That Butler, Struggling
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:
"… In less than an hour," Sebastian concluded. Chêne stared at him with wide eyes. She turned to Lacey.
"Did you know about this!?" she asked, pointing at her book of death.
"I may have…" Lacey replied.
"Are you saying I did all that for nothing?" Sebastian asked, running a hand through his wet hair. "Could you not have said something sooner?"
"I could, but why deny Chêne the sight of you all soaked and sexy?" Lacey retorted, making Chêne blush. Sebastian smirked a little at that.
"The water temperature is roughly two degrees centigrade," Sebastian said, getting back on topic. He finished buttoning up his vest. "Being in the water overlong will affect our master's health." He tied his tie and pulled on his gloves. Chêne handed him his jacket. "We must go and collect him at once." He pulled on his jacket as they left the wheelhouse.
"The water's risin' from down below! Please, let us up!!" a young man with freckles begged through the bars of the locked metal grille he and many others were trapped behind.
"We're bein' attacked by strange creatures!!" another man added.
"Let us out!" someone else cried.
"Open 'er up!" another person begged as they rattled the bars.
"From here on's the first-class deck! Please turn back!" one of the stewards told them.
"So just 'cos we're not flush, you're tellin' us to die!?" the young man with freckles said with righteous fury.
"We can't hold them back anymore, sir!" the steward told the officer with them.
"Don't let them up, no matter what!"the officer said.
"But..." the steward said hesitantly.
"Doing so will only heighten the panic above!" the officer stated.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{First-Class Hall…}
"Kyaaaaah!" someone screamed. It was pure chaos in the hall. The dead were attacking the living all over the place.
"Stay close to me!" Sebastian said, holding Chêne's hand as they hurried along with Lacey to find Ciel.
"L-Look. Here's a cheque. You can live in luxury when you're back on land!" a balding man with a mustache in a fine suit said to the zombies closing in on him. For once there was something money couldn't buy him. "Kuh…!" He saw Sebastian running with Chêne and Lacey. "!" he gasped. "H… Hey! You there! Servant!" he called out to Sebastian, getting his attention. The three of them looked back. Chêne's eyes widened in shock. "If you save me, I'll… give this to y..." He was cut off by the neigh of one of the two zombie horses coming up behind him. One of them bit his arm and dragged him with them as the carriage they were hitched to sped past Sebastian, Chêne, and Lacey. Sebastian and Lacey each held an arm out in front of Chêne to make sure she stayed back and to shield her. "—EEEEEEEE PLEASE SAVE MEEE—" the rich man screamed as he was carried away.
'Why a carriage!?' Chêne wondered with wide eyes.
"… We must hurry below," Sebastian said with a sigh.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{First-Class Lounge…}
Furniture had been piled in front of the door, and the stewards were still adding more.
"Let's go lower the lifeboats!" the younger steward said.
"But those things are out th—Huh?" the older steward said, puzzled to hear what sounded like horses's hooves.
BOOM! WHACK!
The doors were thrown open despite the barricade as the horse-drawn carriage came crashing through them. The severed arm of the rich gentleman from before was still in one of the horses's mouths as they stamped their hooves down on the older steward's head, killing him instantly, as they continued forward without stopping.
"Uwaaaah!" the younger steward screamed in horror.
"What on earth was that!?" one of the passengers in the room cried.
"Oh no, the door!!" the younger steward said, quickly looking back at the busted barricade as zombies came shuffling through the open doors. "W-We're done for!"
"Do not abandon hope!!" Alexis Midford said as he and his wife and son made a grand entrance slaying the zombies. "We will protect you! Those who are unhurt should assist in lowering the lifeboats!"
"Hurry!" Edward said.
"Wh-Who are you?" the young steward asked.
"I am Alexis Leon Midford, the Marquess of Midford!" Alexis replied. "Head of the Order of the British Empire!"
=†=†=†=†=†=
{First-Class Corridor...}
"—Good!" Grell said. "Now we're finished here."
