Lilliana waited anxiously for Grell to arrive for their meeting up in the Big Ben bell tower. She wondered if the Head Reapers told him about them working together and wished to see his reaction if they did. They were never on good terms with each other, especially since he deemed her as his rival of love to Sebastian and even William. Luckily, Ronald was there to keep her company, but the main reason he was there was to give Grell's chainsaw back to him. "You have no idea the work I put in to get this back for Mr. Sutcliff. If I hadn't asked that girl in General Affairs about it, it wouldn't even exist today," he said, trying to alleviate his boredom since Grell was running late, to no one's surprise.

"I can only imagine," she said as she released a sigh. "I thought that he would be on time for once since this mission is at—,"

"I'm back~!" Grell exclaimed as he arrived. Ronald smiled and Lilliana frowned as they saw the red coworker run up to them, or more to his chainsaw, to which he revved up and spun around in a giddy fashion. He laughed maniacally, happy to be reunited with his favorite toy. "It feels so good to have this back in my hands! This is the best Death Scythe a Reaper could ever have!"

"You're really wound up, aren't cha?" Ronald said. "I take it you're happy to be released."

"The beasts made me clean and do chores for my entire confinement! It was positively ghastly! You can't know how I've longed for this day!"

"I think I can imagine it quite well," Lilliana said, holding back her frustration, especially when she knew her anger was beyond her control. "And you had to do chores all day! Oh, how terrible," she said sarcastically. She would know better than anyone the horrors of rehabilitation.

"Oh right, the only rain on my parade," Grell said bitterly. "The only reason you're here is because they expect you to teach me to remain out of trouble after getting out."

"Nice to see you too," she commented snarky. "But you better pay him back for all he's done by working diligently."

"Oh, I will and besides, this mission is special. I expect tonight will be very entertaining. It won't be long now, darling Bassy~! I'm coming for you!" Grell yelled as he started roof-jumping towards the Phantomhive manor.

"Take a good look, Ronald: this will be the only time you'll ever see Grell Sutcliff excited about work," she said as she was about to follow him. "Too bad he'll be mighty disappointed."

"Well, I'm sure you'll have your hands full. I have some work of my own I have to get to," Ronald said as he stretched.

"Wait, don't you usually have the day shift?"

"Yeah, but this mission is mighty important. A lot of souls will be reaped tonight."

"Let me guess: William will be helping you too."

"Wait, how did you—," Ronald asked in shock.

"Somehow, both of my jobs coincided for a couple of days. So, I might have an idea what you're going to do. Just not the fine details," she said as she finally jumped off to follow Grell. She was at least fortunate to not have to force him to do his job; a promise to see Bassy was enough for him to keep him motivated, even if it was going to be short-lived.

Eventually, the two of them arrived to the manor, which made Grell giddier the closer they were, but Lilliana kept quiet about Sebastian's whereabouts. She wanted to see the disappointment on his face. It should be quite the show.

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash from the distance and Lilliana had a good idea what happened. "Oh my goodness. Has the party started without us? Mighty impatient, aren't they?" Grell said.

"We're Phantomhive servants; we'll get the job done quickly and efficiently for our young master," she replied as the two finally reached the manor. They hid behind trees and the first thing they saw was a large hole in the stone wall of the manor with blood splatters surrounding it. Only one lone gardener could have done such damage. Soon, they saw Peter and Wendy try to avenge Jumbo's death by slicing Finnian, but his super strength frightened them and they knew they had to get out of the area. They used their acrobat skills to their advantage as they used specialty wires to swing from whatever structure it wrapped around. Eventually, they gained high ground and planned to slice Finnian in half with the wire as he tried to jump up to attack them as they descended. However, before they could, a gunshot was heard and a bullet traveled clean through Wendy's head, instantly killing her. "Nice shot, Mey-Rin," Lilliana said to herself as she watched Peter avoid the multiple shots surrounding him.

"Collection time," Grell said as two Cinematic Records surrounded him. "Such dull lives despite colorful costumes—wait, why are you here?!"

"Oh, did I forget to mention I met the people scheduled to die at the circus?" she said sarcastically as she heard one final gunshot followed by a crashing window. Soon, a third Cinematic Record slithered its way to her. She looked through it, but she already knew the verdict. After a few moments, she completed the collection and put the COMPLETED stamp on Peter's file.

