Chapter 23 – Another one bites the dust

Hahahahah long time no see! Sorry that I haven't been updating this fanfic. I've been working on my Kuroko no Basket one and I've been awfully busy these past few months. If you guys like KNB, please go ahead and read my fanfic for it. It's called A Familiar Touch. Anyway, anyone who has been keeping up to date with Kuroshituji would probably understand why I am currently feeling really sad. I won't say anymore because spoilers….

I DO NOT OWN BLACK BUTLER

Alice: Welcome back from the land of the dead.

Me: I wasn't dead…Dying but not quite dead yet.

Sebastian: Do you wish for me to help?

Me: No thanks Sebastian….I'm good.

Alice's P.O.V~

"44% Polaris, 44% Vega, 10% Canopus and 2% Sirius. That is the results of from our study on the samples we took from Sphere Music Hall. We figured that they were taking blood from people going there so we stole their supply. For instance, if they had 1000 guests, then around 20 people would have Sirius blood. Then we stole 20% of their guests and Sirius numbers would drop to roughly 16 people. So that was our plan the whole time and soon enough, the victim caught in that scoop was indeed a Sirius."

Abberline stared in shock at Ciel and Sebastian who grinned slyly at their meticulous plan to bait Bravat into killing some poor unfortunate soul. I don't know what it is with those two but they really are sadists.

"Wait, so you knew that this plan would lead to a Sirius dying? Isn't that too extreme?"

I had to agree with the guy but it was necessary. If this wasn't done, Bravat wouldn't have tried to push the blood taking process and we wouldn't be able to confirm anything. Ciel may be 13 but he was a genius.

After Abberline left, Sebastian and I went into the kitchen to clean up while Ciel went through some papers to plan his next move. Damn what is that bastard Bravat doing? Blood transfusions? Killing people? Kidnapping Elizabeth? All this stars and constellation bullshit! But honestly, why would Elizabeth return back to that place? From what Sebastian described earlier, she was protecting it…doesn't that mean she knows what is going on? It's so wrong? What the hell is that brat thinking? AISH! This is what happens when you spoil kids…They think they can do whatever they want without having any consideration for other people. Before I knew it, I was completely lost in my thoughts and had no idea what was going on until Sebastian flicked me on the forehead.

"MOTHER F- SEBASTIAN THAT HURT!"

"Not as much as you are hurting the teacups Alice. If you continue to scrub any harder, you will drill right through the delicate china. What were you thinking about so intently, hm?"

I rubbed the sore and probably now bright red spot on my forehead while glaring at him and hissing in pain. Sebastian sometimes forgets to lower his demonic strength and a normal flick on the head would not have felt like a bullet to the head.

"Nothing…Just worried."

The silence beckoned me to continue.

"I'm nervous. I feel odd about all of this. Why would Elizabeth go back to that wretched place? She was protecting it meaning she probably knows what goes on there. Anyone in their right mind would know that what Bravat is doing is very wrong. Is she stupid? Or ignorant? I don't get it?"

Sebastian sighed and stroked my head gently, his touch was soothing.

"Indeed. However, Lady Elizabeth is quite stubborn and she refused to confess anything before escaping. For now, we follow the Master's plan and eventually, we will uncover all that riff raff."

I reluctantly nodded and let out a very deep sigh as I finished drying the last teacup.

"I guess so. But isn't Ciel planning to shut down the Phantom 5?"

"Yes, we have no need for that anymore. Besides, the Marchioness dragged off Master Edwards mid stage and the other members still go to school, therefore, it would be difficult to keep this up long term."

I nodded in agreement. True, besides, Ciel has pretty much all of the information he can get from this method.

Sebastian took Ciel to his room to change and head out for information gathering when a loud thud and shouting courtesy of Soma and Sieglinde burst into the summer house. Ciel has been staying here for this case and I haven't gone back to the manor in a while. I often wondered what Finny, Mey Rin, Bard and Tanaka were doing and if the manor was still in one piece.

"I heard we're not doing the Phantom 5 anymore! But I came up with a new dance and everything!"

