PP12: I recommend listening to the song 'Phantom of the Opera' before reading the lyrics from this chapter, NOT owned by me, and just so you know I was in excited fangirl mode whilst writing this chapter ^^
Also listen to 'Music of the Night' as Sebastian sings that later on ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or Phantom of the Opera, etc etc...
Darkness surrounded the two as their footsteps treading on what sounded like stone echoed around them. The blackness slowly disappeared when one by one each candle flickered and brought light into their surroundings, which appeared to be an ancient channel. One source of light stood out amongst the rest; a glowing lantern that Sebastian held as he guided Ciel down the underground path. Ciel felt the phantom's grip on his hand dragging him deeper underground, vaguely looking around in wonder.
"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came," Ciel sung with a lingering melody, "That voice which calls to me….and speaks my name."
Sebastian grinned as he listened to the boy sing.
"And do I dream again? For now I find….the Phantom of the Opera is there…"
Ciel faintly touched his forehead, his eyes gazing at the ground. "Inside my mind."
Sebastian led the way with slow strides as if to savour the length of the journey, and eventually they entered another passageway that was longer and deeper than before. Statues of strange looking angels held candles, luminescent against the dark.
"Sing once again with me, our strange duet," Sebastian chanted eloquently, "My power over you grows stronger yet." He turned to Ciel whose face appeared blank and expressionless almost as if his senses were lost.
"And though you turn from me to glance behind, the Phantom of the Opera is there..."
"Inside my mind…" Ciel's voice intoned, echoing dissonantly.
Soon the long path stopped descending and the pair arrived at the bank of a canal where a boat bobbed and rocked on the water. Sebastian stepped in the boat and held his hand out towards Ciel. The boy hesitantly took it and joined him within it, sitting down while Sebastian stood and rowed the boat along the waterway.
"Those who have seen your face draw back in fear," Ciel murmured as he was staring at the water, "I am the mask you wear…"
"It's me they hear," Sebastian sang with a luring tune. Ciel turned to face him and gaped at the mask, curiously wondering what held beneath it.
"Your/my spirit and your/my voice," they both chanted, "In one combined! The Phantom of the Opera is there…"
"Inside your mind," Sebastian finished with a small grin as he leaned down to trace his finger at the boy's forehead. Ciel flinched and his gaze returned to the water; something about the phantom's gaze felt uncomfortable, feasibly controlling.
The voyage across the canal was slowly nearing its end. Mist started to form around the boat while it took its time to approach the mouth of a cave, with dripping icicles that looked like teeth. The light from the lantern dimmed against the fog and Ciel reached his arm to touch the water, staring in wonder as the mist swirled around his hand.
"In all your fantasies you always knew," Sebastian chorused, his voice strong and powerful, "That man and mystery…"
"Were both in you," Ciel murmured softly.
"And in this labyrinth where night is blind," the two harmonised as the boat kept looming towards the entrance of the cave, "The Phantom of the Opera is there! Inside your/my mind."
Ciel looked up at the icicles as the boat moved inside the cave, and his breath hitched when suddenly his surroundings became obscure again. Sebastian snapped his fingers and straightaway the dark cavern was filled with light that blazed from the surrounding candelabras. Where the canal ended, there was a platform where stood a hauntingly designed music stand, made of glass, and above it hung a glowing chandelier.
"Your voice is good, however it must be trained," Sebastian said as he led Ciel out of the boat. Ciel stood under the chandelier and could somehow feel the phantom's power surging within him when he approached the boy and gripped his chin with his fingers. "Do you wish for the part in the next play?"
Ciel stayed silent for a moment.
"Do you?" Sebastian repeated, peering closer.
"I…I do."
"Say it louder."
"I do!" Ciel shouted, staring at his eyes intensely.
"Then prove it to me. But first of all…"
Ciel yelped when his back was harshly whipped by a baton. He rubbed his back and clenched his teeth from the pain.
"What the hell was that for?!"
Sebastian held the baton in his hands, tapping it against his palm. "Back straight. Your voice won't stand a chance if you're slouching."
He headed towards the music stand, eyeing Ciel all the way, who glared at him yet with a firm stance as if he was ready to face any challenge. If Ciel looked hard enough, he could make out that Sebastian's eyes glowed a bright magenta as the phantom gave him the signal by raising his arms.
"Now sing!"
Obeying his command, Ciel vocalised with a high voice, keeping his back straight and gazing at the chandelier, completely unaware that Sebastian was grinning as he sang. He strolled around him with his eyes fully pierced on him and he continued to chant loudly.
"Sing!"
Ciel felt the control of the phantom pushing him further, causing his voice to become stronger. As the boy vocalised he locked his gaze onto the phantom and walked towards him. Sebastian slowly backed away but his grin never faded.
"Sing!" Sebastian commanded.
The power surged through Ciel again and affected his voice to grow more powerful in the most inhuman way, as if phantom took full control of his voice. Glowing crimson met sapphire blue and Sebastian raised his arms again.
"I said sing!"
Now Ciel was getting frustrated. His voice furiously rose in volume but the pureness within it never altered, in fact it grew robust. Sebastian grinned wider as he listened to the angelic notes echoing off the walls, however he heard Ciel's voice becoming breathless and he noticed his face was slowly turning red out of exhaustion, but that was not going to stop him. He marched towards Ciel and shouted the final command.
"SING FOR ME!"
Instantly, Ciel's voice raised its pitch to the highest note he could manage. His eyes widened at the sound of his own voice reaching that pitch, and he was soon startled by the sudden sound of glass cracking as the music stand shattered to pieces. He looked at Sebastian and felt like smiling triumphantly when his crimson eyes widened as well, but he could mainly focus on the intense throbbing of his throat and his mind slowly blanking out.
