Despite the chaos in the city, it had been a relatively ordinary evening for Finnian until he spontaneously found himself with the end of an assault rifle pointed in his face. He stared at it with wide eyes and raised brows, his reaction delayed due to the shock of the situation.

"Finny! Move!" shouted the butler, snapping him back to his senses.

Without thinking, the blond's hand shot up and grabbed the barrel of the weapon before giving it a tight squeeze. His inhuman strength was as powerful as ever, and he crushed the metal barrel of the weapon with ease. When the intruder pulled the trigger, the hammer hit the pin, causing the powder inside of the bullet to ignite in a fiery explosion that was meant to propel it forward. With the end crushed, the pressure had nowhere to go, warping the barrel as it expanded, only to burst. Residue and shrapnel blasted back at the assailant. The next thing Finnian saw was his attacker dropping his gun as he reached up to covered his bloody eyes with a loud scream.

The other intruders were not pleased with that, but before they too, could launch an attack, Finnian leaped out of the way, clearing things for Sebastian to take care of. The next man to raise a gun wound up with silverware embedded three inches into his skull. As the gunman fell, Finnian pushed the door shut and locked it, only for the butler to rush up and shut it tighter with several more locks.

"These doors are reinforced with steel in the center." Sebastian said. "They shouldn't be able to shoot their way through."

"What about the windows?" inquired the blond.

"Bulletproof. Go upstairs and wake Luka. Protect each other. I will contact the master."

"Yes, sir!" Finnian nodded dutifully before heading off. His legs were better than they were before, but he was still shaky as he ascended the staircase. Sebastian was much faster and made his way to the nearest phone.

Those men were not what Sebastian had expected from the Philosophers' Society. He expected immortals, or at the very least, mortal supernaturals, but neither appeared at his door. Even the uniforms they wore were distinctly human. The disjointed nature of them and lack of true "uniformity" and sameness in both the actual clothes they wore and the weapons they wielded, however, implied that they were a militia of some sort. It was possible that the Philosophers had been supplied them somehow, but that didn't explain the fact that humans were trying to gain access to the Phantomhive stronghold.

They pounded on the doors and windows, occasionally stepping back to try and shoot at them. The house was being attacked from multiple sides, but luckily, the head of the household anticipated this despite being told the measures he was taking were "overkill." The man himself was hurrying to the scene with the blue lights hidden in the grill of the black Mercedes flashing. His beau was driving like a maniac, but neither of them spoke. Ciel did not want to. He could imagine the scene clearly despite not yet being there. He could imagine how wrong it could go. The mansion had been burned down and rebuilt multiple times, but he would rather not have to build it back up again. Moreover, although Sebastian was in the house protecting them, Luka and Finnian were there. Houses can be rebuilt, but they could not be replaced. He wasn't even sure if he could resurrect them if they didn't make it. Every worst-case scenario possible ran through his mind at once as he stared ahead at the road, vacantly and without blinking.

Alois kept his eyes focused on the road. He needed to in order to weave in and out of traffic, but he also had no need to look at his husband in order to know what sort of expression he was making- what sort of things he was feeling. The Watchdog's emotions seemed to slowly bleed out of him, dropping the temperature within the car. His home was one of the last remaining relics of the once regal Phantomhive family. In a sense, the house was Phantomhive. It is destroyed and it is rebuilt even better than ever, but destroying it was still something that Ciel could not simply allow. This was a war and Ciel had heard the declaration loud and clear.

The gas pedal was mashed into the floor, going up the drive to the Phantomhive estate. Alois had his sight set on a group of mercenaries and was not about to slow down. Gritting his teeth, he kept going forward while Ciel grabbed on to the bar above passenger side window. The headlights of the vehicle light up the intruder's faces, showing a glimpse of their astonished eyes for just a split second before the car plowed right through them.

Several of them rolled over the roof while others were thrown to the sides or crushed beneath the wheels. A few boots went flying off of feet as the Phantomhives were thrown around the cab of the vehicle from the rough ride. Tires screeched as they came to an abrupt halt, leaving skidmarks on the concrete.

"So, this is why out insurance rates are so high..." jested the menace in an attempt to lighten the mood, but his husband said nothing. Rather, he couldn't say anything, as both of them became immediately distracted as the back of the house lit up with an orange glow.