"I never took you for the performer ty—oh my goodness! Bassy and William?! Together! Doing tricks! Oh, I would have cut off an arm and leg to just watch a second of this! . . . HOW DARE YOU!"

"Excuse me?" she said as she looked through the other Cinematic Record that was lingering. She knew he was going to take a while with that one Record.

"You had your filthy paws all over my dear William! If I didn't know any better, you were trying to feel him up! Shameless!"

"That's funny coming from you," she said as she completed the collection. "But I just want you to know that isn't me. Apparently there was a succubus lurking around the circus grounds who thought it would be hilarious to take my form and mess with them." Her eyes became red, but she managed to keep her anger under control, though she knew one little annoyance could trigger the ultimate fury. It didn't help that Grell was the epitome of that annoyance for her.

"Well whoever this bitch is, she better not cross my path or I'll chop her down into pieces for laying a hand on my dear William!"

"You and me both," she said under her breath. However, most of the action had moved inside as Finny and Mey-Rin rushed inside. Not wanting to miss a rare show, Lilliana said, "I'm gonna go inside to get a closer look. You should stay out here."

"Wait! I need to find my Bassy before he gets too preoccupied with all this!" Grell said as he was ready to follow her.

"Oh, he's not here. He's on a mission with the young lord elsewhere. Bye~," she said before leaving his side.

"Are you serious?! What cruel fate separates us so! I wanted to give him a long-awaited kiss!"

"I'm sure he doesn't want that," she said from a distance. She walked through the front door and saw that a statue miraculously found its way on the main staircase. "I guess they're already busy," she said as listened to the gunshots and loud crashing noises close to the drawing room. She quickly ran that direction and could see Dagger and Beast running for their lives as they avoid Mey-Rin's gunshots and Finny's airborne statues. Eventually, they moved quickly to a stairway, but they tripped and fell down instead. They soon got up and quickly started to run away from the freaks after their lives. "Who are these bastards?! This place is a madhouse!" Dagger yelled before they spotted Lilliana. "Wait, Lily? What are you doing here?"

"Peter was right: you did disappear with Black and Smile. Tell me, are you working for the Yard?!" Beast yelled as she tried to use her whip on her, but Lilliana caught it as easily as Sebastian did before.

"No, not exactly. In fact, the Yard doesn't exactly like us very much," she said before letting the whip go.

"Then you can help us. These people are trying to kill us! We have to find a way for us to escape," he pleaded.

"But you are the people who walked in here and were about to kill anyone who got in the way of your plan to kidnap Ciel Phantomhive."

"How did you—," Beast tried to ask in confusion, but the words were tied on her tongue.

"No need to hide things from me, I know everything about you two and why you're doing this. After all, you wanted to please your Father, didn't you? But at what cost? Your morality? Your dignity? I can bet you that there is none left after everything you've done."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Dagger said as he threw knives at her, hitting her in areas that would surely kill her, mainly her chest and head. "I'm sorry, Lily. I wish things didn't have to be this way," he said as the two of them turned around and were about to head for an escape, but they heard chuckling behind them and their skin turned pale. They slowly turned around and were frozen in shock by what they saw.

"Dear me, you actually aimed to kill, even after everything we've been through. I even wore that fucking outfit for you. Has it occurred to you two that I might have suffered enough already?" she asked as she slowly got up, as if her body was possessed with the knives still lodged in her and blood pouring from her wounds. "But no, I guess humans don't have much sympathy for each other as I thought. Then again, who am I to judge? I'm not even supposed to have any emotions since it would affect my job performance." She pulled out the knives from her body, but the wounds slowly healed and the bleeding stopped in a few seconds. Her eyes were blood-red and she had a wicked grin on her face, as if she were a demon. "Well, it doesn't matter. I already know the fate of your souls without even having to look through them. Such a shame; I could have been merciful and given you both a second chance at life."

"She's a monster!" Beast yelled as the two ran away in fear. Lilliana shrugged as she dropped the knives and watched them run to the kitchen. She knew where this would end up, but didn't want to be in the line of fire, especially when she could not be seen by the others so she could collect the souls.

After she cleaned herself up, she decided to join Grell in collection on the roof, away from the scene below. He was looking through Dagger's Cinematic Record and analyzed it the same as before: nothing to report. After a while, they heard an explosion and soon, another Cinematic Record floated towards them. "And that should be the last one for the night. I'm surprised you actually got your work done without incident," Lilliana commented.

