One hell of an adventure

by Ebony'n'Ivory Angel

From street rat to noble to maid. Alice has lost her sister and friends in the blink of an eye. Then she is adopted by a noble woman whose nephew happens to be Earl Ciel Phantomhive. His butler, Sebastian is dark, flirtatious and frightening. When disaster strikes, she is taken under the wing of the Phantomhive family as a maid. Alice is about to head onto one hell of an adventure!

26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Guilty as charged

Hiya there folks. Yes it is me. I live. It's been a while hasn't it? It's been hard to write as of late. You know, study, lack of ideas and motivation…oh and the fact that I forgot I had written stories. But yeah, I'm kinda in the stage where I love what's going on with Black Butler but I hate it…like this new development makes me angry. I don't like the real Ciel. Not in the least bit.

I don't own Black Butler or any of the characters…just Alice.

Oh great. The grim reapers have gathered here too. Why not have a party while we're at it? A FRICKING ELECTRIC BOOGALOO!

Sebastian stood in front of the younger twin as Othello and Undertaker proceeded to engage in a not so friendly conversation. Alice and others watched as Othello threw Undertaker a sinister smirk.

"How interesting. To think that my dear William was right about a former grim reaper bringing the dead back to life. And to think it was you. Must have quite a few screws loose in that noggin of yours huh? I'd love to pry it open and take a peek inside~"

Undertaker returned that smirk with an equally threatening one. His green eyes peeking from beneath this silver hair, animosity crackling around him.

"Screws loose you say? You're the last person I want to hear that from, Othello."

"Well you see, your terrible, naughty behaviour has disturbed me from my peaceful research and now, I have to teach bad boys what happens when they disturb my sleep."

Alice flinched as suddenly the room dropped several degrees and a sudden chill spread throughout the hall. Even Grell and Sebastian had felt it and the playfulness in their demeanour had vanished. Othello whipped out the scythe tucked in his back pocket and with a completely mad and animalistic cackle, he threw the scythe at Undertaker. Unfortunately, the grim reaper had very little arm strength and the scythe only reached a few steps above him, not anywhere close to the intended target. There was a silence as he straightened up and with a completely straight face, he stared up at Undertaker.

"Tsk, I knew it."

Then the silence was broken as Undertaker clutched his stomach and burst into howling laughter. No one else was laughing, even Alice who was more confused and slightly irked than amused.

"AHAHAHAHA! YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED AT ALL! AHAHAHAH! IT'S ALMOST A TALENT HOW POOR YOUR ATHLETIC ABILITIES ARE!"

Othello didn't seem embarrassed either to the confusion of the rest of the group.

"well I recently invented a machine to help me exercise without effort."

At this point Grell couldn't hold it and let out an outburst of fury and confusion.

"WAIT A SECOND! WEREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO SEEMED WEAK BUT WAS SECRETLY REALLY STRONG?!"

Othello turned around with a cheeky grin and shrugged.

"Goodness! No way. Don't you remember me telling you that I've never fought before?"

Undertaker's laughter started to die down as he picked himself off the ground and reached behind him, pulling out his skeletal scythe. Alice felt a chill run down her spine upon seeing it again. The last time she saw it, Undertaker had cut an entire cruise ship in half and left it to sink below the sea.

"Ah! That's not good! Protect me Grell!"

"How dare you use a fair maiden as a shield! But I must say, we never finished our little bout the last time. Here's round two!"

Grell leapt into the air and attacked Undertaker with his roaring chainsaw, the terrible screeching sound resonated through the room as steel clashed with steel. A few silver flashes flew by as Sebastian threw several perfectly polished knives towards the two battling reapers.

"Oh? Sebas-chan? You want to join us too? Oh my, a threesome…I don't think my body can handle being with two devastatingly handsome men."

Sebastian dashed up and flew past Grell, throwing a knife and attempting to kick the silver haired reaper who neatly dodged out of the way.

