Breathing heavily, Alois dragged himself down the hallway. It was tough, as he was still bleeding from the neck, so mostly, he just sputtered. He couldn't even call out for help. All he could do was hope that Ciel could sense his distress and come running for him. The only thing was that he had no idea how effective this admittedly ill-conceived plan was going to be. He knew that Belmont was right behind him and that he was barely able to stand. It was his willpower that was still driving him, and it could be felt throughout the building. Ciel felt it, at least. And he came running.
The Watchdog was determined that he needed to ignore his irrational concerns about his husband's safety. Alois was strong. He would be fine. Unfortunately, Ciel didn't know just how weakened the menace had been before entering the fray again, so now, having sensed the other's distress through the contract on his tongue, Ciel froze, his eye widened with fear as all of his sudden, his "irrational" fears had just become perfectly reasonable.
Immediately, he sprang into action, already having an idea as to where the menace was in the building and focusing on nothing other than Alois' signature. This is exactly what he was afraid of. He worried that if he left Alois alone, he would get hurt in the same horrific way that pain is always inflicted on these missions. It was always to a degree that no normal person should have to experience on a regular basis, yet here they were. Ciel's heart was racing as he anticipated the worst, but even then, it didn't prepare him for the sight of his beau in the slightest.
"Jim!" he called out, rushing to the blonde as he saw the other demon's silhouette, slowing down slightly as his beau quickened his own pace. Ciel could see how Alois was limping. He could also hear the awful sounds he was making. No. This couldn't happen! Ciel was in the building the whole time! How could this be?! He could have gone back for Alois. He could have helped him. Yet, he didn't and now Alois paid the price.
Gently, Ciel wrapped his arms around his husband and allowed him to collapse into him. He crouched down with the menace so he wouldn't have to stand. Frantically, he looked over his spouse in an attempt to gauge his injuries.
"Jim! What happened?!" he asked, but he could only hear gurgling, prompting the other demon to pull away for a moment so that he could point as his throat. The menace could understand sign language better than he could speak it, but all he really needed to do was lean forward and make a stabbing motion toward the back of his neck. He repeated the gesture on his abdomen, which was healing, but in his weakened state, it could only do so as fast as it could.
Reaching out, Ciel cupped his husband's cheeks and took a good look at his face. He looked sad, concerned, and hurt, prompting Alois to realise that he was looking at his eye. Furrowing his brow, the menace looked away so that his beau could no longer see his "bad" side. He knew that it wasn't really the time for it, but he still felt a bit embarrassed. Both at his apparent disfigurement and at his loss in battle. Alois shouldn't have lost that fight. He was a demon, so victory should have been swift and easy. But it wasn't. Now he was crawling to his husband, all beaten and bloody.
Gently, Ciel kissed his cheek before pulling him back into a hug. He was careful not to hurt the menace, and continued kissing the top of his head. Ciel didn't care about any of that. He cared about whether or not Alois was going to be alright. He was also concerned about the amount of pain that he was definitely in and wanted this to be over soon.
"C'mon, I'll get you somewhere safe." the Watchdog stated before moving to scoop the other up. Standing, he carried the menace away. "I'm guessing that your attacker is somewhere behind you?"
Alois nodded and mouthed the word "Belmont" in response. He was immediately understood as Ciel's mind raced to figure out what to do next. He could sense that something was coming. Something bad. It was so mixed together that it was hard to identify. At times, he thought he sensed a demon, but at others, a human being. Was he missing something? Either way, Ciel needed to get Alois out of harms way before he could do anything.
He knew he shouldn't have left the menace to fend for himself. Alois was strong, yes, but he should have known that the menace was injured and might have trouble stepping back into the fray. He should have anticipated this. He could have stopped it. Now, Alois was hurt. Ciel couldn't help but feel responsible. How couldn't he? If he had just listened to his gut feeling, Alois would have been fine and the target would be dead! Clearly, it was his responsibility and his mistake that caused this.
It was a nasty habit that he had, but the Watchdog tended to place the weight on his shoulders when he didn't necessarily need to. Could he be blamed, though? Ciel has a tendency of out-living people, including people he is fond of or respects. He didn't want to lose any more, even though it was inevitable, in some cases. Humans were fragile and didn't live very long. Alois, however, was a demon, so that shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, given their shared occupation, he was often put in harm's way. The menace was someone that Ciel absolutely did not want to live without. He loves the blonde with all of his heart and would fall to pieces if serious harm came to him. As memory serves, harming the menace came with steep consequences. Now, the probability of Belmont escaping was zero. Alois is Ciel's best friend, brother in arms, and chosen life partner. Certainly, Alois was capable of handling himself, but that didn't mean that the Watchdog couldn't be fiercely protective of him. With all that he has endured, it's only natural that the idea of separation causes him immense dread. Loss is a universal fear, but Ciel knows it all too well.
He lost his family, his scarred skin and his right eye. He lost his dignity and his humanity. People he cared about or at the very least, liked well enough came and went, for Queen, for country, or for no reason at all. No more. Ciel had just gotten some of those things back and he was not going to lose them again! It is no wonder that the bluenette feels such anxiety over separation. It is no wonder that he is, as his spouse would put it "fussy". To Ciel, it was a very real worry that if he let Alois out of his sight for too long during combat, or even for more than a day, he might just disappear forever.
