Author's note: For the purposes of this chapter, the start and end of the cinematic record happenings/memories will be labeled, and Chêne's 'narration' of it will be [bracketed and italicized like this.]

Also, someone asked me to clarify this again, but Chêne is not actually a demon or a half-demon. She is a 'Methuselah', a human that (with supernatural help of some kind) has become immortal and, in her case, also gained eternal youth. She doesn't actually need Sebastian's blood to survive, and she isn't a vampire. That was a sneaky way for Sebastian to get closer to her. (There is another thing I realized I might not have explained clearly, but since no one actually asked about it, that will be explained at the bottom.) I'll let you get to the story now (^_^;)

I own nothing but my OC.


That Butler, A Colleague 2


≤speech in Indian language≥

'thoughts'

"speech"

{setting/stage directions?}

SOUND EFFECTS

An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration for dreams or stuff like written letters.

=†=†=†=†= scene shift/time shift

—^—^—^— change of perspective/area of action within one specific time frame/location


Previously:

"Right, then. Smile." Will said abruptly, addressing Ciel, causing the boy to grimace as he flinched involuntarily at the ridiculous name. "I'm counting on you to hold your dog's lead tight."

"I don't want to hear it from 'Specs', who can't even manage a conversation properly." Ciel said mockingly.

"I am not 'Specs'. I am Suit." Will corrected him seriously, adjusting his glasses again.

"Hmph. Come on, Chêne, Sebastian." Ciel said as he turned on his heel and signaled for them to follow.

"Yes, Sir." Sebastian replied dutifully.

"Coming." Chêne said, smiling as she walked alongside Sebastian, holding onto his arm.

"…" Suit said as he watched them go. He narrowed his eyes. Something was very different about that girl, and he aimed to find out what it was…


{Back in the training tent…}

"Well… Now here's what ye've been waiting forrr~! Time to announce room assignments for the rookies~!" Joker announced happily once he had returned from performing.

"Yes…" Ciel groaned in relief, utterly exhausted after being put through the wringer by Dagger during his training. He was still trying to catch his breath. Dagger smiled wryly as he, Sebastian, and Chêne glanced at the boy, sweat dropping. Why did the air around Ciel feel so oppressive and thick with suffering? Chêne decided that she really needed to start making Ciel exercise more… This was just pathetic.

"What's wrong there, smile? You look down~!" Joker teased, smiling brightly. "Smile, smile~!"

"Y-Yes…" Ciel mumbled, sweat dropping. 'The training is more exhausting than I'd thought…!!' He sighed internally, chagrined. Sebastian was one thing, but… how could Chêne still be perfectly fine after everything they'd been doing!? She might not be completely human anymore, but she was only slightly stronger than the average human, so she should be exhausted too, right? …Why was it just him?

"The results of the impartial lottery are as follows––Smile will be in tent eight." Joker announced. "This is your roommate." He told Ciel, gesturing to a teenager who looked to be in between Chêne and Ciel's ages. This teen was also rather attractive, for a boy, and he had chestnut brown hair, blue eyes, and lots of freckles… strangely enough, this kid looked like he could have been Ciel and Chêne's secret love child in another life… Weird.

Ciel's new roommate gave him a friendly smile.

'I'm suddenly sharing a room with a stranger… This will make things difficult.' Ciel thought as he nodded his head at the other boy in greeting, feeling a little apprehensive about these new arrangements.

"And… Black and Cat will be in tent nine." Joker added.

"!!? Seba––Neither Black, nor Cat, and I will be in the same tent!?" Ciel shouted incredulously, shocked. Chêne sweat dropped. Was it really that big of deal? It's not like they wouldn't be able to se each other again… Ciel could just come to their tent when they needed to talk… She noticed Sebastian was sporting a brilliant shit-eating grin. He looked rather pleased to know they were getting their own tent.

"Hn? That's right… so?" Joker said, also not seeing what the problem was.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Smile sure is sweet on those two." Dagger laughed. Ciel reminded him of a kid being separate from mommy and daddy for the first time. How cute.

