Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or it's wonderful characters. Those are Yana Toboso's.

"Both men stood at attention when they heard the knock on the door. Glancing at his watch, William saw that it was already past one in the morning. Lord, how long did the Undertaker keep her down there? Sebastian wasted no time in opening the passage for their guest, and before long, Aria Sinclair was with them once more.

"If the situation wasn't so dire," Sebastian chimed, "I would have to question your choice of visiting hours."

Aria walked past him into the room, and he shut the door behind her, locking it for good measure.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, you insolent mercenary," she responded, lifting her lock-picking tools. "I'm hardly here for such revolting reasons."

The demon smirked. "I was merely pointing out that your arrival was on the late side. What on earth did you think I meant?"

"Innocence is so transparent on you, Sebastian," Aria informed him. She turned to look at William and smiled. "At least I have you I can count on."

The reaper returned her smile. "Yes, you do at that."

"Now," she continued, "down to business. Undertaker had me do a full procedure tonight, which is why I'm so ghastly late. He received a new corpse from Carmichael earlier today, told me the man died of cardiac arrest, but I highly doubt that's the case. At least, not natural cardiac arrest. There was an injection mark on the underside of the man's right elbow, and it was very recent. I'm absolutely positive that Dr. Carmichael was directly responsible for the man's death."

Sebastian chuckled. "Rather ironic, wouldn't you say, that the being bringing death in this instance is a doctor, while the being producing life is a reaper?"

William clenched his teeth. "This is no laughing matter, beast. The people who are being murdered here are having their natural lives cut short due to the bestial machinations of a lunatic. At least show a little respect for their passing."

The demon looked distinctly unamused. "Death is part and parcel of life, Mr. Spears. I was merely making an observation."

"You wouldn't find it funny if you saw what I have," Aria stated, siding with William in this matter. "The corpse came back to life screaming in agony. It was the most horrifying thing I have ever witnessed. What's more, Undertaker didn't seem fazed at all. God, sick as it was he seemed... proud. He's expecting me to begin working on a solution to his problem soon, and I just may if only to save those poor souls from any more agony during the resurrection process."

The butler remained silent as William looked over at Aria, a frown forming on his face. "We shall discuss the extent to which you should get involved with his experiments later. Now, however, we should probably start making our way to that padlocked door from this morning. Hopefully Ms. Dunne will see fit to be somewhere else while we do our clandestine search."

"Very well," Aria agreed, hiding her tools on her person and twisting the handle of the door. "Let's see what other secrets this asylum is keeping. Oh, and don't forget to grab the dark lantern. With the windows shuttered, we'll need a source of light."

Popping her head into the hallway, she confirmed that the coast was clear and stepped out into the corridor, the two men following after her. It took them an annoyingly long time to make it up to the ninth floor, as they stopped at every sound to ensure that no one was shadowing them. They did get there eventually, however, and found themselves once again crouching before the padlock. The dark lantern was set on the ground to give Aria light to work by.

The pathologist cast a cursory glance behind her to be on the safe side before pulling her tools out of a pocket in her skirt. Slipping two metal instruments out of the miniature leather satchel, she turned her attention to the lock as William and Sebastian stood guard. It was a fairly large and complex piece of work, and took her a tad longer to jimmy than she may have wished. Still, after a stretch of time with no other sound than the slight scraping of metal on metal, there was an audible click followed by a hushed exclamation of triumph. The men looked over their shoulders to find Aria quickly stowing her tools away into her hidden pocket as she came back up to a standing position. So far, their sneaking about had gone unnoticed, and they prayed it would remain that way as Aria removed the padlock and turned back to them.

"You lot ready?" she asked, voice low with anticipation.

"We follow your lead, Doctor," Sebastian mouthed, looking startlingly calm, as though breaking into a locked room in a secluded asylum was as mundane as a stroll in Hyde Park.

William, for his part, simply nodded. He, too, looked unperturbed, and Aria momentarily wondered how useful it must be to have supernatural abilities.

Well, no time to dwell on that now when there was a job to be done.

