Chapter Eleven
The invisible weight pressed down painfully this time, a snarl of hatred catching in Sebastian's throat as he realized who was stepping from the dark shadows. Black-grey robes, trinkets and sadistic smile in all, Undertaker softly giggled under his breath, his eyes that peeked through his bangs devilishly cruel.
Crooked fingers and long black nails curled around his chin, their owner taking pleasure in the younger creature's mixed expression of resentment and confusion. Clucking his tongue, Undertaker tutted, "I told you not to get attached, didn't I?" Partially obscured eyes swiveled to Ciel in reference. "Though, I 'ave to admit my research expanded considerably 'cause of you, and fer that, I thank you."
Those hidden eyes flashed and Sebastian grunted as the weight doubled, causing him to nearly fall on his face. Gritting his teeth, he questioned hoarsely, "What research?"
Undertaker moved away, leaving Sebastian to strain to watch his movements. The older vampire laughed his usual chortle, tapping a mockingly disappointed nail to his chin. "And 'ere I thought you were paying attention. You still must be subconsciously hanging on to what human traits you 'ave left…'ow interesting."
The creature sauntered over to Ciel with his goofy smile in place, his curved lips deepening as he exaggerated his actions since Sebastian was watching. He touched the boy's clammy forehead and pulled out a bag of what could only be Ciel's blood. Tapping the filled sack, Undertaker briefly explained, "I'm hoping that this will 'elp with my exploration…there's so much to be found in one drop of this lovely stuff."
"Your study of what, exactly?" Sebastian grunted, fighting with everything he had not to be subdued by the heaviness bearing down on his shoulders. His hands were flat against the rough and dirt littered concrete, his head only a foot from the ground now. "I know you have a fascination with any kind of anatomy…but what's your goal?"
Undertaker shrugged, plucking the needle from Ciel's arm and nearly drowning the younger vampire in another tizzy of rage for touching the boy. "This and that," he answered vaguely, "I've always enjoyed looking into the details, you should know this much."
"Answer me clearly!" Sebastian shouted, hardly in the mood for the man's word games.
Laughter was subdued by a drooping sleeve. "Alrigh', alrigh'," he obliged, quickly checking the boy's pulse before moving in front of the table and leaning against it, showing that he meant to explain everything. "First things first, though: I'm the one who turned you."
The sudden information he hadn't been expecting was a shock. Sebastian almost fumbled for words, but decided not to say anything lest the other should decide to skip over everything altogether and head straight for whatever it was he was planning.
"Even before I was turned, I always 'ad a fascination for the human body, mind, and soul. Though, during my time period, dissection was quite frowned upon, so all I could do was look. 'Owever, after being a vampire fer a while, I realized that it gave me the opportunity to experiment and discover fer myself. Of course, it took a lot of self-learning to get to where I am today…and I only just got into learnin' 'ow vampires work."
Undertaker moved to lean against the table, a hand lightly tracing one of Ciel's delicate knees. "Are you truly this surprised?" he questioned, his voice low. "Even after everything you've seen me do?" He flicked one of his fingers up.
At the other vampire's simple motion, the weight assuaged considerably from Sebastian's shoulders. The crimson-eyed creature staggered to his feet, keeping a hand on the table behind him for balance. So it was true…Undertaker wasn't lying with that bold and overdue statement. When he was much younger, he had questioned the roles of maker and child. A maker had full power over their child until their death, and given the maker's abilities, they could have control over both mentality and physicality…and that's where Undertaker's unexpressed hypnosis must have come in handy.
"So I was turned only for your research, correct?" Sebastian bit out, his nose wrinkling as his lips curled back with a silent snarl.
Undertaker shrugged. "Anyone in your position at the time would have sufficed, but yes." His black fingernails drummed against the clean steel. "I was curious about the process of creating another vampire at the time, having grown bored with tearing my food apart after so long. Switching paces allowed me the flexibility to examine both human and vampire at the same time. Surely you couldn't understand the excitement I felt as I watched you from afar fer those first couple weeks. The mental changes you endured as well as tried to preserve, yer hardly satiable thirst for blood…" he sniggered at the memory, his eyes glinting. "'Twas so fascinating."
Growling low in his throat, Sebastian attempted to move forward to rip the man's throat out, but found that the weight had been replaced with an inability to travel. "Then what has Ciel have to do with any of this?"
The older creature burst out laughing, his hands holding his sides for support. Wiping his obscured eyes and gently pushing himself forward, Undertaker merely turned about and ran a hand from the boy's abdomen to his scarred neck. "I would ridicule you fer being so blind, Sebastian," he said, fingers running through grey-blue locks of hair. Ciel twitched slightly, trying to negate the touch, but was too weak to do anything. "But 'erhaps you can figure it out fer yerself."
