That Butler, Executor


I own nothing but my OC.

≤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:

"But Chêne—"

"Chêne is not here! I command you!!" Ciel roared furiously as he grabbed his demon butler by the head, breathing hard. "Hah…! Haah." Well, that was that. Sebastian couldn't defy a direct order. He knew Chêne would be quite cross with them if she ever found out, but… as Ciel said, Chêne wasn't there. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. The more he thought about it, the more this seemed to be for the best. That dream she had about children burning… He looked around at the children in the cages. None of them looked familiar, which would explain why Chêne hadn't recognized them. They weren't on the Yard's list. Taking that into account, the current circumstances matched her dream almost perfectly. Meaning, this was supposed to happen. Chêne would likely beg them not to go through with it if she were there, but if Sebastian had to choose between keeping Chêne safe by fulfilling her vision and the lives of these children… He would, of course, choose Chêne. Every time. Sebastian bit the tip of the finger of his bloody glove and pulled it off with his teeth. He let it fall to the floor and moved closer to one of the tall candelabras near the cages. He placed his hand next to the flame and willed it to grow into a raging inferno.

"Yes… my lord," the demon said with a devilish smile as the flames swirled around him and his young master.


∞— Joker's Cinematic Record —∞

In a dark filthy alley in the East End, where the few people out and about were dressed in dirty rags, and the dogs were mangy, bony and pathetic beasts, there lived a group of children.

[We met in the gutters, from which all the filth of this world is expelled.]

Wendy, Peter, Dagger, Joker, Doll, Beast, and Jumbo. They were all there, and they all looked even worse than the dogs.

[Those whose bodies were deficient from birth.]

Joker, Beast, and Dagger.

[Those whose bodies stayed forever child-like.]

Peter and Wendy.

[Those who grew to be too large.]

Jumbo.

[Those whose countenances were transfigured by their parents.]

Doll.

[Every last one of us was abandoned in this gutter.]

Joker tried to steal a loaf of bread, but he was caught and beaten. Through it all, he never once let go of the bread.

[There was no way for the likes of us to obtain anything even resembling work here in Great Britain. We couldn't even do a good job of thieving.]

He brought it back to share with his friends.

[I can't remember how we managed to eke out a life, but… Despite it all, we survived in the gutters, keeping our heads down and laying low. But one day…]

They were all huddled together under a tarp someone had abandoned, trying to keep dry in the rain, when a well-dressed man approached them. He smiled and held his hand out to them.

[There appeared a curious man who took us sewer rats in.]

They had a happy life at Renbourn Workhouse. Peter, Wendy, and Doll were laughing and playing with the other children while they sang.

"Tom, he was a piper's son,
He learn't to play when he was young,
And all the tune that he could play,
Was 'over the hills and far away'..."

Beast and Dagger, who were each missing a leg, were sitting on a bench while they watched. Dagger pouted.

"Somethin' wrong, eh?" Joker asked him as he walked over to join them. "Why all the poutin'?"

" 't's nuffin'..." Dagger lied. Joker looked at the other children running around freely.

"Folks sure do get used to the good life, eh?" Joker said. "This place is 'eaven compared to the gutters, yet ye keep wantin' more and more." He sighed and looked back at Dagger. He ruffled his 'little brother's' hair affectionately. " 'Eeeey there, Jumbo," he called out to their other friend, who was chopping wood. " 'E says 'e wants to play with 'em." Jumbo came over to them and crouched down in front of Dagger.

"Then please hop on my back," Jumbo told him with a smile.

"I'm fine!!" Dagger said, blushing out of embarrassment.

"On ye get, then," Joker insisted. "Don't be shy!" Dagger gave in and accepted their kindness. He and Jumbo smiled at each other as they went to join the other children. "Would ye like to go join 'em too?" he asked Beast. "We'll I'd be able to carry ye on my back too if I'd a right arm."

"I'm alright here," Beast said. Joker sat down beside her on the bench.

"I'm sorry, yeah?" he apologized with a sad smile.

"Y—You… don't need to apologize..." she told him, blushing as she looked away.

"Haha! Is that right!?' he said brightly, smiling and laughing at her cute reaction.

"Over the hills and a great way off,
The wind shall blow my top-knot off..."

FWOOSH.

The wind blew, rustling their hair and carrying the scent of the local wildflowers.

"What a nice breeze," Joker said.

The reel continued on, rolling faster until it caught up to the present, showing scenes of the circus, Black, Cat, and Smile. The 'film' ran out.