"Oh shut it. This mission has been stultifying dull! And I had such expectations too! I thought any job here would involve Bassy, but he's gone from the manor and there's nobody about remotely to my taste!" Grell whined.

She rolled her eyes. "Glad you have your priorities in order."

"It doesn't help that you're here to treat me like a leashed mutt. Can fate be crueler?" Grell said as he looked back at Beast's Cinematic Record, but noticed something very alarming. "WHAT?! Wait a moment! No!"

"What has you so wiled up?" she said as she took a look at the Record, but she was stunned and her lip and eye started to twitch in anger.

"Is this Bassy's type, then?! Ugly wenches with nothing to brag about but large baps?" he commented, not aware of her growing anger behind him. "My turn! Trade places with me, wench! Ah, it may be in a woman's nature to fall into the arms of men she knows are cruel, but this time, my dear, you fell into the arms of the worst man alive. Just be glad you had fun while you could."

"That bastard," she finally uttered out. Grell finally looked behind her and shrieked at the red eyes. The last time he saw those, he got a good ass-whooping from her and Sebastian. "So this is how he found out about the Baron Kelvin. And all this time I thought he managed to slip past William after I—,"

"Serves you right, you home-wrecker. A man like him will never be loyal to a woman like you and you should have known that from the start. Pretending that you two have anything more than a fling is just sad."

"Who are you to have any room to talk?" she said with gritted teeth. "There isn't a day when you said you didn't want to have Sebastian as your sexy knight in shining armor ready to take his princess in her bed! Such a fucking hypocrite!"

"You really want to insult me? I can report your side relationship to William and he'll have you put back in the rehabilitation center for sure!" However, that crossed the line for her and she pulled out her Death Scythe and tried to strike him in the blink of an eye. Luckily for him, his reflexes were near immediate and he got out of the way. He ran away into the nearby forest to avoid being seen by the others while also fearing that he might need his chainsaw. He swore he saw murder in her eyes and it terrified him more than ever before. She followed him and once they were some distance away, Grell stopped in his tracks as he watched her slowly close the distance between them. "L-Look, I was just kidding about all that. You know that I would never do that! It might hurt me more in the process."

"Of course, everything has to be about you, you egotistical, selfish, obnoxious waste of life. If the spotlight isn't on you for a second, you would surely die. But then again, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. We might actually have some peace around the office without you around."

"How dare you! I'll make you regret those words," he said as he revved his chainsaw with shaky hands.

She smirked as she positioned herself for a fight. "I'm glad you're willing to participate. It'll help me out a lot more than you would ever know."

"My servants; those are actually private soldiers who were hand-picked to guard my manor. They'll protect Phantomhive secrets and pride from anything. After all, that's what makes a Phantomhive servant. Even the god of Death is on our side," Ciel explained to Joker, who was so close to death, they were surprised he had the strength to keep himself up.

"We're professionals too and we're quite good. It won't be easy to—," he said.

"You're free to believe as you like, but let's not get too optimistic. You should keep in mind that I hired them," Sebastian said with a smirk. At that point, Joker broke down, realizing there was no hope for anyone, and began to cry. He could wish that his circus family stayed alive, but they were confident they would die. At this point, he would be dead too. If only things were different . . .

"Don't cry; it's pathetic. Your tears won't change a thing. It doesn't matter who you are; the world is never kind to anyone," Ciel said.

Soon, they heard wheels turning near the entrance of the room. They turned to find Doc rolling in, thanks to Eris, and Bastille at their side. The demons' clothes and hair were a bit disheveled, which only Sebastian noticed. Eris smiled when she saw the carnage inside and Bastille kept the scowl he had for Sebastian earlier. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm not empty-handed . . . What's this? Black and Smile?"

"Right, I forgot to tell you about them. Silly me," Eris said innocently.

"Run, Doc! Leave now! They work together as the Queen's guard dog! Run while you still can" Joker tried to warn.

"Me? Why should I? You and your circus freaks are the kidnappers," Doc said calmly as he got up from his chair and started heading toward the altar. "I only preformed the services the good Baron Kelvin hired me for. I have no reason to run."

"Wait, your legs . . . you can walk?" Joker said in shock.

