Author's note: This is everyone, the final chapter! It all ends tonight, as it were. Ciel and Sebastian are cornered, with no escape routes, no energy left to fight and no help in sight. This along with three angels barrelling down on them puts them in a pretty tricky spot. But is there someone waiting to rescue them? Find out!
Warnings: Sebaciel (finally some payoff), detailed gore, lots of swearing and too much plot for one chapter to hold.
That Butler, Checkmate?
"Say goodbye, vermin!" the cracked voice spoke, lunging forward with his blade-like hand.
Suddenly, a white blur slashed through him and Double Charles from behind. The trio cried out in pain and rage, turning to look at the new challenger.
"Who dares?!" screeched the angel, wheeling around.
Behind them, much to Ciel's shock, stood Undertaker with reaper scythe in hand. He was grinning madly,
"Heee? Looks like we made it just in time, my young Earl" the white haired man crooned, standing up straight. "Although you both look like you have seen better days!"
Ciel ogled,
"Un-Undertaker?! Why are you-" his question was cut off by a shout from the room through the broken wall, behind Jezebel. He turned and saw Sitri, who was surrounded by three very familiar shinigami.
William T. Spears adjusted his glasses and glared,
"Honestly, it's not enough that we have to watch out for demons ensnaring souls, now angels have started taking them too! This will cause me no end of overtime" his level, irritated voice rang through the rooms.
Beside him, arms casually resting on his custom lawnmower scythe, Ronald Knox grinned,
"Nah, I don't do overtime and I have a party tonight! So let's get rid of them fast" he spoke, eyeing up the angels, eager to fight.
Meanwhile, Grell, a familiar red-haired reaper to Ciel, just sighed dreamily and clung to Sitri's arm tighter, grinning flirtatiously at the demon prince.
"Who cares about overtime if I get to see both my beloved Bassy and this hot hunk of a demon? Let's have a burning hot Death Match when this is over, my mysterious stranger!" the Reaper gushed, revving her chainsaw madly at the demon.
Sitri chuckled nervously, slightly wary and unsure of what to make of this person,
"Maybe later?" he hazarded and gently coaxed himself free, moving closer to Jezebel.
"W-what?" the angel stuttered, looking up at the newly arrived trio. "Shinigami?"
Sitri smirked and looked over to Sebastian and Ciel,
"I figured we could use some help! Sorry I had to leave you to handle things for a while, Malphas, I was going to go down below but then I met these guys. It seems they know you and wanted to help!" the demon prince spoke cheerfully.
Spears scoffed, readjusting his glasses again,
"'Wanted to' is a flagrant misuse of that term! I could hardly leave this situation to continue! No doubt the paperwork for what's occurred here already will be immense" he grumbled, pointing his scythe at Sitri. "Also, to leave an uncollared beast around this many souls would be a crime!"
Sitri grinned wolfishly before smirking at the angelic trio,
"Well, that aside, now the real match can begin!" he said, teeth now flashing menacingly.
Charles Grey snarled in frustration,
"So… you just pretended to be overcome with guilt? Well, don't be so cocky, scum, because I'll soon have you weeping real tears of despair" he spat and raised a hand.
As if stirring from a sleep, Jezebel moved to face the trio and Sitri. Grey smirked madly,
"Don't forget we have our little toy here! Get them, slave!" he cried.
All opponents crouched to attack,
"Now now, don't you think you should fight your own fights?" Undertaker spoke softly and sprung towards the spirit.
Jezebel reacted and darted to the side, but not quickly enough. The chains on her neck and wrists were sliced clean off in a shower of sparks by Undertaker's scythe. Undertaker landed softly as Jezebel slumped to the floor.
"Jez!" Sitri cried, catching the spirit as she fell, cradling the small form, "Oh Jez…"
Ignoring the scene behind him, Undertaker smirked at the dumbfounded angels instead,
"Now it's a fair fight!" he remarked, propping his scythe on his shoulder.
"W-what? You fool! Destroying the chains like that! You've as good as killed her!" the angel spluttered, flabbergasted.
Undertaker continued his infuriatingly calm smirk,
"Oh, have I? Well, I don't know about that. Human souls are fairly resilient, you know?" he answered mysteriously before bringing up his scythe. "But shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?"
Grey suddenly realised he was surrounded by shinigami on all sides.
The three shinigami moved in closer; Grell revved her chainsaw enthusiastically, a menacing fanged grin spread wide on her face. Grey tutted in frustration then looked behind them towards the silos. He smirked ruefully,
"Don't think you've won yet, vermin!" he cried and flung his sword at the silo. The blade pierced the side, sending out a great hiss of steam that filled the room. Alongside the hiss of steam, high pitched wails could be heard.
Ciel watched as the shinigami turned to the silo in horror, the boy unable to see what they could. He watched as the trio rushed towards the steam, slicing at thin air,
"Quickly! We must contain every soul before they go on a rampage!" barked William as he sliced with purpose.
