That Butler, In Vain
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:
"This ship utilizes the latest reciprocating steam engines, and they and their massive boilers are installed at the center of the vessel," Rian explained anxiously. "So this place is divided in two with the boiler rooms in the middle."
"So what of it?" Ciel asked.
"In other words, this ship has two cargo holds… one in the bow and the other in the stern!" Rian said.
"Wha—!?" Ciel said.
"And the hold in the bow… has ten times as many test subjects… as the hold in the stern stored within," Rian said with wide eyes and a furrowed brow.
"Did you say ten times as many!?" Ciel exclaimed incredulously, appalled.
=†=†=†=†=†=
In the bow, in the cargo hold, scores of coffins with the phoenix insignia on them stood empty.
"!!?" Chêne gasped as she bolted upright on the chaise lounge in Ciel's stateroom. She covered her mouth and rushed to the toilet. The closet they called a room that she and Sebastian had in there was simply too suffocating when she was already feeling so miserable. "Ugh…" she groaned, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She stood up and washed her hands in the sink. Her dream had been fuzzy (probably because she was feeling so unwell), but certain elements had stood out. "That was some weird dream I had… Zombies on a cruise ship and an iceberg… That might actually make a cool movie..." She groaned again. On top of feeling a little dizzy and generally unwell, she had a headache again. "Maybe some fresh air will help…?" She pulled on a coat over her maid uniform and headed for the door. She never once suspected that the first half of her dream could be true.
=†=†=†=†=†=
'Chêne…!' Sebastian thought, eyes widening. If what Rian said was true, she could be in danger! "This is not good, Young Master."
" 'Not good' doesn't even begin to cover it!!" Ciel snapped. "One of those monsters is bad enough. And you're telling me… there are still… ten times as many as this!?" he said incredulously, looking at the rows and rows and rows of coffins they had stored in the stern.
=†=†=†=†=†=
"Well… I guess that's a little better..." Chêne said glumly, leaning on the railing. "Hm?" There was a suddenly a terrible stench in the air. "What…?" Something brushed against her. She turned to see what it was and saw a man wearing a blindfold who was missing a nose and several fingers. Wounds that weren't bleeding, slow shuffling, and a smell like something dead… Chêne couldn't believe it. A real, honest-to-goodness zombie. And there were more coming up behind it. The first zombie tried to bite her, but she quickly grabbed the railing to brace herself and kicked as hard as she could, sending it reeling back into the others, knocking two of them over. Unarmed, Chêne ran with all her might, keeping an eye out for something she could use, like an emergency fire axe or something, but she didn't get far. She skidded to a halt when she found herself facing another group of Zombies, she turned to run in a different direction, but there were zombies there too. She tried to run back the way she came, but there were more zombies. Chêne backed up against the railing, wondering how far down it was to the next deck.
"Help!!" she called out. "Help!!" She only heard screams in the distance in response. 'Sebastian…!' she thought anxiously, gripping the railing.
"Get down!!" a familiar voice yelled. Chêne looked up in the direction of the voice. Her eyes widened in shock. There, on the roof of the gymnasium, was a young woman dressed head to tow in purple and black widow's weeds with her veil pulled back to reveal platinum blonde hair and purple eyes. It was a face she knew very well. Chêne's jaw dropped.
"Lacey?!" Chêne exclaimed, not believing her eyes or ears. Lacey's skirt billowed in the wind. She was holding what appeared to be a gas-powered pole saw and wearing a mischievous grin.
"You got it!!" Lacey shouted, jumping down. She gripped her pole saw tightly in her hands and prepared to swing. Chêne immediately ducked, and was super glad she did. Lacey's grin was a little maniacal, and that meant no holding back on her part. Chêne saw black and purple boots land next to her before a black skirt settled over them and heard a sound similar to a chainsaw.
VRRRRRRREEEEEEEE!!
She covered her head and face as blood splattered everywhere. Bodies hit the floor, and she saw that the top halves of their heads had been sawed off.
VRRRRRRREEEEEE!!
More bodies hit the floor, also missing the top halves of their heads. Chêne counted them. It appeared all the zombies closing in on her had been taken out in two fell sweeps.
