"Haha! En garde, you ridiculous pug-monster!" taunted the menace as he evaded the beast's punches, swipes and slashes. He spun and twirled as he playfully slinked out of the beast's reach. "You're not as quick of a breed as regular werewolves, huh?"
"Shut… up!" huffed Hobbs. He took a few steps back and created some distance so he could take a moment to catch his breath. The poor doctor was drenched in sweat as he panted under the sun beaming down on the deck, huffing and puffing as he slouched with his hands resting on his knees. "Why's it so hot?! This is England! It's not supposed to be sunny!"
"We can take a break, if you want." Alois offered, planting both feet on the ground and placing a hand on his hip.
"How can you be perfectly fine?! Why aren't you tired?!"
"Well you see, I'm one hell of a secret agent." The menace said, posing dramatically. He stood there for a moment, taking in the confusion of his opponent until he broke character and snorted.
"What the fuck was that?" Hobbs questioned, baffled by the Macken's antics.
"Inside joke, inside joke; don't worry about it." Alois said, trying to hold in his giggling. "I'm a demon. What did you expect? We can take a break if you want, or you can just give up now and leave me alone. Your pick."
"Is there a third option?"
"Death."
Hobbs looked up at the menace, unsure if he was to believe what he was suggesting. Alois did have a reputation at his former place of employment for being highly eccentric, but never did he expect him to pull something so ridiculous. What was the right choice? He was tired, and didn't know if he could keep going. If he continued, he might die, but there's not guarantee that Alois wouldn't kill him.
"Are you serious?" the doctor questioned in disbelief.
"What? Death?"
"No, about taking a break."
"Oh, yeah." The Macken said. "Let's be honest, I know I can beat you, but there's really no use in straight up killing you. Our mission is over. All we need to do is escape."
"So why don't you just run, then?" asked Hobbs. "Why stay?"
"Those two need to have a chat, I think." Alois answered, gesturing over to the other fight taking place nearby.
"You're crazy."
"I can just kill you if you want. No skin off my nose…"
"A break sounds lovely." The doctor butted back in. "Shall we sit down?"
"Sure. Be my guest." Answered Alois with a grin, plopping down where he stood, and crossed his legs. Soon, the doctor did the same and both of them turned to watch their compatriots engage in combat.
BANG!"
Suddenly, Hobbs screamed while Alois remained unphased, still watching his beau fight as he pointed one of his pistols in Hobbs' direction. Pain radiated from the wound inflicted on the doctor as he clutched his leg in agony and hunched over. When the man looked up at the blonde, the menace was standing with his pistol back in its holster as he dusted himself off.
"You shot me?!" the doctor gawked. "Why would you do that?!"
"So you won't come after me while I go get the life boat ready for my escape." Answered the blonde. "Duh."
Once he was satisfied with the lack of mobility from his foe, he made his way toward the lifeboats, making sure he avoided the brawling of his beau in the process. As he ran, however, he noticed something very distressing. The land had ended, and they were surrounded by open water. Following that observation, however, he stopped and turned to shout.
"Ciel!" he called, putting his hands around his mouth in order to direct his voice toward the bluenette better. "We're at sea!"
His beau didn't answer right away. He was too busy. He had six fists to dodge and only two to block and counter with. Leaping backward, he created some distance between himself and his opponent in order to reply.
"Just get the lifeboat ready!" Ciel shouted back. "I'll be there as fast as I can!"
Preston's eyes darted to Alois and then back to his opponent. Sweat ran down his forehead, forcing him to squint in an attempt to keep it out of his eyes. Ciel wasn't even tired. His injuries healed instantly.
"You… You… Piece of shit! Why are you running away?!" he demanded, his voice booming.
"That is for me to know, and for you to find out when it happens." Ciel replied. "If you answer my questions, however, I might generously give you a hint."
"Fuck you!"
"Now that's unsporting of you." The Phantomhive quipped. "And you know I'm in a committed relationship, so I'm afraid that I will have to decline your offer."
Gritting his teeth, Preston's face contorted in a way that was almost painful. His brow furrowed and his eyes were wide; His lips pulled back in order to reveal his teeth in a snarl and he scowled so intensely that it would rival the bluenette. The Omid's fist was clenched so tightly that he could have pulled a muscle, but he did not register that right then. Preston was too focused on the Watchdog.