Grey smirked at the distracted reapers and gestured to the other angels. Slowly, they started to walk away further into the mists.
Ciel jumped up and dashed towards the angels,
"Young Master!" Sebastian called out, trying to grab the boy but missed. Ciel dove on at the shadows in the steam,
'I can't let them escape!' he thought desperately and reached for the nearest shadow. But instead of grabbing an arm, his hand closed on more mist,
"W-wha-" he cried in surprise, losing his balance and falling forward. He felt a strong arm wrap around his waist, preventing his fall. Looking back, he expected to see his diligent demon but instead stared at the beaming grin of Undertaker. He noticed Sebastian rushing up behind, panting still from the exertion it took, with Sitri by his side.
"Watch your step there, Earl. Angels are far trickier than you might expect!" the ex-Reaper crowed.
"G-get off me!" the boy cried, pushing himself free of the man's arms. He looked around wildly,
"The angels, they've escaped!" he cried, still looking around despite this fact.
Undertaker nodded, looking unperturbed,
"Yes it would appear so" the Reaper replied nonchalantly and continued to smile his mysterious grin. He pointed towards the mist
"However, they left us something interesting"
Ciel raised an eyebrow and followed the pointing finger back to the shadow in the steam. He squinted, the shadow slowly taking a form, and realised it was the form of a person, a woman. He found it hard to focus on her, like trying to see a shape in smoke, but he watched carefully. The woman slowly walked towards Ciel, the dead expression on her face made it look like she was sleepwalking. He realised he recognised this woman too,
'It's the girl from the college! The girl whose body was floating in that tank of ice!' The boy started with shock,
"What…" he started, walking back from the figure, then realised. "The souls of those killed were kept in the silos!"
Undertaker nodded,
"Yes, indeed, Young Lord. This is what a soul looks like, after it has left the body" he explained.
"The soul? But, I thought you described the soul as cinematic records? The memories of the person when they were alive. Also, I thought normal humans weren't able to see them?" Ciel looked warily at the figure still.
Undertaker sighed dramatically, like he had to explain something simple to an idiot,
"Oh Young Lord, your view is still so narrow. The soul is much more complex than just memories after all. The emotions, the pride and strength of humanity all contained within such a fragile physical form all exist alongside the memories that helped shape them. And you know, that power is quite appealing to those who know how to use it"
Ciel turned to the Undertaker at this strange statement,
"So they were collecting the souls to use their power? But where would they use it? Why?" he asked. The Undertaker grinned and glanced briefly at Sitri and Jezebel; the demon prince was whispering to his small human partner and stroking her hair soothingly, a gentle glow emanating from their crowns that gave the scene a more romantic air. The Shinigami looked back, smirking at the teen,
"Where indeed I wonder?" he crowed mysteriously.
Sebastian, who had been thoughtfully looking towards Sitri and Jezebel himself as he walked over to his Young Master, coughed gently to interlude.
"I believe I may know, Young Master. Whilst captured, I saw a summoning ritual set up much like the one where we met, although this one was… unused" the demon explained politely. As he spoke, he knelt before the boy, old butler mannerisms kicking in, and he began dusting Ciel's battered coat.
Ciel shuddered at the memories of what his butler alluded to, but pushed them aside so he could focus on this news, ignoring Sebastian's actions.
"So they needed the souls to entice a demon up to this plane? There's a demon that's actually willing to work with the angels?" he asked, disbelieving this.
Sebastian frowned, pausing in his preening of the boy, and shook his head,
"No, that wouldn't be possible. The angels hate us now and I'd like to say the feeling is very much mutual. There are none of my kind would ever want to help them after all they've done to us" Sebastian stated, now retying Ciel's tie for him.
"Then what…" Ciel lapsed into thought then remembered how much power Rachel seemed to have, despite being just a human soul. "Maybe, as a weapon? Tell me, Undertaker, with enough human souls as power, could the angels break through into the demon's plane?"
Undertaker who had been chuckling to himself as he watched the demon fuss over the boy, grinned widely and was evidently pleased with the Earl's question.
"Even more than that, my Lord, they could use those souls to keep a gateway to that plane open as long as they like, so long as the supply of souls never ran out" he explained, his grin almost predator-like.
Ciel shivered again at that statement, causing Sebastian to smirk,
"Well they'd never run out of souls" the boy remarked grimly.
He remembered the military officer who was adamant about the 'good' the angels were doing for them and glanced over at the still frozen crowd at the desk. He noted that the shinigami had run off, unsurprised.
"So they could break into the demons' plane, attack with weapons powered by human souls, and take over. Then their worry about humans ever learning the truth of their existence and rebelling would be gone, along with the 'problem' of the demons"
He glanced down at Sebastian, whose face was carefully remaining neutral whilst he fixed the Young Earl's waistcoat, and then he looked over at Sitri and Jezebel, Sitri still whispering to the motionless soul.
"They would be able to capture all the demons, mark them with those sigils and continue to 'develop' humans as they think we were supposed to be; stupid, docile and obedient creatures." Ciel growled and he looked out at the souls now meandering around. His expression slipped into thoughtfulness,
"It seems… this case was much bigger than we thought" he murmured softly.