"Sorry? . . . Ah, right, yes, they're perfectly fine. I just find the chair more useful. Children seem to trust me more easily when I'm in it."

"And all this time, I thought he was just lazy," Bastille said under his breath, making Eris chuckle. Sebastian and Ciel made sure to keep their eyes on the demons, one who is currently master-less and the other that knew their plan from the very start. Even if they were in sidelines, there was no telling what they would do.

"Lord Kelvin!" Doc yelled as he ran to the lifeless benefactor, but it was too late. "Well, he's beyond my help. I know a lost cause when I see one. What a shame. Do you know how hard it was for me to find a patron who shared my ideals?" Eris cleared her throat loudly to gain their attention. "With your help, of course, my dear Eris."

"Not like you cared, anyway," she said bitterly.

"You hurt me! I was tolling away for years trying to create the perfect prosthetic and I have, thanks to you! After mountains of research, I discovered the perfect material, something lighter and stronger than wood and possessing the uniquely sterile beauty of ceramic. I created what no crafter before me had been able to. Though, there is a problem with the material in that it is a touch hard to come by."

"As much as I don't approve of them, I must admit that they are the closest thing to perfect that humanity might reach," Bastille said.

"I'm glad you finally have come around to appreciate its beauty, Bastille! Perhaps Baron Kelvin has finally rubbed off on you a little. As the two of them know, I can only get these special materials here," Doc said as he walked to a cage that held the soulless children.

"Wait, hold on . . . No, they're . . . ," Ciel said, piecing everything together.

"Yes, and it also eliminates the trouble of disposing their bodies elsewhere. Waste not, want not, I always say." However, Joker surprised them all as he started screaming and banging what was left of his prosthetic arm on the ground, trying to break it. "Why must all my patients react that way? Come now, Joker. You've always been so pleased with the right hand I made just for you."

"If I had known, I would never have wanted it," Joker muttered before taking his last breath.

Doc sighed. "He would have turned down a working hand? I wouldn't be so sure, but it's tragic. Without the Baron, I will find myself unemployed. Oh say, Lord Phantomhive, would you hire me, perhaps? Better still, introduce me to Her Majesty? She is getting on in years, right? Surely she could use a little maintenance, so to speak. You could give me a reference, eh?"

"Heartless as always," Bastille commented as the two of them finally walked down to the altar, mainly for Eris to go through with her contract.

"Don't you dare sully the Queen's name with your mouth," Ciel threatened.

"Oh no, not another man of limited imagination who cares more about the process than about the results. Everyone always sings my praise until they know the details," Doc said as he grabbed a little girl from the cage and started dragging her to the altar. "Not the Baron, though. He was different. His only concern was beauty. He spared no expense when it came to my materials. He was the finest patron a man could ask for. He understood that making the finest product requires the finest ingredients, something one thinks would be common sense."

Ciel started to shake in terror as the memories of the worst days of his life played in his head while Doc placed the little girl on the altar and grabbed a knife from a drawer. Eris looked at Ciel in the eyes and she realized she made a mistake as she too began to shake in fear. She could see his pain and feel every scar etched into his soul. Bastille noticed this and got worried. "Eris, what's wrong?"

Once Doc plunged the knife in the little girl, Ciel and Eris began to scream at the top of their lungs. The male demons tried to comfort the screamer, but Doc was surprised to hear Eris scream. "You've seen the process before, Eris. This shouldn't frighten you."

"You idiot! It wasn't her fear that she felt," Bastille said angrily as he kept Eris close to him. "If you paid attention to her, you would understand."

"I know how she works. While also knowing our deepest desires, she can sense how her victims feel at any given time by just looking in their eyes. It's quite the unique gift perfect for manipulation. She'll get over the terror and return to her normal self in no time."

"For a man who is contracted to her, you have no compassion at all to the woman who gave you everything!"

"And I suppose she had any for me? You're demons; you see humans as nothing more than sustenance."

"And yet you're the sickest and most foolish man I've ever know," Bastille said as he walked toward Doc threateningly.

"N-Now hold on! You're under order from the Baron to protect me. You can't harm me," he said with fear in his voice.

"That would be true if the Baron was still alive," Bastille said before he stabbed his sword into Doc's chest. Ciel and Sebastian only watched as they watched Doc fall to the ground, bleeding to death. "I don't know if you know this, but a wound inflicted from a demon sword can never heal for a human. Even for deities, it takes a long time to fully heal."