Hastily, Ciel threw off his seatbelt and swung open the door, not even bothering to close it as he ran. There was no plan. There was no time! That glow was one that Ciel recognised. Fists clenched, he stomped his way behind the house with the nastiest of scowls permeating his face. His lips were pressed into a thin line and his brow was furrowed tightly with deep wrinkles between them. Yet his eyes widened with he saw the garden set ablaze.

Nothing was in bloom, as it was winter, but the flames were high and they were bright. They covered everything, stopping just short of the forest surrounding the garden. It was contained. It was on purpose. They couldn't get inside the house, so they destroyed what they could. He stood there, watching as the once beautiful and lively garden went up in smoke, but he knew that it would grow back. That wasn't what worried him. What worried him was what he couldn't see and could only sense.

"Jesus Christ!" Alois gawked as he joined the Watchdog. "Fuck, there's still people nearby… The firedepartment can't get in with them here!"

"Let the garden burn. We can't save it, anyway." Ciel replied. His voice was calm. Cold. Icy. He seemed to be staring directly into the fire, not looking at the menace.

"But-!"

"Greenery can grow back. I'm worried about where they are, now." the bluenette said, extending an arm to point at the border of the forest. Far beyond the garden was a small path. No one from the Phantomhive family hand been down it in a while and certainly not after the snow had fallen. Yet there were deep tiretracks and footprints heading that way. It was the only path to anywhere important and what rested at the end of it was very important, indeed.

Realising this, Alois' face suddenly became serious. "Go." he said. "I'll make sure the fire doesn't spread to the house and catch up."

Nodding, the bluenette made his reply. "Thank you." he said, before taking off as fast as his legs would carry him. Meanwhile, the blonde sprang into action, himself.

Granted, he didn't really know what to do about this fire. He just knew that one of them had to do something. Quickly, he began scooping the snow with his foot and kicking it onto the flames. It wasn't a good option, however. The water evaporated before it could do anything. The fire was just too big. His only options were to find a way to dose them with enough moisture to put them out, or to somehow suffocate them. Looking around, however, he wasn't given a lot of options.

Jim had made many afire on cold nights in his youth, so he knew a thing or two about them. There were certain circumstances when a fire might have trouble burning. Again, not enough oxygen, or too much moisture. Either the logs and leaves were soaked and unusable, or they were too green. Too much moisture was inside of them to begin with, so they wouldn't burn.

With that, Alois had an idea. It was a dumb one and it probably wouldn't work, but he felt like he needed to at least give it a shot. Spreading his feet further apart, he took a more grounded stance. Taking a deep breath, he shut everything else out for just a moment. It was a lot of area, so his concentration had to be solid. He didn't know if he was powerful enough to make this happen, but he tried with everything he had.

The deadened leaves, twigs, and branches of the bushes and flowers that grew there, wilted by winter and ravaged by fire began to receive his intention. His eyes glowed red, but the plants changed to a hue that was green. Even while on fire, the plants started to bloom. It started from the roots and drifted upwards, seemingly eating away at the flames. Sweat began to accumulate and trickle down Alois' forehead, but not from the flames. It was strain, as he used magic for the first time in a while and for the first time on such a scale. Gritting his teeth, he grunted as he made the garden as green as on a warm summer's day while in the dead of winter. While the plants used to burn, they now began to smoke, filling the sky with dark clouds, but the glow gradually began to fade.

For just a moment, he let go, only to realise that the fire on the plants that he affected would soon die out. The flames in the rows further away from the house were still ablaze. Furrowing his brow again, he took a step forward, planting both feet firmly on the ground again.

"One more..." he said. "I'm working on it, babe..." With that, he took another deep breath.

His husband, however, was reaching the end of the trail. Far from the roar of the flames, the forest was quiet with only the sounds of night traveling through the crisp air. As he got closer, the more sound he heard. The groaning of machinery drew him in closer and caused his pace to quicken. Then, he saw it.

Earth had been moved into a large mound. The machine used to do it was idle as a few masked men waited around the hole in a similar fashion, guns in hand. All of them were gathered in the Phantomhive family cemetery around the only two graves that had been visited in the last century- the graves of Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive.