In one swift motion, Aria had the door creaking open. Peeking through into the dark room, her first impression was that it was completely abandoned. Were the people that the boys sensed earlier gone? Then she heard it. Hardly audible to the ear, one had to be straining to catch it. Someone - or something - had shifted, and she had heard the faint clank and drag of metal. The room was not empty after all.

She was surprised, however, that they had not yet been accosted if someone else was in the room. Given that all of the windows were boarded up and the locked room was completely dark, the light from their lantern should have tipped anybody off to their presence. Still, even though she was positive she had heard someone, nobody was attempting to dissuade them from entering the room like Ms. Dunne had earlier. Something wasn't right here.

"Why are you hesitating?" William whispered from behind her.

She hadn't recalled him being so close, and jumped a little when his voice broke the eerie stillness. Pretending the jolt didn't happen, she murmured back, "I swear someone is in there, but if that is the case, then why haven't they kicked us out yet?"

William furrowed his brow and peered over her shoulder. "There is definitely someone in there," he confirmed, nose brushing the shell of her ear. "Multiple someones."

Aria had never been so grateful of the dark.

"Well," she stuttered, attempting to bring her mind back to the problem at hand, "let us investigate."

The door was then pushed open and the trio entered the ominous room. The first thing that assailed their senses was the smell. It was wretched. Not only was the presence of mold and mildew quite notable, but the entire area reeked of human expulsions and bodily fluids. It reminded Aria of a sickroom. Thankfully, her nose was fairly indomitable given her occupation. Yet even with this advantage, she was struck by the potency of the stench. Who could allow any place to come to such a state?

A sudden sound caused them all to stop.

Straining their ears, they listened carefully, not daring to speak.

It sounded again.

Aria was fairly sure she could identify that noise. Given the rumbling timbre and the agonizing despair, there was only one thing it could be: a human groan.

Suddenly getting an idea as to what type of place they were standing in, Aria stepped forward abruptly and thrust the lantern into the darkness. What she saw was horrifying.

The metal bars were coated with oxidized iron, showing a severe lack of care. Rust was not the only thing clinging to the cold steel, however. Blood was peppered over the bars of the cage, some stains more recent than others. Even so, the state of the metal prison was not the most disturbing sight; that honor was reserved for what lay inside.

"Dear God," Aria breathed as the young woman in the cage cowered away from her light. The poor creature threw her arms up to shield her face, as though her eyes could not possibly handle the lantern's glow. Her body, dirty and malnourished, trembled with the expectation of something dreadful to come.

"Well," a mellifluous voice rang out from behind, "it seems we've found our missing patients."

Sebastian's observation prompted the pathologist to move away from the whimpering female to look around the rest of the room. The scene was heartbreaking. Along the sides of the room were rows of cages, each one holding the shell of a person. Every single one of them had an instinctual aversion to the light, and shied away from Aria when ever she came near. The source of the unspeakable odor was now apparent, and she wanted nothing more than to help these poor prisoners escape, but given their currant circumstances, that was impossible, at least for the moment.

"How monstrous," William muttered under his breath, appalled by what he saw before him. "How humanity can treat each other in such a way will always be a mystery to me."

Sebastian, having recovered from his initial shock, was more than happy to give the reaper a lesson on the depravity of the human heart, but William was simply not in the mood.

"For once," he sneered, "the situation does not require your immoral philosophizing to make it worse."

The demon wisely kept his opinions to himself.

"We have to talk to them," Aria said in a hushed voice, looking up at William. "We have to know what's being done to them."

"I believe we can surmise," Sebastian input, waving his hand lazily at the cages. "Clearly they are being tortured and used in that rogue reaper's experiments."

"That is what I would assume," Aria returned, "but perhaps they can tell us something that would be of use in our investigation. The faster we wrap this up, the faster we can help them out."

"The question is, which one would be willing, or able, to speak to us?" William stated, looking out onto the dismal condition of the would be patients. "Most of them are likely far gone by now."

Aria sighed. "We'll have to approach the ones that don't try to avoid us like the plague."

Sebastian gave an odd smile, and Aria rolled her eyes, attempting to ignore it. Who knew what she had said to amuse him.