"Eris! My love! Please, save me! You can't let me die! My dream hasn't been fulfilled!" Doc pleaded.

Bastille eyed him angrily, but Eris walked up to him and knelt down to him, as if she was going to save him. "You practically starved me, Doc. If I didn't find loopholes from our agreement, I surely would have died. Unlike regular demons, succubus need to be fed often and you only bothered to feed me when you felt like it, which became practically never as time went on!"

"W-Wait, you cheated on me! But our agreement—,"

She laughed. "Our agreement? You're really trying to justify yourself, even now? Our 'agreement' was that you would gain the recognition you desired for your prosthetic in exchange for constant meals for me. For any other men, this would be a dream come true to fuck the most beautiful woman they could imagine, but your lust for glory was stronger. On top of that, you had the nerve to forbid me from sleeping with any other human. However, I found a way to keep myself alive," Eris said as she looked at Bastille. "Although not as filling, it still gets the job done."

"Y-You whore!"

"And you're just a lowly piece of shit that will die before his dream came true. So tragic, but our contract was doomed from the start when you didn't keep your end of the bargain. Au revoir," she said before she pierced her hand into his chest and obtained his soul. She consumed it and she laughed hysterically. "Finally! It's over! I'm free from this torture!"

"So will I once I get the Baron's soul," Bastille said as he walked up to Baron Kelvin and did the same as her.

"I don't understand. How could two demons trap themselves in this perversion and not be the ones pulling the strings?" Ciel asked.

"You think of us as this twisted? Surely you jest. It's not like Sebastian is controlling your actions to make you do the things you do," Eris explained. "The only real reason why we get such a bad reputation is because of the masters we serve. There have been plenty of people over history that have benefited from demonic help that worked to better humanity, but no, those are credited to angels and the like. It's infuriating, but that's the world you humans created."

"Then why did you two form contracts with these men? Surely you knew their intent."

"The same as you: a meal is a meal, regardless of the wickedness in their souls," Bastille said. Ciel gulped a bit, wondering if this was exactly how Sebastian viewed him.

"Meanwhile, I wanted some excitement. Eventually, you sleep with every type of man and woman that things get boring. I wanted a challenge and thought a contract might be fun. That soul could fill me longer than hundreds of humans ever could," Eris said. "Though, I wasn't expecting to be screwed in the process."

"You're just lucky that our masters happened to meet each other or else we would have never met."

"Or joined the circus to meet some interesting characters, right, Smile and Black?" Eris said with a smirk. "And I suppose Suit and Lily too, but they're not here, unfortunately. I guess it's for the better."

"Wait, Lily? She was there?" Bastille asked, looking at the duo.

"Indeed. Wherever they go, she follows, except for now. She had to make sure our dear Grell Sutcliff behaved himself while collecting souls at the Phantomhive manor." At the sound of his name, everyone except her shuddered in disgust. She turned to Bastille and her right eye turned green. "Huh, I didn't think you knew him."

"Unfortunately, especially now that I learned what he truly is."

"Now it makes sense why she didn't spare me any details about her mission," Sebastian said, feeling both hurt and relieved. He was just glad he didn't go to the manor before arriving here. "Speaking of her, you caused her to be wrathful lately. I want to inform you that we both know what you did and will release the effects on her."

"I hope so! The longer that spice stays in her system, the less likely she'll be able to contain her rage. Trust me, I've seen it myself," Eris teased.

"Wait, when you asked for them . . . ," Bastille asked.

"Well, I cannot obtain the Wrathful Spice due to my lustful nature, but a high-ranking demon like you can get anything. Besides, I needed to distract her while I fed at the circus."

Bastille felt a bit hurt, but didn't show it. "I should have expected it. And the person you needed to feed on . . . ,"

"You've never met him," Eris said before looking at Sebastian and Ciel, her right eye still green. "But they have."

"And what does that imply?" Sebastian asked. He was as determined as Lilliana to figure out why she took her form.

Eris chuckled. "You'll have to ask Lilliana. I'm sure she'll know. Though, I'm not sure how willing she is to tell you. She's not the kind of person who likes to express her emotions."

"Regardless, I believe it's about time we made our leave. I'm sure Ciel has diplomatic duties to attend to regarding this ordeal," Bastille said, trying to change the subject. Last thing he wanted to know was anything regarding his sister's twisted love life, even if it was just a man attracted to her.

