CHAPTER 25 - "REUNITED AT LAST"

Ciel snapped his hand away from Sebastian. He didn't like the way the demon had uncomfortably touched his ring and him. But he did continue to look at his ring inquisitively, a ring that he had inherited from his father, that contained a piece of the infamous and cursed Hope Diamond, sparkling with blue sapphire intensity. Lukas also looked at it mimicking Ciel's confused expression.

"What do you mean?" Ciel demanded of Sebastian as Lukas lowered his pistol.

"Are you not aware of the true history of the Hope Diamond, my lord? It's a very telling one."

Sebastian spanned out the history foretold of the rumored curse of the Hope Diamond, from its conception to present. From its discovery in a Brazilian mine, to its pass-down to person-to-person, until it was stolen from France and brought to England. He told them each who possessed it didn't necessarily die a horrible death, but did suffer in life to an extent. And the most notable victim of the diamond's curse was a French archduchess later Queen of France named Marie Antoinette who was guillotined in 1793 because she spoke contrary to principles established in the French Revolution. King Louis XVI also suffered the same fate in 1793, and was tried for high treason when he attempted to abolish the long standing monarchy. And even since then, passed down to its many owners, those who possessed it lived a fate worse than death.

"At this time, the diamond is in the possession of Lord Henry Francis Hope, the Eighth Duke of Newcastle," Sebastian explained. "However, rumor has it that over a hundred years ago when the diamond was stolen from France during the French Revolution, shards and even larger pieces were removed from the diamond by a wealthy octogenarian, who gave the pieces to family members as gifts. The Phantomhive family. This can not be substantiated, however." Ciel lifted his hand and they all gazed at the ring. " But I believe it may have some truth to it as this ring has been passed down generations within your family."

"So this piece of the Hope Diamond may been even older than even father believed?" Ciel said. "He told me great-grandfather passed it down him. He never explained why he never gave it to my - our - grandfather. But grandfather never fretted about it. In fact, if my memory recalled, he indeed saved the Phantomhive family from almost certain financial ruin after it was learned a secret debt to a foreign nation was unpaid, established by an old ancestor Edward Phantomhive, and ancestors of that nation came demanding payment. The debt was costly. It's still unknown what the debt was about. No records have survived. But it was paid and almost bankrupt our family. And then something unexplained happened from what father told me, not even grandfather could explain it. All the money that was paid to this foreign nation was returned with interest. A clerical error told this nation they owed us and the Phantomhive's rose out of the financial gutters. Coincidentally, all those who were originally involved in this debt in this foreign nation later died under mysterious circumstances."

"They were killed?" Lukas said.

Ciel shrugged. "This 'error' saved our family from abject financial ruin, it matters not how. After, father took over the family when he married mother and the rest is history, as it is said. He established the Phantomhive name as a utilitarian repute with respected businesses through the British Commonwealth, ever building on the family fortune. Second only to his loyalty to the Crown and the Queen's decree as the throne's unofficial protector of any threats of her rule. Her royal guard dog; like grandfather before him."

Sebastian mused. "I suspect there is an even greater mystery here. No one returns a large sum of money like that without it being questioned."

"I concur, and it matters not to me, and I don't believe in coincidences," Lukas said. "We may not know about it, but everything happens for a reason. Bryon Kelvin and what he did is proof of this reasoning."

"As I said, it matters not now," Ciel agreed. He kissed his ring as if gaining strength from it. "All that need be settled is this moment. I have accepted my fate. And I accept the curse of the Hope Diamond willingly. And willingly gave up my soul to avenge our parents' murder. You blame me for what father did to you, but you are just as dimwitted as all those who thought they could outwit me."

"Then you are a fool!" He raised the pistol again, but Sebastian stepped in front of it, shielding Ciel.

"Am I, or has your amnesia been cast upon you once more?" Ciel stepped from behind Sebastian, once again gazing deeply at the muzzle of the pistol his brother held loft at him, but unafraid. "Look around you, dear brother. You are being used in a game where there is no good end for you. Your programming by higher men has taken away much of your life to beg for their sinister deeds done. Father and mother are dead, their aristocrat sect is gone, but enemies to our name are still aloft. You once accused me of relying upon others to do work I should be commencing of my own violation. I ask you now, join me brother, and together we will have our revenge upon everyone who-"

"Stop!" Lukas lowered the pistol and suddenly looked away in shame. "I can not live this lie. It has been eating away at me ever since I learned of it when my memory returned. There is something you must know. I will not drag it out and merely tell you. This has been heavy on my heart."