"Th-That isn't what I mean––" Ciel tried to correct him, blushing, as he sweated nervously.

"Ye gotta learn to be more independent!" Dagger teased him.

'This isn't good. If I'm separated from Sebastian, I won't be able to move about––' Ciel thought anxiously."I really do think I should be with––"

"And they're roommate is––Suit!" Joker announced suddenly, as though he had almost forgotten.

CRRRAAAACK––!

You could practically hear Sebastian and Will's inner worlds shattering after receiving such disturbing news.

"Wha––!?" Ciel and Chêne shouted incredulously as they flinched in shock. Why did they have to put those two together in a confined space––Were they trying to start WWIII!?

"Black, Cat, 'n' Smile are already friends. We can't separate a married couple, so they were entered into the lottery together on one slip o' paper. This's yer chance to make new friends~!" Dagger told Ciel, smiling, as Joker laughed. "Ain't that great!?"

'But why is he with us…? If they're keeping us together out of respect for our marriage, then shouldn't we be allowed a little more privacy…?' Chêne wondered, sweat dropping. Wouldn't it make more sense to put the single man in with the two kids…? She glanced at Sebastian and Will. They were currently locked in a really intense glaring contest.

"Guess we're outta here. Ye kids get to know each other now~!" Joker said cheerfully as he and Dagger stared to walk away.

"Hey, Wai––" Ciel and Chêne shouted after them desperately, reaching out to the two men. Don't just leave us and runaway on your own!!

"Righty, sleep tiiiight~!" Dagger called back over his shoulder cheerfully, bidding them all goodnight, before exiting the tent with Joker.

"This is the worst." Will said darkly, frowning slightly in disgust, as he and Sebastian continued their glare-down. To think he would be rooming with this noxious beast…

"My thoughts exactly." Sebastian replied coolly, as he smirked bitterly and glared harshly at the irritating reaper.

"… Oy, vey..." Chêne sighed, sweat dropping, as she pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling a tension headache coming on. This was going to be a long night…

"Nice to meetcha, Smile! Let's shake hands~!" Smile's freckle-faced new roommate said cheerfully, giving him a friendly smile.

"… Right…" Ciel said hesitantly as he shook the other boy's hand. It couldn't be helped. He would just have to make do…

=†=†=†=†=

{Tent Nine…}

"I refuse to share a tent with a noxious beast." Suit stated bluntly, refusing to budge and grant Sebastian and Chêne entrance to their new room.

"Oh, grow up! Look, none of us are happy about this, but if we make too much of a fuss, we'll just end up drawing negative attention to ourselves. Do you want to blow your cover?" Chêne asked, placing her hands on her hips, as she stared expectantly at him. He was really starting to get on her nerves…

"Hmph. I don't see why I should let you in when I don't even know what you are." Suit countered, staring at Chêne rather contemptuously. "I know he must have done something to stop you from dying that night, because not only are you alive when you shouldn't be, but there is something very strange about your presence."

"I've always been strange." Chêne replied matter-of-factly, shrugging carelessly. "You're gonna have to be more specific."

"… Before, you told me your name was 'Chêne LeBeau'… correct?" Suit asked her, narrowing his eyes slightly in suspicion. "That was a lie, was it not?"

"While I quite understand that your aversion to myself is only natural… please do try to remember to treat my wife with the proper respect, just as you would any other lady… Suit." Sebastian said sternly, smiling a rather frightening shit-eating grin as a vein throbbed on his forehead, and he placed his hands on Chêne's shoulders supportively.

"After our encounter, I checked the list of the dead again and again, but the name 'Chêne LeBeau' never appeared on it. Not only that, but there are no records of any human with that name matching your description. According to our records–– which are infallible––you, 'Chêne LeBeau', were never even born. Therefore, you cannot be who you claim to be." Suit explained to Chêne calmly, ignoring the angry demon behind her. "Unless you can provide me with proof that you are who you say you are, I will not allow either one of you to step foot inside this tent."