Ciel's arm reacted long before his mind did. It was a visceral phenomenon. It felt like he was watching everything happen through a screen. He pulled out his gun and began firing into the dark. His mind was blank but his spirit was in turmoil as it knew not what to do with this strange, sorrowful fury he felt.

Many of the shots missed, but he hit enough of the invaders to make them afraid. They, too, pulled out their guns, but they weren't allowed to fire as a voice came from the grave. "Don't mow him down!" it called. "I want to chat with him, first."

The Watchdog ceased his firing as well in order to better hear that voice. He didn't recognise it. He couldn't. The last time he saw this man, he was still wearing the form of a boy still in secondary school. Narrowing his eyes, Ciel watched as a hand reached up out of the grave and pulled up the owner of the voice, whom he recognised immediately upon seeing his face.

"Johnathan?" the bluenette questioned. "Johnathan Beattie?"

"In the flesh." answered the other demon, standing before the Phantomhive with a hand behind his back. "It's been a while, hasn't it? A lot has changed..."

"Why are you here?" Ciel immediately went into asking, but the other man shook his head.

"Really? That's what you're going to start with? No 'what's with your appearance' or 'where did you get these people from?' I must admit, that's a little disappointing, Phantomhive. I went through a lot of effort just for you..."

"You've obviously contracted with a PMC, and I couldn't care less about why you look the way you do. I want to know what you're doing here."

"Well… I didn't expect that…" Johnathan replied. "Usually, you're so coy about things. You never really like getting to the point. I know all about that little game of yours. You know, the one where you assert your authority by dancing around the point and intimidating the other person until they show weakness. Why the sudden change? Surely things haven't changed that quickly… Or… Perhaps I've hit a bit of a nerve?"

Instead of answering, Ciel simply raised his gun at the other demon and pulled the trigger. He had aimed right for Johnathan's heart, but when he intended to strike him down, there was nothing but a "click." Internally, the Watchdog cursed himself for allowing himself to run out of bullets, but on the outside, he didn't even flinch.

"Wow, no hesitation at all, huh? That's cold." the other noted with a laugh. "So cold, but interesting… I guess I'm right, then..."

"What. Do. You. Want?" reiterated the bluenette again, slowly, and a lot more firmly.

"Simple," Johnathan said, "I want you, Ciel Phantomhive, to suffer. That's all there is… There's nothing else you can offer me. There's nothing material to be gained. It's just pure spite that brings me here, but judging by the state of disrepair, I sort of wonder why I even bothered. This is a real dump of a final resting place… I'm kind of wondering if you even care about your ancestors at all..."

"If you wish to provoke me further, it isn't going to work." the bluenette replied. "Nothing else you say can move me."

"Oh, so you think you've figured out my game, now, huh?" Mister Beattie questioned. "That's so like you… Always have the answers. Always know everything, because you're six steps ahead of everyone else, right? You're just so wise and so knowing… This time, I think you're right, though… Just words won't move you… Words can be empty. So, instead, let's just go with hard facts, huh?"

With that, Johnathan slowly removed his hand from behind his back and held both it and it's contents out to Ciel's view. In an instant, Ciel's eye grew wide and his face morphed into a snarl as the air around him grew colder by the second. Clenching his fists, the handle of his pistol began to warp and compress until it was the exact shape of the inside of his grip. His stomach dropped. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Every fibre of his being wanted to run over there and tear the other man's arm right out of the socket.

With that, Johnathan smiled, exposing his teeth just as the teeth on the jaw bone he was holding was. It was old, but very much intact. All of the teeth were there, deeply embedded in the somewhat sharp jaw. It wasn't the more rounded one that Ciel had inherited from his mother. No, it was the jaw of another who once had the blood of Phantomhive flowing through his veins.

"Aw, isn't this sweet?" the other demon asked. "It's been a long time since you've seen your daddy, hasn't it? Considering how much is left of him and all… Speaking of fathers, though… It was really nice of Caesar Merritt to teach me how to use his dad's tech, huh? Just think about all the stuff I can d-"

Ciel didn't give him the opportunity to finish. Rapidly, the Watchdog summoned his flames and drew his sword with a growl, but the next thing he knew, it had fallen apart. It shattered, causing shards of it to fall to the ground near his feet, only for the sound of a gun going off to be heard after. The taste of iron flooded Ciel's mouth and his chest suddenly ached.