Lukas looked to Sebastian for a moment as if to ask permission to tell. He had been like a fatherly-figure to Ciel for the past two years since their covenant began and…

"Go on, sir. It is not my place to tell, even though I know." Lukas bewildered, wanted to ask how, but Sebastian said, "I am a demon. I am privy to information of the human world that humans themselves are never fully aware of in their lifetimes. But I believe this should be told, Master Lukas, regardless of the consequences and the anger it may wrought. Your brother has a right to know."

"What is this conspire talk?" Ciel demanded. "What do you two know?"

Lukas sighed and slumped his shoulders. He looked to the floor abashed. "Brother, the night our parents died, I, with other children, under Bryon Kelvin's brainwashing influence, set fire to our parent's mansion. We entered the house amass and murdered all the servants except for Tanaka, then set fire to everything. I was also ordered to kill our parents, but someone had gotten to them first."

Lukas looked his brother in the eyes sorrowfully.

Ciel's eyes widened first with complete and utter shock, then with intense hatred. "You?" Teeth grit, he lifted his pistol and pointed it at Lukas's face.

Lukas cringed, but did not abate to the possibility of his own death.

Ciel fired a shot, but missed hitting the wall behind Lukas next to his right ear. He stormed forward and clenched Lukas's shirt in a tight fist and banged him against the wall, banging Lukas's head hard against the wall. But Lukas didn't fight back.

"You killed them! You and that hideous organization! I'll hunt each of those children down in murderous rage! Give me names! I will save you for last, so can watch each of them die a horrible, suffering death! Then I will give you to Sebastian, so he can devour your soul and eat of it for all eternality!" Ciel raised the pistol again, as if to pistol-whip Lukas. "But as of right now, I will give you the beating of your life!"

But Sebastian intervened. He took the pistol away and dragged Ciel back.

"How dare you! Let go of me! You belong to me! I want this traitor dead. You hear me - DEAD!" Ciel pulled away from Sebastian. "Don't you ever touch me like that again!"

"Sir, this is your brother," Sebastian said. "Your flesh and blood."

"No, Sebastian," Lukas said sadly, unable to look Ciel in the eyes, leaning up against the wall. His confidence drained, despondency engulfing his every being. He was a far cry from the Lukas Phantomhive only a day prior. "Let him beat me, I deserve it. It is the honorable thing to do. I have shamed the family."

"You have not," Sebastian said firmly. Lukas lifted his eyes to him in surprise. Ciel was equally taken aback by Sebastian's tone. "You were under the influence of another, you were not in your right mind, Master Lukas. The one thing I dislike about humans is self-pity. Do not blame yourself for another's misdeed."

"I told you never to call him that! I am your master!"

Sebastian gave Ciel a sideways glance. "That is true, sir. But it is his rightful title as it is yours, my lord."

"No, not any longer. I am disowning the Phantomhive name. I am a disgrace."

"You are being too hard on yourself, sir. You are not to blame. Events occurred that were beyond your control and you became a pawn in someone's game of deceit and malice. You are a Phantomhive. No one should ever shirk from their proud name, a name is all telling and creates identity. You and your brother are the last of the Phantomhive proud heritage, it is your birthrite. Carpe diem. Seize the day." He extended a hand out to Lukas. Lukas's eyes began to fill with tears. "Avenge the fallen and take back what is yours!"

Lukas took Sebastian's hand, and he lead Lukas to stand next to his brother. Ciel growled under his breath in distain of his brother.

Sebastian smirked. "Well, it would appear you are the same height now," he said. Ciel stood tall and Lukas slumped slightly. During the duel, or just before, it appeared the reverse. But perhaps Lukas may have just been a fraction taller than his brother to begin with.

