Like a stampede, people ran down the corridor of the facility en masse while the demons and Seras herded them. Martyr calling them "shepherds" turned out to not be all that far from the truth, it seemed. In addition to watching out for incoming forces, the group was also making sure no one fell down or fell behind. If someone tripped, they could be trampled to death by the frantic crowd.

When the first one fell, Alois was both the first one to notice and the first one to act. "Go around him!" he ordered before leaping in the way of the man and yanking him to his feet. He didn't mean to be so rough, but if he didn't do it quick enough, the man could get hurt. Leaping back to his position on the right side, he carried the man with him so that he could rejoin the group easier.

"Incoming on the left!" he shouted, although it was difficult for the others to hear him. On that side, Ciel prepared to fire, taking out his gun. Sure enough, there it was. A group of vampires had sprung from the connecting hallway, only to be quickly taken care of by the bluenette. He didn't land that many clean shots, but he landed enough to hit something important. By the time more showed up, the herd had ran past, leaving the stragglers up to Sebastian to take care of. Unfortunately, his preferred weapon of throwing knives was inefficient in this position, as he couldn't go back to retrieve the weapons and he couldn't get close enough to use any sort of fisticuffs. Thus, when they passed mobs, the more unfortunate victims of Belmont followed behind.

"I don't have the weaponry to take care of this!" Sebastian called out in a rare moment of trouble for the butler.

"Fuuuucccckkkk..." the menace swore. Thinking quickly, he rounded up some refill magazines to spare and moved against the outskirts of the crowd toward Sebastian. "Here! Take one of my guns!"

"Not as elegant as I'd like, but I'll make do, just this once." Reluctantly, Sebastian took one of Alois' weapons while running as well as the magazines he was handed. Suddenly, the threat was lessening. At least, that is what the two of them had thought.

"Alois! Don't leave your side! It's exposed!" Roared the Watchdog, prompting his husband's attention. To Alois' horror, Ciel was right, as there was a group of ferals coming from the side that he was supposed to be manning.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" frantically, he tried to make it back to his post in order to intercept the threat, but it was too late. He could see an outstretched hand about to brush its fingertips against one of the pcychic's faces. Fingernails grazed against Martyr's bandages as she stared back at the agonised shell of what used to be a person with eyes the size of saucers. "Martyr!"

Suddenly, the air seemed to change as the girl seemed to snap out of her trance. With her arms, she tried to push the threat away, only for her hands to miss their target. Yet, they were still sent flying. The whole crowd in that hallway was forcibly shoved backwards by an invisible wall. She seemed just as surprised as everyone else when she finally opened her eyes, but they hadn't the time for that. Thus, Alois picked her up and started carrying her.

"You can move things?!" he questioned as he carried her along safely out of harm's way.

"Spoons are typical." Martyr replied. "People are abnormal."

"Think you can help out a bit?"

"'I think, therefore I am' is a silly phrase. Realistically, 'thinking' and 'doing' can sometimes be separate."

"Good enough."

The herd kept running and running and running while the shepherds cheered them on and directed them. Everything was going splendidly. They were almost to the end. Just a little bit further, and they would have been home free. Alas, the power failure had triggered a "last resort" type of trap that very few of them could get around. Seras was the first to run into it, ramming face-first into a previously invisible wall, only to be followed by others, who did the same. All of them were squished up against the barrier until someone said something.

"In the back! Stop pushing! You're crushing people in the front!" Seras boomed, prompting her comrades to attempt to calm the group.

"Status report!" Ciel shouted, hoping for an explanation.

"There's an anti-supernatural barrier in place!" the draculina responded. Everyone was looking behind them at the oncoming horde and screaming ensued.

"Everyone stay calm!" Alois instructed. "Humans go to the front! You should be able to pass through. Just wait on the other side!"

There weren't a lot of ideas to be had. Solutions were scarce as the group was on the cusp of panicking beyond what the small HELLSING team could handle. The operatives immediately moved to the back of the group, acting as a line of defense in the meantime.

"How do you get rid of a barrier?!" asked Seras.

"I dunno!" Alois answered without missing a beat. "Fuck!"

They opened fire with what they had. Seras used the last of her Harkonnen rounds and the demons of the Phantomhive household unloaded what they could into the mass of feral beings as well. It getting to be time time for hand-to-hand combat. Thus, they readied their close-quarters weapons and prepared to get serious.

"Wait." Sebastian offered, pausing to complete the thought in his own head before presenting it to the others. "Alois has broken a barrier before!"

"What?" questioned the blonde, failing to recall.

"It was recent! After the master hurt his arm, you were placed behind an anti-demon barrier, albeit a slightly weak one. You were so desperate to see him, that you struck it until it shattered!"

"What do you want me to do?!" the menace demanded. "Go up there and punch it until I break my fists!"

"It's our only plan at the moment, dear!" his husband chimed in while drawing his sword. "We'll handle the back. You go up to the front and try!" Reaching over with his free hand, Ciel took a moment to squeeze that of his husband. "Go! We'll be okay!"

The man had a look in his eye that made it appear as though nothing else has been more certain. They were all going to survive this no matter what. Ciel had faith in his husband and seemed to know that he would be able to repeat his actions and save everyone. It was a look of confidence that he gave to his beau, creating a spark of determination in the man.

Wordlessly, Alois nodded and squeezed the other's hand back for a second before letting go. Then, he turned to navigate his way through the crowd. Those in the back who overheard the plan were more than happy to move out of the way, but those in the front had to be told.

"I need to get to the barrier!" the menace roared, gaining the attention that he needed. "I need everyone to stand back and give me some room. If I accidentally hit you, you could be seriously hurt!"

