AN: First, I am sorry for bad update schedule. I've been wanting to write. I did. But I've been going through a rough medical diagnosis which has led me to make huge lifestyle changes and do a 180 on my life, even bringing up a possibility (still a possibility, just smaller) on going back to Canada for treatment. It's been a rough ride, and I'm still working through it. One thing you must know is that I am okay and will be okay.

So here is a chapter released on my favourite holiday ever! Plus, it seems right to release a chapter on this spooky day!

Warning: None.

Chapter XIX

The Price of Freedom

Again, everything felt dull. A repeated cycle, going over and over again. And Lotte wondered when it would finally end.

Lotte looked into Sebastian's eyes, a little lost, a little confused, but comforted by the fact he was right in front of her instead of lying in possible pieces on the other side of the foyer. Him being in front of her was a good thing; his presence told her that everything was okay. It was over. Lilith was dead somehow, Lotte had avenged her father and finally finished what she set out to do. She could finally move on.

Right?

But it was his eyes that made her pause to physically express these happy thoughts. She always told him he was more human that he realized, and now looking deep into his eyes, she saw it truer than ever. Something was wrong. It took a moment for her clouded brain to read his soft, apologetic gaze to tell her wasn't over.

And it was far from it.

Something had happened.

Her eyes focused on his. Her brain began to regenerate what was going on around her. She didn't have to move away from his gaze to hear the loud echoes of heeled shoes to know Lilith was alive.

He had failed.

Lotte swallowed; her throat felt raw. The blood rushing through her body felt hot…too hot. Her mind still raced with the realism she witnessed. Everything was coming back all too fast, and she didn't know if she'd be able to handle what would possibly happen next.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, little bird," the annoyed voice of Lilith reverberated like a loud bell through Lotte's ears, making her wince. "So happy you could join our party yet again."

Lotte finally glanced at the wreck of what Lilith had become. She was covered with dirt – her white dress was tattered and stained with blood of mixed varieties and dust from the multitude of run-ins with the wall. Her blonde hair was out of place and in disarray. Lotte was a little surprised on how weak and vulnerable she looked. However, her ruby eyes were as sharp as ever; holding a wretched gaze of complete hatred towards her prey.

Then a question rose in Lotte's chest. One she was scared to answer. Lilith was still alive, so why was she still alive? Lilith wanted her dead. That was the whole point. Only one could live.

That was when Lotte looked back at Sebastian, his eyes now no longer looking at her, but at the floor. His expression…made her heart sink in complete and utter fear.

"Sebastian…" she spoke for the first time. Her voice was hoarse and her throat still feeling like sandpaper. "Sebastian, what did you do?"

He didn't answer. His eyes closed, and Lotte felt his answer close with him. She knew he was ashamed of what he did – whatever he did.

"What did you do?" Lotte asked in a louder voice. She winced at the pain in her throat.

But it was Lilith who then answered. "He saved you."

Lotte's eyes grew wide, wondering what that meant. She never stopped looking at the man before her, still trying to grab his attention, trying to make him answer and not the white devil meters away. "What?"

"He sacrificed himself so you could live a normal human existence. A shame really. I was looking forward to tasting your soul, but for now…I'll have him to keep me entertained."

"You what?" Lotte asked Sebastian directly, voice as soft as a petal, watching him open up his eyes yet again to show the look of pure guilt.

"You should be happy, little star." Lilith continued. "You can now live your poor existence in peace. Just until the end of course."

Lotte raised her blood and dirt stained hand up to Sebastian's cheek, trying to make him look at her. She left it there, moving her thumb slightly on his pale skin and savouring the feeling of it. For some reason, she knew deep down, whatever happened next, it was possible she would never see him again.

"You're free," Lilith finished.

Lotte's breath hitched at the last words. What did she mean she was free? Sebastian.

"Sebastian…" Lotte whispered. "Why-?"

He shook his head slowly, finally looking at her. She felt him move against her hand, his skin warming from her touch.

"Why?" she said again.