Lukas sniffed and put his arm across his eyes and then began to cry. Ciel clenched his jaw and was immediately disgusted by his blatant expression of weakness. About to say something to stop it he didn't, and relented when it struck him that his brother was only twelve years old like him and everything he had been involved in must have been so overwhelming that all the sadness and melancholy that he had felt over the last seven years just suddenly hit him. And to act in such a betraying manner such as thing was equally taxing. Ciel had been so filled with hate that it fueled him, keeping him strong. Indeed, apart from their first encounter, he was finally seeing his real brother for the first time.

Sebastian cupped a gloved hand under Lukas's chin and lifted it and Lukas removed his arm from his face, tears streamed down his cheeks, his eyes red. "I am sorry for my deeds," he said, as if pleading for forgiveness.

"Don't fret, sir. After your great ordeal, it only natural to cry." Lukas sniffed, and Sebastian handed him a handkerchief to blow his blow and wipe his face. "But young lords must also be brave to battle on in the face of adversity. There are still many challenges yet to face."

"I concur," Ciel said straightly. "Do you believe that I sit around and cry over the past or wallow in self-pity in how the world has abandoned me. Need I say I don't. Vengeance is my weapon of choice, and it be mine on all those who dare challenge me and the house of Phantomhive."

He raised a hand and slapped Lukas hard across the face.

Sebastian gasped, and Lukas stool stunned and open-mouthed with a hand to his left cheek. But he stopped crying.

"As I said, vengeance will be mine all those who dare challenge me…" Then he smiled, a complete turnaround. "That slap is your punishment. Remember it well, dear brother. As Sebastian said, and I concur, you were not in your right mind when you and others set fire to our parents mansion. But that does not abstain you completely."

Lukas blinked, and then nodded.

"Now, help me wake Lizzie," Ciel said. They helped lift her and lay her flat on the couch. "We will recite a story about what she saw and say it was all a game."

"A lie?"

"Phantomhive's don't lie. We protect our best interests."

"I have much to learn from you, brother."

"As I from you, especially about your secret training," Ciel said. "After we send Lizzie on up to her quarters, we will set plans into motion to rid ourselves of these Fallen Reapers, and then plan to hunt down and eliminate the rest of the Inner Circle and Bryon Kelvin."

"The Inner Circle are no longer a problem," Lukas concurred. "The Fallen Reapers have killed them all, according to what the Undertaker told me. He seemed to have some inside information." It was unsure of Ciel knew the Undertaker was a Reaper, but Lukas didn't press it.

Ciel looked to Sebastian, and he nodded, as if he had inside information. And knowing Sebastian, he probably did. It seemed everyone knew more about what was going on than him. He accepted it nonetheless.

"Very well," Ciel said.

As Lizzie was unawakeable at this time due to the sleeping potion Lukas had slipped into her tea, Sebastian took her in his arms and cradled her like a small child. "I shall take her to her assigned quarters and put her to bed. I will inform her maid Paula that she was exhausted and fell asleep."

"Very good," Ciel said. He turned to Lukas, who now stood tall and his eyes had a determined stare. Ciel put a hand on Lukas's shoulder. "Together, we will destroy everyone who wronged us."

"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!" Lukas declared.

Three days later, the family portrait with Vincent, Rachel, Ciel and Lukas had finally been completed by the artist and hung on the wall over the main staircase.

The artist was paid a bonus for painting the best likenesses of the boys' parents to a perfected scale. The artist had know the Phantomhive's well and had been commissioned to paint several paintings of them and other family members described that unfortunately all perished in the fire that took the mansion two years prior. The other family portrait that only had Vincent, Rachel and Ciel, and was a reproduction of the original, and was done after Lukas had been declared dead, was sitting in the basement. This painting included everyone, including the family dog, named Sebastian. Which didn't amuse Sebastian, the butler.

And it had been updated seven years to the present which included Ciel's eye patch over his right eye, and Lukas's scar, that ran down vertical from two inches on his forehead, through his eyebrow, and over his right eye, reaching two inches down his cheek, that a piece of glass cut deep when the window of his quarters had exploded inwards from an attack by Sasha and Samuel Ironstadt sent by the Inner Circle to retrieve him. It appeared to be permanent, but didn't hinder his vision. And Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive were immortalized as the artist had remembered them, as kind and warm loving parents. A half-truth, but that is what the portrait portrayed.

"A very close likeness, my lord," Sebastian said to Ciel. "The artist did your family justice."