"Very well," William agreed. "Let us see what information we can gather."

To increase their chances of success, the trio split up and talked individually to the trembling prisoners in their dilapidated cages. Aria assumed this effort, though well meant, would be futile. These patients, from the poorest families the asylum catered to, had been so terribly treated that both their mental and physical conditions had deteriorated well beyond what they must have been at the time of their admission. Given the horrors they had been subjected to, the doctor highly doubted any of them would be in a position to speak to them at all, much less give them any helpful information. Still, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to hopefully glean further knowledge of the institution's deranged practices. There was one thing she knew for certain: she had to get these people out of here, and quickly.

After yet another pitiable creature turned away from her in fear, she was truly despairing of their chances. Determined to attempt conversation with every patient before giving up, she approached the next person in the line of cages. The individual she looked upon now was an older woman, with whitened hair that had undoubtedly been an ethereal blonde in years gone by. Her skin was wrinkled with age and nearly translucent with lack of sunlight. The many scars and bruises that littered her shivering form were a testament to the severe treatment she had undergone at the hands of her tormentors, and Aria's blood boiled in rage. How dare these murderers parade under the guise of doctors, winning the confidence of the desperate and downcast only to betray their trust and treat them like dogs! Indignation coursed through her veins, and she tried to subdue the anger that was likely flickering across her features as she began to speak to the frail woman.

"Hello, ma'am," she cooed soothingly, hoping to put the lady at ease. "Tell me, are you able to speak?"

The woman, shifting gingerly due to the pain caused by the manacles clamped around her ankles and wrists, came round to face her, blinking slowly and staring blankly into Aria's eyes. Shocked that her words had elicited any kind of positive response, Aria paused and smiled sweetly, suddenly afraid of scaring the old woman.

Preparing to repeat her inquiry once more, she was surprised when the woman herself asked a question.

"Is it your birthday already?" a wispy voice intoned, sounding almost like dried leaves rustling in the wind.

Aria vaguely wondered how dry her throat must be before posing a question of her own.

"Do you suppose it is my birthday?"

The old woman gave a small smile, breaking Aria's heart in two. A smile in that squalid place was as impractical as laughter in hell, and yet, there it was.

The old woman answered. "Of course I do, silly girl! Why else visit your poor old mamma?"

Aria didn't have the heart to tell her she was mistaken.

"You've got me," she returned, winking as though admitting to a naughty jest. "I'm sorry for not visiting earlier, mamma. I was surprised when I didn't get any letters from you. Have you not had time to write?"

The old woman shook her head sorrowfully, causing her chains to rattle. "They took away my pen and paper, Mary. It's bad men what roams these halls, don't you know? Oh, but you don't know. But you must believe me, Mary my dear. Your mamma isn't lying. I may be mad, but I'm not a liar. Tell me you believe me! I need someone to believe me! They call me a liar! They say I'm making things up! They say I'm mad! But they's the ones who's mad, says I! They's the ones who's lost their heads!"

"It's all right, mamma," Aria reassured her, reaching through the bars and taking the poor woman's hands. "I believe you, I do. You're not lying, I know that. Please tell me, when did the bad men start doing bad things to you and the others? When did they put you here? I wish to help you, mamma, but you must tell me what has happened."

The old woman was shaking and holding on to Aria's hands like a lifeline. The pathologist couldn't help but think about her own mother still living in the wilds of America. It had been some little time since Aria had seen her, though they wrote often. She had left America to be a doctor in London, and her sister Lynn had followed not long after. The metropolitan life of England suited them both with their busy careers, but there were times when Aria found herself reminiscing about her simple upbringing, and wondering how the rest of the family was fairing. If her mother ever underwent the same treatment as this poor creature, she would have the people responsible hanged by their tongues and flogged.

Eventually, the woman began speaking again, trying her best to give Aria the answers she needed.