They parted for him, letting him through and giving him space to work. He was being watched rather intently as he clenched his fist and prepared his first strike. His fist boomed against the barrier, echoing throughout the facility. It was followed by his other and then the process repeated. At the start, his pace was slow, but then it gradually picked up as he kept at it, becoming more and more frantic as nothing seemed to be happening. Frustration was starting to get the better of him as he knew that time was of the essence.

"It's not working!" he shouted. "It won't break!"

The pain in his hands was starting to affect him. His knuckles were red and sore, but no where near the bleeding that was shown when he did this before when he needed to see his husband. The bone hurt and it pulsed through his hand, making his punches weaker and weaker as time went on.

"Ciel!" the menace called out, stopping to look back. His comrades were successful at keeping the threat at bay thus far, but that was only part of the pressing image that he was met with when he looked over his shoulder.

So many faces were looking back at him with fear and sorrow in their eyes. Their desperation showed as they were transfixed on him like nothing else was going on in the corridor. Nothing else mattered at all. Yes, these were the faces of people who had faced despair, but on those tired faces covered in dirt and grime was a glimmer of something more. Hope. It kept them going. It kept them from losing themselves all of that time and even then as they watched their only chance become frustrated and express doubt. It was the reason they agreed to leave the safety of that wing and it was the reason they had carried their aching bodies all the way there no matter how painful it became. They were determined to live because they still had hope to carry them. Their resolve could not be shaken and therefore, neither should Alois'. He was their last chance at escaping to freedom and he knew it. Suddenly, his knuckles didn't hurt anymore and he clenched his fists.

"Okay…" he said aloud, taking a breath and turning his attention back to his target. Cocking back his fist, he struck the barrier again, and again with each strike sounding like thunder. He roared with gusto as he hit harder than he did before and displayed his tremendous ability to keep pushing even when things were painful. He would lead by example and put his tenacity on display.

After one strike, a large crack formed, stretching across the barrier. It didn't reach the edges because it faded out, but it was still very clearly there and as soon as it formed, shouting began ringing out as the people he was trying to save cheered him on. He was emboldened by the praise and pressed onward. Onward! There is no going back.

Even as his skin tore and his knuckles became bloody, he kept at it, adding another crack and then another, and another. It stung. It hurt, but he had to keep going. Each blow wracked through his body as he felt the wall push against him. Gritting his teeth with a snarl, he shook out his hands for a moment, but when he paused he started something new. Now others in the front had rushed the wall, starting to punch and kick at it as well. The sound of the thumping echoed down the hall as men, women, and children of various different species were trying to aid him while his knuckles repaired themselves, whooping, hollering, and letting out their battle cries. Their fatigue didn't matter anymore. Even if they were too weak to do anything on their own, when they united together like this, the cracks grew wider, forcing the menace to smile.

"Everybody stand back!" he let out, readying his right fist. Diabolical threads weaved together over his hand, creating a glove before hardening. His hand was locked into the position and it was not moving until that wall fell.

Cocking back his arm, he roared before launching himself forward. "Fall, Goddammit!" Instead of the thunder everyone was expecting, there was a loud crash as the barrier could no longer sustain the cracks it was carrying and reached the critical point of shattering. There was rejoicing. There were tears. Yet, the mission was not yet over.

"Go!" Alois ordered. "Freedom is just up those stairs and through that door! Go get it! Stay calm and orderly! Don't step on anyone! If you see someone fall, help them up! It is your duty to help them!"

Nothing else needed to be said. He went with them in order to make sure that they all new what to do once they got outside. He led the way. Even in the back, people saw the wall break and were moving, so those fighting did, too.

"He did it!" Seras declared. "He actually broke it!"

All the Watchdog could do was stare ahead in awe of his beloved's handiwork. Without even giving it any thought, a small smile graced his face while he was supposed to be ordering the others to follow. Instead, he was too distracted by the blonde's impressiveness to remember to do so. He had to be dragged away by his butler and snapped out of his trance so he could still defend against the remainder of the forces they were fighting as their group made its way out.

It took a while for everyone to filter out through the door, but they made it. They were standing underneath the stars of the now darkened sky with grass beneath their feet at long last. Once everyone was out, including the agents, they slammed the door shut and turned the latch shut so that the ones following them couldn't get out and attack them while the rain washed the blood and dirt from everyone's skin. Never before had they been so happy to see rain. There was dancing and laughter, mostly out of the shock and elation of escape. Emotions were high for a long time and now was the time for release.

While people were congratulating him, Alois felt a strong pair of arms hug him firmly from behind. Knowing who it was, he allowed himself to be spun around to face the other Phantomhive, only to be infected with the same wide grin that the other man wore. Before he could say anything, Ciel had his hands cupping both of the blonde's cheeks.

"That was absolutely brilliant!" his husband praised before running his fingers through Alois' hair. "You did it! You really did it! No wonder people in Gehenna consider me to be your sidekick!"

"I just had to do it, so I did." the menace replied. "There's no way I wouldn't find a way to get everybody out of there!"

Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but was so excitable that he couldn't properly come up with any words. Thus, he had to resort to expressing himself physically in the form of pressing his lips against his beau's. It surprised Alois, but he wasn't at all displeased. His eyes closed after a moment of widening in surprise and he indulged himself a bit. So, in full view of everyone else while they celebrated, he too celebrated his "bad taste" until they finally had to part.

"We're not done yet." reminded the blonde somewhat breathily before going right back in and giving his husband a significantly shorter kiss. "We still need to get to the helicopters. They're here. I can hear them."

"Mm-hm." Ciel acknowledged, savouring the kisses he was being granted just a little bit longer. Finally, he suppressed himself enough to pull away to an arms' length, holding onto his husband's right hand and lightly brushing his thumb along his knuckles. "Let's go."

Nodding, Alois smiled before he begun to shout again. "Everyone, let's go! We're almost there!"