"Fucking faggot-bastards, you've ruined everything!" screeched a voice. Ciel leapt and felt himself being scooped up by Sebastian, just as rubble tumbled onto the spot where he'd stood. He saw Sitri also jump back, holding Jezebel close, as rubble fell where he'd stood too.
"W-what?" the boy gasped, turning to look up where the rubble had originated.
On top of the silos, growling and eyes aglow, stood the pair of half breeds, Ford and Ihbart.
Ciel exhaled in relief and snorted derisively,
"Oh it's those two" he sneered. He turned in Sebastian's arms to face his butler and ignored the enraged pair,
"What are they, anyway?" Ciel made sure to not keep an ounce of disgust from his voice. Sebastian grinned at his Young Master's brattish attitude,
"They appear to be half breeds, my Lord. Half human and half demon, they're rather looked down upon in our society and not very powerful. So they mostly stay up here in the human world where they can follow any stupid endeavour they think will lead to a quick meal or soul. They're hardly considered worthwhile to even speak to" the demon spoke coolly, regarding them as if they were flies.
This attitude served to further enrage the half breeds and Furd, the shorter one, stormed to the edge of the silo.
"Think you're so great, you human-fucking piece of shit? Don't think the angels are done with you yet! They'll paint more of those sigils on you and all your human-loving kind before turning the dumb shits like your little bitch there inside out right in front of you! I'd watch out if I were you!" he spat, frothing with madness. Sebastian stared at the pair, bored,
"You do realise they left you both behind right?" he stated dryly and watched the half breed screech with anger. Sitri chuckled at his friend, holding Jezebel in one arm now and stepping up beside Sebastian,
"Hey, hey, stop it, Malph, you're making them mad. Anymore and then they might do something entertaining. Like kill themselves" he joked, causing Sebastian to laugh too.
Both demons watched as the half breeds stormed around their perch, Furd spouting a string of obscenities. Sebastian covered Ciel's ears, unimpressed.
And then, the more eloquent Ihbart came forward and grinned wickedly,
"You all think you're so great down there, don't you? Happily accepted by your societies… you never considered what it's like to be one of us, did you? To be vilified for just existing… We never asked to exist! Now most of our kind has been cast out! We disgust our demon lineage but terrify our human! So, out of the two, which would you pick to be? Of course, the choice is clear" he spoke enigmatically and reached behind to drag something forward.
Ciel watched as it turned out to be Madame Gagnon, bound. The woman screeched in horror as she was tipped over the edge of the silo to face the still turning gears, held only by a thin rope.
"W-what? What is this? You two, I demand to know what is happening! Bring me back up at once!" the woman screamed. Furd bent down to be eye level with the woman,
"We thought you'd like to be up close and personal with your favoured 'Wheel', Madame! During your last moments that is" he jeered.
Madame Gagnon paused in her fear, working out just what they meant. She glanced down at the grinding gears with the sheer drop down either side and, realising her fate, started screaming even more. Lashing out wildly, she start to bounce on the rope like a yo-yo.
The half breeds' faces twisted in malicious delight at the screams,
"As I was saying, no one wants to live being unwanted. But feared" Ihbart continued and smirked with eyes aglow, looking much more demonic than ever before. He knelt and grinned wider as Madame stared up fearfully into those demonic eyes,
"Feared is something to revel in. Au revoir Madame" he finished and let go of the rope.
Ciel watched the screaming figure fall, unmoved.
'I could order Sebastian to save her, to take her in for questioning' he mused as she fell on one of the teeth of the gears. The men underneath stirred, realising what was happening, and began to pick up speed in their rotation.
'I could spare her an undignified death like this and allow her to be executed after a court hearing. That would be mercy' he continued and could feel the rumbling laughter of the demons behind him.
He continued to watch on as the woman scrambled madly away, falling into the gap of the next tooth and unable to jump out the other side.
'However, I am the Queen's Watchdog. Her Majesty expects me to investigate and destroy anything that threatens British citizens. Madame Gagnon is a threat to those British girls who come to this college' his grip tightened on his butler's arm as he watched Madame crawl into the corner of the gap and cry.
'And in this, I am both judge and jury. I am justice' he stared on as the tooth came down, to the sound of wailing, and it struck.
A wet sounding crunch rang out as the body of Madame Gagnon was ground down, exploding out the sides of the gears. Dribbling fat, shards of bone and chunks of entrails and flesh rained down on the men, who cheered as they ran to the continuous crunching noises. The remnants of the headmistress' dress that had clung to the gear tooth, sopping with blood, unstuck and fell. It splattered noisily to the floor, the last dying reminder of its owner's presence here.