"It was when that new doctor came," she began, lips trembling but refusing to be silent. "The old one was not so bad, but then he left and the new doctor took over. He's a cruel one, he is. Taking us out of our cells (for that's what they were, dear, though I'd prefer them over this), he threw us in these cages. Now we don't get much food, and what we do get is bad indeed. When it's our turn for treatment, we're unlocked and dragged into bright rooms where they strap us down to beds and tables and poke us with needles and shock us with lightning. We all scream, we do, because is hurts something awful, but they never stop. They just keep at it until we go numb and see nothing. Then they bring us back here and leave us in the dark and stink."

Here the old woman paused and looked up at Aria as though ashamed. Dr. Sinclair couldn't possibly fathom why the woman should feel such a thing; the torture was hardly her fault, but she soon understood the reason.

"I know I came here to get better, my Mary, but nothing has worked. Nothing ever works. I know your mamma is an old fool; she can't do nothing right. She's not bright like you, Mary dear, but she loves you very much and wishes more than anything to be better. Maybe one day, the doctors will cure me, but until then, I'd much rather be at home with you and the farm. Please, Mary, take me home with you. I can't stand it here no more!"

Aria was fervently trying not to cry.

"I know, mamma, I know. What they've done to you is wrong - very wrong - and is no fault of yours. You haven't disappointed me, mamma. I love you very much and wish to get you out of here, but I can't do it this instant. I need to get rid of the bad doctors first, so they can't hurt you anymore, do you understand? Then after that, I can get you out of here. You have to be brave a little while longer, mamma. Can you do that for me? Can you be brave so I can get you out?"

The old woman looked as though she wanted to beg Aria to take her that very moment, but something in the young lady's eyes must have told her that was impossible. With a weak nod of the head, she consented to Aria's plan, squeezing her hands in a vain search for comfort through touch alone. Aria squeezed back, determined to give the woman what comfort she could.

"I swear to you," Aria whispered with vehemence, "I will get you out of this wretched place."

The old woman, name still unknown, nodded more vigorously. Aria rose and let the old woman's hands slip from hers, the metal of the shackles clanking noisily as she did so. It was a harsh reminder of precisely how trapped and helpless she was, while just on the other side of the bars was freedom. What a state of mind to be presented with each day.

Sending the woman one last smile which was weakly reciprocated, Aria turned to find William standing behind her. The look in his eyes was so soft that she had to take his hand in hers, squeezing it for comfort just as the old woman had done with her. He squeezed back reassuringly, as though silently vowing his allegiance to her plan of rescue. Together, they rejoined with Sebastian and left, closing and re-locking the door behind them.

Muted dread hung over them as they made their way back to William and Sebastian's room in silence. It wasn't until they had secluded themselves in said room that they began discussing the horrendous scene they had just witnessed.

"We must put a stop to this with all due haste," Aria said immediately after the door had closed behind her. "That was the most barbaric thing I have ever seen. Those poor people, being treated like animals."

"I agree whole-heartedly," William responded, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "The situation is far more dire than I ever imagined it would be."

They heard the drag of wood on wood and turned to see Sebastian sitting at the room's lone desk, paper and pen in hand.

"Composing a letter to Lord Phantomhive?" William inquired as the demon dipped his pen nub into the ebony ink.

"Indeed," Sebastian confirmed. "It is my duty to keep him apprised as to the progress of my investigation and to inform him of the presence of yourself and Dr. Sinclair. I shall have it sent out tonight."

"Very well," William replied, turning back to Aria who was standing very still by the door. Finding himself uncharacteristically concerned for her well-being, he vacillated on what to do next. Ultimately, his good heart and upbringing as a gentleman won out, and he inclined his head toward the door. "Shall I see you to your room, Aria?"

Surprised by his courtesy given what she had witnessed that night, she wasn't quick to answer. Finally, she caught herself and nodded, smiling.

"That would be lovely, William. Thank you."

He gave a soft smile, moving to the door and holding it open for her. They both passed through, leaving Sebastian to write his letter in peace. Offering her his arm which she gladly took, they leisurely made their way down the corridor and toward the staircase.

Aria was the first to break the silence.

"Thank you once again for offering to walk me to my room. I'm ashamed to admit, I was a little reluctant to make the journey myself after what we've seen tonight."