∞— End Joker's Cinematic Record —∞

"Son of prostitute Karen Taylor, real name not recorded," said William T. Spears as he finished reviewing the record, which swirled around him on top of the blazing manor's roof. "Born April 2nd, 1863. Dead from extensive hemorrhaging. February 9th, 1889. No additional remarks." He marked Joker's page in his little black book of death with a 'completed' stamp. "Judgement complete." He retracted his scythe and watched as one 'film' strip disappeared, while countless more 'film' strips for cinematic records floated in the night sky and waved at him in the hot draft created by the fire, begging to be collected. "Good heavens. Whatever could the personnel division be thinking, I wonder. Though I told them there was no way I could handle this mess alone… They now… send you, of all people, as my reinforcement," he said, turning to face his fellow reaper, who had just arrived.

"Ohhhh?" said the same blonde reaper in snazzy shoes that Chêne had approached earlier, looking down on him as he crouched on a higher section of the roof. "I knew it! You're sore about this after all!"

"Ronald Knox," William said, slightly surprised to see him.

"I did do my best to get here in a jiff," Ronald said, checking his watch. "I do have a very good reason for being a little late, though."

"Oh? And what is that?" William asked.

"Have you ever encountered a 'code 42'?" Ronald asked with a slight smirk.

"As a matter of fact, I met one just the other day, while I was undercover," Will replied.

"Seriously!?" Ronald exclaimed. "Wait, it wasn't a short girl with brown hair, green eyes, and freckles was it?"

"She fits that description, yes."

"That's the 'code 42' that waylaid me!!"

"Waylaid?" Will asked.

"Yeah! I was minding my own business, reaping, when this girl runs up to me and says, 'You ever heard of a 'code 42'? Well, I'm one. And if you don't take me with you to Baron Kelvin's manor, I'll do something that will land you with so much paperwork and overtime, it'll take you an eternity!!' Isn't that scary?" Ronald said, grimacing just thinking about it.

"Frightening," Will agreed. "To think she could spot your weakness so easily… and it's such a credible threat, too..."

"Right? So I did what she said and dropped her off not too far from here."

—^—^—^—

Over a quarter of a mile away from the manor's grounds, Chene was running down the road with an anxious expression on her face as fast as her feet could carry her, breathing hard from the effort.

—^—^—^—

"I didn't think it would be a good idea to bring her here directly, what with all the deaths and everything," Ronald explained. "If anything happened to her..."

"No, you did the right thing," Will reassured him. "Although, I don't think there's much need to worry for her safety."

"Phew! Glad to hear that," Ronald said, relieved. "So you don't mind my being late? Or might it be that… you're disappointed you got stuck with me?"

"No. That fellow's suspension is slated to end today, so I had a dire foreboding, but… my being mistaken is nothing short of a godsend," William replied.

"Oh, right. If it's Mr. Sutcliff you mean, he went off on another assignment looking abnormally happy," Ronald said. "Umm, where was it again?"

"The Phantomhive manor?" said Will.

"Yes, yes, that's the place!" Ronald exclaimed, checking his own death list again. "Sure looks like things would've been easier theeere!"

"That is unfortunate... for both you and him," Will said, adjusting his glasses. "I say! Because you bring emotions into your work, you expend more time and effort. The duty of we Grim Reapers is to judge and retrieve souls in accordance with the list that is distributed to us from the higher-ups. That is all. Furthermore, even the judgement itself is a formality—the target can be removed from the list only when they are judged to have been one 'who has the potential to be beneficial for this world', such as that 'code 42'. But the number of humans who have that sort of value is few to none. Therefore we Grim Reapers merely work to confirm that rare possibility is not the case each time. We do this indifferently… levelheadedly…"

"Then what do you say we hurry up and get those confirmations out of the way quick!?" Ronald asked, yawning and stretching. "I'm going on group date with the administrative division, you see. Besides, I've always been… part of the anti-overtime school to begin with." Will twitched and a small vein throbbed on his forehead. Ronald didn't seem to be taking his speech or the job seriously at all.

"The cause of death among the majority of those scheduled for judgement is death by fire, but the one behind the blaze was a devil," Will told him.

"Geh! Are you for real!?" Ronald asked anxiously, taken aback.

"He doesn't seem to be the type to scavenge for a meal, but we must be on our guard," Will said. "If he steals souls, we will be forced to write a letter of apology."

"Eh!? Shouldn't we take care of that 'code 42' first!?" Ronald asked. "If anything happens to her..."

"That's why I said we don't have to worry about her safety. She's married to that demon."

"Ehhhhh!?" Ronald exclaimed, turning blue with shock. "Is that even allowed!?" What if he ate her soul!?

"It would seem so, seeing as nothing has been done about it," Will replied. "They would take action if a 'code 42' was in real danger."

