Lunch was happily had by the Macken brothers, despite the younger one trying to both eat and play with his free toy at the same time. He was hungry, but playing was also important to him. It took him much longer to finish his food because of this along with the fact that Alois was talking to him at the same time.
His older brother talked to him about nothing in particular. Mostly, it was questions about how things were going at school and if he learned anything new. There was also simply the matter of what Luka was into at the moment. Alois was curious, especially since the lad seemed to be moving away from pokemon at the moment. There wasn't any particular reason for this other than he had found new things to be interested in. He quite liked Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it turns out, but he mostly wanted to talk about the prior. The lad was elated when he was told that there were more movies than just the newest one.
When the food was gone, Alois took the boy into the bathroom in order to wash the grease and salt off of his hands. He could tell that there was more than the lad was capable of removing with just a napkin. Messes were made.
Once that was finished, they loaded up into the car and headed to Gehenna. Riding with Alois was more fun than riding with Sebastian in some ways for Luka, while in others, it was the opposite. The lad enjoyed the conversation, but also liked it when Sebastian told him about things and let him play with the radio.
The ride was shorter than his usual commute to the church, however, as he and the blonde were already out in the city. Like everyone else who entered Gehenna, Alois had to give his name. Flashing his badge didn't hurt, either. The gate opened for them and they passed through, turning heads as the black Mercedes made its way down the street. It was an uncommon sight for Gehennians, while they recognised the car that Sebastian usually drove. The fact that they couldn't see through the tinted windows didn't help their curiosity, either. When the car stopped in front of the church, several people stopped in order to take a peek at whoever was inside.
When a blonde head of hair stepped out, people hooted and hollered at the sight of the infamous Lion. Alois forced out an awkward, yet polite smile accompanied with a wave. In truth, he still wasn't used to this and hadn't the faintest idea as to how to react. Still, he had an objective, so he opened the door of the backseat to let his brother out before taking the boy's hand and leading him inside.
"What's all of the commotion?" called out a voice from within the church as the Mackens stepped through the door. It would seem that she was asleep when they arrived, but she wasn't cross. She didn't have the opportunity to be as her eyes fixed on the two demons.
"Oh! If it isn't Luka and Mister Phantomhive!" she observed. "How can I help you two?"
"Hello, sister." the menace said with a wave. "I hope we haven't disturbed you."
"No. I was simply taking a nap." the woman said. "That's how I manage to stay up both day and night."
"Sounds exhausting." Alois replied. "I'm sorry we interrupted you. I really should have called ahead."
"Nonsense! The church is always open to those who need it."
"Well, it isn't that I need it, but I was wanting to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"Luka tells me that there are no playgrounds in Gehenna." Alois explained. "I was wondering if you would care to have playground equipment on church grounds for the kids in the neighbourhood to play on."
"Oh, my!" Sister Dorothy exclaimed before laughing cheerfully. "Why, I would love it. How will we get the funds, though?"
"Leave that to me. I can take care of it no problem. In fact, I can pick up some today and haul them over." replied the man. "I can't promise anything too fancy, and I probably can't stay for assembly, but I can certainly purchase a few things."
"Gracious, if you did just that, it would still be amazing!" stated the nun. "I would be thrilled if you did!"
"My only real concern is that whether or not you'll be able to sleep through the sound of kids playing!"
"That's what church bells are for, child. I'm very hard to wake up."
"Didn't we wake you up when we came in?" questioned Luka, looking up at the woman.
"I was about to nap, not napping." Sister Dorothy clarified. "They would have to get into some serious trouble to wake me up."
"Then do we have a plan?" asked the menace with a smile.
"Well, if you can get the equipment, I'm sure we've got a few people lying about who can assemble and place it." answered the vampire. "That sounds like what works, to me, but I don't really know if that suits you."
"It does, perfectly." Alois said. "We'll be back to drop it all off this afternoon."
"I'll make sure someone is here to receive it." the nun replied, shaking the blonde's hand. "Thank you so much for your kindness, sir."
"Don't think anything of it." grinned the demon. "Kids need places where they can play outside and be creative. It's good for their development."
"You cerntainly know a lot."
"I took a psychology class in school, and we went over developmental psychology." explained Alois. "Though, I have to admit, I do have kind of a selfish reason for it. I want Luka to have a place where he can play outside with other kids."
"That's not selfish at all." Sister Dorothy stated. "You simply want your brother to have an enriching childhood. You're looking out for his sake."