He took a step closer, and then another, and another as he took off in a run. Cocking three arms back, he launched them all at the Phantomhive at once, forcing Ciel to block with the entirety of his forearm. The force was enough to leave a nasty bruise, and had he been a demon himself, he would have been able to shatter it. A barrage of fists came after the bluenette, forcing him to block with his own arms, and occasionally take one of the blows.
"What. Did. You. DO?!" Preston roared, striking the bluenette between words. "You arrogant, stuck-up, psychopathic monster!"
"After all you've done, do you really think you have the right to call me a monster?" questioned Ciel as he winced at a fracture appearing in his arm from the endless assault. As soon as he healed a portion, another fist came down and inflicted more damage, leaving him unable to solidify the bone again. "You're a killer too, Preston. You betrayed your people."
"They betrayed me first!" the Omid shouted, a crack appearing in his voice. "You left me to die! I was sick and dying, you fuck! Nobody even cared!"
Fists flew, striking the demon again and again, leaving no openings to counter as they moved rapidly and continued to move faster. Tears began to fall, mixing with the sweat on Preston's face and stinging his eyes. Yet he still pressed on, taking everything out on the Watchdog. Each blow contained his own anguish. It was a part of him that he was projecting onto his foe. Fear, loneliness, and pain were just the beginning.
"Preston!" Ciel called out, but his voice fell on deaf ears as the beating continued. The difficulty of maintaining his stance grew with each hit. Blood stained his clothes and face where the skin had given way, only to heal seconds later.
"If I hadn't gone with the others to save you, none of this would have happened! But I did! Because I cared!" yelled the emotionally wounded man. "If I hadn't met you-! If you never came into my life-! I had a future! You took it away! You and your stupid organization! Monsters!" Cocking his arm back, he screamed.
"YOU'RE ALL MONSTERS!"
Impacting the Watchdog's arm one final time, the bone finally gave way, shattering within the confines of the Phantomhive's flesh. Biting down, Ciel's eyes widened at the unexpected pain and he broke his stance in order to back off yet again. His arm dangled at his side as he stared at his former friend, limp and unwilling to move. Steam escaped the bluenette's injuries as he allowed himself to heal. A single, sapphire eye met two golden ones, finding nothing but hurt behind bitter tears.
Gold should shine, but these eyes were dull as their owner was broken. A hand reached up to wipe them in an attempt to clear his vision, but the water would not stop. The only sounds that could be heard on that deck now where the crashing of waves, the whipping of winds, the hissing of steam, and the hiccupping of a young man who had been pushed too far. All humans had a breaking point, and Preston had met his long ago. The shattering of his spirit from illness that could not be cured, isolation, imprisonment, and agonizing pain was simply too much for a person to endure. This was something that Ciel understood completely. That is why his gaze was not angry. It was not irritated. The eye of the Watchdog looked at this young man with nothing but solemn empathy.
How long had it been since he had lived this scene? Ciel knew that it was over one hundred years ago—one hundred and thirty, to be exact, as the Phantomhive knew the exact date. On his birthday in the year of 1885, Ciel Phantomhive witnessed tragedy that no child of the age of ten should ever endure. For two months, he knew nothing but fear, pain, loneliness, and suffering until his heart finally went numb from it all, only to ignite with the roaring flames of hatred upon awaking once again in the world of light, forever binding him to the underworld for the rest of eternity. Once that step had been taken, one can never move back—only move forward until the flame burns out and they are left with nothing until they regain the strength to rebuild.
"Preston." The Watchdog called again. "Do you hate me?"
"Why won't you just die?" Preston sobbed, holding his head in his true hands. "Why? Monsters like you… Monsters like you-!"
"I am no monster." Ciel said. "I am a man. I have witnessed hell, and I have crawled my way to the surface at the expense of my humanity and freedom. Back when I was human, I would be giving orders, but now I take them."
Tilting his head to the side, the Watchdog inquired: "Just what do you want, Preston? Will you become a monster yourself for the sake of defeating me? For the sake of defeating H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.? What is the cost? What is the prize you seek?"
"Shut up!" whimpered Preston, his entire body shaking with his head.