"Ah, that's true..." Ronald said, calming down a little. "They couldn't stay quiet about something like that… Right-o!" he cheered as he leaned on his lawnmower, recovering his spunk. "I'm raring to go! Being strictly against overtime on principle and all."

"Ronald Knox. What is that death scythe you have there...?" Will asked strictly.

"I've obtained permission for it, as I'm on good terms with the girls in the administrative division," Ronald answered without an ounce of shame.

"Hmph..." Will said. Well, at least he wasn't breaking the rules, like a certain someone…

SHNNG.

Will adjusted his grip on his 'long reach cut 'n hold bypass pruner' and leaped from the roof, while Ronald jumped off with his lawnmower.

"Then let's hurry and retrieve the souls so we can clock out on time," Will said.

"Roger!" Ronald agreed. "Every last one of them."

—^—^—^—

Meanwhile, Freckles, or rather Doll, was just arriving on her horse. She came to a halt in front of the burning manor.

"What's going on—!?" she exclaimed, startled. She left her horse and ran for the entrance. "Brother!! Brother Joker!!" she cried, hoping for an answer. "Bro—" Before she could climb the steps, she froze. Someone was coming out. Someone was walking out of the fire completely untouched. It was Sebastian and Ciel. Ciel furrowed his brow and stared at her from his place in his butler's arms. His contract seal glowed brightly in his eye. "Black… Smile?" Doll asked. She was sure it was them, but they seemed almost unrecognizable, especially Smile. "Why're you two here…? What's happened!?" she asked anxiously. "Where's Brother..."

"He has passed away," Sebastian informed her.

"Eh…?" Doll said, her eyes wide with shock, cast in shadow. She didn't understand what he was saying. Passed away… how? From what? Why did… Why did Black look like he was almost smiling? "What're ya sayin', Black!?" she demanded, grabbing them. "Where's Cat!?" Surely the kind older girl would explain it to her, and tell her everything would be all right. "Hey! Smile! C'mon! Talk to me!"

SLAP!

Doll stared at the younger boy, shocked that he had slapped her hand away so coldly.

"Don't you dare… touch me in such a familiar manner!" Ciel shouted darkly, his face cast in shadow.

"Under the orders of Her Majesty, the Queen, we… were in pursuit of the culprits behind the serial child kidnappings..." Sebastian told her.

"!!" Doll reared back, startled. "So ya three were really from the Yard!? Ya came to capture us..." She couldn't believe it. They had been so nice…

"No, you are wrong," Sebastian said, smirking slightly. "We came to kill you. As the House of Phantomhive, the watchdog of the queen."

"The watchdog… of the queen… Phantomhive..." Doll said with a small tremor in her voice, eyes wide when she recalled where she had seen that name before. That was the name of the target Father gave them that the others were supposed to be going after. She paled. "No way… Smile, yer… yer a Phantomhive…? Then yer sayin' it was all a lie!?" Their friendship… "Everythin'!" Cat's kindness… "Everythin'!"

"Yes, exactly," Ciel said coldly. "I am Ciel Phantomhive. I have but one duty… to destroy all that causes Her Majesty grief. That is why they were killed. Kelvin. And Joker." He looked at her with darkness in his eyes, his face cast in shadow. "It was I who killed them."

=Flashback=

"We must 'ave stage names if we're to put on a circus," Joker said, looking around at all their friends who had become family during those harsh days in the gutter, before they were brought there, to the workhouse. "Ye'll be Beast, and ye Dagger," he told two of them, though they didn't seem too thrilled with the decision. "They're easy to remember, so they work well."

"Hey, hey gimme a name too!" she said with a smile on her freckled face.

"Hmm. Let's see… then… Ye'll be Doll," Joker said pointing at her.

"Ehhh!?" she exclaimed, shocked. She blushed out of embarrassment. "But I don't want no girly name! It don't suit me!" She was too rough, and her face was scarred.

"Not at all. It suits ye perfect," Joker said, patting her on the head. He smiled brightly at her. "Because ye are our adorable little sister."

=End Flashback=

"UWAAAAAH!" Doll wailed with grief, falling to her knees. Her eyes were flooded with tears, but she could still see the knife sticking out of her bag next to her last Funtom candy. "…!" She clenched her fist. "… Never… forgive you...You won't get away with this!" she cried. "I'll never, ever forgive you!" she screamed, glaring at him. "I'll never forgive you!!" She drew her dagger from its sheath as she lunged to her feet. The candy fell from the bag. "SMILEEEEE!!!" She charged toward them with hatred in her eye, tears streaming down her face. The wind blew back her bangs to reveal the rest of her scarred face. She had been burned before. Ciel looked at her, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Sebastian." The demon butler carried out the order to stop her with inhuman speed. Doll probably never knew what hit her. The candy hit the ground and broke.

