With a loud gasp, Alois tried to fill his lungs with air as he awoke, only to cough up water. While he didn't need air to survive, it was still immensely uncomfortable. The poor man's entire body felt heavy, especially his head. He cranium throbbed and his neck felt as though it couldn't support it, which wasn't surprising given what had happened. Alois' neck was snapped during the fight, causing him to "die" in a sense before he regenerated. Slowly, he sat up and examined his surroundings, and he was by no means pleased.

It was dark; very dark, but he could see waves as the moon overhead bounced off of them. There was light that illuminated his immediate surroundings as well, alerting him that he was on a small fishing boat. After he managed to stand, he placed his hands on the side of the ship and stared out, but was unable to see even the slightest glimpse of land. The air was damp and smelled of salt, convincing him that he was no longer on fresh waters, but rather, the sea.

Naturally, he was afraid. Unease bubbled up from within his chest. He was far from home, no doubt, and he wasn't sure how would be able to get back. The man's body was on edge, and he couldn't figure out if it was concern or just his nerves reactivating. If he wasn't leaning on the side of the boat, he wouldn't be standing. His nervous system was still waking up as it had been cut off from his brain for several hours at the very least. Regardless, he did sense a disturbance. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and rightfully so, as he saw a shadow stretching along the floor of the boat the wasn't his. Turning around, his eyes followed it, only for his heart to sink completely.

There, he saw Araneus standing in the doorway, causing the Phantomhive to feel faint. The older demon was still wearing the shirt and pants he was wearing before, although the labcoat was missing and so where his shoes. The fabric strained against his large build and obviously didn't fit him. The man was built like a gorilla, after all. Scars covered his exposed forearms where large patches of skin had been removed by blessed instruments for experimentation, and even his face was cut. A large scar ran across his forehead and over his right eye. For whatever reason, he kept them and failed to regenerate them away. It had to be a conscious choice on his part, but Alois was not exactly keen on understanding the inner machinations of the evil man's mind.

"Oh, you're awake." observed the villain. "Shame. Help hasn't arrived yet."

"What kind of help?" asked the menace, finding his voice. His eyes narrowed, expressing his skepticism toward the other man's "concern."

"The Order. I called them over the radio." Araneus said, leaning against the door frame. "Put up a flag to signal them. They didn't have a red one, but I found a sheet. I had to improvise…"

"Let me guess… You hijacked this ship and killed the crew, huh?"

"Sure did."

"So we're just going to float here until someone comes to get us?"

"Unless you want to jump out and swim back to England."

"Well..." Alois trailed off, neglecting to finish his sentence as he turned back around and began to hoist himself over the side of the ship. He froze, however, as he heard the click of a pistol.

"You're gonna stay right here until they haul your pretty ass off." Araneus stated as he pointed the gun directly at the menace. Letting out a breath, the Phantomhive's body relaxed and he allowed himself to look over his shoulder.

"How'd you get in with the order, anyhow?" Alois inquired.

"Your friend used to visit me. Told me about his plans. Naturally, I was glad to be thought of."

"Why break out now? Why didn't you go with them when they broke into the base?"

"Not enough time to get me out, I'm afraid. I didn't think he'd ever call for me after that, but he did."

"Call?" asked Alois, turning around to face his enemy. In response, the other man simply smiled and raised his left hand.

On the back of it was a pentagram with eight lines sticking out of the star like the legs of a spider. It was prominent. It was obvious what this meant. It's owner flashed his teeth in a maniacal grin as he stared right through Alois, reveling in the look of absolute shock on the younger demon's face.

"He called me with this." the demon said, his voice grainy. "It was a smart move, but at the same time, an incredibly stupid one. If I hadn't been called, he would have been able to die in peace without me being able to claim his soul. He must be desperate, if he would go this far… Now I'm gonna claim all of him. Hope it's worth it."

"You bastard..." With his face contorted in a dangerous snarl, Alois puffed himself up to look as big as possible as he glared at Araneus with everything he had. Teeth grit and fingers digging into the panel, Alois' mind raced for a way to kill this man on the spot like he should have the last time they met.

Flame appeared in his right hand before producing a weapon, and Alois immediately aimed it's barrel at the demon. He may have dropped one of his guns, but it was part of a matching pair. A roar escaped him as he prepared for combat.

"You bastard!" Rapidly, Alois pulled the trigger, striking his enemy in the stomach before Araneus had the sense to duck behind the wall. Occasionally, his hand peeked out from around it in order to return fire, but his clumsy shots were easily avoided despite the menace not seeking shelter, himself. Alois was right on top of the older demon and closed in. Landing a hit on Araneus' arm, he forced the man to drop the gun and moved in for a killing blow, only to feel a piercing pain in his shoulder.

Turning around, he could see a ship approaching. It was big; far bigger than the fishing boat that he was currently trapped on. The ship had guns as well and was firing at him from above. Alois didn't have enough bullets for this. A searchlight shone down on top of the deck and landed right on him as the larger ship had him in it's sights. Immediately, he retracted his weapon, weaving it back into his invisible demonic garb.

"We are the Scarlet Order!" called a voice coming from the other ship. It was loud but and electronically muffled, indicating that they had a megaphone. "Put your hands on your head and surrender now!"

At the moment, Alois knew that he couldn't fight this. The Order had weapons for days, if H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. intel was by any means accurate, and on this tiny ship, he couldn't go anywhere. Thus, Alois did the reasonable thing and did as instructed, committing a tactical surrender. He did not even pretend to be at all pleased about it, however. His face was grim. Alois wore a scowl that could rival his husband's.