"Bloody hell…" he breathed and his legs wobbled when he lost his balance and collapsed in the phantom's arms. When Ciel was in a deep sleep, Sebastian brushed away the locks of hair covering his left eye and his eyes burned brightly.
"Night-time sharpens, heightens each sensation…" he sang softly, "Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defences…"
Picking the boy up, Sebastian carried him over to a mound of boulders and laid him down upon them. The light from the candles gently radiated on his face full of youth and innocence.
"Softly, deftly, music shall surround you…feel it, hear it closing in around you."
He slipped the glove off his hand with his teeth and placed it over the boy's left eye.
"Open up your mind; let your fantasies unwind in this darkness which you know you cannot fight…"
Ever so slowly, a demonic symbol started to form on his hand and a small grin curved his lips.
"The darkness of the music of the night," he whispered, before looking back at the shattered music stand and sighing. "It seems I will have to repair that…"
Ciel groaned as his eyes fluttered open. His vision was blurry for a while, but he noticed the luminescent light around him and slowly lifted himself up.
Where am I…and how did I get here?
He looked around and tried to recollect his memories.
"I remember there was mist," he murmured as he rubbed his head, "Swirling mist around a vast glassy lake. And there were candles all around." He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut. "If only my head didn't hurt as much, then I could remember that bloody boat looked like-"
His eyes widened in realisation.
"That's right….there was a boat, and in that boat…there was a man."
He slowly turned around to find Sebastian sitting at the repaired music stand, busily writing on manuscripts and not noting Ciel walking cautiously towards him.
Surely whatever is hiding beneath that mask can't be that horrifying, Ciel thought as he quickly hid behind a boulder when he thought Sebastian was looking. He touched his forehead again. Why do I feel strange? I feel…controlled somehow…I suppose I'm just hallucinating.
He took small wary steps around the phantom while keeping his distance from him, until he stalked behind him and stopped when the phantom stopped writing. Ciel's breath hitched but relaxed when Sebastian continued writing, and he timidly approached him from behind.
Whose is the face in the mask?
He took a deep breath.
Alright, here we go.
Ciel summoned up all the courage he had and hurriedly reached his arm for the mask. A hand quickly grasped his wrist and Sebastian glanced at the startled eyes that stared back at him.
"What do you think you are doing?" he asked with a small hint of anger in his voice, but his face remained neutral. Ciel looked at the hand gripping his wrist that tightened when he glanced back at the mask.
I must know. I won't back out now!
With his other hand, Ciel yanked the mask off Sebastian's face.
A horrified scream echoed in the labyrinth.
Ciel jerked away from him as soon as his wrist was freed with his eyes wide and full of fear, unable to look away from the horrifying sight he witnessed.
"Damn you!" Sebastian growled.
Ciel gasped and his back felt the rocky wall of the labyrinth as the gruesome form approached the boy. His eyes furiously blazed the colour of magenta and his pupils formed into thin slits as midnight feathers drifted to the ground. His once porcelain skin faded to a shade of ebony and Ciel's heartbeat quickened its pace when he noticed fangs peeking from his lips.
His face was shockingly inhuman.
"Is this what you wanted to see, boy?" Sebastian demanded with a haunting voice, charging towards him and forcefully taking his chin into his fingers. Ciel's eyes squinted shut.
His face...it can't be human at all….what the hell is that?!
"You foolish child. Now you shall never be free." He released his chin and turned away from him as Ciel nervously opened his eyes. He only saw the back of his head, yet the aura was still noticeable. His eyes fell on the mask he held in his hand and he examined it closely, before Sebastian looked at him again.
"You have courage, little one, to even dare to look at me; this repulsive beast I appear to you as," Sebastian said lowly with threat burning in his eyes. Ciel tried to look calm yet it was to no avail. The more he saw him the more he felt afraid. His distorted face reminded him of a ghastly creature that penetrates horror to anyone who sees it; like the face of a demon.
"Do you fear me?" Sebastian probed. In truth Ciel wanted to run like a startled rabbit, but he never turned away from the demonic eyes and didn't move a muscle.
"I'm….I'm sorry…." Ciel managed to say, "L-look, I'll give it back, alright?"
"That changes nothing," Sebastian snarled at him, "The fact that you've seen with your own eyes what lies beneath that mask does not change anything." He gritted his teeth with anger as more feathers descended to the ground, thought he still attained his calm posture. "You would not understand."
Ciel was indeed confused about what was happening and had always believed the thought of someone not showing their face to anyone because of sheer loss of beauty was pathetic, but the boy rethought that as soon as he picked up a fallen feather and it incinerated in his fingertips. At that moment he knew for certain this creature before him was definitely not human at all.
Hesitantly, Ciel reached his trembling hand holding the mask towards him whilst looking away from him. Sebastian stared at it for a moment and harshly seized it and fitted it upon his face. When Ciel looked at him again, the horrifying form and midnight feathers had vanished and was replaced with the human form from earlier. Ciel was too dumbfound to speak and was late to react when Sebastian grabbed his hand.
"Come, we must return," he said, leading him towards the boat, "Those two fools who run my theatre will be missing you."
PP12: Heads up, I won't be updating on this story very much because I have already delayed updating my other fanfictions and I want to focus on them before I write any more chapters and get sidetracked. I have a feeling people have gotten pretty annoyed at the fact that I skip from one fanfiction to another and I want to try and stop that (and by that I mean not coming up with new fanfictions and stick to the ones I already have)
But yeah, I hope you readers enjoyed these three chapters so far ^w^