"Indeed. The portrait shows us as the perfect family despite showcasing us in two different life times."

Lukas nodded but sighed melancholy. "It's a shame I do not remember our parents better on a happier note. All that I have is the truth from what I saw in my brush with death." He had told them everything the Undertaker had done to help restore his memories.

"Truth is stranger than fiction," Sebastian said, "and sometimes perception is stronger than reality. Perhaps everything you saw wasn't indeed everything you remember, or what you only thought you perceived?"

"What do you mean?"

Sebastian mused. "From what I recall reading in medical journals, the human brain is separated into two distinct hemispheres - the left and right cerebral lobes. The left side handles logical thinking and the right deals with imagination, respectfully. In their life time, a person will either develop one lobe superior to the other and will perceive the world differently than a person who undertakes a more creative side." He noted the painting on the wall. "This portrait is a perfect example of a person who uses the right hemisphere more than his left, although both are used. While the artist uses brush strokes to put paint on canvas and imagination to create an image, he must also think about perspective and linear distinction to make it look real. Examples of this can be seen by the Italian Renaissance sculptor and artist Michelangelo and his work in the Sistine Chapel, Leonardo Da Vinci and The Last Supper, and the Dutch painter Rembrandt and his painting The Storm on the Sea of Galiee. Every painting is about angles, perspective and - " Sebastian stopped, blinking confused when he saw both boys looking at him strange. "Did I say something incorrect?"

Lukas turned to Ciel and said, "When did this turn into an art lesson?"

"Indeed," Ciel agreed, putting hands on his hips.

Sebastian grinned thin. "Everyday is a learning experience, my lord's."

"Although, now that I think about it," Lukas said when he looked back at the painting. "I believe the artist may have made your left eye too large." He laughed. "It makes you look like Cyclops."

Ciel frowned. "No, he did not! It's perfectly symmetrical and proportionate to my body, albeit to your large nose."

Lukas touched his nose. "My nose is perfect. And if I have a large nose, so do you!"

Voices rose and filled the empty main hall chamber. Sebastian put up his hands, hoping to put an end to what was starting to become another argument. "My lord's, please!"

Lukas shook his head. "Sebastian, do you not know sarcasm when you hear it?"

"Yes, indeed," Ciel agreed. "He can be quite serious at times."

Sebastian eyed Ciel curiously. "My lord, do I detect playfulness from you? An rare oddity indeed."

Ciel cleared his throat and an expression of a serious nature returned to his face. "Sebastian, prepare some tea and bring it to the Drawing Room. We must prepare for war."

Sebastian bowed. "Yes, my lord."

"Earl Grey," Lukas said, and Ciel agreed.

Ten minutes later, Sebastian poured each of them a cup of tea in the Drawing Room.

Ciel took a sip from his cup as he sat in a high back chair. Lukas said on the couch, also taking a sip. Sebastian stood next to the serving table and tray.

"Very nice tea, Sebastian, thank you," Lukas said.

Ciel nodded. "We need to discuss things," he said. "We need to plan our attack for the arrival of the Fallen Reapers. They are expecting your summons, Sebastian, and I wager they are getting restless."

"Our plan of attack must be prompt," Lukas said. "We must strike at their weaknesses!"

"And fortify our defenses," Ciel agreed. "And we must prey on them like predators, strike in the jugular."

"But lest us remember," Sebastian said, "despite possessing human bodies, theses are supernatural beings; they are extremely ruthless, merciless, and wield dark powers - especially Mathu Kelvin. Conventional methods will not be enough to defeat them, so alterative options will need to be considered."

Lukas looked at Sebastian. "Three days ago you told us the history of the Hope Diamond and an alterative plan to handing me over to the Fallen Reapers, that was never fully explained…"

"I will explain everything now." On a lower shelf in the serving tray, he pulled out a black, untitled book. "I may regret this someday, but at the moment it is necessary. Every spirit must adhere to a set of chants or spells cast, whether they be demon or otherwise. There are laws even in the underworld. Once certain chants or spells are cast and a spirit or otherworldly being is trapped within a spirit barrier, they can not escape unless the chant or spell is un-cast. This book contains spells and chants that may be helpful to us."

"Are you planning on trapping the Fallen Reapers in spiritual barriers?" Lukas asked.