"What do you want? What will you win?" the Phantomhive pressed further, flexing the muscles in his arm once the bones had healed. "What is it that your heart desires? Revenge for revenge's sake?"
"Shut UP!"
"The answer is NOTHING!" Ciel declared. "Revenge is hollow and meaningless. It doesn't give back the price you pay to get it. It will not heal you. Nothing will unless you face yourself, Preston! Your anger, everything you are right now, comes from fear!"
"SHUT UP!" his foe screamed, finally looking up. The flames of rage finally returned to his eyes, causing them to come back to life. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
"I know EVERYTHING!" Ciel bellowed. "I know because I lived it! The world does not revolve around you, Preston! You don't know what happened after the castle! Everyone had to recover. Everyone. Everyone did visit you! You were unconscious! Kristopherson was so overcome with guilt that he couldn't bear to see you in that state! Even I had to undergo counseling afterward, because I was sick to begin with!"
With each sentence, Ciel's own fury began to rise as he recalled the events. It could be heard in his voice and seen in his eye. Able to move his arm and hand, he clenched his fists tightly, leaving indents in the palms of his hands and he stared the Omid down.
"One year ago, I was captured and locked up for one month! I was tortured! I was isolated! I had nothing but faith in the fact that I knew Jim would come find me! That is how I survived!" barked the Watchdog, forcing his opponent to take a step back. "One-hundred and thirty years ago, I was captured and locked up for two months! I was tortured! I was isolated! I still bear the marks hell burned into my skin! My world fell apart and the despair turned a ten year old child into a monster! Do you not think that I know what it is like to see your entire world fall apart and vanish before my very eyes!?"
Fire burned behind Ciel's eye, but it was not the flames of hatred. It was passion, combined with the indignant anger of his opponents invalidating words. The hound had seen hell, and endured its scalding iron against his flesh. The devils he saw there dance in his head at night sometimes as the scenes unfold behind his eyelids. And yet, Preston knew better. The suggestion made the bluenette erupt.
"Do not dare suggest for even a moment that I do not know what hell is like, for I have seen it!" He boomed. "I was too weak the first time I escaped and became a monster. You are doing the same."
Preston's expression wavered as his winced at the sound of his former friends' voice. He listened. His mind raced. He couldn't respond. Rationality was lost.
"You're still a monster!" the Omid declared. "Don't talk about imprisonment when you let me be imprisoned!"
"Would you rather I had done nothing and allowed you to die?!" questioned the Phantomhive. "Had I not talked with my superiors, that is what would have happened! You are alive, Preston!"
"I don't care!" Preston howled, spit escaping his mouth as he did. "I don't CARE!"
"You just want to wallow in your sadness and anguish!" accused Ciel, pointing at his former friend as he snarled. "You do not wish to remain human! Do not project that onto me! You are the one who is willing to forfeit your humanity for a small amount of petty revenge! Do not think that I do not know the nature of revenge! I know it well, as it has left deep gashes in my heart that still ache! They ache whenever I see people like you, willing to sacrifice your soul for a prolonged tantrum!"
"I'm HUMAN!" objected his foe.
"You're a THING! Goddammit Preston! Open your eyes!" roared the Phantomhive. "YOU. ARE. ME!"
Silence. The air had been poisoned with it as neither man could breathe. The air had escaped their lungs and the expression of the Omid fell as he stared into the face of this demon. There was hurt, there was anger, and there was sadness reflected in that sapphire eye of his.
"You're becoming the same monster that I did." Ciel said, his voice calm. "Give up, Preston. Don't become a monster that is too weak to bear that suffering."
How was Preston to react to this? To his plan being all for naught? Was he wrong in perceiving that this was the way to fight against the injustice that he faced at the hands of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.? No! He was right. This was Preston's way. This is how he chose to cope with it. That is what Preston decided.
"No." the man said, looking up at the bluenette. "I will see this through to the end. I am not coward. Not anymore. I am done letting everyone else dictate my own life. I will make my own decisions from now on."
"And what is your choice?"
"That I can't forgive you." Preston replied. "You fucked me over. You fucked me over real bad, and I can't let that slide. Deep down, I always knew you were dangerous. I knew that being around you would bite me in the ass one day, but I stuck around because I tried my hardest to see you as a person. Now I know that you're just a thing."