"Aw, already? But I wanted to chat longer," Eris whined playfully.

"We got our meal. We have no further business here. Besides, you know very well how much pain this place is bringing the young lord over there. I'm sure you'll want him to leave this place as soon as possible."

Eris looked at Ciel, who was in Sebastian's arms, and she sighed. "You're right. Though, I do have some unfinished business I must attend to. Wait for me by the fork in the roads in the forest not too far from here. I shouldn't take long."

"All right," he said as he watched Eris walk out of the room. "You three should hurry before that clean-up crew shows up to collect the remaining souls. At this rate, they could be outside as we speak."

Once the three of them were alone, Bastille looked at Sebastian and said as he pointed his demon sword at him, "I should kill you right now. This would be the perfect chance while Lily can't protect you. A demon like you manipulating her into doing what you want is unforgivable. However . . . ," he said as he put it away. "Until she chooses to free herself from that infernal Association, you're the only method I have to make sure she's all right."

"A demon caring for a Grim Reaper, how fascinating. If only you were able to protect her when she was yours, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Bastille gritted his teeth. "Though, make no mistake, one of these days, when that boy isn't around, I will kill you and release her from your spell."

"You can certainly try, but I have no intention of leaving this world anytime soon," Sebastian said with a smirk. Bastille glared at him, but decided to turn around and walk out of the room. He had no energy to spare to continue this fight unless he intended to fight. Once the two of them were alone, Sebastian said to his young master, "It's over now, my lord."

"Burn the manor down," Ciel muttered.

"Pardon me, master. May I remind you of Her Majesty's letter? I was under the impression that her desire was that we locate the kidnappers and return the children safely."

"Shut your mouth! Don't leave any trace behind! Burn everything here down to ash! Am I making myself clear?! This is an order!" Ciel yelled hysterically. Sebastian was surprised by this outburst, but he didn't need Eris to know what he was feeling. He was scared; surrounded by reminders of the day they met really terrified him. Sebastian removed his bloody glove with his teeth and dropped it to the floor. Soon, he put a hand close to a flame and the fire expanded in a miraculous rate.

"Burn it down. Yes, my lord," he said as he left the manor, leaving the flames of mercy behind.

"And there they go," Katia said as the first set of Cinematic Records started to surround her. "It's tragic that the children died so young. I thought the young lord would be merciful."

"I hope you're not trying to delude yourself from your duties. We have a job to do," William said as he swiftly completed collection after collection. He arrived not too long after the group inside went to the replica room. She made the choice to not save the contracted souls since there were too many demons involved, which she reported to him. However, she left out that Bastille was there since that would mean she purposely let her target go without a fight. She would be in serious trouble if anyone knew that.

"But I'm surprised to see Ciel Phantomhive and his butler here. I knew that Baron Kelvin had some history with him, but I didn't think he would be the one to kill him."

"I didn't think to inform you since I viewed it unimportant at the time, but he, his devil, and Ms. Kiliamo were also investigating the circus. I didn't think it would lead them here."

"Wait! Lilliana and you were investigating together? Then what was the point with all that talk about not letting Lilliana know about the mission since she might work with the demons?"

"We didn't investigate together; we had two separate objectives and rarely exchanged information."

"Oh. Did she stay in the shadows or did she go undercover too?"

"The latter, unfortunately for her."

"Oh wow! I would have loved to see what she was wearing. You wouldn't let me see your costume and I bet if I asked her, she won't show me either," she said, hiding a hint of perverse in her tone regarding Lilliana.

"I'm sure she won't. She wore it as little as possible, same as me," he said rather short. Regarding Lilliana and the circus, he wanted to speak as little about it as possible. Despite the time away, he never truly came to terms with what happened between him and Eris. He wanted to talk further with Lilliana to clear his name and explain as much as he could, but he couldn't articulate in his mind what he would say to her or how she would react.

Soon, Ronald joined the duo and apologized for being late. "I did my best to hurry, but it wasn't fast enough. I shall strive to do better in the future." William glared at him and Ronald continued, "Hey now, I said I was sorry. I had to give Grell his Death Scythe before he and Lilliana went off on their job."

"Wait, Grell and Lilliana?" Katia asked.