"Isn't it obvious, little star?" Lilith's voice answered again. She moved towards them, her heels clicking against the marble until she stopped right next them.

As calm as Lilith was now, Lotte could feel the fury radiating off. The icy aura of the white devil was not to discriminate. The mark on her back burned from the closeness of it. She fought the urge to move away from the uncomfortable feeling while nausea began to creep in her stomach.

"He's in love with you."

Everything froze then. Lotte heard the words as clear as the stars in the sky. The words she wanted to believe and hear, but somehow was in disbelief. All because of one thing she remembered Sebastian saying once in the heat of the moment.

Ridiculous human emotion….

…I could never love like that.

And yet…those eyes. He was a changed person.

Whatever Lilith did, whatever curse he was placed on, something in Sebastian had changed. As if a piece of himself, lost in time, had returned. And it was that piece that was missing during the time – perhaps.

Still…during that time, Lotte felt…he felt…

"Which is why," Lilith's voice began again, breaking Lotte's thoughts into a growing anger, "you should be happy someone like him gave you a second chance at a normal life. I'm not easily persuaded, but there is something about having Michael the Archangel under my feet that makes it all the more…" A pause. A breath. "…sexy."

Lotte started to shake her head slightly at the words, not wanting to believe any of it. Not wanting to believe her butler sacrificed himself for her own greater good. She wanted to scream at him that he was a fool. She wanted to lash out and tell him what he was doing was wrong. She wanted to slap him in the face to help him clear his thoughts.

But his eyes….

His goddamn eyes.

"How could you…?" Lotte muttered to Sebastian. And that was all she could say to him in that moment.

"Yes, what a shame…" Lilith breathed out. "Repeating exactly what happened all those centuries ago. I still can't fully grasp the concept on the attraction he has towards mortals. Oh well…time to move on, Michael."

Sebastian's hand moved up to her own, pressing it closer against his cheek. His gaze began to harden on Lotte's as his expression became stone-like and reserved, turning back to his regular, demon complexion. Still, there was something there Lotte could still read. A hidden message that Lotte could see but couldn't fully understand. It corresponded to the words spoken by the demoness next to them. The once sorrowful expression Sebastian held had been replaced by a look of pure vexation. Lotte realized from these characteristics something like this happened before. Long ago in the span of Sebastian's long-lost timeline, there was a backstory that connected him once to mortals. And yet, the story remained locked behind his eyes, not able to tell more due to Lilith's hovering.

"Michael," Lilith's voice snapped, showing a growth of impatience. "Time to leave."

"Let me…" he spoke for the first time. Lotte could hear the pain in his voice. "Let me at least say goodbye to her."

"Fine, make it quick. We have things to prepare for."

Lotte started to shake her head more. "Sebastian…what are…?"

His other hand moved to rest on her own cheek, his thumb rubbing gently. "Lotte, listen closely, please just trust me on this."

She blinked. "I…I don't…"

"Please." Lotte tried to search his eyes as he continued. "Please, go and live your life away from all of this. Return to New York if you must. But please promise me, whatever you do, do not try to find me."

"What…?" Lotte's hand slipped away from his cheek.

Her mind was still trying to process everything. Being back, Lilith still being alive, Sebastian now sacrificing himself…it was all too much.

She felt confused and frustrated. Tears started to surface and silently fall. Lotte didn't want to cry. She didn't want to show weakness. But her body couldn't help it. Sebastian moved his other hand to her cheek, wiping away the tears that were escaping.

He moved his face closer to hers until their foreheads touched. Her heart was leaping. Her breathing, heavy. She could feel his warm breathing on her skin.

"Please," he whispered, "you don't have to forgive me. You can hate me all you want. It may be easier to stay away. But please, trust me. Do not look for me."

It was with those words that it finally sunk in. Lotte would never see him again. Lilith had won. And that made every nerve in Lotte's body burn with fierce animosity towards not only Lilith but towards the butler in front of her.