"You are not my concern. However, if I allow you two to continue your violent rampages, you'll leave the manor in shambles. I must ask you to leave."

Ciel scoffed as he stared at Sebastian, a cruel smile plastered on his face.

"Heh? You say that as if you were part of the household. You are not, so sorry…but you're the one who will be leaving here."

At that moment, the front doors burst open with a loud bang as dozens of men from the Scotland yard filled the room armed with large shields and batons. Leading the group was Inspector Abberline who brandished a gun, and surprisingly, Lord Midford and Edward.

"Everyone lay down your weapons. We have received a report that the perpetrator and mastermind behind the sphere music hall crime are hiding here in the Phantomhive Manor. Lord Phantomhive please explain-"

Before he could finished his sentence, Inspector Abberline caught sight of something incredible. Two Earls.

"Ah Uncle Alex. It's me Ciel. I'm finally back. A lot has happened and because of that, my younger brother has been acting as me until now."

Everyone froze as they stared at the younger twin who was speechless and unable to even move. All he could do was stare as everyone gave him confused looks. Alice moved closer to the poor boy and glared up at Ciel. He was pretending to play innocent in front of everyone.

"It's true. Ciel is right. The one who was lying to us this entire time was him."

Everyone glanced up as Elizabeth strolled down the staircase, pointing a finger at the younger twin in complete and utter disgust, after all, she had been in love with an imposter all these years.

"Wait, I want to know why you did that? Why didn't you tell anyone? As the guardian of the Phantomhive household, I have a right to know."

"Yes, of course Uncle. So, will you tell us?"

Before anyone could answer, one of the Scotland Yard officers rushed into the room with a bottle containing blood and a label. Then a few more officers appeared with Bravat in restraints. Alice was confused as to how Bravat even got into the manor in the first place. And when she saw the younger twin look up at his brother, she finally understood what was going on. Ciel was Lord Sirius, he was the true mastermind but she had a feeling that he wasn't going to get caught.

Of course, things got worse. Alice watched in horror as Bravat turned to the younger twin with a smile, kneeled and called him Lord Sirius. This caused an unroar as the Yard turned to the younger twin who was shocked. Of course, it wasn't exactly believable since, he was the Queen's watchdog and had orders to take it down. But no one knew that, and they weren't supposed to know.

Not good. This is not good at all. All this planted evidence points Ciel-uh I mean other Ciel as the culprit. And the fact that Bravat lied as well. Uhh… I'm so confused right now. But wait until I get my hands on that fake fortune telling asshole…

"Lord Phantomhive, or should I say, Mr Phantomhive, you are under arrest for the suspicion of being the mastermind behing the Sphere Musical Hall murders. I am going to have to ask you to come with me to the station."

Knowing there was no way to get out of this at the moment, he conceded and let himself get handcuffed. Abberline turned to Sebastian and arrested him too, for being an accomplice.

"Miss, I will need to arrest you too."

He turned to Alice who was ready to fight back. Unlike other Ciel and Sebastian who was calm, Alice was not. She was losing her mind. Not only did she know that the younger twin was innocent, she was ready to fight for him. Before she could retaliate, Finny spoke up, clearly upset about this false accusation.

"Wait a moment please! The young master would never do something like this. Neither would Alice or Mr Sebastian! There must be some mistake!"

He looked like he was about to leap forward and tear those handcuffs off of his friends until Bard stepped forward and blocked his path.

"So what now? We still need to get paid you know."

"How could you say that at a time like this?! says Emily."

Mey Rin and Snake were also equally upset, after all, their young master had rescued them, given them a home and a job. They all knew that their young master was innocent but there wasn't much they could do.

"Well, as you can see, our hands are tied up at the moment. So please come pick it up at a later time."

"Miss?"