"Well, actually, you're so short I guess it doesn't make a difference whether you duck or not! Right, Chêne?" Lacey teased. He eyes were bright, and her cheeks were flushed. She was obviously excited to be there. "I really love this assignment! zombies!"
"Now I know I'm dreaming!" Chêne said. Lacey couldn't be there. "That's it. I'm still asleep. I only dreamed that I woke up."
"Nope, this fresh hell is reality!" Lacey said cheerfully with a big grin. "I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do, but… Let's take care of these zombies first." More were shuffling towards them. "I'm here to protect you, but I think we need to find you a weapon so you aren't so helpless. It'll be more fun that way. We should probably find your hubby, too. And Ciel, I guess."
"You know I married Sebastian? How about you explain as we go?" Chêne suggested, still staring at her friend like she had two heads.
"Sure, but I have to warn you, it ain't pretty," Lacey said, turning serious. "This whole ship really is being plunged into hell."
=†=†=†=†=†=
Lacey was right. The zombies were overwhelming the ship. Third-class, Second-class, First-class—it didn't matter. They spilled into every corridor. A man in third-class tried to beat them off with a chair. They chased the girl who was sitting with Ronald earlier. They attacked a waiter in the dining room. They came upon Francis and some other ladies by the elevators. They cornered a crew member in the mailroom. They attacked some gentlemen in front of Alexis. They devoured the passengers on deck. They made their way to the Marconi Wireless Room.
—^—^—^—
{Marconi Wireless Room…}
" 'To my dearest Mary'… eh? Ugh, don't go sending such uninspired drivel in a telegram," one of the wireless operators said. A new message started. "Nn?"
"What is it?" the other operator asked.
"A warning transmission from a vessel ahead of us," the first operator replied. "—What in the…!?" he said, startled. "This is awful! If the ship stays her course, we're going to…" He quickly jotted down the whole message and handed it to the second operator. "Take that to the captain right away!"
"Aye aye, sir!" he said, opening the door to leave. He was met by a snarling zombie that forced its way into the room.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Orlop Deck, Cargo Hold (Stern)...}
Sebastian's head snapped to the side when he felt Chêne call him. But only once. He hoped it was a false alarm, otherwise… The alternative would be unbearable. But he reminded himself that he would know if she died, thanks to the bond that was formed when he gave her his blood. If she died, he would feel it.
"—Then the interior of the ship… is most likely crawling with droves of them," Ciel said.
"Oh no..." Lizzie said.
"Sebastian. Go ahead and get my aunt and family somewhere safe," Ciel ordered. "Then check on Chêne. She should be safe enough confined in my stateroom."
"And you, Young Master? What of you and Lady Elizabeth?" Sebastian asked, despite his hurry to get to Chêne.
"We'll only get in your way," Ciel said. Lizzie was trembling and looking very pale. "I do have my pistol, so we should be able to manage for a while. Return at once after you've verified their safety!"
"Very good, my lord," Sebastian said, leaving at once.
"Now then," Ciel said, turning to face Rian, who was being restrained by one of Snake's larger snakes. "Let's hear what you have to say, shall we? But keep it short. Patience is not one of my particular virtues. First, how do you handle them?"
"Eh?" Rian said.
"Surely you don't simply transport things as dangerous as they with no safeguards," Ciel said. "Is there no other way to stop them aside from from pulverizing their heads?"
"….. W—Well, yes, but..." Rian said. "There does exist a device that can suspend the reanimation of patients who have undergone absolute salvation… by exposing them to special ultrasonic waves."
"And where is this device?" Ciel asked.
"….. In my room in first class," Rian replied, a bead of sweat sliding down his face.
"Take me to it," Ciel ordered, pressing his gun against his head.
"A—All right!" Rian said. "We can get upstairs if we take the cargo lift in the boiler room back here. Let's use that."
=†=†=†=†=†=
"So, you were going to explain?" Chêne said as she removed a decorative saber from its mount on the wall.
"You sure you know how to use that thing?" Lacey asked. Chêne demonstrated with a sharp thrust through the air. "Ciel's aunt taught me."