"Oh?" Sebastian said, perking up when he sensed someone unexpected.

"What is it?" Ciel asked. The butler didn't need to answer. He was beaten to it.

"Haah! Haah!" Chêne panted as she came running into view. She came to a halt a few feet away from Ciel and Sebastian and stopped. She bent over with her hands on her knees while she caught her breath. "Haah! Haah!" Her brow furrowed deeply when she saw Doll's bloody body just beyond them, the knife still clutched in her hand. She frowned sadly at her fate. She straightened up and stared at the flaming inferno that used to be Baron Kelvin's manor. She couldn't hide the pain she felt looking at it. 'I'm too late…!' she thought, distressed. "Why?" she asked sadly.

"She attacked us," Sebastian replied.

"I can see that. That I can understand… I'm talking about the children!" Chêne said sternly.

"!" Sebastian was taken aback by the look in her eyes. The guilt and anguish… that knowing look.

"We were too late to save them," Ciel said. "So—"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!!" she yelled furiously, clenching her fists as her eyes glowed. "I 'saw' it, Ciel!! All of it!!"

"!!" It was Ciel's turn to be taken aback. Sebastian wondered how that was possible with the sleeping draught he had given her, but he didn't doubt it. Not with the way she was looking at them.

"Why?" she asked again with tears welling up in her eyes, her expression was begging them to find some way to justify it. "They were still alive! Why did you kill them!? And in such a cruel way..."

"Those children were beyond saving," Ciel said.

"You don't know that," Chêne told him. "They looked drugged. Some of them might have gotten better, once they were returned to their families."

"After what they had been through? They had no chance of recovering," Ciel responded coldly.

"You didn't even let them try!!" Chêne cried, full of grief for the children. "I heard their screams!!"

"Chêne..." Sebastian said, approaching her with care. He reached out to touch her, but she pushed his hand away. For a second Sebastian looked stricken, but it was quickly replaced by a colder expression.

"Don't touch me!" she told him, taking a step back. Her eyes were wide. "You may have been acting under orders, but I saw your face! You enjoyed it!!"

"I won't deny that I took satisfaction in my work… but it was mainly because of you," Sebastian said, holding her gaze.

"Me?" Chêne asked, confused.

"You remember the 'dream' you told me about before we left?" he asked her. "You saw children burning in that room. You couldn't save them. I knew as soon as I saw the baron's reproduction that it had been a vision."

"So… you're saying…?" Chêne asked, furrowing her brow deeper.

"Did you already forget the warning Undertaker gave you?" he said. "I had to make it come true, because you told me."

"!!" Chêne gasped, horrified.

"That's right, my dear..." the demon said, stalking toward his wife. His eyes glowed. "I did it to protect to you."

"I didn't want—!" she said, startled when he grabbed her by the wrist and refused to let go, pulling her closer until their faces were inches apart.

"I know what you wanted," he told her. "But I won't let you be taken away from me." He watched tears stream down her face as she seemed to crumple in on herself. She seemed like she might collapse, but she didn't.

"Then..." she said sadly with a voice strained with pain. "I won't tell you anymore."

—^—^—^—

"Hee! Hee… A person has but one soul," Undertaker said, taking a bite out of one of his bone-shaped cookies, while he watched the manor burn from afar. What a shame Chêne was too late. "I warned you to treat it well, but… because you possessed such great power, you continue to forget more and more the weight of the irretrievable. You only come to realize it when you can no longer support yourself..." He touched his chain of mourning jewelry, looking at one in particular. It read 'Cloudia P.' and '13 July 1866'. "I mean, really, how many times have I warned the lot of you? Hmm… Earl Phantomhive?"

—^—^—^—

"Ahhh!" a young man with white hair, dressed in white said as he also watched the manor burn from afar through binoculars. "What shall we do?"

"We simply report what we've observed," said the taller young man with white hair, also dressed in white, who was standing next to him.

"The poor thing," the first young man said with a devious smile. "He might be punished."

"That's not up to us," the taller young man reminded him. "That is for her majesty to decide." Waiting patiently behind them was John Brown, sitting in the driver's seat of their carriage. The two young men in white were the queen's butlers, Charles Grey and Charles Phipps. The 'Double Charles.'

—^—^—^—

"… Enough of this," Ciel said, reminding his maid and butler that he was still there in Sebastian's other arm. "Take us home, Sebastian."

"Yes, My Lord," Sebastian said. Before she could object, he wrapped his arm around Chêne and held her tight, making sure she couldn't escape. They were off. Chêne's tears were swept away on the night breeze.