Like hell he would allow that! Yet, that worry was not what should occupy the majority of of his thoughts at that particular moment. No, he needed to take care of Alois and reduce his pain to the best of his ability. Alois came first. Blame and doubt would have to wait.
On the roof there was a helicopter sent by the HELLSING organisation to carry out wounded or pick up troops when the mission was over. Ciel remembered this and knew that if he wanted Alois to get better quickly, he would need to get to it. If he wanted Alois to get better, he would have to leave him in the care of the HELLSING organisation and stay behind. He wouldn't be able to watch over him. Instead, Ciel needed to stay behind and finish the mission. Even if that meant letting go. Even if that meant forcing his fear back. It was for his husband's sake, so he would do it no matter what.
Reaching another stairwell, he climbed with his spouse in his arms until he reached the roof. As he traveled, he tried his best to reassure the menace that everything was fine and that the pain would stop soon. "Don't worry, my darling, I'll have you out of here in no time."
But, Alois didn't seem content with that. Reaching up, he grabbed the bluenette's collar and looked into his eyes. He didn't need words to convey the fact that he wasn't entirely keen on the idea, as he didn't want to leave Ciel either. It felt like it was running away and Alois too, had his pride.
"I know." Ciel said. "You're in no condition to continue fighting, though. I need you to be safe."
Gritting his teeth, Alois struggled to not spew up more blood, straining against a cough. Tightening his grip on the other's collar, the menace tried his best to accept this. Weighing the situation, he knew that Ciel was right. That didn't mean, however, that he had to like it. Begrudgingly, he loosened his grip and not a moment too soon.
Suddenly, the Watchdog's attention was piqued as he heard an odd sound as they approached. It got louder and louder, the closer they got. When he kicked open the door to the roof, it was practically deafening as wind whipped both of their cheeks. The blades of the helicopter were turning as it hovered above the roof, sparking the Phantomhive to chase after it.
"No!" he shouted, but it was too late. The helicopter was taking off. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to see who was inside. Was it Belmont? Was it one of his flunkies?
"No..." Ciel's face fell as he looked into the eyes of the thief. Looking down at him with complete and utter disgust, they held a pistol with a strange, bayonet-like weapon on the end against the head of the pilot. "Johnathan! Johnathan!"
Johnathan Beattie could not hear him. He could see him, though, and made sure Ciel knew it. The black-haired demon looked down on him from his place on high. His eyes flickered with something somber and hurt inside, but all of that was overshadowed by the disgust, contempt, and hate he wanted to convey. Johnathan wanted Ciel to know what happened and why he was doing this. He knew Alois was injured and that Ciel would try to get him to the helicopter. He knew that nothing else would hold priority over it. He also knew that prolonging the menace's suffering would also prolong Ciel's. He wanted Ciel to know that he knew about him. Johnathan knew who killed Heinrich, who killed his father, and who killed him. More than that, he wanted Ciel to know that he would one day kill him in return.
Ciel's stomach dropped at the sight of the Johnathan taking off with the helicopter. Not only did he have to explain that the other demon has gone AWOL, but also that they have made a new enemy. Then there was the fact that he would have to kill Belmont with an injured Alois somewhere nearby. Belmont had been chasing them all the way here. It was no doubt that he would be there soon. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. All Ciel could do was wait.
"I'm sorry, darling," the Watchdog began, "but it looks like you're going to be sticking around in a rather unsafe fashion."
A/N: This seems short, but is actually a few double digits short of 2,000 words. Ciel really has a knack for pissing people off, doesn't he? Just making enemies left and right...
That's gonna come back to bite us, later...
Some stuff from this arc is gonna have a few more "delayed" after effects. Should be fun~!
Uh... Let's see... I don't actually have a lot to talk about this time around, so I'll just answer a question from my good friend, FartFerret69.
"Wait hold on I just realized, has Gerry ever even met Elizabeth? Does she even know that she suddenly has a relative she probably thought was dead? Do they get along? I need to know."
Yeah. They've met. She fences with her and Integra sometimes. They don't get along well, though. Gerry's much to rough and unrefined. She doesn't care much for being "proper" at anything and has a fondness for not playing fair, sort of the opposite of Liz. Elizabeth also kind of struggles with accepting how "unladylike" she is, but does her best, since she is perfectly aware that times have changed. It's kind of a mess. "She's quite a bit like Ciel, however..." It would be an interesting thing to write about.
And another, from a reader called "Jaji":
"Are you going to acknowledge the new information given about Ciel from the manga?"
Spoilers for the manga ahead, so if you're blissfully unaware of what happened, please skip over this and don't do that to yourself. That shit was spoiled for me against my will and I'm STILL mad.
Probably not. Not just because DLTD/P is primarily based on the anime (except for Elizabeth, because they did her wrong in that shit) and there's no implication that Ciel wasn't an only child in the anime, it also doesn't make sense within the context of DLTD. Not only would the revelation risk Ciel's marriage being voided, he's gonna risk Alois being royally pissed off at him because he risked their marriage and for not ever telling him. DLTD!Ciel would have come clean by now, because the thought of either of those things is TERRIFYING.
If I ever did something with it, though, I would need to switch around details so things still line up and make sense, thus going against canon. Such a mess...
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