"Works for me. Right, well, I'm told you know about Grim Reapers. Guess who happens to be one," Lacey said, pointing at herself.
"No way! We grew up together!" Chêne said, staring at her in disbelief. "And you don't have phosphorescent green eyes!"
"Actually..." Lacey said, leaning her pole saw against the wall so she could remove her contact.
"You wear contacts?" Chêne asked, surprised.
"Ever since I've known you," Lacey replied, blinking. "There. See?" She opened both eyes so Chêne could see them clearly. The eye she had removed the contact from was phosphorescent green. "Reaper eyes." She put the contact back in and blinked.
"But we grew up together…" Chêne repeated. "You have human parents!"
"No, they think they have a daughter. You know that memory modifying tool from Bleach? It exists. And as for growing up together… You know that bracelet I've worn since the first day we met?"
"Yeah?" Chêne said. She noticed Lacey was no longer wearing it.
"It was basically a device that made me a child again and then let me age like a normal human. But I'm back to my real appearance now," Lacey explained. "I'm from a special division that has access to tools that can control time and space. How else do you think I was able to cross over to this world's past? It was also my division that linked the two wardrobes around Halloween, if you were wondering."
"Why? Why would you bother with all that?" Chêne asked.
"Because you're a code 42, and I've been assigned to watch over you," Lacey replied. "Just think of me as your guardian angle of death~"
"….. Was our friendship a lie, then?" Chêne asked, furrowing her brow.
"That was the only thing that was real," Lacey replied seriously. Chêne smiled at her.
"Okay, then," Chêne said, relieved. "I have to admit, I never saw this coming."
"That's because I'm good at my job," Lacey said, smiling back.
"Then why were you always dragging me into trouble?" Chêne asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oddly enough, I was following orders. My bosses can see the future, so everything happened exactly as it was supposed to. I exposed you to just enough trouble to keep you interesting," Lacey replied with a smirk.
BANG! B-BANG!
"Sounds like someone wants in..." Lacey said. The beating was irregular and there were scratching sounds as well. That couldn't be good.
"I don't suppose you can tell me why I'm a code 42?" Chêne said.
B-BANG! BANG!
"Your children," Lacey replied. "Congratulations, by the way! It's a boy and a girl! You have no idea how important they're going to be. But that's a conversation for another time. Ready?" She took up an offensive stance, prepared to fight the moment the door was open, if necessary. She gestured for Chêne to open the door.
"I guess so," Chêne said, gripping her sword tightly in her hand. "Though I should warn you, I've been seasick." She opened the door and Lacey thrust her pole saw past her head to kill the first zombie that came at her. Chêne killed the next one.
"You never get seasick," Lacey said, stepping up beside Chêne to stand in the doorway and sliced a whole line of them. More came stumbling forward.
"This time I did—Why are there so many here?!" Chêne asked.
"They're probably after you—you're 'three for the price of one', after all!" Lacey said, taking another line out.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Orlop Deck, Cargo Hold...}
They walked along in silence through the dark hold with Rian in the lead, Snake's snake still wrapped around him, and Ciel's gun pressed to his back.
"On to the next question. Why do the corpses move?" Ciel asked.
"We perform a surgical procedure that embeds a unique device, one which generates mild electrical currents, into the brain of a deceased individual," Rian explained. "That device then sends signals to each segment of the brain, which allows the subject to regain the sound, healthy body he or she possessed before being felled by deat—"
"That will do," Ciel said. "Can a dead man truly be brought back to life that way? Let me revise the question. For what purpose are you bringing all these test subjects to America?"
"That… I cannot say," Rian said.
"I see," Ciel said. He moved his gun close to Rian's ear. "You'd like to get your ears pierced nice and wide, is that right?"
"Eep…!? Wait, wait!" Rian said nervously. "If you shoot me, you realize you won't be able to use that special device of mine, don't you!?"
"Ugh, fine," Ciel said with a sigh. "It's a pain, but it looks like we'll have to exterminate them by obliterating their heads." He started squeezing the trigger.
"O—! Our absolute salvation technology was bought by a certain company!!" Rian shouted anxiously.