"And I've made new improvements to the light up stick and the voice box!"

Ciel sighed partly in annoyance as Sebastian finished tying up Ciel's shoes and headed outside to get the carriage.

"You know the reason why Soma. The members of the P5 have school and they can't maintain this long term. Besides…we've already completed our main objective."

The last part was whispered before Sebastian arrived back into the room.

"Come Sebastian. Alice, you stay here with Soma and Agni to make sure they don't destroy anything."

"WHAT! No I want to go! I want to help out! It's not that I want to stay here and babysit Soma but I can help!"

Reluctantly Ciel let me come just so I would shut up.

Soma jumped in front of us and pointed, a big frown on his face,

"Wait right there! I haven't finished speaking to you yet!"

"I'll hear it next time."

We finally escaped the clinginess of Soma and headed outside when Agni stopped us with a concerned look on his face. It was obvious that whatever his concern was, it was about Soma.

"Do you have a moment? It is regarding this. Could it be that Funtom Music Hall was the cause for this incident?"

Ciel stared with a tired expression. He desperately wanted to just get out and do his job.

"The Prince may not have realized it but has been indirectly involved with a murder. I ask you please refrain from involving the prince in such dangerous cases like this again."

Ciel looked down at the ground before walking past and internally rolling his eyes.

"Fine, I will refrain from using both him and you again."

"Please, don't be like this. The prince sees you as a friend so he earnestly wishes to be of help bu-"

Ciel interrupted him with a cold and direct tone,

"I have never once thought of him as a friend. In the first place, I do not recall ever asking you two to remain in Britain as a favour or anything, am I wrong?"

"That's-"

Once again Ciel interrupted him but this time he turned around with a confident and condescending look,

"You were the ones who decided to poke your noses in my business. I merely use whatever pieces I have in hand, whether that is Sebastian, Alice or you. If you are not happy with that, then pack your bags and go back to your country. Let's go Sebastian, Alice."

"Yes, Master."

I gave Agni a reassuring look. I honestly really like Agni and Soma. They were both so sweet and positive and so goddamn loveable. Unlike Ciel and Sebastian, I cared a lot for these two.

"Master Ciel! Wait!"

He was ignored as Sebastian walked by with a smirk on his face,

"You really are an exemplar butler, Mr Agni."

I never forgot the look on his face. That shock, concern and most of all sadness. When Ciel said that he didn't see them as friends, the look on his face tore at my heart. It was like looking at a puppy before you dumped it on the street and drove off. It was something I never wanted to see again.

"Please don't misunderstand Agni. Ciel does care about you, but he is troubled by this case and it's taking its toll on him. Thank you for all you have done for him and us-"

"Alice, hurry up! We can't keep the young master waiting."

"COMING! Sorry, Agni. I'll see you again later okay?"

Then I ran out the door with Sebastian and got into the carriage.

"Ciel, was that necessary?"

Ciel didn't bother to look up.

"What was? Do you mean what I said before?"

"Yeah. You didn't really need to put it that way. Those two have done so much for you. When you were sick, they cared for you and they looked after the summer house for you too."

Ciel gave me a cold glare,

"Like I said before Alice, I use the pieces I have at hand to my liking. I don't care about how they feel. The only thing that matters is accomplishing my goals, if they don't like it, then they can leave. Just because Madame took you in and you are considered my cousin, doesn't mean I will give you special treatment. You work for me now, so I will treat you like I would Sebastian and the others. Don't forget that."

I hmpfed and looked away while crossing my arms and glanced out the window.

"So cold."

Ciel chose to ignore that comment before the carriage pulled up at the pub where the S4 were meeting.

"Come."

We walked in and deep in the café at a small table near the bar were Bluer, Greenhill and Redmond. Ciel and I carefully walked up to their table without them noticing and we managed to eavesdrop on their conversation a little.

"The police are searching for the S4," said Greenhill, still dripping wet from the pouring rain.

"We should lay low until night falls," said Bluer.

"But where? We don't have enough money for an inn," exclaimed Redmond who dug into his coat for any spare change.