Closing his eye, the bluenette sighed. There was no reasoning with the Omid. He was too invested already and too far gone. Taking a fighting stance, he positioned himself to get back into the battle.
"Then you give me no choice." Ciel said. "I'm sorry things turned out this way."
"I don't believe that for one second." Preston answered, doing the same.
"Sorry for that, too."
Clenching all six fists, the Omid put one foot before the other, and again, and again, and began charging at the Watchdog while the demon mirrored his actions. Both men cocked back their fists and attempted to strike the other. The demon was much quicker than Preston, so he was able to keep up with all six of the arms coming at him now. Cracks began to appear in his foe's armour as they brawled, giving way to the force of the Phantomhive's blows.
Finally, their fists clashed together one final time, shattering one of the Black Annis arms that sprouted from above Preston's shoulderblade. The one on the opposite side was crushed as well in a follow-through strike on the Phantomhive's part. Gritting his teeth, the Omid changed his tactics as well as his weapon. The fingers of one of his remaining arms flattened and joined together, forming a sharp point, and as he distracted the demon with the rapid barrage delivered from three arms, the fourth pierced the demon's flesh, right between his ribs.
"Urk!" uttered the demon, his brow furrowing as he winced. Just then, however, his eye widened and he clutched at his side, groping around next to the wound until a relieved expression befell his face, only to disappear shortly after Preston pulled out his blade.
The Omid's face contorted into a wicked grin as he attempted to repeat the action, only to have his arm grabbed by Ciel's. Squeezing it with inhuman force, he attempted to crush it, but was stopped with a blow to the face. When he did, the impact caused something to fall out of the hole he had made in the bluenette's jacket and roll across the deck. Ciel's face went pale as the object tried to escape, and it was as though he had completely forgotten about the fight at hand. His opponent was baffled as he turned away to dive after the small square item, but still, Preston tried to stop the demon all the same, leaping after him and bringing his arm back down on top of him before Ciel could reach the box.
A cry of pain escaped Ciel's lips as the black annis blade pierced his flesh once again, but he still persisted, desperately reaching for the item as he was stabbed over and over again. It was fortunate that the bluenette could not die, or his unprecedented prioritization of that object would have cost him dearly. Ciel could afford a few stab wounds, but what he could not afford was losing that box. It was too precious, and too important to truly replace. As Ciel's fingers brushed against the side of the box, his assailant leaned forward and curiously picked it up. When Preston's fingers gripped the sides of the object, Ciel's eye widened and his body thrashed violently, eventually shaking the other man off.
"NO!" he barked, scrambling to his feet. "Give that back!"
"What the fuck? Just what's so important about it?" Preston asked, taking several steps back in order to create distance. The man smirked as he held the box away from his foe, pleased by the hesitance on the Watchdog's face. Whatever this box was, it was important; so important that Ciel could not risk Preston breaking it, and so important that he would rather be stabbed repeatedly than lose the item. "What's wrong? Afraid I'll break it?"
"You don't know what you're doing." The Watchdog growled, holding out a hand. "Return it to me at once!"
"And if I don't?" his opponent asked. "Maybe I'll just crush it…" he mused, gently squeezing the sides of the box while holding it up where the bluenette could see.
"DON'T!"
Ciel's outburst caused the Omid to laugh. Never had he seen the man so on edge. Even after being stabbed multiple times, the bluenette's eye was fixed on that box, blatantly ignoring his wounds sealing themselves shut as steam radiated from them. The Phantomhive was not letting that box out of his sight.
"What's so important about it?" asked the Omid, placing his thumb and index finger on the lid. "You'd get stabbed over it?"
Opening the box, Prestons' arrogant smile faded. His laughter was gone in a flash, and his will to torment the Phantomhive had come to a screeching halt. Preston looked to the bluenette, then looked over his shoulder at the blonde, who was still currently in the midst of figuring out the lifeboat, and back again. His muscles relaxed as his face morphed into one of concern and confusion.
"What is this?" he asked, holding the box out to the Watchdog. "Ciel… Is this…?"
Pausing for a moment, Ciel's eye darted to his beau as well, and then locked back on Preston. Body relaxing, his fighting stance fell as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. Ciel ran a hand through bluenette locks, sweeping his hair out of his face momentarily.
"It is… my ambition."