"A certain company?" Ciel asked.
"Yes… A company called 'Osiris', which is apparently in the business of developing a whole host of new drugs," Rian replied.
'It must be a dummy used solely for carrying out transactions like this. I'll look into it once we're back on land,' Ciel thought. 'Besides… if this matter does naught to harm the queen, it's none of my business.'
"In here," Rian said when they reached a hatch. Snake stepped forward and opened it, and they were hit with a blast of hot air as they entered the turbine engine room.
"Snake, call your serpents off of Rian," Ciel ordered. "Things will go more smoothly if we pretend to be his friends."
"Got it. —says Webster," Snake said. The sound of the machinery echoed all around them.
"It's so louuud!" Lizzie said, covering her ears.
"You there! This's no place for guests!!" an engineer shouted when he saw them.
" 'The eternal flame in this breast!'" Ryan said.
"!" the engineer gasped. " 'Cannot be quenched by anyone. … We are—'"
"Phoenix!!" the two men shouted together, striking the phoenix pose.
"Friend, please let me use the lift ahead," Rian said.
"Very well," the engineer said. "… And who do you have there behind you?"
"They're friends of the society too!" Rian replied. "Now, then! It's your turn!" He gestured for them to do it too.
"Ph… Phoenix!!" Ciel, Lizzie, and Snake said, performing the phoenix pose. Ciel trembled and turned bright red. His face was so hot with embarrassment that it was almost steaming. Lizzie and snake were worried about him.
"What's wrong, Ciel!?" she asked, concerned.
"It's right back here!" the engineer told Rian with a smile, oblivious to Ciel's pain.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Elevator Hall...}
The zombies moaned as they made their way towards Francis and the ladies she was protecting. Three of them were closing in.
"Kuh…!" Francis said, frowning and furrowing her brow as she faced the moving corpses. "Hah!" She stabbed one through the heart, but it had no effect. She was shocked. "Wh-What…!?"
"Lady Midford!!" Sebastian said. He hit the zombie that failed to die with a drop kick and crushed its head. He landed gracefully on the floor. "I hope you have not been injured?"
"Butler!! What are they!?" Francis asked as they moved to stand back to back.
"I do not know enough about them myself… but there is only one way to defeat them," Sebastian replied. "Smash in their heads!!" The two remaining zombies snarled and tried to attack. Francis thrust her sword through one's head, while Sebastian took the other out with another kick. Both zombies fell, completely immobilized.
"Hmph. It seems you speak the truth," Francis said. "So out of gratitude, I shall overlook that indecent face and hairstyle for today."
"I am deeply obliged, my lady," Sebastian said with a calm smile. What about his face?
"Francis, are you all right!?" Alexis asked as he and Edward came running from around the corner, both armed with swords.
"My dear!" Francis said, glad to see them.
"Butler!! Where's Lizzie!?" Edward asked urgently.
"She is with the young master. Both of them are alive, Sir," Sebastian replied calmly.
"If they're together, there's nothing to worry about," Alexis said.
"Indeed," Francis agreed. "After all, it is one's duty to protect one's betrothed at all costs."
"He did say he would protect her… 'without fail'," Sebastian said with a smile. He placed a hand over his chest. "I have come under their orders to escort you to a safer location—"
"We can't have that," Alexis said.
"Eh!?" Sebastian said, dropping his smile.
"The Marquessate of Midford is a house of knights that has protected England for generations," Alexis said, holding his sword up in front of his face. "To ignore the plight of her people would go against the code of chivalry."
"We, the knights of fair England… must be the shield that protects the weak," Edward said, drawing his sword.
"—Is that not so? Francis!/Mother!" Alexis and Edward finished together, looking back at her with expressions of pride and admiration.
"Quite!!" Francis agreed. "Go back to Ciel and Lizzie and don't dawdle!" she told Sebastian.
"But..." Sebastian said.
"What, have you no faith in our swords?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You still need to retrieve your wife, do you not?"
"Right as always, my lady," Sebastian said, though he wished she would cooperate. "I pray for your safety, Lady Midford."