Sly Ciel thumped his cane onto the floor and propped his elbow onto the table with a cheeky grin on his face while I mentally faced palmed.

"Shall I introduce you to a nice inn I know? The beds aren't too comfy but it's a private room with a big sturdy lock. However, you won't be able to open it from the inside."

They jumped back in shock and pointed at Ciel, all of which had slight anger in their tone.

"You! Cie-"

Ciel let out a sigh and spoke with a condescending tone, really pulling at their bad situation.

"To think that the once charismatic and popular S4 are now sneaking around and hiding from the authorities lurking around town, what a cruel world. How about ordering some food?"

As if all of this was planned, Sebastian came out on cue with two plates of fish and chips and an ale pie.

"Now then, I have a question to ask you. Where are Bravat and Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth? As in Midford's younger sister?"

Ciel raised his voice as Elizabeth's disappearance was a sensitive topic.

"Don't play dumb! She's been at Sphere Music Hall this entire time!"

Greenhill slammed the table,

"No Wait! We haven't seen her there at all! Believe us!"

Bluer gripped his ears and shook his head from side to side furiously, seriously disturbed by the recent happenings.

"We know nothing! We didn't even know that Bravat was doing all of these heinous crimes! We just wanted to help others and make them smile! We didn't know anything!"

Sebastian and Ciel looked at each other. This was interesting. The S4 were kept in the dark about all of this so they weren't much help about the location of Elizabeth then.

"I will ask you once again. Do you know of Bravat's whereabouts?"

Redmond jumped up upon remembering the location.

"Number 2! It was in the middle of somewhere. What was it? OH wait! A bath! The name of it was 'Bath'"

Sebastian smiled and nodded in agreement,

"Bath is Britain's most popular spa town isn't it? A rather fitting place to slowly slip into hiding."

"Let's go Sebastian, Alice."

"Wait! Phantomhive!"

But Ciel did not look back and calmly walked out the pub. As we walked out, Sebastian looked at me with a intrigued look. I raised an eyebrow in his direction and he walked over to me,

"You have been very quiet lately Alice. Has your fiery spirit gone to sleep? You're rather docile."

I stuck out my tongue and huffed a muffled reply to which received a glare from my one eyed 'cousin'.

"Enough you two. We have a job to do and I would like it if you were both serious for once."

I grinned and jogged up next to Ciel,

"You know that's kind of impossible for your demon doggy. He relishes in chaos and pleasure. He may pretend to be serious but under all of that butler nonsense, he's desperately trying to find trouble. I've lived a much too depressing life and I would rather spend the rest of it ridiculously."

Ciel rolled his eyes while I winked at him before he groaned in disgust and sped up, his cane clicking against the cold and wet cobblestone floor. We got into the carriage and arrived at Bath before asking some nearby men about the whereabouts of a building with Sphere Music Hall's name on it.

"Aye, there's a little building on the edge of town! They were doing some construction there!"

We thanked the two men and went on our way, reaching the edge of town to see an old building surrounded by support structures and building materials.

"So they decided to build one here too? This has Bravat and his dirty little hands all over it. I honestly can't wait to snap them off!"

"Calm now Alice darling, we still need to catch him first."

Sebastian snapped the chains and lock over the door like it was made of candy and the three of us walked into the dark hall. It was nearly finished and the curtains were pulled aside and bright rays of sunlight streamed through the glass windows.

"This is a pretty neat place huh?"

"Young Master! There are hidden stairs over here."

We both turn to see Sebastian push a huge cupboard aside and steps leading down into darkness. Upon walking down, it was completely dark and I gripped onto Sebastian's sleeve. I hate the dark. Light chuckling could be heard before Sebastian's bright red eyes glowed, slightly illuminating the empty staircase. The clopping of our shoes echoed as we descended down further before arriving at a set of old wooden doors. Sebastian pulled them open to reveal a large spacious room lit up by lanterns and several large bed chairs with shriveled old men laying on them. If it wasn't by looking at them then it was the scent of death in the air that indicated they were long gone.

