a speedboat and the sailors were about to leave, but stalled as their eyes were transfixed by the sight of their comrades burning. As the demon approached them, raising his gun and blowing out the back of one of their shipmates' heads, they snapped back to reality and hastily untied the vessel from its dock and started the engine. The boat began to move and Jim put his guns away. The boat was leaving. It was getting further away as the engines started up. He ran and he rand and he ran, getting to the very edge of the pier before he soared.
The demon put out his arms, stabilising himself in the air as his eyes stayed fixed on the boat. It kept moving further and further away. Bullets whizzed by him, some hitting him. One took off a piece of his ear as he fell. He fell and he fell and he fell, reaching out for the boat as their arcs intersected. Then, they didn't.
Jim hit water.
The salty water hurt him—hurt his mind. Visions of his time at sea, kidnapped by the Scarlet Order flashed through his mind, but he still reached out a hand and grabbed onto something. It yanked him along, through the water as the force of the liquid being disturbed around him pummeled him. His knuckles were paper-white as he held on for dear life, unable to even open his eyes as he was dragged further and further into open water.
His muscles ached as he used his inhuman strength to pull himself forward, holding onto the rope that bound him to the boat with one hand, placing the other in front of him one after another until he was dangerously close to the vessel's rudder. If the water willed it, it could send him straight into the blades and that would be the end of the mission. He couldn't stop them if he was slashed to ribbons while out at sea. He wouldn't die, but he couldn't save Miss Munier. So, he had to keep going.
Relief washed over him as his head broke through the water and he felt the wind on his face. His grip slipped as he tried to grab onto the boat, but his powerful digits bore into the metal. He clawed his drenched carcass out of the water and onto the deck, not yet capturing the attention of the others as they were all focused at circling and firing at the shipping vessel that Munier occupied. Raising his own weapon, the blonde aimed it at the driver's head. With that first shot, the boat could no longer move with purpose and instead passed by the fishing boat as the other soldiers turned their heads.
"Evening, lads." bubbled up from the menace's throat.
Four shots later and Jim was the only one on that boat. Wobbily, he made his way to the driver's seat and threw the man's body overboard, taking his place before using his hand to wipe the blood off of what remained of the windshield. Now, Sir Jim Phantomhive was a man of many talents and expertise, but sailing? Sailing was not one of them. He had no idea how to drive his freshly commandeered boat, but there was a steering wheel and a gas pedal. That was good enough for him. The boat idled in the water for a bit, allowing for the fishing boat to drive past, honking it's horn as the Phantomhive waved to it. With that, he turned around and started heading back to shore.
He took a moment to rest a bit as he did. He took a few deep breaths. The man was shaken from being under the water, still pained by the taste and smell of salt water. But, if he could make his escape, he could head back to his husband and regroup. Already, though, he found a few problems with that plan. There were still a few agents on the shore. He could see them illuminated by the still burning car. Something told him that they were going to be a bit miffed at him once he returned. The other problem, however, was immediately more serious. He had no idea how to stop.
He wasn't going to. Instead of heading back to face the group head-on, he turned the wheel and sped along the shoreline, looking for a better spot to depart. A laugh escaped him as he saw the soldiers scatter, trying to follow him on foot and climbing into their cars. Good luck to them. It was dark and a bunch of humans weren't going to be able to see him that well, moving that fast in the darkness. Taking this lull in the battle as an oppurtunity, he focused on healing his wounds, unraveling his threads just enough to free his cellphone before calling Ciel.
"Hey, babes," he greeted over the hum of the engine. "Bugs Bunny is all green."
"You're supposed to send me a text." Ciel replied. "What's that noise?"
"Well, the good news is that the minister is home free to England. The bad news is that they totally know we're here."
"What happened?"
"Promise you won't be mad..."
"What. Happened. Jim?" The bluenette, despite possessing a sense of humour, nowadays, did not seem impressed."
"I'm in a speedboat I stole from ORSAP." the menace bluntly informed, metaphorically "ripping off the band-aid," so to speak. "They were headed after Munier in it, so I hopped aboard and killed them. There's still quite a few pissed off guys on the shore, though, so I'm running along the water until I lose them instead of heading straight back to shore. I may or may not run into a few problems getting back, but it'll be fine."
Silence. There was a very long, uncomfortable silence coming from the other end of the line. "Ciel?" Jim asked, pausing to listen, only to be met with still more silence. "You're mad, aren't you?"
"Just… Get back here in one piece, alright?" the Watchdog answered. Jim recognised the worried tone in his voice. It was kind of him to try not to show it, though. "Do you need any help? Where are you?"
"I'm a little ways North of the drop off point."
"It'll take hours to get there..." the bluenette muttered, mostly to himself, knowing that help wouldn't get there in time.
"I've got it handled. Just focus on your end. Johnathan's going to be distracted by me, for now, so close in on him!"