Withing minutes, the ship had approached and Scarlet Order forces boarded. They pointed guns in Alois' face and forced him onto the larger vessel while tending to Araneus' injuries. Once on the deck, he saw the commander in chief, marking the first time in almost half a year since the Phantomhive had seen his former friend.

There was no time to revel in his astonishment, however. He was swiftly forced to his knees in front of the leaders of the order. It didn't matter if he tried to shove the barrels of the guns aside. He was simply struck over the head with them when he did.

Preston looked terrible. The bags under his eyes looked worse and he seemed pale. Alois could only assume that his condition was worsening. He could see the outline of the black annis growths on his torso through his shirt, and could tell that they had gotten bigger. Seeing his former friend like this should have made him angry. Alois should have been angry, given the circumstance and what Preston had done, but seeing him like this, all the Phantomhive could feel was sadness. He longed for the days when they were in school. Oh, how kind Preston was back then, even if he could be pretentious. He was sweet, with a bright future ahead of him. Now what future lied before the man? Certain death at a young age. It was bound to be grisly. Alois could just tell. He had seen people like this go down before, but never did he ever suspect that one of them would have been his friend at some point.

"Long time no see, Alois." Preston said finally. A haughty grin graced his face as he flashed his teeth at the demon. "Welcome to the Brahmastra."

"Hello, Preston." the menace replied, his tone sweet. "I would love to say that it is nice to see you again, but sadly, that isn't the case."

"Excellent observation." his former friend stated. "I take it the detective business is going well?"

"Wonderfully. I should really be getting back to it, though."

"I'm afraid that I can't let you do that. You see, you're a good tool for me, now. I can't just let go of you."

"Ah, so you're going to use me as a bargaining piece so that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. won't hit you as hard?" Alois observed before adding a light nod. "Clever."

"I'm glad you think so, because you're going to be staying with us for a bit." the Omid stated. "I'm really glad Araneus brought you. I was hoping we'd get our hands on one of you at some point. Taking turns getting captured, I see."

"Our relationship is built on equality."

"How are things going between you and Ciel, by the way?" Preston asked, crouching down to the blond's level and looking him in the eyes. "Did you ever get his little 'surprise'?"

"Indeed, I did." Alois answered. "We've been happily together, ever since."

"That's good." Preston said before looking up at his flunkies.

"Take his ring." he instructed, causing Alois' eyes to widen. He tried to turn in order to protect himself, but the strongest of the bunch descended upon him.

Werewolves, vampires, and the like collaborated to bring the mighty demon down. That's what it took, as the menace was strong enough to lift several tons! His muscles strained to lift himself, prompting more to hold him down whenever he made progress. Baring his fangs, he growled, grunted, and cursed as he fought back, keeping his fist tightly clenched so that his wedding band was immovable. In truth, Alois would rather they take his fingers than that ring. That ring was proof of normalcy, love, and commitment. That ring signified his love for his husband and his husband's love for him. It was something that Alois was willing to fight tooth and nail for, and that is precisely what he did.

He was struck with blunt objects, he was shot, he was held down and pummeled. This went on for hours as there was no way that he was simply going to allow them to take his most prized possession; something that was so deeply valuable on a profound emotional level that he was willing to go through such pain to keep. Alois' blood stained the deck and his vision had blurred, but his hand remained clenched, although his fingers were starting to give in against prying hands.

Finally, the leaders of the order got bored with the display and Preston stepped forward. Alois's eye strained to look up at him, but could see him raise his foot. In an instant, it came down harshly on the blonde's cranium, forcing a yelp out of the demon. The boot came up again before crashing back down. Again and again, this happened, until the blonde's skull cracked and his body went limp.

"Stay away from his head." Preston instructed, pointing down at the blackened bone. "His skull is exposed. A demon's skeleton is dangerous. If you prefer your flesh to not be melted from your bones, I would suggest you don't touch it."

Bending down, he gently slid Alois' ring from his finger before righting himself and inspecting it. Eyeing the object, a small smile graced his face as he read the inscription. "You will always be loved, forever and always." Preston read aloud before walking back to his fellow leaders.

"Take this and dispose of it." he ordered, handing the wedding band to Wink. "Throw it over the side of the boat, melt it down; I don't care. And make sure he is restrained until we can secure him at the base. He's not dead. He'll regenerate from that in a few hours."

"Yes, sir." the witch answered, looking down at the silver object in her hand. Closing it, Wink held it gently but securely.

"Return to your ship once we get back." the Omid instructed further. "We have to build ourselves back up again if we want to win this."

"Yes, sir." the woman replied before turning to do as she was instructed. Meanwhile, her boss turned to his other associate, Doctor Brent Hobbs.

"You take Araneus and tend to his wounds." Preston ordered of the doctor. "We need him in his best condition."

"You got it, boss." Hobbs replied, gesturing for the demon to follow him.

"Welcome aboard, Araneus." the head said to Araneus before he left. "I look forward to doing business with you."

"No, no..." replied the demon, despite being hunched over and clutching at his abdomen. "The pleasure is all mine."


A/N: Fuck... That's not good...

This chapter moved faster than I wanted it to... I was trying to get the important bits out there because the stuff I actually want to write is up in a bit.

I'm sorry...

I have no idea what to think of this arc so far... I'm not sure if I like it or not yet, actually... We'll know in time, I suppose...

Also, I'm out of Character Shet questions, so there's no segment this time. I'm sorry!

Until the next (awful) chapter, my duckies~!