And that was when he leaned in and felt his lips on hers. It wasn't a light touch, nor was it a deepened lust. It was subtle. Warm. Human. A sort of kiss given when saying a final goodbye. A kiss with enough pressure to indicate the meaning of sorrow and guilt. It lasted only a few seconds.

Lotte barely even processed what was happening until it was over.

And then he stood up and backed away from her.

"This is for your own good," he then said, before facing Lilith with a cold, hard expression. "Let's go."

But Lilith's eyes remained on Lotte. Lotte could feel her burning gaze as if she was searching for something. And as much as Lotte wanted to get up and keep fighting, her legs were too fatigue and not yet stable. All she could do was sit there, and use her words to try and fight back.

"So that's it? You're giving up, Lilith?" Lotte started, trying to figure out a way to get whatever Sebastian was in, out. "You wanted my soul, didn't you? Are you going to let this…demon or whatever he is control you? I thought you were better than that."

Lilith scoffed. "Unfortunately for you, little star, you were not present for our little exchange. What happened and what he did, you shouldn't have to worry your little head anymore. Be grateful for the life you have now and…well you already know. But I will tell you that this was all him. His idea. Every last word."

This Lotte didn't know until now. She thought Lilith would've given him some kind of leeway, a way out, an option for Lotte's freedom. That part of it was her idea. A tease for her to bite and feed on. A way to watch her prey squirm more under her feet. But it was clearly all him.

There would be no way out of this.

"So that's it then?" Lotte answered. "He gives himself to you and I'm free to live my life? Seems too easy, Lilith? What, no catch?"

"Of course," Lilith said, her smile growing, "there was a catch to it all. I couldn't let you off the hook so easily and live your life with the idea you were no longer tied. You are still tied to me; just not in the way you think anymore, and definitely not to him."

She snapped her fingers then. Two new demons appeared from the shadows beyond. Their humanoid bodies, yellow and decaying. Lotte could smell them when they entered – a stench of rot and death. Their yellow eyes glowed bright in the darkness, like miniature suns. They came up beside her as she noticed Sebastian grow rigid. His expression began to change to match that of panic. Then two more demons appeared behind him, taking him by his arms as the other two held Lotte's arms and back against the pilar.

Lilith moved in front of her, blocking Sebastian from view.

"Move her forward," she instructed, and Lotte felt her body being pushed forward towards Lilith. "I couldn't just let you be free and still hold the power of sensation to track demons." She said to Lotte, her finger moving gently across Lotte's cheek. "I can't let you get in my way of my plans, little bird. I am being kind to you in hopes that you will in fact follow these rules until needed. You are my key after all. However, the fact that you bare that wretched mark on your back is proof enough of that the contract and…bond you share with Michael is too strong. This bond should've been broken the moment it was made because of her."

"Lilith…" Sebastian began to call out. "What…"

Lilith moved to her ear and whispered.

"He's mine now."

Lotte then felt Lilith's icy hand on her right shoulder blade. And in a mere second, the temperature began to rise. For a moment, Lotte thought Lilith's hand had caught on fire – a sensation she came across a few times in her early hunter days. But as the sensation of a normal burn feeling passed through, Lotte realize this was worse.

It was as if she was being stabbed with a burning knife. One that had been soaked with acidic poison and absorbed with Hell's fire. It sunk deeper and deeper into her shoulder blade until she was unable to feel the pain anymore. Numbness set in. And yet, she couldn't stop screaming. She wasn't even aware she was even screaming in the first place. On top of her own shrieking, she could barely hear Sebastian's own voice yelling out for Lilith to stop. But she didn't.

The pain seemed to have lasted forever. Lotte couldn't stop her own voice from reaching the high heavens. She would've done anything, given anything, to replaced it with the worst possible injury she ever got, for the pain to just go away.

She then felt a pull and a strange prickling sensation in her brain. Then it grew and grew until she felt as if her brain was on fire and being melted slowly. A migraine would be a child cutting their knee compared to it.

Then in a flash, Lilith's hand left her back. The pain was gone, and she was left exhausted.