"What the hell? That asshat Bravat just committed mass murder!"

"They are all Lords. These are the people on the list that Grey gave to us."

I walked on ahead, hoping that there was someone alive before reaching a young man whom I recognized as one of the S4.

"Hey Ciel! Isn't this guy Violet?"

Ciel and Sebastian rushed over and began to shake him, hoping he would open his eyes.

"He seems to be alive but barely!"

"Hey! Wake up! Snap out of it!"

Thankfully, his eyes opened and he jolted awake. He was extremely pale and he looked half dead. Well, he was half dead.

"It seems you knew of Bravat's ulterior motives and yet here you are. Why?"

He pressed his hands over his face to hide his tears, moaning as his body ached from fatigue,

"Their….smiles. I wanted to protect their smiles and I never wanted to see them sad ever again. I couldn't figure out what to do. I began to send invitations to Cheslock and the others so that it might eventually reach you. I was secretly hoping that you would come because… I couldn't bring myself to do this."

From the look on Ciel's face, I could see that there was some sympathy before it vanished and he asked for Bravat's location.

"He returne.d….to….Lon…don…"

Then Violet collapsed and Sebastian picked him up as we prepared to rush to the hospital. The sound of a loud motor stopped us in our tracks as I jumped in front of Ciel and pushed him aside. A flash of red was seen as a large chainsaw impaled the poor man behind us and Grell glanced up from behind his glasses.

"Ralph Cutler. Born March 9th 1828. Died November 15 due to blood loss resulting in organ failure."

"OMG! It's you Grell! Haven't seen you since the Campania!"

"Ah~ Sebas-Chan! Long time no see~ And you little eye patched brat! Hm? Heh? The little kid that the Madame picked up is still alive too? Well, I don't care. The only one I care for is my Sebas-Chan! This must be fate that has brought us together once more!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes in disgust and shuddered,

"No, it's only a coincidence. I'm afraid, we do not have time for your antics at the moment."

"Oh my! But you don't have to worry about him. He's not on our list~"

An unfamiliar voice came out from behind me and all of us turned to see an eccentric looking grim reaper. He had messy hair and large round glasses and he wore a lab coat and socks and slippers which made me cringe a bit but oh well. He must have been a scientist of some kind. Now that I thought about, all of the grim reapers I've seen have very beautiful mystical green eyes, glasses and very odd hair.

"No Grell, actually, there is a possibility that he survives only because they save him. So you are the rumoured 'Sebas-Chan'. I see! Yes, definitely Grell's cup of tea."

"I KNOW RIGHT~"

I groaned outwardly, we did not need someone to encourage Grell's fascination for Sebastian.

"It's you grim reapers again."

The crazy grim reaper jumped to Ciel and began to 'examine' him, looking intently at Ciel and running around him before plucking out a strand of hair. This pissed of Ciel. I kept my guard up just in case he decided to take things a bit further.

"This is my first ever sample from a living contractee! WAH! So exciting!"

"HEY! THAT'S DISGUSTING! THROW IT OUT!"

But he was ignored as the grim reaper spun around in circles with joy before putting it away in a small container much to Ciel's mortification. I almost laughed but the ice cold glare that was shot my way stopped the giggle coming out of my mouth.

"What are you doing here in the first place Grell?"

Grell winked and Ciel shuddered in disgust,

"Why ask questions when you already know the answer. We came here to work darling~ But if you'd like to invite me out sometime after 5 o'clock, here's your chance."

Sebastian and Ciel whirled around the other way and Sebastian spun my around and pushed me towards the exit,

"Let's go Young Master, Alice."

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! DON'T IGNORE ME!"

"Still, in any case, it's unbelievable how advance their technology must have been to create this machine."

Ciel turned around, curious at what the grim reaper said,

"there people were suffering from renal failure. An 'incurable' illness. It's a sickness where the kidneys are unable to break down toxins in their blood. From this machine, they were able to replace dirty blood with fresh clean blood. It seems they cured this illness."

"WOW! So that's why they were collecting blood."