Sebastian and Chêne sweat dropped, chagrined, as vein marks throbbed on their foreheads. If they weren't trying to keep a low profile for Ciel's investigation… they'd have definitely kicked his ass by now!

"Heh. You would not believe the truth, even if we told you." Sebastian said, smirking cynically. "Stop this nonsense, and let us inside before we start to attract any unwanted attention."

"… I don't have any physical proof that I am who I say I am, at least not anything you would take seriously. Since that's the case…" Chêne said thoughtfully. "… What if I let you look at my cinematic record? Memories can't lie, right? You'll see be able to see what happened in the past exactly as I experienced it." She suggested practically. "Just don't look at anything after our wedding. That's private and off limits." She added, blushing shyly. She didn't want to show him everything. That would be way too embarrassing…

"… Wedding?" Suit asked, stunned. He thought they were just pretending to be a couple as part of their cover. There was no way a demon would actually concede to receiving the holy sacrament of marriage… right?

"You don't have to look that surprised." Chêne deadpanned, chagrined. "I know I'm short and have a baby face, but is it that unbelievable someone might want to marry me…?"

"Just ignore him, Chêne. He must be blind (even with those glasses) if he can't understand your charm." Sebastian deadpanned, giving Suit a pitying stare, as he sighed, as though he were looking at some poor, deprived child who could not even know how truly delicious the candy in front of him was.

A vein mark throbbed on Suit's head. This stupid couple was starting to get on his nerves… Also… why did he have to receive such a disgusting look from a noxious beast? He coughed to clear his throat.

"Very well, then." Suit said calmly, readjusting his glasses again. "I shall take you up on your offer."

SHAKIIIIN––!

"––!!" Chêne yelped in surprise, throwing herself into a backbend to avoid being gutted by his Scythe as it shot straight at her. "Oiiii…!? You seriously tried to kill me just now, didn't you!?" Chêne demanded incredulously, vein throbbing on her head, as she pushed herself back on her feet, ready to smack some sense into the jerk, but then she realized someone else had already beat her to it… Sebastian had attacked Suit the instant he was certain Chêne was uninjured and not in need of his help. However, Suit had managed to block Sebastian's attack, and he was struggling to push the demon back. The demon and reaper glared fiercely at each other.

"That was a warning, Reaper… Do not attack her again." Sebastian growled dangerously. His crimson eyes were practically burning with the promise of extremely painful retribution should the reaper make another attempt on Chêne's life.

"She is the one who told me to cut her with my Scythe. The two of you should already be well aware that this is the way we view a person's cinematic records." Suit replied, not looking the least bit apologetic.

"I obviously meant for you to give me a superficial wound––Not a mortal blow!" Chêne whisper-yelled, chagrined, as she bopped him on the head, knocking his glasses loose.

"!" Suit gasped in surprise as he quickly caught them and placed them back on his face properly. "Please refrain from touching my glasses!" He said scolded her sternly.

"Fine! As long as you refrain from trying to kill me!" Chêne huffed indignantly, crossing her arms. "Okay, so just cut the palm of my hand or something this time. I don't want to get any blood stains on my costume." She said, furrowing her brow slightly in annoyance, as she held out her open hand to Suit.

"Oh? You're still willing to let him look?" Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow at her. If not for Ciel's investigation, Sebastian would have been more than happy to perform his own special brand of magic, and make 'Suit'… disappear…

"He's an ass, but we're stuck with him. If we cause trouble for the troupe by continuing like this, it'll just complicate things for our investigations. We've already agreed not to interfere with each other, right?" Chêne said, sighing tiredly. "It's getting late, and I just want to go to bed… So if I let you take a peek, I'm expecting you to leave us alone after this. We can even divide up the room between us, if you want, I don't care anymore." She told Suit, covering her mouth with her other hand as she yawned sleepily.