Alice noticed the look Sebastian gave her, a not so reassuring message but she got what it meant. Taking a few deep breaths, she held out her hands as the handcuffs locked and she was escorted into the back of a carriage, alongside Sebastian, other Ciel and of course Bravat. The carriage took off and Alice was seated next to Bravat with Sebastian and the younger twin across from them.

"I wish these guys would take more care with us back here. How does it feel Lord Sirius? To be struck down from the top and now brandished as a serial killer, heading straight for a prison cell?"

"How about you shut it you phony fortune teller? I'm this close to strangling you right now. I thought you were just the fortune teller."

"Indeed, to think that you would willingly let yourself get arrested. My, I didn't know that someone who was trying to form a religious cult would let themselves get imprisoned."

"Oh but of course. It's part of the job. But I wouldn't say I'm a phony. After all, my divinations were correct. Stars drawn off their orbit due to a black hole, will forever remain in darkness, remember? Besides, I knew you were certainly…different."

"I'll show you a black hole-"

Alice stood up to beat Bravat into a pulp when a Scotland Yard officer turned around and yelled at the group from behind the bars.

"EY! Cut the small talk! You murderers should know your place!"

Alice pressed right up against the bars and glared at him.

"How about you mind your own business or do you nee us murderers to do it for you?"

"You little!"

"Alice, just sit down. Aggravating them won't do anything."

"Listen here Sebastian. I don't know how the hell I ended up here. All I thought was that I was going to be adopted by a rich lady and live a nice-ish life but no, I ended up as a maid for a noble who isn't really who he says he is but I still love him anyway. And now we're arrested for things we didn't do because some starry eyed devil, who is right next to me, decided to lie and drag us down with him. Why I haven't beat him up yet? I don't know. But I really want to."

Alice's outburst earned her another shout from the officer whom she flipped off.

"I thought you were a lady, but you sure are quite vulgar aren't you? Besides, how long do we have to endure this uncomfortable and foul ride?"

Sebastian seemed to pause before smirking like he always does when shit's about to go down.

"Not long at all. Mr Officer, I must advise you to take caution on these roads. As upon this Phantomhive grounds, roam ferocious beasts at night."

Just as he said that, a massive cobra slithered up his shoulder and wrapped itself around his neck, proceeding to bite him in the throat. Alice grinned madly. The screams of the man echoed through the night as the snake vanished after finishing its job. Other screams were heard as the loud and thunderous crack of splintering wood resonated through the air, followed by a earthshaking thud and the faint sound of a gunshot. Alice was thrown onto the floor of the carriage as Sebastian lifted her and his young master up and out. Before they left, Alice punched Bravat in the face a few times and spit on him.

"Have fun in prison you worm."

And then they were gone. Sebastian wondered off through the woods with Alice in tow. He had pulled off the cuffs on himself, Alice and the quiet boy.

"If you aren't Ciel, what is your name then? I must call you something other than Young Master you know. I never call you Young Master."

No reply. With a huff, Alice walked ahead and kicked stones that she came across. She was rather annoyed that things had turned out the way they had. Stupid Undertaker, Stupid Ciel, Stupid Sebastian. GOD I HATE LIFE!

Alice's feet were beginning to go numb as they continued to walk through the endless woods until they finally saw a stony path and followed it towards the empty road where the sounds of a horse's hooves clopped against the earth and creaking wheels began to draw closer. Appearing from the mist was a sight for sore eyes.

"Hey there you three! Just like we promised, we're here to pick up our wages."

"Guys! You came?"

"Of course, Sebastian here owes us some money!"

Mey Rin helped Alice onto the carriage as Sebastian jumped on too. They proceeded to hide underneath the large cloth that the others had hid underneath upon leaving.

"That was a good job there Snake, the cobra was cool."

"He was happy to help, says Bronte. I would have done it myself, says Wilde."

The large boa constrictor popped out from the satchel that was beside Snake and curled up around Alice. The very large muscular boa had wrapped itself around her waist and shoulders, like a giant scaly blanket.