Sebastian was about to question Undertaker what he meant exactly when the other made another flicking motion with his finger, closing his throat from making any unnecessary noises. And while vampires hardly had the need to breathe, the frustration of having his voice cut off pent up within him to an excruciating level.
He was helpless to do anything. He couldn't move, nor protest. Black-grey robes billowed as Undertaker moved this way and that, picking up medical tools Sebastian couldn't name. His eyes remained glued on Ciel, Undertaker's intentions becoming clear. It was when the older vampire made the first deep incision causing Ciel to scream hoarsely in pain that Sebastian understood. Undertaker was examining the emotional side of vampires in relation to humans.
"Hm…he tastes much more different than he smells," the vampire observed aloud, his tongue lapping up the fresh blood that had pooled against milky skin. He chuckled, looking in his child's direction. "I wonder why…?"
Sebastian knew glaring daggers at the other would achieve absolutely nothing, but it was the only thing he could do until Undertaker granted his speech back. "It would seem your sentiments fer the boy have bled deeper than I first suspected," the other drawled on, carefully watching the other creature as Ciel feebly cried out this time. "It's interesting; vampires tend to stick to relationships with their own kind…who would've guessed a vampire could demonstrate compassion towards the –"
Two figures blurred before them, knocking Undertaker to the side several feet until he crashed into a rusting cabinet on wheels. The veiled pressures of his holds were released and Sebastian lurched forward with his newfound freedom. Off to the side Claude and Alois stood on the offense, warily watching the eldest creature stir from the sudden attack. Ciel moaned softly, angry red scratches from Undertaker's nails marring part of his stomach.
"I don't know how he works it, but don't look him in the eyes," Sebastian warned the pair, who in turn nodded in understanding. It was obvious now that somehow Angela had been under Undertaker's influence, leading them off like she had. And there must have been some kind of special ability to the creature's trick to grab a hold of Ciel from so far away…Sebastian's body went cold as he realized Undertaker must have put some kind of hex over the boy when they first met all those weeks ago.
Chuckling, Undertaker rose from where he sat, patting the dust and grit from his long clothes. "Ah…so Angela failed under my power, did she?" he observed to himself, straightening in order to come off threatening. He eyed the two vampires before him, hardly seeing a challenge before him. He held his hands out. "Claude, 'tis so good to see you," he greeted mockingly, never really liking the vampire, even in his younger days. "I see you've got yerself a dirty pup to keep you entertained…how charming."
Golden eyes narrowed at his sarcasm, pointedly ignoring the comment even though Alois took a step forward in hurt anger. Claude had never seen Undertaker more than a brief mentor in his time of need. He personally didn't care for the older creature's odd habits or interests, but from what he had overheard, he knew that the vampire was in the wrong. Sebastian was more or less his friend, and he didn't deserve any of what was happening to both himself and Ciel.
"Ah-ah-aahh~" Undertaker cooed, breaking his train of thought. The elder's gaze was locked on Sebastian, who was gently pressing torn bits of his shirt to Ciel's slightly bleeding wounds. Under a drooping sleeve, the creature flicked his forefinger, causing his child to spasm and fall back from the table. Looking over his shoulder with a growl, Claude motioned to Alois and they took their chance to lunge forward, purposely missing their target.
Ciel's hand fell over the side of the table as Sebastian collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing violently. The tips of his fingers felt numb, already longing for the vampire's touch that had so suddenly left his. His breath was becoming even shallower as he started to panic, his body unable to handle such stress as Sebastian failed to stand back up. "Se-Sebas-!"
He had woken up in this place unharmed. He'd been strapped to this exact table, devoid his shirt, his flesh littered with goose-bumps. Undertaker had come to him only minutes after he had woken, and before the vampire could even explain what he wanted, Ciel was spewing hateful comments and questions left and right, demanding to be released, to be sent either home or back to Sebastian. The vampire studied him the whole time he barked order after order, taking great captivation in what he was mindlessly saying. Ciel could recall being cut off by a hand over his dry, chapped mouth before everything went drowsy and black.
The next thing he knew was that he felt incredibly fragile. The belts had been removed, showing Undertaker's confidence that he wouldn't be able to escape. His limbs felt as heavy as lead, and his head was swimming. Oddly enough, though, he'd been able to understand everything Undertaker described to him.