"I'm still talking." Mister Beattie scolded in a rather annoyed fashion. In his free hand, he carried a smoking gun. It was a ridiculous thing. It was a pistol far bigger than any human could carry one-handed, but he carried it effortlessly. The bullet went straight through Ciel's chest, just right of it's center, and exited through his back.

He fell to his knees? Yes, somehow, Ciel found himself on his knees, although he didn't remember falling. It seemed as though he blinked again and Johnathan was right on top of him. After putting his weapon away, the other demon reached down and grabbed the Phantomhive by the collar of his shirt. Roughly, he pulled him up so that he could look at him face to face.

"If you don't want to fight me, I'll make you." he said. "Hate me. If anything, hate what I've done. If you don't, I'll keep coming back until both of those graves are fucking empty."

"I don't hate you..." grunted the bluenette. "I just think… that your attention-seeking behaviour is really pathetic."

To that, Johnathan smiled pleasantly before tossing the jawbone over his shoulder, only for it to be caught by one of his lackeys. With his newly freed hand, he made a fist before slamming it into the side of the Phantomhive's head. "That's one of the things I really hate about you." Beattie said, punching the other demon again and again. "Pompous! You act like you know everything! Like you've already predicted how this is going to end! You're so high and mighty, like nothing could ever touch you! Like nothing could ever hurt you! Well, let me remind you, then! I'll make you remember that you're not above hate! You're not above getting worked up and lashing out! You're not above being a monster!"

Blood splattered the ground as the Phantomhive's nose began to bleed. Gritting his teeth, he put one of his feet down and with the next hit, he leaned directly into Johnathant's fist, stopping it dead in its tracks. Reaching up, he grabbed hold of the hand gripping his collar and tried to pull himself to his feet, but Johnathan was not done, yet. No, he repositioned his own feet so that his stance was wide and solid before flexing his muscles and twisting his hips. He hurled the Watchdog into the air and directly into the large hole in the ground.

He fell, disoriented from being punched and weakened from being shot so close to his heart, but he could feel himself being jabbed with multiple hard objects as he laid on his back. Landing with a clatter, it didn't take him long to realise just what it was that he had landed on top of. Frantically, he tried to get up without causing any damage, only to find himself struck in the face again with the heavy lid of the coffin he sat in, forcing him back down and turning everything pitch black.

With a loud groan, the machine started up again, and in moments, it was replaced with the sound of dirt being piled on top of the coffin. Scoopful after scoopful made it difficult for the Phantomhive to push back on the coffin lid and remove it. Even worse, as his mind raced, it became difficult for him to remember how to.

Eyes wide, Ciel's heart beat violently against his ribcage as his brain was flooded with chemicals. It felt like there was an immense pressure on his cranium and sinuses, but that might have been from being trapped in a coffin. What wasn't the coffin was how his diaphragm spasmed painfully, forcing every breath to be involuntarily shallow and sharp. He was hyperventilating. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, and he couldn't think as he just froze there, against all judgment- completely paralysed by what he was trapped with- who he was trapped with.

The horror to his back was too much for him to bear. He imagined all kinds of emotions and sentiments- he could feel them at his back! Ciel was not supposed to be there. He had disgraced his father by being there and by allowing any of this to happen. The senior Phantomhive's body had been defaced with part of it being stolen and it was entirely Ciel's fault! Once more, he was a small child in trouble with his father again. It was exactly the same feeling, rendering the Watchdog completely helpless. He was helpless. The panic that gripped him had completely stripped him of his power and dignity, leaving nothing but a sniveling child in its place.

Slowly, he began to fade out and succumbed to a state of unconsciousness. He was drowning in it all. Everything was flooding into him at once, completely overwhelming him and causing his sense to fail. It was impossible to tell when unconsciousness began and the darkness that enveloped him ended as it all blended together in a murky blackness from which he could not escape.


A/N: This is very short, but a lot happened, so that's okay, I guess? I think this is one of the most messed up things to happen in this story and I was very hesitant to post it.

It's a real shame, really. He was doing so well, wasn't he?

Fuck off, Johnny. Piece of shit...

I dunno what else to say, really. I'll just get on to the next one...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!