"… Fine." Suit agreed reluctantly. He was having enough trouble against just the demon alone… If both of them came at him together, then it would be really troublesome…

Chêne winced slightly as the reaper used his Scythe to make a shallow cut in her open hand.

'So, she still feels just as sensitive to pain as normal human would…' Suit thought as he calmly watched the blood oozing from her cut transform into reels of film to play out a special drama, which only the three of them could see.

∞—Chêne LeBeau Michaelis' Cinematic Record—∞

"… n…" They heard a soft, female voice call out something muffled. "… ne… Chêne!" Pomona's voice called out more clearly as the scene came into focus. A very small brunette with bright, pale green eyes glanced up from her crayon drawing as her mother entered the room, laden down with a rather large diaper bag and a purse, and holding Chêne's baby sister, Laurie. The seven-year-old Chêne instantly brightened, grinning happily when she saw her mother.

"PomPom~! Look it!" Chêne said excitedly as she popped up from her seat on the floor excitedly and held up her abstract drawing. "I drew this for you~! It's a 'Picasso'!"

"That's nice, sweetie." Pomona replied absentmindedly as she set Laurie's baby carrier down on the floor and started frantically searching all over the place for something. Chêne pouted slightly, miffed that her mother was ignoring her.

"Hmph! You didn't even look at it." Chêne huffed as she stuck her nose in the air, turning her back on her busy mother. "That's 'kay, though 'cuz Laurie likes my drawing, right?" Chêne said, smiling sweetly as she held the drawing up to show her baby sister. The infant Laurie cooed happily at the sight of her older sister and wrapped her little fingers around a couple of Chêne's. Chêne giggled cheerfully and hugged her baby sister, being very careful not to squeeze too hard. She understood that babies were fragile and had to be treated with care.

"Chêne! Have you seen my car keys anywhere?" Pomona shouted from across the room. Laurie giggled. "Oh? So you think your mother's suffering is funny, do you…?" Pomona asked the infant, sweat dropping, feeling slightly chagrined. Compared to the angel Chêne had been at that age, Laurie was a regular imp, and worst of all… The child just would not sleep at night! Poor Pomona was stating to get dark circles under her eyes.

"… Have you checked the bottom of your purse yet?" Chêne asked her mother, as she furrowed her little brow slightly in concentration. She was positively adorable.

"Aww~! You look positively adorable~!" Pomona cooed as she glomped little Chêne and nuzzled her. "You look just like your papa whenever you make a serious expression~!"

'That's 'cause you don't have a serious expression…' Chêne thought, sweat dropping, as she let her mom swing her around. "Are we goin' somewheres?" Little Chêne asked curiously.

"No, sorry sweetie, but it's just me and Laurie going out this time." Pomona said, smiling apologetically, as she set her elder daughter back down on the floor. "I have to run a few errands, and take her to the doctors to make sure her insomnia is just her messing with us, and not because she's coming down with somethi––"

"Is Laurie gonna be okaaaayy!?" Chêne demanded anxiously as she suddenly tackled Pomona with almost as much force of a professional linebacker. Tears were starting to form in her innocent little eyes at the thought of her sister being hurt. Pomona sweat dropped.

"Yeah, Laurie will be fine… but now Momma might need to see the doctor too…" Pomona said, smiling wryly, as she rubbed her aching side. It seemed her daughter had inherited her tendency to suddenly exhibit freaky strength when worried about others.

DING~DONG~!

"Oh, good! That must be the baby-sitter." Pomona said, sighing in relief, as she got up to answer the door. They were already running late, enough as it was!

[My mother, who used to be a nurse at a local hospital, always seemed to be in hurry and rushing out the door, because she was always needed somewhere by someone… whether it was me and my sister, or the people at the hospital… It was a little lonely, being left behind…]

"Chêne, this is Sarah, your baby-sitter. Be good for her while I'm gone, okay?" Pomona told young Chêne, as she gathered up her things again.

" 'kaaay, bye-bye, PomPom~! Bye-bye Laurie~!" Chêne said, smiling brightly as she waved goodbye to her mother and sister.