Wet strains of her hair hung like a curtain around her face. Her skin glistened with drips of sweat as if she had suffered the worst fever imaginable. Breathing came out in rough and sharp huff of air. The energy she had been granted when she came back to reality was once again gone – like a cycle finishing its last round.

Lotte somehow felt different. Whatever Lotte had done left her brain feeling like there was something missing. A piece of broken history being swept away, and yet a heavy weight she had marked on her shoulder, gone. Her right shoulder blade throbbed and pulsed, but it was manageable.

"Ah," Lilith laughed softly against Lotte's cheek, "hold on. Seems like someone wasn't strong enough to fulfill a request I gave. How…expected of him."

Lotte didn't know what she was talking about. But when she felt the hand reappear this time on her abdomen, she knew the pain was about to reappear.

It wasn't as painful this time. It was just a sharp jab, a little worse than a bad menstrual cycle pain. But it was this surprising sharp jab that made her gasp out in shock and question mentally what Lilith just did.

"Goes to show you can't trust the one who loves you to do the one thing to make sure I get what I want sooner," Lilith said, before moving back to Lotte's ear and whispering close. "Just so you don't end up spawning anymore of your toxic bloodline."

Lotte was left breathless, trying to regain and maintain her consciousness while fighting off the pain running through her body. Still, somehow, and Lotte didn't know why, the pain was receding faster than expected. But she knew then what Lilith had done. And for some reason, Lotte felt a sudden hollowness in her heart.

Fertility. Lotte knew long ago when she became a hunter that children was the last thing she wanted in life. A family was nearly impossible with being constantly overrun with demons left and right. Her job as an FBI agent in her early twenties as well was another indication. She was not interested in the American dream of a white picket fence, a dog, and two smiling children. It wasn't her style.

She was a Phantomhive after all. She knew the curse that ran down her family and connected her to the other world – a supernatural nightmare separated from the normal human existence. The Faustian mark on her back was proof enough that she didn't want to pass the burden onto her next of kin. The guilt of passing what she never wanted would be too much.

So then why did she start sheading these tears?

Was it because she was 'free' from what Lilith and Sebastian called it?

And what was this so called 'freedom' entail to her? What did it do physically to her?

Then Lotte's eyes shot wide open.

It was gone. The sensation on her back. What Lilith had done to her…

She, and her entire ancestorial line, was free.

Lilith smiled at her. "There. Now it's done."

Lotte heard the clicking of the heels echo once again. She tried to move, but her body and brain couldn't match or register with each other. She was stuck.

No! She screamed in her mind. It can't end like this…Lilith! Sebastian!

She saw Sebastian still being held back by Lilith's new spawns. He was trying to push them away but they seemed stronger than the last.

"Now, Michael, we can go," Lilith said softly.

They started to move away from her; Lotte watching their backs slowly retreat towards the front door. Then Lilith paused one last time before the exit.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she turned and smiled at Lotte. "Just to make it a little more interesting for your new found freedom. Let's see if you can escape." She nodded at one of the goons not holding Sebastian back. "Burn it to the ground."

Lotte's eyes widened as she watched the solo demon's hands begin to flash with sparks of fire. He showed a crooked smile, showing the glee on his yellow, rotten teeth.

"Lilith! No!" Sebastian shouted, hissing through his teeth angerly. "We had a deal!"

"Yes, the deal was I would let her live her life freely. What's freedom without a little fun and chaos? Plus…" she smirked intimately, "this will show how much hunter is left in her."

Fire began to rise. She watched as Sebastian was led outside, stepping out for the first time in decades. He was no longer a prisoner and yet, still was.

Then Lotte caught Sebastian's narrowed gaze one last time as the door slammed shut behind them.

The flames began to dance uncontrollably, lighting up the foyer like a giant cavern. The moonlight disappeared, only to be replaced by an angry orange glow beside her. Smoke filled the large area fast, grey and swarming like mist. She inhaled, coughing as a response. The oxygen was decreasing quickly as flames spread like a quick disease.