"I guess I am. I want him to live as normally and happily as possible. Being a kid is essential to growing up to be a healthy adult. It's important, but once the time has passed, you can't really get it back."
"Oh, bless your heart…" the woman said. "If there's ever anything we can do for you or your family, you just say the word, child."
"I'll be fine. Things are going really well, now. I'm not sure if I could be happier!" grinned the menace with confidence. "Thank you for the offer."
"It stands if it's ever needed." the woman replied with a smile of her own.
"Thank you, sister." the Phantomhive said. "Well, I suppose we ought to be getting to work, then. We'll be back soon." With a small wave, he excused himself and his brother from the church, leaving the nun to get back to her slumber.
The two demons walked back outside and Alois unlocked the car door. He opened it to let his sibling inside, telling him to buckle his seatbelt before closing the door again. Then, the menace moved to get into his own seat, but was stopped when he noticed that he was being watched.
It was an old woman who stood before him, staring at him rather intensely. Her face was worn and wrinkled with dark circles around her eyes. Most worrisome, however, was the scar that traveled across her nose, and the way that she hunched over painfully. The woman's whole body shook as she was unable to stay still, but she remained focused.
"Can I help you?" Alois politely asked with a small smile.
"Is it really you?" the woman asked. "Are you mister Lion?"
"Yep, that's me." she was told in return. Her head then lowered as she reached into her coat.
"It's a shame what has happened to you." she said sadly. "Being in the clutches of that brute. My gift will make you forget him, however..."
Alois didn't have a real response, as he couldn't think of anything to say. All he could do was tilt his head in confusion and arch an eyebrow as he watched the woman dig around with shaking hands. Soon, she pulled out a small bag fastened shut with a string. She struggled to untie the knot, so the menace stepped forward.
"Let me help." he offered, holding out his hand. The bag was placed in his palm and he very quickly undid the string. Peering inside, a new wave of confusion came over him.
"Powder?" he said aloud, but as he went to hand the bag back to the old woman, the woman struck it from below, sending powder flying out in a large cloud directly in the demon's face. It burned his nose and made his eyes water.
"What the fuck?!" he let out between coughs. Taking a few steps back, he managed to open his eyes a little bit in order to look at the old woman for a brief moment before he was forced to close them again.
"Hic manebimus optime!" the woman chanted, causing the ring on her hand to glow. Alois had assumed that the woman was a witch when she first appeared due to her human-like appearance, but never did he expect that she would attack him! "Lapsus memoriae!"
The light shot out from her ring and struck the menace in the stomach before he could regain his senses. The impact forced the air from his lungs and forced him back. All of this was witnessed by his brother inside the car. Luka was screaming with tears traveling down his cheeks as he struggled to unbuckle his seatbelt and open the door. As he got out, several other people on the scene were making their way over to help while others went after the old lady as she attempted to flee. She couldn't get very far, as she simply couldn't move fast enough. She was apprehended by citizens before the police was called and heckled for her actions.
Luka kneeled next to his brother as the menace laid on the ground. The blonde's eyes were forced shut as the powder solidified on his face. It clung to his eyelashes and to the area around his mouth and nose as he tried to get up but was obviously struggling. Even with the help of bystanders trying to get him to his feet, the menace simply couldn't do it as he seemed to be teetering on the between consciousness and unconsciousness. Poor Luka was crying the whole time as Alois used what fuzzy sixth sense he still had to grab his hand and hold it, mumbling to him how everything was going to be alright.
As H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. trucks arrived, the Phantomhive could no longer remain awake, and passed out despite soldiers trying their best to keep that from happening. Captain Debra Harland saw to the younger of the Macken brothers, doing her best to keep him calm while leading him into one of the trucks with his brother. The assailant was loaded up into another truck after being taken from the Gehenna Police. As the attack was on a high-ranking H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operative, the organization had every right to assume jurisdiction and interview witnesses.
Once again, Alois had run into trouble on an ordinary day, but thus is the life of a Phantomhive. The only problem was whether or not he was alright. He was brought back to headquarters for medical attention, while someone was forced to make the phonecall to the Phantomhive household, knowing that all hell was about to break loose.
A/N: Well... That escalated quickly... Alois is just a magnet for misfortune, isn't he? Will he ever be free from this fuckery?
Probably not. That's just life, around these parts...
Oh, this is going to be bad... Very bad... Is my heart strong enough?
Probably not...
I must perservere! It's going to be hard not to undo everything in a handful of chapters...
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