[But I knew keeping busy was just my mother's way of distracting herself from how worried she was about my father and how much she missed him… I knew, because I was scared too… Scared that my dad might not be coming back this time…because, unlike the last time he was called in… we were at war, now. We were both scared because he was supposed to be coming home that day, but we hadn't heard from him at all in the past week, and they had decided he was 'MIA'… But I knew he would make it back to us, I just wasn't sure when…]

"Hey, kid…" They baby-sitter said abruptly, dropping the smile she had plastered onto her face while she saw Pomona to the door. "I don't really care what you do, just don't bug me." The teen said bluntly as she pulled out her phone and started texting.

"…" Little Chêne said as she stared blankly at the rude girl. "… PomPom must've been 'despharate.'" She stated bluntly before running off to play with her beloved Cat, Jasper.

"Wha––!?" Her mean baby-sitter shouted incredulously as she finally looked up

from her phone. She sweat dropped, chagrined. The little brat had already disappeared… Whatever. She went back to texting.

[My father was a soldier, a United States Marine… that was the only thing that made me any different from the other kids on the block…]

"Whoa~! Look at that one go, Jasper~!" Chêne shouted excitedly as she set her homemade sushi-tray sailboat free and watched it drift away on the rainwater that was still draining from the street after yesterday's storm. Jasper purred as she rubbed up against her honorary kitten/owner. Chêne giggled as Jasper's whiskers tickled her little legs. "Haha~! That tickl––"

Chêne froze, her little eyes widened in shock.

"Don't move." A deep and heavily accented, male voice growled sternly from behind her as something cold, and hard was pressed to her head. Jasper arched her back and flattened her ears as she hissed menacingly at the man standing behind Chêne.

[My father was a soldier… a soldier who had been sent to fight in Afghanistan, after the terrorist attack on 9/11… I saw the attack on TV… I saw my cousin's crying face as they interviewed her at her school, jus a few blocks away from the Trade Center… My father knew I was scared… I saw what 'terrorists' could do and I was terrified…
That's why he taught me about the enemy and how not all Muslims were like that, so I wouldn't be scared… so I wouldn't let myself be blinded or paralyzed by fear and hatred...]

"Get up." The man ordered.

Little Chêne bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes. She very cautiously turned her head ever so slightly, just enough to be able to see the man's reflection in the water. She could see the part of the gun…

"N…No." Chêne stuttered softly. Her lower lip was trembling as she forced herself to speak. "Noooooo!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she grabbed a fist full of mud and threw it in his eyes. She ran.

[My father was a soldier… so he taught me how to fight… He taught me about his gun and how to recognize whether or not the safety was on, because I was forbidden to touch it without him around, especially without the safety on…
So I knew… I knew when I saw the gun––The safety was still on.
I knew then that this would be my only chance to get away… Even as such a small child, I knew enough to realize that once my attacker recovered… once he took the safety off of his gun… I would be helpless against him…]

"Hel––mfgh!!" Chêne tried to scream again, to draw witnesses that might scare her attacker into leaving out of fear of being caught, but another man, that she hadn't noticed before, suddenly ran out in front of her, and grabbed her, slapping a hand over her mouth. The two men started arguing about something in Arabic as the man holding her tried to get her into the van their getaway driver was waiting in. Chêne tried to bite his hand, but she couldn't. She tried to scream, but she couldn't. She tried to kick, but she couldn't. They were about to shut the door, when it happened. Jasper, who had been hissing and clawing at their legs throughout the struggle, took a mighty leap and launched herself at the man shutting the door. Letting loose a mighty yowl.

"MMRREOOOWWWW!" Jasper screeched furiously as she dug her claws into the man's eyes savagely, inflicting as much damage as possible.

"AAARRGHHH!?" The man screamed in agony as he desperately tried to pull Jasper off of him.

"Jasper––!" Chêne cried, reaching out to her faithful cat.

BANG.