'And if I find you guilty, there is never any mercy' Ciel finished, exhaling. He looked back up to the silos and saw that the half breeds were gone. He frowned,
"Sebastian, go and-" Ciel found himself cut off as Jezebel suddenly groaned awake. The others jumped in surprise, watching as the spirit turned achingly slowly in her demon's arms and, with bleary eyes, looked up at Ciel,
"Young… Master?" she whispered, wincing in pain as she sat up.
"Hey hey, take it easy" Sitri soothed as he gently pulled her to lean against his chest. Panting, she complied but looked around, taking in the surroundings,
"They've… gone?" she gasped, referring to the angels. Sitri snorted,
"For now" he replied. The spirit nodded at this and leant back, relaxing.
Ciel stared in disbelief at the scene,
"W-what?" he turned to Undertaker. "You said she'd died!"
Surprised at this sudden assault, Undertaker smoothly smiled his wide, knowing smile,
"Did I? I don't remember saying that. I recall that angel stating she had died though" he spoke with enraging calmness.
"Yes! But you did not deny it!" the Earl responded hotly, feeling like a duped fool. Undertaker giggled to himself,
"Well, my Lord, because denying it would be lying, would it not? After all, she is dead!" the ex-shinigami cackled to himself at his own joke. Ciel tutted in frustration and then watched as a piece of brick smacked the white-haired man in the face. He spun around to look in wide-eyed amazement at the spirit now glaring furiously at the ex-Shinigami.
"W-wha…" the boy stuttered, but was ignored.
"I owe you that and much more, you ass!" she snarled at the Undertaker, who looked at her fearfully as he clutched his bleeding nose.
The girl jumped from Sitri's arms, causing her to nearly collapse again, but she regained her footing and shook off the fussing demon prince. She stalked with bristling rage towards the Undertaker, who crab-walked backwards away, "You took advantage of me… you used me and when those damn angels killed me again, you stole part of me!" She stomped on the Undertaker's chest to pin him down and leant into the white-haired man's face, "Tell me why…"
Undertaker, uncharacteristically nervous, chuckled,
"Well… I was… that is…" he looked around, pulling the collar of his jacket theatrically. The girl leant further into his face, spear appearing back in hand,
"Tell. Me. Why." she pointed the tip into his cheek. He gulped, still trying to grin despite the point digging into his face,
"I thought… I'd see what would happen? If I could combine part of a soul with the descendants of… her… Then maybe…I thought I could…" he muttered. The spear poked into his throat, causing him to freeze,
"'Her'? Your angel, you mean?" the girl clarified, removing the spear. Upon receiving a nod, her fury seemed to abate and she now regarded the Undertaker coolly instead.
Jezebel glanced briefly at Ciel before she turned away, walking back towards Sitri. Ciel blinked, feeling like he was somehow connected to this,
"She's dead, Cedric. Get over it. No amount of trickery or cleverness with life will change that. Death means death, no matter what species they are" the spirit stated. She looked up at the demon prince, who smiled warmly, and she leant back against him, fussing a furry ear. As she fussed, she looked back at the ex-Shinigami lying on the floor soundlessly and her expression seemed to soften. She sighed,
"You failed her, I understand you must feel regret and be angry with yourself… However, to try and console yourself, you took part of me and her and put both pieces along with yourself into your adopted son's wife without telling anyone. It was a dangerous and stupid stunt! You could've killed that woman, destroying what remained of 'her' soul and the children that little stunt of yours grew! It even got you fired from being a Shinigami!"
As Ciel watched, Undertaker got up from his position on the floor with his head drooped, concealing his expression. His hand unconsciously went to his chain of remembrance lockets.
'Those chains, one of those contains my grandmother's name. Claudia P… Claudia Phantomhive' Ciel thought. He quirked an eyebrow upon hearing Jezebel's further berating, 'Undertaker had an adopted family? And he even used his son's wife… to make a child?'
Ciel stared intensely at the white-haired man. He saw him stroke one of the lockets for comfort, clutching to it as he spoke,
"I… need her back though… This life… it's no life without her. Without my… Claudia" the Undertaker spoke quietly, face concealed behind his hair. For a brief second, Jezebel's eyes softened again before becoming sharp,
"That wouldn't have been her you brought back. Stop living in the past, Cedric" she pointed towards Ciel. "Focus on your future instead"
And with that, she turned back to Sitri.
"Let's leave this place already" she spoke softly, but irritably. The demon, purring, ignored this irritation and nuzzled her cheek lightly,
"Missed you" he whispered, so quietly it was barely audible. The spirit's irritation seemed to fade and she smiled at Sitri,
"I missed 'me' too" she quipped.
Ciel, meanwhile, gaped openly at this statement,
'What exactly does that mean? 'Focus on your future'? And Undertaker mentioned a Claudia, 'his Claudia'. My grandmother was Claudia, the only one on those lockets. Could it be this means…' the boy stared at the Undertaker, who was purposefully not looking at the boy and was instead focusing on dusting off his robes.
"Undertaker…" the boy spoke softly, almost frightened what effect his next words would have. "What… does this mean?"
The ex-Shinigami smiled sadly at the boy, tears were running down his face. Ciel was shaken and speechless.