A few hours later, the group reached London where Sebastian had ordered them to find the Funtom Corp HQ to hide out for a while. The carriage was dumped and the group gathered into an alleyway where Finny went around scouting the area.

"I hate your brother, no offense. I really, really do."

"Now is not the time Alice."

Alice shrugged as the young boy glared up at her. Even though he was bound to a demon and had sadistic tendencies, she was much more comfortable with him than that twit who called her a servant. And that her voice was a cacophony to his ears.

"This really does make things harder for us doesn't it? Sigh, I don't think I'll ever get used to you being so calm all the time Sebastian. Even if you are…you."

Before he could retort, Finny returned to announce that the Yard was swarming around the store.

"It hasn't even been an entire day. He works quite swiftly."

"It's likely the work of Police Commissioner rather than my brother. He's probably using this opportunity to stamp out something he finds unsavoury."

"After what we've done for him? Humans can be so cruel."

"Heh, you said it."

Bard rested up against the wall with a sigh, swinging the large bag over his shoulder.

"What do we do now?"

"I'm thinking about fleeing England for now and setting up base outside the country. For that, I'm going to need some time for preparations, but now that the Funtom Corp is unusable-"

Suddenly from around the corner, an officer appeared, loudly and the group raced down the alley. The officer blew his whistle as he chased after them, hoping back up will arrive in time for them to catch the group. The group followed Sebastian as he raced around the streets, curving around corners. They eventually came to The Lark Photography Studio and were ushered inside. A few moments later, the large group of officers went rushing by and everyone let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, the blinding flash and clicking noise caused the group to jump as Mr Pete, the photographer that helped us solve the Sphere Music Hall murderers, popped out from behind his camera.

Sebastian was not in the mood, but the bubbly photographer didn't care. Honestly, the world needed more people like him…cheerful, bubbly and a little strange.

"So what kind of photograph are you after today?"

"We're here for a tableau vivant today."

Mr Pete's expression turned from friendly to serious as he stared at Sebastian, a knowing glint in his eyes.

"And the theme?"

"The legend of King Arthur."

The photographer lead the group to a painting which was in fact a secret door which, through many twists and turns, lead to the underground waterway.

"Woah, this place is huge…and smells terrible."

"It's like a massive maze!"

"Ah, this is the perfect way to move undetected…after all, you'll find only rats and cleaning men down here. Oh, please take this map, flashlight and masks. It'll be dangerous to go down here without them."

"Thank you. Would you mind sending a telegram to our order? One to Lord Klaus and one to Lord Diedrich."

"Hm…not sure if I could send one to Mr Klaus, but I'll do what I can. Right, safe travels everyone and good luck!"

Mr Pete walked back to the door and waved as he disappeared, leaving the group to put on their masks and head on their way. Mey Rin walked beside Alice, often giving her concerned looks.

"Are you okay Alice?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine Mey Rin. What about yourself? After all, this must be confusing to you as it is for everyone else."

"Oh, I'm okay. It's just, you've been with the Young Master and Mr Sebastian and you must have wanted to speak up. I noticed you were very angry."

"Yeah…but there wasn't much I could have done. It would have made the situation much worse if we retaliated in that moment. But then again, we straight up high tailed it out of there so…we basically announced we were guilty. But hey…just listening to the boss…"

Sebastian let out a snicker and turned around to see that Alice was glaring at him, her eyes crackled with fury.

Mey Rin noticed the look Alice gave Sebastian and decided to step in.

"Mr Sebastian? Where exactly are we headed?"

"King's Cross Stations is likely to be crawling with officers, so I was thinking of renting a boat at Regent's Canal and then-"

The sounds of many fast paced footsteps and angry muttering caught the attention of the group as they turned around, seeing many lights and silhouettes coming from around the corner. As the group turned to run, there was massive explosion as everyone jumped out of the way to avoid the falling debris. Finny had grabbed Alice and jumped out of the way, blocking a piece of falling stone as he helped Alice to her feet.