"… Eh…?" Chêne gasped, stunned. Her eyes widened in shock as drops of Jasper's blood splattered onto her little face. Tears welled up in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as she shook her head in disbelief, horrified by what she had just seen. "EEYAAAAAAAH––!" She shrieked, wailing like a banshee in her grief, as the injured man stumbled into the van and slammed the door shut.

"Silence!!" The man restraining her shouted angrily, before telling the driver something in their native language.

"NOOOO! YOU KILLLED HER!!" Chêne screamed hysterically, out of her mind with grief. "JASPPPERRR!! JAAASSPPPEEERRRRR!!! JAAS––"

––WHACK!

Chêne's vision faded to black as she lost consciousness.

[I was a just a normal little girl… A normal, happy little girl who lived a happy little life...
The only thing different about me was that my father was a soldier… just that… Until that day, when I watched my beloved friend and protector get shot right before my eyes. She was still alive when those bastards threw her under the wheels of the van and ran her over…

I couldn't handle the shock of losing her…my first and only friend at that point in my life… Not her, who had always stayed with me since birth––

Not my Jasper…!]

The next scene shifted to a rundown shack in the middle of a swamp––the middle of nowhere.

"Move." One of the men ordered Chêne, shoving her towards the shack. Chêne stumbled forward blindly, still too numb with shock from witnessing the brutal death of one of her most important friends to deal with the reality before her. She couldn't feel anything… She couldn't hear anything… She was a ghost…

A living corpse…

Chêne sat in a dark and dank room with several other children. They were all hungry and tired. They were all scared. None of them knew what to do.
[Until that day, I had never known how cruel the world could be… I knew bad things happened to other people... I knew other kids went missing... I knew other people suffered…

… And now I knew that I could too…
I was the daughter of an American soldier… and now, I knew that was all it took for someone to hate me… For that reason alone…

We were taken…]

––CRASH!

SLAP!

Chêne grunted in pain as she landed harshly on the floor of the shack after being backhanded by one of the men. She glared up at him defiantly as she scooted away from the broken camera that she had just deliberately knocked over, and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

[I was the daughter of an American soldier… and one thing my father taught me, was that we do not give in to terrorists… Being scared wouldn't save me. It didn't save any of the other children, either. They were all dead now. I was the last, the only one who had managed to delay being filmed for my 'proof of life'. I knew once they had what they needed… they would kill me, too. This was not about religion or justice, as they had claimed… It was obvious, even to a child like me, that no matter what oaths they swore, no matter what lofty morals and high goals they claimed… Theses people were no martyrs.]

The other terrorists came into the room and started yelling about the broken camera. They argued amongst themselves, before one of them shoved Chêne to the floor and started kicking her.

[Theses people had been hurt––burned by the world somehow––and now, they wanted others to hurt too… They just wanted someone else to burn in retribution for their suffering. We were just children, but that didn't matter to them. They didn't care that we were innocent––that some of us couldn't even spell 'terrorist' yet––All that mattered to them… was that our fathers were soldiers of a country that had everything the wanted but never had.
I was no longer afraid of these men… I pitied them. They were pathetic.

These men had let their pain and hatred consume them to the point where they couldn't even be called human anymore. They were all completely and utterly alone inside. No matter what these men did, they would never find peace now. Not in life, here on earth, and certainly not in death, wherever it may take us…

It is hard to imagine that there is a heaven right now.

But I hope there is one, a heaven… I hope that's where all of those other children are now… a place where no one will ever hurt them again… I hope Jasper is there too… maybe then I can see her again someday…

I'm so tired, almost wish I could join them… but I can't, not yet… because I still…]

"Hmm… What have we here?" A male voice asked casually as a dark figure loomed over Chêne. Chêne stared up at him. Her eyes were starting to glaze over. She was in so much pain that she could barely even breathe. She couldn't focus her vision enough to see his face clearly, but he was wearing black, leather dress men's dress shoes and a black suit… and he seemed to be carrying a weed-whacker…

"…" Chêne said, trying to ask who he was. This guy was new. He didn't have an accent, and his skin was white. For a moment, she wondered if Pomona had threatened the FBI into coming to get her… The woman could be pretty scary when she was mad…

"A-ah, poor thing… you can't even speak, can you?" He asked, sighing as he shook his head. "I swear, humans do the most horrific things to each other! So scary~!" He said carelessly as he flipped through a book. "Hmm… I don't see your face in here, so I guess I'll check back after I've taken care of those other kids that are already waiting for me!" He snapped the book shut and whistled as he walked across the room, where they had piled up the bodies of the other children.