"Heh… I always said, didn't I, Earl? It'd be a terrible place, without laughter. But I guess… the punch line's been ruined now" the man's voice trembled with emotion as he spoke.
Regaining some composure, he managed a half-hearted smile at the boy,
"I guess… you could always call me Grandpa. That'd be worth a laugh at least," the man chuckled weakly. Ciel continued to stare; could it be true? Undertaker; his biological grandfather? His grandmother; a fallen angel?
'I'll admit, my Predecessor never knew much about his father. Only that he vanished around the same time my Grandmother died. But, by then, my Predecessor was far into his studies at Weston so he wasn't around much to worry where he'd gone. But still, Undertaker worked for him so how can it be that he never noticed anything?' Ciel felt his head spin with so many questions.
A hand gently touched his head, making Ciel jump and look up. The Undertaker smiled his usual grin, though it lacked its usual vigour,
"It's been a lot for you to take now, my Lord. I think you'd do better not to dwell so much or those questions will come out of your ears!" the man cackled to himself before jumping back. "Well, it's time I should be off then! Before those three are done rounding up those souls and come after me!"
Ciel reached after him,
"Ah, but! Wait!" the boy called, chasing the figure now vanishing into the mists. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Jezebel there. She shook her head,
"Some things need time, my Lord. He'll come back to you, when he's ready to talk" she spoke softly. Ciel looked out, longingly, into the mist before sighing and nodding. Turning back, they walked back over to their demons.
Standing beside Sitri, Jezebel turned back to Ciel,
"Young Master" she smiled warmly "You now know what your importance to me is. However, it would seem now that I do not… require 'what you have' to be complete anymore. So now, we should bid our farewells too. Those chains… the ones that bound me to both planes…it appeared they were keeping me from reaching my full potential… despite how much they helped keep me alive in the beginning. Fear of the unknown… it is a powerful limiter, my Lord, one I fear you have inherited from me" she smiled gently at the boy, stroking his fringe away from his eyes before continuing.
" However, it is one we must both strive to conquer. And now, it seems that I have… outgrown what I thought needed instead, without realising it" she looked at the boy curiously before flicking a glance at Sebastian. "Thank you for everything, and I wish both of you luck with your… 'endeavours'"
And then she turned towards Sitri again, leaving a stunned Master and butler in her wake, taking his arm,
"Ready?" she grinned at the demon prince, whose eyes were glowing brightly.
"You bet" he rumbled low and black winds started to gust around them. Ciel watched on and felt a flurry of emotions,
'That's it? She's seriously going to leave now?' Ciel thought, astounded. Oddly, his heart felt wounded, like he was losing something important.
'Part of my…creation, if what she says is true, came from Rachel. In a sense, she's like… a mother to me' the boy felt strange emotions milling around inside him, not sure what to think of this revelation.
He had accepted and lived with the knowledge that his parents had died that night three years ago; to regain a parental figure, and even possibly a grandparent figure, after all this time felt…
Suddenly, he felt a rising surge of anger. Anger at all these emotions he didn't fully understand, anger at the amount of questions stacking up again and again and anger at how little he felt he had been able to control in this case with this action by his housekeeper becoming the latest. But, at least, he could do something about this one.
He saw that the pair were beginning to fade away in the black winds to who-knew-where so, without thinking, he reached forward and grabbed the spirit's arm, feeling like part of him was being stretched as he did so. Sebastian started with surprise,
"Young Master, let go!" he cried, trying to pull the boy's grip off the spirit. But the boy clung on, determined,
"Hold it right there!" he hollered over the howl of the wind, the stretching now making him feel like he was detaching from this plane himself.
Surprised, Jezebel looked back and hurriedly motioned for Sitri to stop. Gradually, the wind died back down.
Annoyed at this reckless behaviour, the spirit, with hands on hips, quirked an eyebrow at the teen,
"Yes, my Lord?" she asked. The boy, gasping from exertion and adrenaline, threw the girl's arm out of his hand and stood tall, fierce. He glared at her,
"So you do not need me anymore? Does that allow you to leave, Rachel? If I recall correctly, you asked for employment in my estate, which means you only leave with my permission" he spoke haughtily.
Both spirit and demon prince looked at him in surprise. They glanced at each other and then Rachel turned back to Ciel,
"Ciel-" she began patiently.
"Young Master" the boy ground out, glaring more ferociously now. The spirit sighed,
"Young Master, then. I have nothing more to gain from employment from you. Consider this statement my letter of resignation. If you are concerned about backpay, I hardly have any need of-"
"Are you truly this stupid" the boy whispered, cutting off the spirit again.
Blinking at the insult, Jezebel's eyes light up and took on their inhuman appearance,
"You are testing my patience, Boy" the keening edge in her voice had returned. It caused Sitri to wince back in fear and Sebastian to lean forward protectively over his master, but Ciel stood firm. He stared back, determinedly,
"And you test mine! You want to leave? After we have just learnt that the angels attempted a ploy to gain access to the demon's plane and enslave them using human souls? Do you not realise how critical this situation is? Do you honestly think they'll stop now?" he asked, watching the spirit intensely.