Her mind screamed at her to get up, but her body was slow to respond. It was tired. She was tired. Her skin and organs below still held the aftermath of Lilith's hands. However, she felt something deep down. As she watched the flame dance closer and closer to her, she couldn't help but match it with her own growing anger. Anger towards Lilith. Anger towards her taking everything away and leaving her alive.

Anger at Sebastian.

Especially Sebastian.

It's not going to end like this. She thought.

And so, she pulled from that anger, reaching up to the pillar next to her and getting up on her feet.

Her legs buckled, but were stable. First, she had to find a way out. Then, she would find him. She would find her. She was not going to let herself fall victim to giving up.

She was a hunter after all.

Lotte coughed, covering her mouth with her face as she shuffled her way slowly through the smoke. The heat was unbearable, but she could take it more than the blackened vail of mist poisoning her lungs. She tried to not fall as she moved through to the hallway on the opposite side of the room. There she entered the long tunnel which was now filling quickly with smoke and fire.

Lotte only had minutes. Her mind said so.

So, she took one of her grandfather's old painting on the wall and smashed one of the weakened windows opposite of it. Glass shattered, falling on both sides. She didn't hesitate as she moved through, feeling a few left-over shards pierce her skin, but otherwise fine.

She took in a deep breath of outside air like it was a drug.

She crawled through the brush, moving as fast as she could in the remaining mud left from the bouts of daily rain. The moon and fire lit her path, creating a blue and orange reflection on the ground. And then finally, she arrived on the other side of the yard next to the tree line. She huffed out the exhausted breaths, feeling the adrenaline leave her body quickly.

There she collapsed, her eyes watching Hell's fire swallow the manor before her whole until the world around her blurred and disappeared.

xXx

When Lotte awoke, the world was dark. Her head felt clearer as the stars above showed the same result. She groaned as she moved her body upwards, staring at what remained of the Phantomhive manor before her. The orange flames had vanished and only the blue moonlit glow remained as light. A blackened corpse was what remained of the once Phantomhive structure. Charred limbs of wood and smoke-stained bricks from half collapsed chimneys were all that stood. The air smelled of ash and burnt mixes of decaying wood and chemicals. Small lines of grey smoke drifted into the silent moonlit sky, disappearing.

She breathed out.

Nothing was left.

The inheritance that was gifted disappeared as the heavy burden placed on her only grew stronger.

As her hands clawed deep into the earth below her, so did her determination on finding Lilith and getting Sebastian back.

Fuck the promise.

Fuck Sebastian.

She was a hunter, and she wasn't going to let this she devil win. She had a mission to do. And now it wasn't just to avenge her father, but her whole family. To find the mystery behind her family's history and end the curse set upon them. It would end with her.

But not only that. It was to get the one thing that still belonged to her back.

Sebastian.

She moved up into a standing position, feeling the strength return to her limbs, and moved through the dark towards the place where she hid her prize possessions. The buried treasure filled with supplies to destroy those who were not of this world. The weapons made for a hunter.

The silver pistol she inherited by her grandfather, she realized looking out into the blackened ruins of the manor, was now gone. Lost.

Good riddance. Her lips pursed. Eyes narrowed towards the final remains.

Then she pulled out a small purple, silk pouch, revealing a similar looking pistol coloured pure black. She took a hold, her fingers wrapping around the familiar grip of the weapon. A weapon given to her by her mentor, her teacher…her first love. A man who warned her that war wasn't the answer.

It wasn't…until now.

And as the silver bullets clicked in and echoed through the dark, Lotte knew this wasn't the end.

It was only the beginning.

This chapter was supposed to be part of the last chapter. I realized how long it was so I decided to push it into the next chapter. I didn't know until I finished though that it was still quite long to include in the original list of what was supposed to be Chapter 19. So this a extra chapter or a chapter than never existed in the original chapter list. Hope you all enjoyed it.

So many things are still happening! What will happen next!

Happy Halloween everyone! ~ Review are loved!