WRRRR––VWRRRRR!

Tears rolled down Chêne's cheeks silently as she watched the strange, new man rev up his weed-whacker and proceed to shred the children's corpses with it.

'Oh God, please…!' Chêne prayed as she squeezed her eyes shut. Why was he doing this to them…? Even if those kids were dead already, she didn't want to see them get hurt anymore…hadn't they done enough? Why did they have to mutilate their corpses, too!? 'Dear, God… Please, don't let my mother cry too much… Please, at least let my father have made it back home to her safely… And please, give my sister a guardian angel that will keep her safe… She doesn't have a Jasper…'

"Let's see now… Let me just check this one more time." The man said as he walked back over to Chêne and squatted down beside her. "Ah! Here you are… Chêne LeBeau––Born October 31, 1995…" He trailed off as he continued to read. There were 'special instruction's under her name. "No freakin' waaaay––!?" He shouted incredulously. "Well, if that don't put pepper in the gumbo! Hey, kid. Do you know what this says––code 42––You're a freakin' honest-to-goodness 'code 42'! Do you know how rare that is!? Damn… I wonder what you did to get yourself labeled as a 'code 42'…. Well, no point in askin' you, since you probably don't even realize what I am, let alone what a 'code 42'… Well, don't worry, you won't be confused for long, 'cuz I'm gonna have to make you forget you saw me. It'll still be in your record so other reapers will see this and know not to reap you, but you aren't gonna remember a single thing about me. Since I can't take you with me, I guess you're just going to have to save yourself… I still can't believe a little thing like you is a 'code 42'!" He told her, sounding absolutely amazed. "Ah!" He suddenly gasped in realization as he turned to look directly into the 'camera' (or whatever was being used to record this). "Hey, you! Any reapers watching this in the future had better stop, 'cause the show's over! This is a 'code 42', so if you accidentally sliced her open, patch her up and get out! Now!"

FSZZT––BEEEEEEEEEEP!

∞—End of Chêne LeBeau Michaelis' Cinematic Record—∞

"… What was that?" Chêne asked, feeling extremely confused. "Why did it just suddenly turn to static before showing that 'no broadcast' image, while playing that extremely annoying beeping sound? We were just getting to the good part, when I trick those bastards into giving me a flashlight so I can signal for help, and my dad busts in and saves me… It didn't even show the part about how I came here!" That had been what she meant to show him, since it would explain why no records of her existence (that weren't fabricated by Ciel and Sebastian) could be found in this world.

"You… are a 'code 42'…!?" Suit asked, stunned. "Not only that, but you are from an 'AU'…"

"What is a 'code 42'?" Sebastian asked, furrowing his brow as he frowned, trying to suppress his anger. Whatever it was must be terribly important, because this uptight reaper was visibly shaken by the revelation, so he was intrigued, but watching the smaller version of his Chêne and the heroic Jasper be abused so horribly had gotten his blood boiling. Those terrorists had no idea how lucky they were to have a whole universe separating them from the enraged demon. Chêne gently held his hand and squeezed it reassuringly, reminding him she was okay now.

"And what's an 'AU'…? If this were a fanfiction, I'd think it meant 'Author's Universe' or something, but… Something tells me that's not quite right…" Chêne said thoughtfully.

"You were close, but completely wrong." Suit said as he adjusted his glasses, wondering what Chêne was talking about, while ignoring Sebastian's question. "'AU' stands for 'Alternate Universe'. You were originally from another world, yes?"