Surprised at this, Jezebel had returned to her human appearance. She looked annoyed at first but noticed the shaking form of the boy. Her eyes softened again and she started to think over Ciel's words.
Looking back briefly at Sitri, she turned to Ciel with a cool look,
"You underestimate our power, Ciel. We have experience dealing with angels; they won't attack for a while now. And, in the meantime, we intend to form a plan once back in Sitri's domain, warning the others so that they might prepare as well" she spoke with confidence, Ciel was almost swayed. He glaned at the still frozen humans behind the desk and remembered how he had seen so many intricacies in what the angels had done, how easily they had poisoned humanity to believe them and how powerful a weapon the human soul would be that he couldn't believe they could do this without his help.
He shook his head,
"No, we should stay together! Splitting our resources would be foolish at this time. And also, we must prepare for their next assault on humanity. They will continue to use humans as their main weapons; they could hardly leave such a powerful asset alone. We must stay up here together and watch out for any strange activities in the world!"
Jezebel went to argue when they all heard voices shouting in the darkness close by,
"The police are already here" Sebastian clarified. Ciel nodded to his demon in recognition, his eyes never moved from Jezebel's. The spirit stared back, a power play between two stubborn humans as they listened to the approaching shouts and footsteps. Finally, Jezebel conceded and nodded.
"Alright, we'll stay for now. But we still warn the others first, they must know what the angels are planning" she said, still determined. Ciel nodded,
"Agreed" he listened as footsteps rushed around the corridors and starting to come towards them.
'And how the hell will I explain any of this to the Queen? And should I? How much does she know? How far down the rabbit hole have those angels stuck their prying hands?' he mused, feeling a headache coming on.
As all these questions mounted up in his mind, the boy felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. Sebastian smiled down warmly into his young master's face, filling the teen with more questionable feelings.
"Young Master, I think you'd best make your exit from this place. No doubt the police will find this cavern shortly" the demon spoke softly, his old butler mannerisms returning.
Ciel nodded,
"Yes, you're right, we- wait. 'You'?" the boy turned on his demon, scrutinising the figure before him.
The demon, ragged from fighting and still in his true form, shifted uncomfortably,
"What exactly do you mean by 'you'?" the boy asked slowly, rounding on the figure. The demon sighed,
"I should have realised you'd be too damn smart to miss that" he mumbled, surprising Ciel with this informality.
'What is this? Did we miss a sigil or something?' the boy scanned the demon's form hurriedly and felt his chin being lifted up to look into Sebastian's face. The demon's face seemed resolute, like he had finally decided something,
"Young Master… From what I have learnt today… of myself… I believe it would endanger you to continue to have me as your butler… as your demon…" Sebastian explained, "it… would seem I am… compromised… unfit to serve that is…" the teen watched, stunned, as his normally eloquent demon grappled with what to say next. He stared as he saw Sebastian struggle with emotions he had not had to deal with before and the demon resorted to gesticulating wildly.
Continuing to struggle for words now, Sebastian looked at Sitri, who also looked surprised at this turn of events, and Jezebel, face carefully neutral. Seeing the couple seemed to calm the demon and he breathed deeply before continuing,
"…and it would not be logical for us to continue this together. This case has turned into something bigger than I could ever have expected, despite my many years of experience among humans, and it would not be wise to further drag you into these affairs. Also I worry… the effects on our relationship… the contract… after my… outburst…" again, words failed the demon and he fell silent.
The unsaid words hung in the air, but still the demon looked at the Earl for a reply.
Ciel stared, dumbfounded. This couldn't be real, could it? Sebastian, his perfect butler, resigning from his position? Giving up on the soul he'd spent nearly four years perfecting? Why would he do this? What could possibly justify giving up?
'Wait, 'his outburst'? Does he mean when he…?' Ciel stared harder at the demon and, yes! There it was; the very faintest hint of pink in those greyed porcelain cheeks, like the merest glow of emotion under that well-practiced façade.
Ciel stared like he'd never seen anything like it and realised what this all meant. The teen suddenly burst out laughing, causing the others around him to stare and said demon to turn visibly pink now.
"Y-Young Master? This is hardly the reaction a dignified nobleman should be having to such news! Please be more professional about this!" the demon chastised, trying to ignore his embarrassment.
Sitri seemed to snicker as well and whispered to Jezebel, causing a look of understanding and a grin to appear on the girl's face as well.
Sebastian glared at the pair and turned back to the giggling Earl.
"Young Master, enough! This isn't funny!" the tone, meant as serious, came across as slightly whiny, which only served to humour Ciel more, who laughed harder. The demon growled, shadow flickering with emotions.
"Well, just why does this amuse you, my Lord? I see nothing funny about this!" he asked hotly, composure lost and shadows undulating with each word beneath him. Ciel laughed further upon seeing this reaction and Sebastian growled lower, eyes aglow and fangs prominent, looking menacing despite the red cheeks.