He'd been injected with toxins to relax his body and inner parts of his mind. Insignificant blood samples had already been taken from his arms and neck. Small red abrasions were etched on the undersides of his wrists, the insides of his elbows as well as his jawline, where the vampire had scoured skin cells from. Undertaker had taken an extra-long time examining his blind eye, taking great fascination in it. With Ciel's subdued state, he'd even managed to scrape some cells from his eye for later use and understanding. Nothing more traumatizing had been done, the only experiments including his various reactions to certain things such as the tapping of his kneecaps and fingers, as well as some wordplay – concerning gouging his eye out to see the muscles – that'd make him react emotionally.
Undertaker had fed him minimally, telling him it'd mess up his experiments if too many nutrients flowed into his bloodstream. Ciel didn't have much of an idea as to how long he'd been held captive, but his stomach felt as if it were suffering through a severe drought.
The vicious fighting inadvertently crashed into a nearby table, causing it to fly to where he lay. It crashed ear-splittingly into the table he was on, causing Ciel to topple over onto Sebastian. Arms instinctively wrapped around him despite the force that overwhelmed the vampire, and Ciel felt Sebastian roll them over to protect him from the debris that followed. A loud bang from the other side of the large room echoed, followed by a blood-curdling howl that could only be Alois'.
Black blood trickled from the corners of Sebastian's lips down onto Ciel's hollow face. Weakly, Ciel reached up to smear the blood away, but the creature coughed, spewing more of the thick liquid onto them both. Sebastian's fangs were out to their fullest as well as his nails, his eyes bloodshot and glowing under the strain. "…Claude…hurry…" he susurrated with a growl, straining not to buckle under the pressure that held him down and out of the fight.
Time seemed to tick by at its slowest, torturing them. Only the sounds of the partially seen fight could tell them that time was moving along. It wasn't until Undertaker finally took a blow that rendered him still for several minutes that the control was broken. A bruised Claude and bleeding Alois appeared before them, the blonde wasting no time in scooping Ciel into his arms and disappearing down a small case of stairs that lead to the basement near the north wall. Claude held a hand out for Sebastian, who took it gratefully. He staggered to his feet, glad to feel his strength returning anew.
Sniffing as he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, Sebastian keyed in on Undertaker's position. Claude tapped the back of his hand, motioning him to look up. Understanding, Sebastian and Claude silently moved back, careful not to trip over the fallen tables and tools and chunks of concrete that had collapsed from the previous dispute.
They didn't have much time. Most of the night had been spent searching for this place, and time was hardly on their side now. Everything would have to end now; there'd be no sense in sleeping it off until nightfall returned. Sebastian secretly feared Undertaker expending more energy to prevent him from fighting, and he grudgingly knew that neither he nor Claude were strong enough to truly, physically defeat the older vampire themselves. He was appreciative of Claude for thinking of their current plan.
Undertaker had shifted from under the rubble that had piled on him and was currently dusting off his robes as if he hadn't been touched. He chuckled as if it were all child's play, his eyes glowing and his fangs intimidating. "Well done, Claude…you've been practicin' your technique, haven't you? Not all brute force now, eh?"
Claude sneered in response. Sebastian remained silent, hardly thinking he could spare words for all that the elder creature had done. Undertaker merely laughed at them. "So stubborn…not even a spiteful remark? I've touched what's yer's, Sebastian, are you sure you don't 'ave anything nasty to say?" Silence hung between them, and his grin deepened into a smirk. "No…? Well then, let me do the 'onors."
Long white hair sailed behind the vampire as he lunged full speed at them. Claude and Sebastian dodged, the latter swiping at the creature's swelling robes and managing to rip them, creating more drag as Undertaker was pulled back. Tightening his hand into a fist, Sebastian took a firmer grip on the fabric and swung the vampire around, flinging him down the narrow hall they had come through, Claude following him quickly after.
Going after Claude, Sebastian nearly collided with his ally as the golden-eyed creature was throw back in a dark blur, but he managed to sidestep the other, not looking back as he hoped Claude would be with him within moments. Undertaker was standing on guard in the middle of the hallway, waiting for him. With a loud snarl, Sebastian charged forward, his claws out front. When the older vampire avoided his nails, Sebastian managed to sweep his leg out in time to kick the other back and further down the hall. He was able to do this twice before Undertaker caught on.
A stinging sensation bloomed into pain as Undertaker swiped successfully at his face, catching the corner of his eye. Hissing, Sebastian evaded another attack and was thankful when the other was shoved vehemently out of the way as Claude rammed him further down the hall and into the wall. Undertaker drove him back with a growl of his own, and Sebastian immediately tore down to where they were when he heard a sickening crack reverberate from Claude's body.