"Yes." Chêne replied seriously, nodding. Well, at least he wasn't staring at her like she was insane… more like he had just found out Santa Claus was actually real, and she was his incarnation... She noticed that Sebastian's aura was darkening even more. The demon didn't like the way the reaper was staring at his wife with such open admiration, while choosing to ignore his own presence. Chêne sweat dropped. "And, what's a 'code 42', if you don't mind me asking? The meaning of life?" She asked, laughing a little at her own reference to a certain comedic British movie/novel.

"How did you know? That information is top secret." Will said, dead serious. Chêne sweat dropped.

"Seriously? No way! I refuse to believe that the meaning of life, our purpose here on earth, boils down to some crummy two-digit number! I hate math!" Chêne protested, absolutely appalled. She knew math was important, but damn…! Will and Sebastian both sweat dropped.

"What on earth are you talking about? '42' is just an arbitrary number someone picked a long time ago." Will explained patiently. "It is by no means the answer to life itself."

"Oh, well… I guess Hollywood lied to me, then… again." Chêne said, earning an amused smirk from Sebastian. He, at least, understood what she meant by that, having had the movie industry in her world explained to him once.

"… At any rate, I cannot reveal too many details of our inner workings to an outsider, but 'code 42s' are people whose existences have been predicted and/or proven to be beneficial to the world. Depending on what their exact role in history will be, their names are temporarily removed from the death list and they are allowed to survive any events that might lead to a premature death, until they have finished 'playing their part'." Will continued to explain.

'That must be why I survived so many freak accidents…' Chêne thought, sweat dropping. She needed both hands to count the number of her near-death experiences… She noticed Sebastian was staring at her, having obviously come to a similar conclusion himself.

"But what makes me a '42'?" Chêne asked curiously. "And why are you suddenly answering my questions so politely, but ignoring Sebastian?"

"My apologies. I did not realize you were a 'code 42', but I know better now." Will said, giving a slight bow. "You see 'code 42s' are extremely rare and very valuable to us reapers, because 'code 42s' almost invariably have the side-effect of reducing our workload, and therefore, make it less likely that we shall be forced into overtime without pay." 'Although, I have no idea how this girl would be capable of such a thing, seeing as she is consorting with one of noxious beasts that are our main reason for headaches…' Will thought to himself. "However, killing one without authorization, especially one from an AU (and therefore belonging to another jurisdiction), will result in punishments so severe, that they cannot even be spoken of out loud." He added, with a glint in his eye. Chêne had a feeling it was probably something like being sentenced to overtime without pay for life.

'He must really hate overtime… Well, at least he won't be trying to kill me again…' Chêne thought, sweat dropping.


Author's note:

So... the other thing I mentioned in the first note... I'm not sure if I explained this, and I'm a bit too busy to read back at the moment, but... don't freak out now...

Grandma Willow's full name: Willow Anne Devinette–LeBeau.

That's right, Pomona and Captain LeBeau's wedding was the 'LeBeau–LeBeau' party. But before you freak out about them having the same last name before marriage, please read this:

Once upon a time (centuries and centuries ago),
There was once a single 'LeBeau' clan in Poitou, France, that started with Seigneur (lord) Nicolas Beau, a knight of Sainte-Gemme and Bourgneuf in 1309. From there, the clan branched out, and different variations of the original surname evolved, including 'LeBeau'. The large LeBeau family had split into two main groups: the Huguenots (French Protestants) and Roman Catholics. During the 1500s, when Hugenots were being persecuted, some members of the Catholic side helped their protestant cousins escape to England. From then on, they were two evolved into two entirely separate families, to the point where they are no longer even genetically related close enough to be considered really distant cousins (they're literally everywhere too). So, after several generations, Pomona LeBeau and Cpt. Jean LeBeau met, fell in love, and got hitched in the 1990's. And that's why it's not creepy~! XD

Thanks if you bothered to read this ^_^;