"No, they will be too smart for that."

"Then what good is it?" Ciel wondered.

"This is for you, my lord. To protect yourselves from them."

"Are you daft? We're humans. How can those spells work on the living?"

Lukas sighed. "I think I understand, Sebastian." He looked to Ciel, settling his cup of tea in his lap. "These spells will work for you, Ciel. You have a contract with Sebastian, because you and he are bonded with a spiritual covenant." He looked back at Sebastian. "On the other hand, I am without."

"You perceive the situation correctly, my lord," Sebastian said.

"Are you saying Lukas must broker a covenant with you for these spells to work for him?"

"Yes, my lord. In order for a protection barrier to be erected around you, a soul must be added partially to the spirit world, my world. And with a covenant with me, you both will be able to seek shelter this way."

Lukas mused quietly, then said, "They will kill me, correct?"

Sebastian nodded. "I believe when they finally get what they want, they will kill both of you. They will no longer be under the Reaper creed and will still have their dark Reaper powers. They will set the world ablaze starting with London. And London will burn once more like it did over two hundred years prior."

Both boys mused on this quietly for a moment, remembering that event from the history they learned of it.

The Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed most of medieval London that started by a simple bakery fire gone a rye. It spread quickly and destroyed over 70,000 homes and displaced even more inhabitants of the city. While the death toll was relatively small for such a large event, it birthed new technologies in fire fighting and demolition methods. But economically, the city was devastated and King Charles II strongly urged resettlement. But its people were strong and rebuilt. And London became a proud nation once more.

"Can you stop them?" Ciel said.

"I don't know," Sebastian said. "And we will not have aid from the Reapers: Grell Sutcliff or Ronald Knox. They have already told us they will not get involved in affairs not their own. We will be alone in this; against these dangerous creatures. And I feel they hold even darker powers than even I can perceive."

Both boys stared down into their tea cups thoughtfully. There was a long silence.

"But there is hope, my lord's," Sebastian said, breaking it, and smiled thin. "Your ring, Master Ciel. It holds powers in its own rite. It's cursed, witnessing the deaths of many of its owners, but the dark energy that resides in it can be used as a weapon and amplified a thousand fold if correctly attuned."

"How?" Ciel said, looking at the ring around his left thumb.

"Unbelieving as it may seem, it thrives on dark emotions - that is its curse. The blue diamond that it was shard from - the Hope Diamond or the French Blue - was part of a collection of gems removed without consent from their resting place in Brazil by an explorer who did not pay homage by sacred tribal law to the mountain where gods supposedly created the naturally grown gems, or so gathered history tells... Those who possess any of these gems, especially the Hope Diamond, are subjected to unforeseen dark forces that plague them for their entire lives, willingly or not."

Ciel and Lukas looked at each other befuddled, then looked back at Sebastian. "Then how do we use it to our advantage?" Ciel asked.

"It must be used in collaboration with my dark energy to amplify its own power. And yours, as well."

"Which means a covenant with you must be made," Lukas said, "so the ring can be powered two-fold. You will use our energy with yours to…do what exactly?"

"That has yet to be determined. But once and if the Fallen Reapers are beaten, the covenant between you and I, Master Lukas, will be dissolved."

Ciel turned sharply. "What do you mean?"

"It will be a temporary covenant. I do not want to devour a soul that contrives with selflessness; pure souls are tasteless." Sebastian eyed Ciel, his eyes glowered. "Darkness is all I crave."

Lukas laughed. "I wouldn't consider my soul tasteless. My soul is definitely not pure, it is filled with sin and is saturated with the blood of many I have slaughtered under Bryon Kelvin's influence."

"Indeed. But be reminded, the horrendous acts of murder you committed were not of your own violation. You were controlled by a higher power. Hence, your soul is 'tasteless', to me."

"Fair enough," Ciel agreed, as if the issue had been settled.

"No!" Lukas said strongly. "If we to agree to the covenant, Sebastian, then I will share my brother's fate." He grinned, sipping his tea. "'All for one, and one for all', to quote a famous author." He settled his cup in his lap, and looked at his brother with an agreeing smile. "Together we will annihilate our enemies and hurl them into the depths of darkness. Then we, too, us two, the last of the Phantomhive name, will face the final curtain…"

To be continued…