"And tell Ciel this! I won't show him any mercy if something happens to my little sister!" Edward added with a furrowed brow.
"As you wish, Sir," Sebastian said, bowing. He prepared to dash off and leave them to decide their own fate, though he didn't like it. He wanted to hurry to Chêne's side as fast as he could.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Third-Class Dining Hall…}
Bodies, remains of the living, littered the floor. Blood was splattered on the walls.
"What'd I tell you? We didn't get to meet again in this life, after all, did we now?" Ronald said, looking down at the body of Sophie Smith, the girl he had been friendly with before. " 'Cos I had you on my list!" He marked her reaping as 'completed'. "Cripes, what a mess this is turning out to be. And when I'm so hellishly busy already too…" He checked his watch. "Since the real show starts now."
=†=†=†=†=†=
SHAAA.
The ship glided along smoothly through the gentle waves of the calm ocean. Up in the crow's nest, a man shivered from the cold.
"Brrrrrrrrr!" the sailor said, rubbing his arms for warmth.
"Say," said his partner on the watch. "Ain't it kinda noisy down there?"
"Aww, 'sprolly them drunks making a racket again," the cold sailor said.
"Hahaha! Sounds like a right good time to me!" his partner said. "In any case, the moon ain't out tonight, so you can really see the stars!"
"An honest-to-goodness sea of stars, eh?" the cold sailor said. They fell into silence again. "..."
"… Hm?" his partner said, furrowing his brow slightly. Suddenly, against the sea of stars they saw a dark shadow.
"!?" they gasped as the moonlight hit it, and they saw that it was an iceberg.
"A… An iceberg!!" the partner exclaimed.
"This's bad! That thing's bloody huge!!" the cold sailor yelled. "We gotta get word to the cap'n!!" He picked up the phone that connected to the bridge to call him, while his partner rang the bell to warn everyone.
CLANG! CLANG!
"Why didn't we hear anything about this from other boats ahead of us!?" the partner asked, white as a sheet and sweating bullets.
CLANG! CLANG!
"Hello, come in quick!!" the cold sailor yelled anxiously into the phone, also pale and sweating nervously. "Someone please pick up!"
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Wheelhouse…}
The captain stared straight ahead with unseeing eyes. He hit the floor dead as a doornail. There was a gaping wound in his back where a little girl zombie had been gnawing on him. The wheelhouse was full of corpses, moving and otherwise.
=†=†=†=†=†=
CLANG! CLANG!
The warning bell rang through the chill night air.
"Why isn't anybody picking up!?" the cold sailor asked.
"If we keep going, we're gonna..." his partner said, horrified.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
"Haaaaah~!" Ronald sighed, standing on top of the bridge, looking out over the bow. "I'm about to crash straight into overtime, aren't I? And I'm against overtime as a rule! I mean, management's really pushing it, am I right?" He raised an eyebrow as the wind swept through his hair, holding the book he kept his list of the dead in. "It's crazy, leaving the retrieval of all these souls… to just the two of us!" A red and black high-heeled boot stood on top of the iceberg.
"What bad manners on a maiden's first niiight! If you ram something this big and hard into her… She just might… break, you know~?" the owner of shark-like teeth said with a Cheshire cat grin as the ship glided toward the iceberg.
KACRASH!!
The ship crashed into the iceberg at full speed, resulting in an explosion of ice that rained down on the deck. The owner of the red shoe leaped from the iceberg as the ship continued to scrape against it.
VRRRM!
A chainsaw wailed in the night as the owner of the red shoe flew over the bow of the ship.
"A maiden voyage torn to shreds and smeared with blood. There's… no stopping it anymore!" The chainsaw slashed through the necks of the zombies waiting onboard. "There's no going back!" The chainsaw sliced off more heads. "It's too late to turn back now even if you try!" A dark silhouette flipped through the air. "Oooh, yes! This truly is—a luxury… cruise..." That silhouette landed in the light. Red high-heeled shoes skidded against the deck as their owner slid to a stop. Grell Sutcliff grinned, exposing his sharp teeth as his red hair and jacket fluttered in the wind. He made a rocker sign with his hand. "… To die for! "