"Yes. I assigned her to work with that cretin so he would stay on task after getting released from suspension," William said.

"Well, you're just full of secrets today, William, but I guess that explains why she isn't here with Ciel and Sebastian."

"I'm starting to get jealous though. That job looked a lot easier than this one from what I can see here," Ronald said, pointing at the numerous Records slithering by them.

"Honestly, we must not become emotionally involved. Doing so only causes trouble. Lilliana may have the strength if needed to subdue Sutcliff, but I was afraid she would try to save some of the souls of people she knew. Luckily, the ones to be collected were not. Our job as Grim Reapers is to examine and collect souls in accordance to the list distributed by our supervisors. That's it, nothing more," William practically lectured.

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard the speech before. Everyone knows what their job is without you having to hammer it in all the time," Ronald said as he revved his lawnmower, ready to collect a soul.

"Is that Death Scythe of yours approved for soul harvesting?" William asked.

"The form is all in order, don't you worry. I have a lady friend in General Affairs."

"The cause of death for a good number of these souls is a fire. However, despite what the files say, it was started by a demon," Katia said as she collected another soul.

"What? You can't be serious!" Ronald exclaimed.

"However, he wasn't the only demon here. Two souls were contracted by demons, one that we figured out to be a succubus, but the other was a high-ranking demon that would have been difficult to take down. We lost those two souls, but the rest remain. Apparently, our fire-starter isn't the type to scavenge for food, but we mustn't be careless," she continued, leaving out important details. "Though, paperwork is going to be endless regarding those lost souls."

"Regardless, it is our job to collect each and every remaining soul. Let's finish before our shift ends," William said.

"Yes sir," the two others said in unison as the three of them ventured into the burning manor to locate the remaining souls.

After some time, the three of them split up to find any remaining Cinematic Records lurking around. They collected nearly all of them, but there were still some unaccounted for, excluding the two contracted souls. William looked through each room, hoping to find the rest and return to Headquarters to finish the paperwork. However, as he entered one room, he was shocked to see a living being not engulfed by the flames surrounding them, but even more shocking was the resemblance.

She was messing with her hair in a melting mirror, but when she saw him, she turned around and pouted. "I was expecting that little American girl to come here. I didn't expect to see you again, mon cher," she said calmly.

"You . . . ," was all he could muster. Not again. Not now.

"I don't expect to fool you twice, especially after our little incident a couple of nights ago," Eris said before changing her appearance to her usual form. "You Reapers think you're so sneaky, but we knew that she was watching us from outside the manor."

"Why . . . Why do you haunt me?" William said, slowly regaining the strength to confront her fully.

"I didn't mean to, dearie. I didn't think you would be here, but this is part of your investigation. I shouldn't be too surprised," she said before walking toward him. "Tell me, Will, how it felt to finally get what you wanted for centuries, even if it wasn't fully realized."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said as he tried to grab his Death Scythe to strike her, but she swiftly took it out of his hands and threw it away from them.

"It's just a simple question. You don't need your little toy to talk. Now, answer me."

"It felt unnatural. I was under some spell to make me do those things—,"

Eris laughed. "You can't admit it, even now! How pathetic! I know your deepest desires, even if you don't know it, remember? Well, since you won't admit it, I'll tell you exactly how it felt," she said as she got close to his face that she could have kissed him if she tried. "It was euphoric. After many long years of hiding those desires with conformity and professionalism, you had a moment where you could be honest with yourself and she would have done anything you wanted."

"By 'she', you mean 'you'?" William argued.

"I'm not so sure about that," she said with a smirk. "But, as I looked into your eyes, I notice something more and more fascinating that I never expected from a man of your divinity."

"And that would be?"

"It isn't just lust I sensed. There was something much deeper that I rarely see. With the licentious people I encountered, I was in no short of people who only lusted for others, whether wishing for a night or a lifetime of carnal pleasure. However, there are the exceptions that would like that as well, but something more . . . intimate with the person they desired. They cared about them, wanted to protect them and keep them happy, provided for them. They would do anything for the other person and that was enough for them. You're the same for Lilliana."

"What?! You're out of your mind!" William exclaimed, taking a step back.

"I thought I was for a while. Isn't your kind supposed to be devoid of emotion? Now, how can a Grim Reaper even have inklings of a human emotion like love? It's unheard of!"