His fist landed against Undertaker's cheek, sending him to the foyer. Double doors revealed the rapidly waning night sky, and Sebastian's body suddenly felt weak at the sight. Gritting his teeth and hoping that Undertaker hadn't figured out how to limit his body's need for slumber, Sebastian pushed himself to his limit, his deepest and most animalistic instincts he possessed shooting forth in an impressive display for his maker to see.
"Tch-ch…" The first peaks of the sun were starting to slice through the thick forest a couple hundred feet off. Breathless, Sebastian tried to push himself from the wall but to no avail. Having outflanked him and caught him, Undertaker's hands griped him like a vice, keeping him firmly in place. He attempted to kick out, but the older creature merely stepped away, keeping the sun that slanted against the floor a foot away in mind as he did so.
"Heehee ~ so is this where my exploration of you ends, Sebastian?" Undertaker chuckled. "'Tis a pity…perhaps I should turn that boy of yer's and watch and digest the whole process again, eh?"
"You will not lay – another finger on him," Sebastian choked out, again lashing out in an effort to free himself but it was a fruitless attempt.
Dagger-like nails sunk into his shoulder, and the younger vampire winced in pain. "Or should I put you under and make you be the one to draw out my unfinished experiments? You could drain him afterwards as an award if you'd like…" Sebastian snarled in defiance, but Undertaker only pushed him back. His left hand reached to touch his bangs that fell over his forehead threateningly. "Jus' a sight of these and you'll do all my biddin'. 'Ow's that sound?"
Even though he was now held down by one arm, Sebastian still couldn't gather the effort to push the other creature away. Dawn was quickly spreading; the sun's rays were stretching further down the hall and closer to Claude. And he was slowly succumbing to his natural sleep pattern.
"That doesn't sound like much fun for you," he replied, red eyes darting to and fro Undertaker and the sun against the floor. "Your research thus far doesn't sound very controlled…save you turning me yourself." He swallowed, supposing that it was a very high probability that he wouldn't make it out alive at this point.
Undertaker chuckled at his response. "True, but you'd just be a nuisance past this point if I don't." His smile quirked and Sebastian squinted at his maker. "So…"
Summoning the last of his strength with a cry, Sebastian timed his movements just as Undertaker brushed his bangs back, revealing green-yellow eyes tinged a bright red. Jerking to his left with all his might, he tumbled them both into the sunlight. Hovering over his maker, his back immediately burned with a white-hot pain and he rolled, his shoulder suffering the same agony, causing him to scream, his body instinctively moving at its fastest back to the shadows. Panting and blinded by pain, Sebastian barely heard Undertaker cry out with a mighty shriek as his whole body was bathed in the scorching sunlight, his prolonged exposure eliminating all his chances of escape.
The smell of burning flesh hit Sebastian's nose first, followed by ash. Silence followed as if nothing had happened. Having obviously been able to pull some of himself out of the deadly light at the last moment, half of Undertaker's body had been burned into dust, his upper half bleeding red and white and gruesome black in a horrific show. The red around his yellow-green eyes faded as he looked searchingly at his delirious child before rolling back into his skull. His burned face flopped against the floor with a sickening thunk.
Sebastian bit his fist in pain, his eyes losing focus as everything started to blur. His sleep cycle was kicking in, replacing his adrenaline. 'I can't stay here,' he thought, unconsciously, breathing heavily although it wasn't needed. With his good arm he pushed himself to his knees and slowly maneuvered around the patches of sun and down the hallway where Claude was untouched by the rays.
He knew the safest place would be the basement. He wasn't sure if Alois would be awake, but there was a good chance that he'd fallen asleep since he was still young, as well as from the injuries he'd suffered. Fighting off the aching pain and drowsiness, Sebastian stumbled to his feet with so much difficulty that he fell twice before gaining a secure balance against the wall. Wincing in pain, he managed to grip a fistful of Claude's shirt and drag him further down the hall to the main room of the warehouse.
The urge to just drop and black out in the nearest corner was irresistible, but Sebastian knew better as he eyed the large high windows that would undoubtedly cast the sun's rays everywhere. Glancing around for the stairway that would lead to the basement, the red-eyed vampire stumbled over to it and practically tossed Claude down the stairs, tumbling down them right after as the last of his strength gave out.
A/N: Oddly enough, the majority of this chapter was written listening to Bizet's Carmen Overture. Check it out and you'll see (hear?) why it's weird. Other than that, I hope the action wasn't done too badly…thanks for reading and continuing to give amazing support! Please review!