"Thanks Finny, I owe you one. And what kind of an idiot would blow up a tunnel?!"

Alice pulled off the mask from her face and noticed that everyone had done the same. Then from the dust came a familiar, annoying voice and the clunk of a large metallic object. When the dust cloud dispersed, the silk clad Chinese man, Lau and his sister? Ran Mau was standing in front of Sebastian.

"Hey there Earl~ To think we would face off here. Though I'm sure it was inevitable. Time to collect that bounty Ran Mau."

"Lau, why, may I ask, would the Shanghai mafia cooperate with the Scotland Yard?"

"Well…if there's money involved…why not? Still…this is a big surprise Earl. Despite being the refined young gentleman you are, you have done something quite terrible. Anyhow, Ran Mau…let's hunt."

"Yes Brother."

The small fleet footed girl twirled that giant metallic weapon in the air and leapt at Sebastian and Bard as the giant ball on the end of her weapon crashed into the ground, sending bits of stone flying up into the air.

"Jesus, for a pretty face, you sure are powerful little monster!"

In a quick pivot, Ran Mau leapt off the ground and charged at Bard. She was so fast that Bard didn't have time to dodge and he braced for impact but it never came.

"Mr. I'll give you a discount."

And she stood, staring up at Bard who was gobsmacked. The rest of the group also frowned and stared in confusion as they were anticipating for Bard to be crushed beneath the girl's huge weapon. Ran Mau began to pull at Bard's coat as he shuffled back with a red and confused face.

"O-Oi What are you doing!?"

"Ahaha, oh goodness Ran Mau. You mustn't do that."

Lau was a strange human. He was the type of person who wasn't readable at all and you had no idea what he was thinking. You wouldn't even know he wanted to kill you until you were laying on the ground in a pool of your own blood. Alice shivered at the thought. Sebastian and not Ciel exchanged looks and decided that following Lau was the best idea for now. The group eventually ended up at an all too familiar place.

"Oh no, we're at the Opium den."

"Welcome to my Shangri-La~"

"Uhhh I hate this place."

"Awww…that hurts little Maid~ Besides, I caught wind of what happened and I thought to myself that this would be a perfect time to have the Earl in my debt. So naturally, I rushed over."

The female workers approached the group as Lau ordered them to give everyone a bath and fresh clothes. Well, I mean we do smell and probably look like sewer rats.

The girls began to swarm around the group and separate them, taking them into their own rooms to bathe. Well, besides Sebastian and not Ciel. Alice was taken into a room where there was a large bath tub that was being filled with steaming hot water and flower petals. The girls began to undress her, much to Alice's shock.

"No, no… I can undress myself. I can bathe myself too – Hey! Watch it! Oh my god…"

The girls didn't listen at all as Alice was practically pushed into the bath where the girls proceeded to wash her hair with a very sweet smelling shampoo. They were scrubbing her body too and Alice, who was extremely fatigued, just let it happen. After they had finished, the girls brought her a set of clothes that somewhat resembled their own.

"Oh no. I can't wear that. That shows far too much skin. Can I get some stockings with it at least?!"

"Please wear it on and sit down. We will do your hair."

"It's fine really. Thank you for what you've done so far and – oh ah okay. I guess I'm sitting now."

So reluctantly Alice was seated and the girls pulled at her hair and dried it, styling it, placing floral ornaments in the braided bun. They never gave her a pair of stockings and she was forced to meet up with everyone, baring her legs for all to see. Mey Rin wasn't so lucky either.

"Oh very nice. It suits you all wonderfully."

"Lau, can we get some stockings here!? Mey Rin and I shouldn't be showing this much leg!"

"I don't see what's wrong with it Little Maid. I think it looks very lovely on you both. Besides, the food is ready."