"Next up's the third boiler room. We've gotta go five levels down," Ronald said.
"Ugggh, five levels? What a pain," Grell said, sighing. "It's almost time, so let's make it quick." They started walking again. "… All the same… what in the world could be making those corpses move, hmm?"
"No idea. That's why we've got orders to look into it, right?" Ronald said.
"By all rights, a body without a soul moving of its own will isn't possible… No… It wasn't possible. At least not in the world that I know," Grell said.
"I see," Ronald said with a straight face. "Then all the more reason a kid like me wouldn't understand!" he added with a grin.
"Heyyy! Are you trying to say I'm a woman past her prime!?" Grell said incredulously. "Nn?" They both heard something approaching them and turned to look. It was the runaway zombie carriage.
"!?" Ronald exclaimed in shock. "What the heck is that!? Horses!? How's that even possible!!?"
"This place is a veritable parade of the 'impossible'," Grell said. He activated his death scythe and slew the lot, slicing through the horses, carriage, and coachman in one swift attack. "Hmm, not bad! This is hardly the time to be playing good little girls at the village fair! Let's get our motors running and head to the next one, kid!!" He stabbed his death scythe straight into the floor.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Third Boiler Room...}
"?" Snake said when one of his snakes tried to get his attention.
"This way, laddie! Quick!" Rian's engineer friend said urgently.
"Where's Rian? —asks Oscar?" Snake said quietly. His eyes widened as he realized the man was indeed missing. He spun around and found him standing in the elevator with the grille pulled shut. Rian stared back at him, and then rode the elevator up.
"Heyyyy, waiiiiit—!! —says Oscar," Snake yelled. His cowlick stuck out straight as he paled, and he and Oscar both flinched in shock, along with Rian's engineer friend.
"Ack! You bastard! You're runnin' for it by yourself!!?" the engineer said incredulously.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Second-Class Dining Hall…}
RATTLE.
"Damn! I can't get this open..." Ciel said, shaking the air vent as he tried to remove it so they could leave the duct.
"Are you all right, Ciel?" Lizzie asked.
"Uwah!!" Ciel exclaimed, paling, when the vent suddenly popped open and he fell straight down.
"Ah! Ciel!" Lizzie cried in alarm, also paling. Ciel braced himself for a rough landing.
"That—!" he started to say when he landed in a pair of strong arms. "… Didn't hurt?" He opened his eye again. "Sebastian!" His butler had caught him. And his wasn't the only familiar face present. "Chêne! And… Lacey!!?" he exclaimed, staring at her with wide eyes. Somehow the moving corpses were less shocking that the sudden reappearance of Chêne's childhood friend.
"We'll explain later," Chêne said with a smile. "You're okay, right?" Ciel was busting with questions, but he couldn't ask them in front of Lizzie without having to explain that Chêne was originally from another world, so later it was.
"I apologize for my lack of punctuality on this occasion, Young Master," Sebastian said. "You two are unhurt, I hope?"
"Ciel protected me, so I'm fine!" Lizzie answered brightly. Sebastian set Ciel down and reached up for her next.
"Pardon me," he said politely as he helped her down.
"What of my aunt and family?" Ciel asked.
"I believe everyone is alive and well," Sebastian replied. "I attempted to guide them to safety, but they insisted on rescuing the other passengers..."
"That sounds like my mother," Lizzie said. "If they're together, they should be all right. Thank you, Sebastian!"
"You are most welcome, my lady," Sebastian said.
"By the way… Who is this person?" Lizzie asked, looking at Lacey. "I don't believe we've met."
"Trust me, you would remember if you had," Ciel said, hoping Lacey wasn't going to be a bad influence on her. Lacey smirked at him as if she could tell what he was thinking. He furrowed his brow and frowned.
"This is Lacey, my childhood friend. Lacey, this is Lady Elizabeth Midford, Ciel's fiancée," Chêne said, introducing them.