"Quit it! Whatever you saw was in the past when I was a naive student attracted to the first girl I saw."

"Non, non, non, William. They are as real now as they were back then. I argue that they are more profound now. That guilt you harbored for having to cut off your emotions for her still exists inside you. You just refuse to see it, especially when you have such a high standing in your little Association. You couldn't let a scandal ruin your reputation and she was and still remains to be nothing but one."

"Reapers can't feel love. It's impossible, downright absurd."

Eris smirked. "That's not what Thomas Wallace thought when he wrote that book about you two." William's eyes widened at that name. "In that book, Will was willing to give up his very existence for the human named Lily, but here you are, pretending she is nothing more than a coworker. She must have felt heartbroken when she became part of the Association and you threw her aside. Actually, I know exactly how she felt. I saw it in her eyes," she said as she turned back into Lilliana. "It was so sad, William. You abandoned me, and although I understood why you and Grell did it, I felt so hurt how quickly you two turned on me and saw me as a monster. I thought you and I had something between us, but you would rather keep your reputation than be with me."

"That's not true. . . . I wouldn't . . . ,"

"You were being promoted to supervisor when I came back and had to keep a front that Upper Management would approve. I just wish I wasn't the sacrifice needed."

"Lilliana . . . ," he said in a genuine sad tone. He had no idea how she felt that entire time. When she joined their ranks, she kept her distance from them as they did with her. She didn't try to rekindle the friendship they had, but Grell was quick to call her the monster and shun her. Was he worse by not defending her? The most he did was tell Grell to hide his bias in front of others since she is one of them now. She didn't seem heartbroken, but she was clearly annoyed, if not angered, by their presence, even refusing to live in the Shinigami Realm and lived on her own in the human world. Upper Management didn't like that and told him to track her down and bring her back before they had to rehabilitate her again. That's when she found additional employment. "I'm sorry."

"For what, exactly?"

"For pushing you away all this time, but it was part of the job. We keep emotions out of our work to cause little trouble as possible. I was just so blind by that notion that I failed to see what it was doing to you."

"William," she said as she kissed him and he embraced her. However, he came to his senses quickly, remembering where he was and what he was doing. More importantly, he remembered who she was and pushed her away forcefully. "My, my, you were so caught up in your feelings that you neglected reality for a bit. I must be a good actress," Eris said with a smirk.

"You vile beast! Your kind is known for manipulating others to get what you want! It's no wonder that Lilliana cannot stand you, especially after what you did," he said, his anger finally showing its true form.

"Oh, right, her anger. Well, despite it being easily displayed, all that rage was genuine. She really wanted to kill me for having you first. Dare I say, she didn't want anyone to have you?"

"Enough of your lies!"

"But I'm not lying. Why else would she be so angry at me if it wasn't jealousy?"

"What would she have to be jealous of?" he asked with a little pain in his voice.

Eris sensed this and dropped her playful teasing tone as she continued, "Well, she's envies of a lot of people, actually. She envies demons for their freedom, yet envies other Grim Reapers for being accepted by each other. She envies Sebastian for being able to leave his duties once the contract is complete. But most of all, she was jealous of anyone who was close to the first man she developed feelings for. She secretly wants to have you back, but sadly, you would never see her the same way ever again, or at least, not until now, I hope."

"You really expect me to believe that Lilliana lusts for me?"

"Non, not lust; it's the same exact feelings as you. She knows her relationship with Sebastian won't last, so she claims to not grow attached to him, but you and I both know that's not exactly true. Though, she's trying to accept that she'll be parted from him once the contract ends, she will eventually need a shoulder to cry on. I just hope that shoulder will be yours."

"These words you spout are nothing more than elaborate stories designed to sway me into a false mentality. I won't fall for it," he said as he pushed his glasses back.

She sighed. "I tried my best, but both of you are as stubborn as ever," she said as she changed back into her normal appearance. "Just keep my words in your thoughts, oui?"

"I'd rather not," he said as headed towards to the door. He swung it open, but was surprised to see Katia fall on the ground, away from the door. "Ms. Vendoa, what are you—?"

However, she couldn't let him finish his question as she quickly got up and started running away from him, with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry!"

"Huh, I was mistaken. Apparently Reapers can be sneaky."

How will Grell and Lilliana's fight play out? How does William truly feel? What did Katia see/hear? Reviews are appreciated!