Before she could grab him and demand stockings, he turned and walked into the other room with the others in tow. Sebastian smirked at Alice.

"Don't you dare say anything. If anything, I'm surprised you haven't scolded Mey Rin and I yet."

"I do have to agree that you look rather delicious in those clothes."

To emphasise his point, Sebastian licked his lips, his eyes glinted magenta with hunger. Alice frowned and hurried besides not Ciel. When they got inside, the room was brightly light and in the centre was a large table covered with glistening Chinese cuisine and Alice's stomach grumbled.

"Woah…"

"Yes, woah indeed Little Maid. This is a style of Chinese cuisine from 4000 years ago. It's a very different taste to what you are used to here in England. So please dig in and enjoy."

Sebastian bowed slightly to Lau in appreciation but he knew this wasn't for free.

"No worries, besides, it's a loan. I've saved the Earl from the worst predicament he's ever been in and I plan to collect the value of this loan with lots of interest in due time. By the way…what exactly did you do?"

Sebastian explained what had happened, leaving out some details that only he and not Ciel would know. Lau wasn't at all worried or concerned, if anything he was intrigued and amused.

"so what do you plan on doing?"

"We are planning to leave the country, perhaps to Germany, which is our first choice."

"Ahhh, to Herr Fatty's place. Well, I suppose that's okay. But how about going to the extreme and fleeing to somewhere in which you have no ties to. Say India or China. Let's say you go to India, I'm sure that prince of yours would be happy to help you out."

Alice gripped the hem of her dress at the mention of Soma. The situation with Soma wasn't great either, especially since he probably thinks that Sebastian and not Ciel were involved with Agni's death. He's still with Sieglinde and Wolfram…and alone…without Agni. I wonder how he's doing.

"If you choose China, I'll even hire you all. You all have great talent, so it'll be such a waste. Besides, you can all change your names and even your appearances…lead new lives as new people. There's no need for you to stick around England when you can surely make it anywhere else."

The mood was getting worse. Alice could feel that everyone was considering what Lau was saying but they didn't want to leave their Young Master behind and start new lives. Alice turned to Ciel who was now looking down at his empty plate. Ran Mau was holding some kind of soft thing in her chopsticks and offering it to not Ciel. Suddenly, with a loud screech, the chair was pushed back as not Ciel stood up and grabbed the roasted duck in front of him. Everyone stared in silence as he brought it to his mouth and took a hefty bite out of it, then he tossed it aside and grabbed the next nearest thing and munched into that. He continued to shove whatever he could reach into his mouth as everyone stared in shock and disgust. Finny tried to stop him but was too afraid to and Sebastian simply raised a brow. The boy finished the soup in the bowl and slammed it onto the table.

"DAMN IT! WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS? HE JUST WALTZ IN AFTER BEING GONE FOR ALL THIS TIME AND SAYS 'OH I'M CIEL PHANTOMHIVE!' TO HELL WITH THAT! I'M THE ONE WHO RECOVERED THE MANOR AND RECOVERED THE LAND AND PROPERTY. AND I'M THE ONE WHO HAD TO TAKE OVER HIS STUPID JOB AS THE WATCHDOG AND NO ONE SUSPECTED A THING FOR THREE WHOLE YEARS BUT THE REAL ONE TURNS UP AND EVERYTHING GOES TO SHIT!"

Amen.

There was silence against as no one wanted to speak up as they watched the small boy finish his rant, huffing for air.

"It's true that I am not Ciel, but the name Earl Ciel Phantomhive belongs to me. I will stand and fight this ghost of a brother…I am not a coward. The land, the manor, the title…I will take them back. They are mine!"

Oh boy, here comes the storm. You better watch yourself Ciel…we're coming for you.

End of chapter

I hoped you all enjoyed that chapter. I certainly thought it was a very exciting turn of events. Oh and I don't know about you guys, but I really don't like Ciel, the older twin. He's creepy.