The grim reaper turned to face me and smiled,

"Indeed, here! Have a look!"

My reading ability was still pretty shabby since I didn't have proper education. I learnt to read by going to churches and reading the lyrics of the songs and the readings preached by the priests as they spoke.

"The dates of their deaths have been overwritten and increased which rarely happens and yet it happened to all of the people here."

"Interesting, so in a way, they have done something good. Still, Bravat's a murderer because now all of these guys are dead."

He shrugged.

"Are there ever any cases where the list has been revised?"

"Here and there. When there's an external influence such as when a demon is involved. But often those who summon demons are so simple and once their wish is over they just drop dead. But on the other hand, there have been times where someone invents something so unique and interesting. Either way, I want this device. Hey Grell! Help me bring one of these home!"

"WHAT?! NO WAY! WHY SHOULD A MAIDEN LIKE ME LUG AROUND A HEAVY THING LIKE THAT!?"

I scoffed,

"Maiden my ass."

Grell rushed up and yanked on my ear,

"I dare you to say that again you little twerp!"

I stuck my tongue out and kicked him in the shin before racing over to Sebastian,

"Come back here so I can pull that tongue out of your mouth and stuff it down your throat!"

"Come and get me then you ugly hag!"

Grell fumed and leapt at me before Sebastian raised his foot and kicked Grell in the chest,

"Ow~ Sebas-Chan~ Why did you do that?"

"Enough. Alice, do not rile him up. Besides, Bravat is in London so we should get going."

Ciel began to rush towards the exit with Sebastian close behind still holding Violet. I was amazed that Violet had not died yet since we had been here talking to these two grim reapers for a good 15 minutes. We dropped Violet off at the hospital and Sebastian went to contact Abberline and double Charles about our discovery.

"Ciel, what are you going to do about Elizabeth?"

"There is not much I can do. She is being quite a pain. Even with this mess, she refuses to go home. Anyway, let's go home. I'm tired and you must be too."

"Hm…Achoo! It's so cold. AISHHH! I HATE THE RAIN!"

"Screaming at it won't make it stop Alice."

"Hmpf! If we are returning to the house then that means Soma and Agni will be there!"

"No doubt with some Indian cuisine ready."

I chuckled and we got into the carriage. The ride was bumpy but that was a given since it was wet and the carriage didn't have a good grip on the slippery cobblestone.

"Hey Sebastian, is it just me or do you have this really bad nagging feeling?"

"No, I do not. Is it painful?"

"Hmm…no, but it's annoying."

The rest of the trip was quiet but that nagging feeling did not go away, even when we got out of the carriage and entered through the gates. As we got to the door, Sebastian flinched.

"Hm what's wrong?"

Sebastian opened the door and the checkered tiles were stained with a deep and messy puddle of blood and the staircase was destroyed. There were bloody footprints leading to the cellar and I slapped my hands over my mouth as I hastily ran in the direction of the footprints.

"Alice wait!"

I didn't wait. The nagging feeling in my chest was probably due to this. A tightness grew as I ran through the corridors, following the footprints until I turned the corner and let out a pained cry. Standing in front of the door, holding onto the handle of the cellar door was Agni. Seven knives jutted out from his back, his clothes were all torn and bloody and he did not move.

"Agni?"

Silence.

I placed a hand on his blood stained hands and it was warm still, as if he had only been alive moments ago. Then I began to cry. Sorry, let me rephrase that. I wailed, like a child. The tears did not stop and I fell to the floor. I heard footsteps behind me as Sebastian and Ciel came around the corner.

"Is he alive?"

I wailed even louder as Sebastian walked over and gripped his hand and tried to pull it away from the handle. It took him quite a bit of effort to pull his hand away but it took the handle too with a loud bang. Inside, we all heard the sobbing from Soma as the door slid open to reveal a blood covered Soma, leaning against the door and crying even more than he did with Meena.

Sebastian rested Agni against his lap and shoulder in gentle manner. The tears rushed down my face and my clothes became soaked.

"Your master's safety and happiness are indeed your top priority. Mr Agni, you truly are an exemplar butler. Alice, do you mind taking Mr Agni for a moment?"