"This is no laughing matter, Ciel" the inhuman edge to Sebastian's voice did the trick. Ciel stopped laughing immediately, as did the others.
The teen breathed deeply to calm himself,
"Forgive my poor manners, Sebastian, but I…" the teen looked up at Sebastian and noticed Sitri was watching from behind, smiling encouragingly at the scene. Smirking at this confirmation of what he suspected, he turned to his own demon with a rueful smile,
"I find this reaction of yours laughable. Especially knowing that this is how you respond to something as pathetically human as feeling embarrassed; to think that you would prefer to run away with your tail between your legs because you've shown yourself as less than perfect. That is what's so funny" the boy spoke with confidence and amusement, causing Sebastian to jolt at being found out.
The boy smirked at this reaction and sauntered closer, 'accidentally' stroking Sebastian's thigh just like Sebastian had done to him numerous times. He reached out and pulled the demon to his eye level, causing the shadow to jump a little,
"You're worried for our relationship as Master and Butler, are you? You wish to end it rather than see it change? Does this mean you can not even handle playing on a level field then?" the boy whispered huskily in the demon's ear, causing the taller man to shiver slightly, before letting go and standing back.
He watched his usually unflappable demon, with no small amount of sadistic enjoyment, as he became flustered and tried to refuse this deduction.
"That's not it at all! Please, Young Master, do not misunderstand my intentions! This situation has now become extremely dangerous for you!" the demon cried out, making animated gestures that were so out of character they threatened to topple the boy back into fits of giggles. Ciel smirked, not hiding his amusement, and sat back on the desk, knees crossed,
'It feels good to not be the stuttering fool for once in these games. No wonder Sebastian keeps doing this!' the boy's grin widened before he answered.
"Oh? So you leaving me alone and unguarded would be a better plan, would it?" the boy's eyes glittered with mischief. "I thought I was your 'perfect soul', a human 'too interesting to not follow'?"
The boy watched how Sebastian seemed to regain himself and scowl,
"Yes, Young Master, you are. But now this is-" the demon started.
"Boring?" suggested Ciel, tauntingly, now resting his chin on his upturned palm. He watched Sebastian's frustration grow, and with it the undulations of the shadow.
"No, Young Master, it's-" the demon began again.
"Embarrassing?" the boy cut in again, grinning at the low growl eliciting from the dark figure.
"No, Young Master-" the demon's eyes' started to glow pink again, showing how angry he was getting. The shadow was now like a raging dark sea,
"Feeble? Assinine? An unworthy cause?" the boy smirked then gasped when the demon grabbed his arms, bringing his face near the other's.
"It's because I lov- you're too important to me!" the demon near yelled, smoothly covering his near mistake, as his shadow started to gently prod at Ciel's feet.
Silence rang out, shushing everyone. Ciel, however, looked unimpressed with this revelation,
"'Important to you'? I knew that, already! All the more reason to stay together!" the teen yelled back, becoming agitated.
"No, Young Master, don't you see? If you stay with me, then you'll end up like that!" the demon gestured over to Jezebel. The spirit blinked then glared, affronted, as did Sitri as he wrapped a protective arm around her.
Ciel, surprised and confused as well, also glared at Sebastian,
"Sebastian, what nonsense is this?" he rounded on the older man, feeling affronted for his housekeeper and annoyed at his irrational butler.
"This isn't nonsense, this is common sense! This fight with the angels will be endless! Those two have fought for centuries and still haven't won! Look what has become of Rachel! She was a mindless slave to them during this fight and has been tortured and died countless times! Why should I risk you too in this fight? You're too valuable to me!" the demon cried out, reaching out to touch Ciel's face as his shadow stroked the boy's leg.
Ciel, now furious, attacked, smacking away the imploring hand and shadow.
"So I'm valuable, am I? Of course I am, I'm your 'precious soul', aren't I?" he snarked viciously, now standing on tiptoe to be chest to chest with the demon.
"No! You're my precious partner!" the other snarled, leaning down to grab the other's shoulders.
Silence rang out now.
Ciel didn't know what to say. He felt the shadow begin probing his foot again and ignored it. He stared up into those magenta eyes and saw the intense feelings swirling in them. He wanted to blame the sigils for this emotional confession; however Sitri had removed those long ago. He looked away, unable to maintain such a heated stare, and heard Sitri snort derisively. He glared at the demon prince, "What?"
Sitri was scowling, eyes aglow; he walked towards them with Jezebel by his side, glaring at them too.
"The pair of you; you're ridiculous" he stated, grabbing Sebastian by the back of the neck and forcing him down and into the face of the glaring boy. Jezebel darted behind Ciel and pushed him forwards as well.
Ciel's attempt to protest was cut off by the lips now encompassing his own. He stared into the bright pink cat-like eyes of his demon as he felt the other's lips probe his, heard the cries of dismay from a certain redhead, and felt his mind unravel.
