Bullets bounced off of the surface of black armour. Its owner leapt high into the air, making his way down the street at a remarkably quick pace. It was obvious that these were things that no human could do. Preston was right. His humanity was gone, and what remained was a frightened and angry beast.

"Hold your fire!" Charlotte instructed, overshadowing the commanding officer. "Bullets aren't working! The Supernatural unit will have to fight at close range!"

"Just like last time, huh?" asked Heinrich, throwing his cigarette on the ground and grinding it into the dirty concrete with his shoe. "You including me in on this?"

"No." Answered Amelie. "If this were an ordinary annie, we would, but this one has a higher thinking capacity, making it much more deadly."

"Wow, you're serious…" the German replied. "Alright. I'll hang back here. Johnny, you go with them."

"Got it!" the small demon said, giving a small salute. With that, he began running, trying to keep up with the two women as they went in pursuit of Preston.

"Charlotte!" called the wolf-girl, extending her arm out to her wife. Nodding, the taller woman took her hand, before spinning, slamming her foot on the ground in order to stop herself before letting go of Amelie. She sent the silver-haired woman flying toward their target before beginning to pick up the pace again.

Upon getting closer to Preston, Amelie's fingers grabbed hold of him before aiming her gun. To her horror, the armour did not take kindly to this, growing spikey protrusions in its surface and forcing the werewolf to let go with a bloody hand that healed almost instantly. She had to be careful. If she shot off one of her bullets, it could ricochet off of the Omid's defenses and strike her instead.

"No good." She said, her feet hitting the ground and her comrades catching up to her.

"I saw that… You were right. He's not stupid." The vampire replied. "Any ideas?"

"We could let Sir Phantomhive and Agent Macken try to talk some sense into him." Suggested Jonnathan. "They're good at that sort of thing. Besides, they were friends, weren't they?"

"Are you suggesting we let a rampaging pseudo-annie regroup with Cerberus and attack the parliament building?"

"It could work." Said Amelie. "They're less breakable."

"But we still can't let him regroup!" Charlotte informed.

"Then we only let him reach blondie and eyepatch!" replied the wolf-girl.

"I can hear you, you know!" shouted Preston, turning his head as he traversed. He knew what they were up to, but he wasn't entirely sure if he could stop them. Regardless, he would have to try.

"Shut the fuck up, fuckboy, I'm talking to my woman!" barked Amelie as her wife fumbled for her own cell phone in order to pass on the information to the demonic duo. He clumsily held the device up to her ear as she ran, dodging patches of ice on the sidewalk and leaping into the air.

"Hello?"

"Phantomhive!" the vampire began. "Sir! We've got trouble! We've run into Omid! He's heading your way!"

"Can't you apprehend him yourselves?" the bluenette asked, prompting his beau to look over at him while driving.

"We can't! He's not… He's not human anymore! He's able to sprout armour… like the annies! He can control it at will. Close range attacks by us are a no-go."

Ciel paused for a few moments, allowing that information to sink in. Preston? Giving trained, supernatural agents of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. trouble? Preston was ill, and he was always sort of the "nervous" type. He wouldn't dare try to harm someone he knew was bigger than him, would he?

No, of course not. It had to be the work of Voros. They probably put a collar on him, brainwashed him, and used some kind of magic to morph him into this demi-annie. Preston, while stressed from his condition, would most likely never resort to violence. His weakened state of mind, however, might have only made it easier for Cerberus to plant their will into his head.

"Understood." The Phantomhive finally stated. "We'll take care of him. In the meantime, start tracking down possible Jacks. We're not entirely sure what their goal is, but knowing Cerberus, there may be suicide-bombers involved."

"Roger that." Charlotte answered, prompting the man to hang up. The speed of the car increased as the blonde overheard the conversation on the phone.

"How are we going to do this?" the menace questioned, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Talk to him first. Then, if force is necessary, will make him submit. Same as always." Answered Ciel, speaking with a certain degree of detachment from the subject that anyone other than Jim Macken would find unsettling.

"These fuckers…" grumbled the fair-haired demon, shaking his head. "What the fuck are they up to?"

"Well, if Voros sensed Preston on the campus, knowing them, they're bound to be curious. That's just the way they are." The bluenette stated, understanding their foes motives a bit. "In their mind, they probably found a new, interesting toy to play with."

"And it just happened to be affiliated with Phantomhive, yeah?"

"Yeah…"

"Listen…" began the menace. "I know that you identify with this barmy, browless, bag of dicks a bit, but the situation has changed. You're not some bored demon without a purpose like Voros. You've got things to keep you going, including your friends."

"I know…" the Phantomhive said with a sigh. "I'm not the same idiot I was… Now we have to save Preston from this monstrosity. Voros has to go down."

"Are you saying that resurrecting me was an act of idiocy?" the blonde teased in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"A little bit, yes. It was a good one, though. Maybe not for the reasons I intended, but the outcome is better than I could have imagined."

"Aw, you're so sweet." Alois cooed. "Are you going to show Preston that same sweetness?"

"He's my friend, so I have to show him some kindness." Ciel replied. "Is this really the time to be taunting me?"

"Every time is a good time to taunt you." His beau answered as the car began to slow down. The duo approached the parliament building and the clock tower attached to it. Once the vehicle lulled to a stop, the demons stepped out of it, examining the scene.

"Tourists…" the watchdog said. "Charlotte was right… This is the perfect way to hide a bomb."

"Charlotte could be a really scary person if she wasn't so nice." The blonde answered. "Maybe it's a good thing she's on our side, huh? Leave the creepy, fucked up shit to us…"

"So what's the plan?" questioned Ciel. "Wait for Preston, search the crowd, or find Voros?"

"Maybe Preston could lead us to Voros?"

"Excellent observation. In that case…" the Phantomhive trailed off as he felt a familiar presence. He turned to find a familiar face approaching the building.

"Speak of the devil…" said Alois.

"Follow him."