"A lady, huh? How do you do?" Lacey said politely with a small curtsey.
'Eh?' Ciel and Sebastian thought, mildly surprised by the normal response.
"How do you do?" Lizzie said, returning her greeting with a smile.
"Ah-choo!" Ciel sneezed.
"Here, Young Master, take this," Sebastian said, removing his jacket to give it to him.
"I don't need it," Ciel said. "The tails will drag behind me."
"Then maybe you should use mine?" Chêne suggested, getting ready to remove her coat, concerned his asthma might flare up.
"I am not taking a coat from a pregnant woman," Ciel said firmly. "Think of your condition first."
"Yeah, think of the children," Lacey chided her.
"I see your point..." Chêne said, sweat-dropping. They were making her feel like a bad mother now.
"While I agree that Chêne should keep her coat, if your body is chilled through, your cough—" Sebastian said.
"Don't bring that up now!" Ciel whisper-yelled.
"?" Lizzie said. She didn't quite catch that.
"… Very well, Sir," Sebastian said. It was obvious Ciel didn't want her to know about that.
"What cough?" Lacey whispered.
"I'll tell you later," Chêne whispered back.
"Come. They have begun to ready the lifeboats," Sebastian said, guiding Ciel and Lizzie out of the room while Chêne and Lacey followed. "Let us hurry to the deck and—"
VREEE!
"!?" Sebastian gasped and furrowed his brow as his eyes widened when they saw a chainsaw cut a circle in the floor. He quickly grabbed the two children and jumped back to stand with Chêne and Lacey, avoiding the falling section of ceiling and floor from above. Lacey adjusted her grip on her death scythe. Sebastian and Chêne were both shocked to see Grell dropping down through the hole. He was followed by Ronald. Grell grinned as the debris from above hit the floor.
SMASH!
"Nfu...~!" Grell said, swaying on the spot. He lifted his head and looked at Sebastian. "Hunk… sighted!"
"You are..." Sebastian said, the crease in his brow deepening.
"Grell Sutcliff!" Ciel finished, also glaring at the red-haired Reaper.
"Don't tell me you were also assigned here!?" Chêne said, furrowing her brow.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii! It's been absolutely ages, Sebas-chan!" Grell said, ignoring her. "Being reunited here, it must be fate!"
"It is simply coincidence," Sebastian stated bluntly. He seemed a little annoyed to Chêne.
"Ahhhn! Cold as ice, you are! But that side of you is, as always, divine!" Grell said, blushing and clasping his hands together. He was clearly enjoying himself. There were practically little hearts coming off of him.
"Aww, boy. He's found him, huh…?" Ronald said with a sigh. "Mister Sutcliff, sir. Don't forget we still have souls to reap okaaay?" He noticed Chêne. His eyes widened as he recognized her. "Hey, you're that code 42 from before!!"
"Ronald! You should've told me sooner if you knew Sebas-chan was here!" Grell huffed angrily. "Then I could've gone all out with my makeup—Did you say 'code 42'!? That brat!?"
"Ah, you're that reaper from before!" Chêne said, also recognizing Ronald. "Thanks for last time." Even if he did get her there too late.
"No, no, no—you can't be here!!" Ronald told her. "This place is a ticking time-bomb of death! If a code 42 dies on our watch…!" He shuddered at the thought.
"Relax," Lacey told him. "That's why I'm here. And don't go spilling privileged information in front of mere mortals."
"And who are you?" Grell asked, full of attitude.
"Does this mean anything to you?" she asked, holding up her hand to show them one of her rings, which had two ouroboros snakes, one silver, one gold, entwined in a way that created overlapping infinity signs. Judging by their wide-eyed expressions, it meant everything to them.
"No way! Reapers from that division are supposed to be the elite! You don't have glasses, so for all we know you could be another human brat!" Grell said stubbornly. He was not letting anyone interfere with him and Sebastian.