"You're going to be bait?!"
"When opportunity comes, take it! It's not like I really have a choice right now. I can handle myself. Trust me."
"I know you can..." Ciel replied. "It's just thinking about what Johnathan would do if he caught you that makes me uneasy."
"I can handle him, too. His kind's easy. Just piss him off until he does something stupid. Whoa!" The menace exclaimed as he ducked, a bullet whizzing past his head. "Well, shit, they've caught up."
"What was that?!"
"Just a gunman don't worry about it! I've got to take care of it, though, so I'm going to have to hang up! Love you! Bye-bye!"
"Jim, don't you dare hang up on m-!"
With that, the phone disappeared in a flicker of black flame. Jim didn't doubt that his husband was absolutely furious at him, but the blonde figured he'd simply make up for it later. Right at that moment, however, he needed to focus on getting out alive. While he was on the water, there was nowhere for him to go, so he would simply have to head toward shore. Problem was, there was a truck full of solders that were currently shooting at him from land. Not a problem, though. He had already worked out how to clear them out and distract them all at once.
He held his foot down no the gas pedal and stormed toward them, only, he miscalculated a bit. Instead of launching the boat toward them, hitting the dock with the curved bow at that speed sent him higher than he expected. He went over the truck, missing it completely before landing on the other side. The momentum propelled him forward until the boat started to turn sideways as it traveled along the ground, rolling over with Jim still at the wheel. He was battered and bruised before finally being flung from the vessel, rolling as the speedboat hit the side of a building across the street.
"Aaaugh..." he grunted, hobbling to his feet. That actually hurt. Blood trickled down from his forehead and his body ached as if he had gotten in a fistfight. He was glad Ciel hadn't seen that.
But, embarrassment aside, he had other problems. The gunmen were still coming, although their eyes were fixed on the boat. They'd soon realise that he wasn't still inside of it, so he needed to run. He ducked down a narrow walkway, trying to evade their sight, only for his eyes to widen as a few figures swarmed the exit of the channel and took aim at him. Yet, he persisted, jumping like Spring-Heeled Jack over their heads as they raised their barrels, trying to track him. With another roll, he landed on his feet, but then, a shot rang out.
Jim grunted as another bulletwound added to the few that he had already endured, but this one was especially painful. It went straight through the side of his knee, tearing his tendons and sending him face-first into the ground. In an instant, he knew just how hard that was going to be to heal. Humans couldn't fully heel their tendons, but he could, after a while. From the sting he felt, though, that was an anti-freak bullet, just like the others, so he would be down a leg for a while. Still, he could not give up.
Slamming his hands into the concrete, he put his other foot underneath him and began to hop, only for another shot to ring out. This time, he dodged it. It was a sniper. The fuckers. With them stationed somewhere overhead and the soldiers right behind him, the situation seemed bleak as he was face down again, unable to properly roll without both legs. He felt a presence to his side and put a hand up, only for a massive fist to collide with his nose anyway. It wasn't as hard as he could punch, but it was enough to knock his brains around a bit after the boatwreck had warmed them up. The hand grabbed the back of his head and slammed it into the ground before the menace found a knee on top of his neck, suppressing him. A few more joined the orc.
Hugo held the Englishman down as Rigaud joined in, placing a knee on his back and holding his legs. Despite their combined strength, the demon was still able to push up off of the ground and try to shake them off. He was like a wild animal caught in a trap. For all intents and purposes, though, he was.
The other soldiers gathered around in a circle, completely blocking any path the blonde could take even if he did get free, making the menace doubt his survival for a moment. That was a mistake. That was a stupid, idiotic mistake! He would kick himself if he had both legs, but right at that moment, he realised that they weren't shooting at him despite having him on the ground. That realisation led to another: Johnathan wanted him alive.
He relaxed a bit at that. While he knew that the demon would in no way treat him kindly, but he knew that he would not kill him so long as he was useful for hurting Ciel. So, he laid there nicely and smiled.
"Evening, boys." he said. "Best two out of three?" He laughed until Rigaud squeezed his bad knee.
"Quiet, brat!" the former professor growled.
"Oh, you speak English? That's great! Now you can understand me when I tell you to eat shit!" Jim laughed as his knee was squeezed again. "Ha! That tickles!"
"My, my, my… If it isn't his Lordship's little concubine..." a voice called out from the parting mob. Jim's smile wavered a little bit at the sound. He recognised it. He heard it every day. Ordinarily, it said sweet things to him, but now, it seemed intent on hurting him. So be it. Jim's resolve would not break that easily, no matter how it disturbed him.
Johnathan approached the Phantomhive with a woman in tow. Annie carried a long-range rifle in her hands as she stared down at the man. Jim was a demon, she was told, but already, there was something different about him. His eyes could see her as he looked in her direction. Johnathan, however, could not, but he did see Jim. He saw Jim very well as a smile was spread wide on his face.