'Sebastian's lips are on mine. I should be mad.
That bastard forced us to do this. I should be mad.
I bet he thinks this is amusing. I should be mad.
Sebastian isn't getting off either. I should be mad.
But this…'
Ciel found himself relaxing further into the demon, tired and drained by this peculiar case, and felt Sebastian wrap his arms around the boy. He closed his eyes, blocking the outside world for now 'This… feels good'
They stayed like that, too tired to resist now and too unsure of what this meant to take it any further. He let the demon continue to deepen the kiss, the hot tongue probing between his lips ever so slightly, and felt the larger hand gently caressed the small of his back, the gentle ethereal touch of Sebastian's shadow too, as it slide up his leg, prying under the leg of his shorts and causing his heart to race at the sordid touch, whilst all he could do was grip the coal-black locks of his demon, and feeling conflicted about his priorities right now.
When they finally broke apart, Ciel gasped for breath, feeling light-headed. He clutched to Sebastian's arms, head resting on that broad shoulder, and stared into the demon's face.
Emotions seemed to be stirring around in those bright pink eyes, just the same as they did inside Ciel. They sat both sat like that for a time, their hot breath mingling.
Regaining control of his senses again; Sebastian started to pull away, somewhat reluctant,
"Perhaps… on reflection… we should stay together…" he murmured, no longer able to maintain eye contact with his Young Master.
Ciel, beating away a blush, coughed to cover this embarrassment, and nodded.
"Yes… that would be best" he replied, trying to calm his beating heart. He noticed Sitri smirking at them and glared, feeling comfort in fury he was used to, "And as for you, you bastard-"
"Here! There's voices this way!" the police were rushing down the corridor. Ciel had forgotten about them due to his… 'distraction'.
He spun around and reached out to Sebastian,
"Sebastian! We must leave this place, quickly!" he ordered. The demon grinned, pink eyes aglow, and he picked up the small teen.
"Yes, My Lord" he purred, a flurry of black winds surrounding them.
Ciel saw Sitri click his fingers, causing the humans behind the desk to stir, before picking up Jezebel and letting similar winds surround them.
And, just like that, they were all gone as the first police officers entered.
The scene played out like clockwork beneath them; police marched out those who had been behind that desk first in handcuffs to black carriages. Next, they herded out the victims, students and prisoners alike to start with, most wrapped in blankets and weeping. Then, the ambulance came to take away the injured on stretchers. The police and volunteers began combing the wreckage of the school buildings for more survivors. Finally, the ambulance started to take away the dead, covered hastily in cloth to shield them from the public's prying eyes.
Ciel felt that it took longer to remove the dead than the living; he wouldn't have been surprised if that were true.
"So… what do we do now, Young Master?" Sebastian asked, his form now back to his old butler guise albeit still injured. He looked out at the scene, impassively, watching the carriages rush up and away at last.
Behind them, Jezebel, now in her housekeeper guise, and Sitri sat and watched as well.
Ciel stared out, twiddling the blue ring on his thumb as he thought. It took him a while to reply, Sebastian almost wondered if the boy hadn't heard him.
"This case… I must report to the Queen what I have found out about the school" the boy spoke, almost to himself. Sebastian raised an eyebrow,
"Is that wise, my Lord? You know now that she may be involved in this case, even though it would most likely be unwittingly" the butler watched as his young Master stared out again, gaze seeming to settle on the middle distance. The boy nodded and allowed a small grin to worm its way onto his lips,
"Indeed, that is true. So, tell me, what better way to maintain a cover than to continue the pretence of ignorance? Those angels won't try anything whilst we're still an active presence in Her Majesty's court. We will continue to serve her Majesty, reporting this case and then I believe it's time for me to travel for a while, to find out what I can about this…" the boy drifted off again, lost in the planning of his next move. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at this,
"Travel, my Lord? Where exactly do you plan to go?" the demon asked, curious of anywhere that could provide them with information on the angels' plans. The boy chuckled and turned to the taller man, grinning devilishly,
"I believe it's time I gave your plane a visit, Sebastian. The plane of the fallen angels" he spoke grandly, stunning his butler and both Rachel and Sitri. He laughed at their shocked faces and turned away,
"I can't wait to begin this next game"
And that's it, ladies and gentlemen! Finished! Fin! Finito! All done!
I appreciate that this was a massive story with very little pay off of Sebaciel-ness, but I hope you liked it nonetheless. I couldn't imagine, knowing how both Ciel and Sebastian are, that any first sparkings of romance between them would turn into anything hot and steamy straight away. However, as you may guess, I'm intending another story to follow this one, joining Ciel and Sebastian as they now venture to find out more about the angels using more otherworldly connections than underworld! *laughs at my own lame joke* I'll see myself out.
Seriously though, thank you to everyone who read this, liked it, reviewed it and even sent me PMs about it. It's been great to get feedback and I hope my writing is going to improve even further as I write more.
So, please be on the lookout for my follow up story to this and review and rate what you thought overall of this story! And as always, take care!