I nodded and held the still body as I hugged it tightly. I kissed his forehead as tears dripped onto it and slid down, as if he was crying.

"Agni! If only we had been here early."

Ciel came to the doorway and with a very concerned tone, called out to Soma. However, the reaction from Soma did not show that he was grateful that Ciel found him as he punched Ciel hard in the face before Sebastian knocked him out and he landed on top of Ciel.

"It seems that Master Soma is in a terribly confused state. Though it is quite understandable given the situation."

Ciel began to tear up as he held Soma in his arms,

"This is why I told you not to get involved with me."

Ciel clenched his fists and gently placed Soma on the ground and got up.

"I want to know exactly what happened here. What was the objective of this attack? Was it revenge attempted by Bravat? Or was it a robbery?"

"Strange as it sounds, I find it highly improbable that a human was able to accomplish this. Even I found it hard to take down Agni, therefore, it would be safe to say that perhaps something not human did this."

Ciel pulled out a small gun and brushed himself off,

"Alice, stay here with Soma and Agni. Sebastian, let's go search the mansion."

"Yes, my Lord. Will you be alright Alice?"

I nodded a yes and rubbed my eyes. The tears still flowing.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…I just need a moment."

Sebastian and Ciel left and I sat alone with Agni and Soma.

"I'm so sorry guys. If I had stayed here like Ciel wanted me to….Agni….wouldn't be like this and I could I have saved him. I could have prevent this but because I was so immature and bratty- I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

I hugged Agni tighter. Agni was always such a kind person. When Sebastian would yell at me for being too reckless and messing up all the chores or I broke something, Agni would be there to help me clean up or lessen Sebastian's frustration. He was like a very warm and compassionate older brother. Agni was more than just a fellow chess piece, he was more than a tool that Ciel used. He was my friend and I couldn't even thank him for all that he had done. I hadn't even shown him how grateful I was to have him there. I looked to Soma. Poor Soma. He had to listen and watch as Agni died. He must have heard everything from behind that door, knowing that someone was turning Agni into a pin cushion and not being able to do a single thing to help.

I glanced down at Soma's hand and noticed a hole in his hand. A bullet wound. The attacker must have tried to shoot Soma but missed and got his hand before Agni showed up and stopped him. Then Agni must have not been able to stop him and gotten injured which must have lead up to lock Soma in the cellar and allow the attacker to stab him like this.

Mark my words. God as my witness up there. When I find the person who did this to Agni, I will destroy him. I will show no mercy and I will make sure no one will ever find his or her body. You will rot in hell and I will make sure you go down there in pieces.

Then the sound of footsteps made me turn my head and Ciel appeared looking very flustered and shocked.

"What? Did you find something?"

"We're bringing Soma to Sullivan."

"What about-Agni…?"

"Sebastian will clean him up."

On cue, Sebastian picked Agni up but I leapt up and grabbed his coat.

"Sebastian, don't dump him. We should have a proper funeral for him. He's done so much for us, we should let him go properly. I think, when Soma wakes up, we should decide what to do. For now, can we keep him in one of the spare rooms?"

Ciel sighed and nodded. Sebastian took Agni away before coming back for Soma. As he picked him up, a small piece of paper fell out from his sleeve and I picked it up.

"Hey Ciel, something fell out of his sleev-"

Ciel snatched it from me before looking at it and starting to tremble with anger. The look in his eyes was pure hatred,

"Seb..bastian. You-You're not lying to me are you?"

The tone in his voice did not hide the fact that he was furious inside and whatever that piece of paper was, it was a big clue to whoever did this.

"No, unfortunately I am not. I do not tell lies."

What ever happened upstairs must have been the reason for this. I could feel the tension in the air. It was suffocating and didn't want to ask just in case I added fuel to the fire.

I have a bad feeling about this.

End of chapter

Hey yall! I cried whilst writing this. Agni has been one of my favourite characters because he was so cute and kind. I couldn't believe that the author killed him… May he rest in peace.