"I'm wearing contacts to blend in better. If you don't know what they are, too bad. Respect the ring, fools!" Lacey commanded impressively.
"I'm pretty sure she's the real deal..." Ronald said. "That's a death scythe in her hand, isn't it? And Mister Spears has already confirmed that the short girl really is a code 42."
"Listen you, there's no way that brat… Ah!" Grell said, gasping when he realized Sebastian and the others were trying to make a run for it. "Hey, wait..." he said, rushing to catch them. He drew level with Sebastian. "… For me!!" He swung his death scythe at them, but Sebastian and Lacey quickly grabbed Ciel, Lizzie, and Chêne and jumped out of the way.
"!?" Ciel said.
"Kyah!" Lizzie cried.
"Whoa!" Chêne said, a bead of sweat sliding down her face as Grell took another swing at her, and the blade passed an inch away from her face.
"Kuh…!" Sebastian said, narrowing his eyes at the reaper as he and Lacey both glared at him for that.
"Mister Sutcliff!!?" Ronald shouted incredulously, doing a marvelous impression of The Scream. "What part of 'code 42' didn't you understand!?"
"That's quite a fierce look you're giving me!" Grell remarked to Sebastian, ignoring Chêne and Lacey to focus more on him. "To think you were the type to light a fire in a girl and then cast her aside like that! What a bad man!"
"There something between those two?" Lacey asked Chêne.
"He wishes!" Chêne replied.
"Please do not immolate yourself on my account," Sebastian told him coldly. He was tempted to tell Grell that he was happily married to Chêne, but he didn't want the perverse Reaper to go out of his way to target her further. "As we are in something of a hurry, would you be so kind as to let us pass?" he asked instead as he and Lacey landed.
"And if I refuse?" Grell asked, also landing.
"We shall force our way through if we must," Sebastian threatened with slitted pupils in red eyes.
"Oooh, yes… I can't say I dislike an aggressive man!" Grell said, grinning, all aquiver. "So let's have us a death match steamier than any… paltry love or romance, hm!!?" He struck another rocker pose.
"Who is that man!?" Lizzie asked as Sebastian set her and Ciel down and prepared to fight.
"He is simply a deviant," Sebastian replied. "You might catch whatever he has if you get too close to him, so please stay back!" Lacey snickered.
"Well, I never!" Grell huffed as he charged again. "I'm just speaking honestly from my heart!" Sebastian aimed a kick at the Reaper's head, but Grell dodged. Sebastian landed against the wall with portholes, intending to use it as a springboard. Grell swung his scythe at Sebastian again, but the demon dodged. His eyes widened and he flinched in shock when he realized what was happening. Grell's scythe was piercing the wall, and that part of the ship was already low in the water.
"Oh no—!" Sebastian said. Lacey's eyes widened as Grell sliced the wall and water came shooting in through the hole.
FWOOSH!
"Gyah~!?" Grell cried when it hit him in the face, knocking his glasses askew. Lacey quickly grabbed Chêne and pulled her away from the cold water. Ciel and Lizzie weren't so lucky.
"Uwah!" Ciel cried, doing his best to shield Lizzie as the water rushed over them.
"Kyah!" Lizzie screamed.
"Young Master!!" Sebastian said, alarmed that it had hit them with enough force to throw them from the room and into the corridor.
"Ciel! Lizzie!" Chêne called, reaching out for them, but she was too far away to do anything for them. "Let me go, Lacey! Ciel—"
"Not with that chainsaw-wielding psycho on the loose!" Lacey retorted, gritting her teeth. She also wanted to do something for them, but she couldn't leave Chêne alone.
"!!" Sebastian gasped when he sensed someone sneaking up on him.
WHAM!
Sebastian only just had time to spin around and block the attack when Ronald swung his death scythe at him.
"Forgot about lil' old me, didn'tcha?" Ronald said.
"Kuh…!" Sebastian gritted his teeth and glared at the Reaper with slitted pupils.