It was disturbing for Jim to look up at his captor. The face was the same, but he was so, very, different all at once. The hair was messy and he dressed like a mobster, but not one of the same class as Ciel. Most disturbingly, however, was seeing his husband's face with both eyes. There was something fundamentally wrong with the image. It was like a perversion of his form.
"Woooow..." Jim smirked. "Ain't you an ugly fucker? How you been, Johnny?"
"I'm doing just fine..." Johnathan chuckled. "Although I'm a bit disappointed. I was hoping you'd be your husband. And I'd appreciate it if you'd call me 'Emil' in public."
"No dice, two-eyes."
"Rebellious as ever. And obnoxious." The other demon said as he looked around. "You've done quite the number on my little group, it seems… You seem to be a bit relaxed for someone in your position. Injured, surrounded by enemy soldiers, all armed to the teeth, after having royally pissed them off, and you're still smiling? Seems like a bit of a bad time for a fit of the giggles, Macken."
"It's 'Phantomhive,' sugar-tits. More than you'll ever be. I may be a cocky little pain in the ass, but I'm no idiot. If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead. You don't swarm somebody like this and not open fire if you want to see them die. That's obvious. My guess is that you're hoping to use me as a way to piss off my darling husband, isn't that right?"
Johnathan snapped his fingers and pointed at the menace before drawing one of his pistols from his holster. "Bingo. You're right on the money. Now… are you going to go quietly, or am I going to have to shoot the other leg?"
"I don't really have a choice, now, do I? It's never a choice, so I don't understand why you're asking. Come on, kids, let's go to the torture chamber, already. Get this show on the road."
Pausing, Johnathan lifted his chin, prompting the orc and the vampire to pick up the menace and force him to his feet. He hobbled on his good leg as the two men held him upright. All the while, he smiled, not showing one single ounce of pain.
"How on earth Ciel decided to associate himself with you, I'll never understand..." Johnathan said, scrunching his nose in disgust. He turned around and started walking, prompting the group to move with him.
"Because I'm a 'catch,' obviously. Duh." In an instant, the other demon turned around and shot Jim in the stomach, causing him to double over for just a moment. Then, with a deep breath, the menace stood upright again, smiling so that he didn't wince. It was going to be a long, long, night, it seemed.
Onward, they walked, in a slow trudge to the waiting armoured truck that would transport them back to headquarters. Every step ached for the menace as he slowly tried to heal himself. Still, he had one last jab to make.
"Bonjour, Hugo." he said, sampling from the only French he knew. It wasn't a lot, but he did technically pass it in school. His words caught the attention of the orc, who walked beside him, holding him up, now looking at him wide-eyed.
"How do you know my name?" the orc asked him in proper French, but the menace did not understand him.
"Ignore him, Hugo." Rigaud muttered under his breath. "He's going to just try to get a rise out of you too."
Still, the orc stared, about to avert his gaze to ignore the demon, only for Jim's eyes to catch his gaze. Jim turned to face him, their eyes meeting for a brief moment. The intensity of his gaze surprised the orc, but the sincerity startled him. The blonde was no longer smiling. Taking a breath to suppress his pain, the blonde gathered himself before saying:
"Damien Chaput. Vive Damien Chaput."
It was broken and it took a moment for Hugo to understand because of the odd phrasing, but the orc's brows raised and his jaw fell open. Damien had been killed! None of them saw it, though. Hugo and Annie had been told that Damien had become a dangerous supernatural and betrayed them, but it never quite felt right. It didn't feel like Damien. Damien wanted to learn magic and he wanted it so bad that he signed his life away to the organisation. For him to go around, killing humans? It didn't sound right. It wasn't right. It wasn't just. Emil killed Artus and then Damien? Something was wrong, but the orc couldn't put it together just yet. Then, the English demon in their grasp said that. What if Damien wasn't dead? What if the Phantomhive were telling the truth?
But Hugo could not ask him. He didn't speak English and he certainly couldn't say anything in front of Rigaud. Hugo furrowed his brow and snarled. "Shut up!" he told the demon before turning his head and facing away. "Damien is dead… Stop lying..."
But he knew that Jim wasn't lying. He just couldn't let Rigaud know that. He had to keep it to himself—for now, at least. So, he just kept walking, shoving the menace into the back of the truck like a good little soldier. All the while, knowing that something was very, very, wrong. Now Hugo knew for certain and didn't have to try and make excuses for it anymore: He could not trust Emil Stark.
A/N: This was hard to write in the begining! I just did not want to write an action scene for some reason. I just wanna write shippy crap, maaaaaannnn... Still, it got fun toward the end.
Jim is allergic to shutting the fuck up. Also, his husband is not going to be happy. Not one bit.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