"Gah…!" Ciel exclaimed in pain when he slammed into the wall in the corridor. "… Ngh…! Koff! Koff!" Ciel pushed himself up off the floor, removing his face from the water. He looked around saw something startling. Lizzie was still lying face down in the water and a horde of zombies was approaching her from the opposite end of the corridor. "!!" he gasped in alarm. "Lizzie!!" He tried to move to help her, but he was stopped by a throbbing pain in his leg. "Ugh!?" He looked at it and saw that he was injured. 'My leg's—!!' "Lizzie, get up! Lizzie!!"
"Uu…!" Lizzie moaned, pushing herself up. Her eyes widened when she saw the shuffling feet and looked up into the snarling faces of the zombies. "Ah..." She trembled, too terrified to move. "Aah…!"
"Lacey, please!" Chêne said, breaking away from her. She gripped her sword and headed for Lizzie, but then a zombie dropped down in front of her. "!?" She took a step back as it picked itself up and risked a glance upwards. It had come through the hole made by Grell. Another dropped down. It broke its ankle, but it remained upright. Chêne gritted her teeth and stabbed the closest one. Lacey leaped over her and took out the next. Another dropped down. Then another. And another. Lacey slashed and slashed and slashed, but more came.
"Stay back! I think they're after you!" Lacey told her. Whether it was true or not, Chêne couldn't get past them.
"Damn!" Ciel cursed. He raised his gun and fired.
BANG! BANG!
Two zombies fell, immobilized.
VREEEE!
Sebastian gritted his teeth as he struggled against Ronald's death scythe with his back against the wall. It was all he could do to keep the scythe's blades away from his face. So he ducked down and let go, making the scythe crash into the wall instead.
"Ah!" Ronald gasped as Sebastian escaped, shooting past him to get to the children.
"!?" Ciel gasped when he pulled the trigger on his gun and nothing came out. "I'm out of bullets—" Sebastian raced towards Lizzie. The zombies were almost upon her. Ciel's eye widened as he watched, horrified.
"I—! I..." Lizzie said with tears streaming down her face. "… Do so wish I could have stayed cute in front of you… till the very end, Ciel..." Ciel reached out for her. Sebastian gritted his teeth. Chêne watched with wide eyes, trying desperately to find a hole in the zombies that kept coming after her. Lacey pushed her further back and swung her scythe.
"Lizziiie!!!" Ciel yelled desperately. In that instant, a sword was thrust through the head of the first zombie that tried to bite her. It was wielded by Lizzie's own hand. Chêne noticed a sword was missing from the decoration on the wall. That must be where she got it from. She breathed a sigh of relief. Lizzie would be okay now. Ciel and Sebastian stared with wide eyes. "Wha—!?" Lizzie gritted her teeth and withdrew the sword. More zombies snarled right behind her. Lizzie turned and thrusted her sword forward, skewering two heads in a row on her blade, destroying both zombies in one blow. Lizzie used their fallen bodies and leaped up into the air, drawing a second sword from the decoration as she spun around and slashed both blades, decapitating the whole front line of zombies at once. Her hair and skirt floated in the air around her. Ciel stared in astonishment, so absorbed that he didn't realize two zombies were creeping up on him from behind until it was too late. "!?" he gasped. Lizzie was in front of him in an instant, stabbing both swords through their heads before they could touch him.
"Thi… This ugly side of me…" Lizzie said, gritting her teeth. Her cheeks were flushed with frustration. Her tears fell onto his face as he stared up at her with wide eyes. "I wanted to do everything in my power to keep you from having to see it..." She gripped the swords tighter. "But… this time… I will protect you!" She withdrew the swords and the zombies hit the floor, dead for good. She whipped the blood from the blades as she turned to face the larger threat behind her. "I am the daughter of Alexis Leon Midford, Marquess of Midford and head of the Order of the British Empire! I am Elizabeth!" she announced with determination, facing the horde in the corridor alone. "Wife of the Queen's Watchdog!"