A sense of pride swept through him when he heard she felt safer in his company, but he tamped it down. Her sentiments were only natural given the horrors in this asylum. It wouldn't do to make too much out of such situations.

"It is my pleasure, I assure you," he returned, glancing down at her. To his surprise, she was looking up at him, and when their eyes met, she smiled sweetly. Embarrassed, he averted his gaze, and instantly regretted it. What she must think now...

"You are quite the gentleman, William," she continued, evidently unfazed by his misstep. "If you don't mind my saying, I'm very glad it was you who came with me on this mission. You have proven yourself to be very level-headed and resourceful. I also admire how respectful you are toward the victims of this affair. Sebastian can be a tad apathetic, so having someone who actually seems to care about the lives that have been lost is a welcome change."

He could hardly believe what he was hearing. "I don't think anybody of my acquaintance would ever accuse me of being caring," he commented, not knowing how to respond to such a compliment. Being applauded for having a kind heart was not something he had prepared himself for. Still, he didn't mind being lifted above that demon in her estimation, if only for one thing.

Aria gave a huff of a laugh. "Just because you are not as outwardly emotional as most people does not mean you do not feel and empathize with the world around you. Oftentimes it is the collected ones who feel the deepest. Some feel so deeply, in fact, that they must guard their emotions, lest they be hurt."

He pondered her words for a moment before asking, "Are you one such person, ma'am?"

Aria gave a slight smile. "Perhaps."

As they continued on in silence, William couldn't help but feel that he had found a kindred spirit.

Finally, they reached the stairs, and as they stepped onto the second storey landing, conversation began once more.

"Do you intend to assist the Undertaker in his research?" The reaper had to admit that he was not overly fond of the idea. It was clear that Aria did not at all agree with what the demented mortician was doing, and only felt the need to play along to maintain her cover.

Aria furrowed her brow and her lips dipped in a troubled frown. "It's clear I'm going to have to do something. He has already asked me for my input and ideas, so if I don't have something to show soon, he's going to get suspicious. Also, I can't very well coax him out of the asylum without a plan of action. He'll want to see a finished design before he agrees to go out and purchase supplies."

William nodded his understanding. "So you will help him with his "difficulty in design", as it were?"

"I'll probably come up with a prototype, though with any luck it will never be built."

By this time, they had arrived at her door, and Aria paused momentarily to search for the key she had stored away in her skirt pocket. When this was retrieved, she turned to William.

"I do hope our strategy works. I want so badly to help those people suffering upstairs. When this is all over, we must do something about this place."

"I understand," William sympathized, looking down at her fondly. "After the Undertaker is in custody, I'm sure Lord Phantomhive will have Carmichael sent to the gallows for his crimes, and that will allow new management to come in and fix this place. Of course, we shall have to see that the abused receive proper care."

"That woman," Aria continued. "I don't even know her name, and she placed her life in my hands. I won't let her down."

"I know that," William assured her, clasping her hands in his, "and so does she."

Aria, so thankful to have William with her through this trying time, smiled up at him gratefully.

As for William, he had been so caught up in the moment that he had practically been unaware when he took her hands in his. When he finally snapped back to his senses and saw what he had done, his first instinct was to retract his hold instantly, but then he saw her smiling again. Clearly his gesture of comfort (as that was all it was, he kept telling himself) was not disagreeable to her, so there was no reason to make her think that he found her unpleasant to be around. On the contrary, he quite enjoyed her company, and wished that they had met under different circumstances - a lifetime ago.

Deciding that his duty was done and that he had outstayed his welcome, William gently let her hands slip out of his and inclined his head respectfully.

"Goodnight, Aria. I wish you pleasant dreams."

Not wanting to keep him, Aria nodded back and said, "To you as well, William. I shall see you on the morrow."

And with that, she unlocked her door and strolled into her room, shutting it behind her. She heard the sound of William's footsteps retreating down the hall, and eventually all was silent again. Eerily so. With an exhausted sigh, she waltzed over to her dressing table and began unpinning her hair. Her dark tresses fell over her shoulders, helping to relieve some of the stress of the day. As she mindlessly moved to unbutton her collar, she paused, hands stilling over the pearlescent buttons. There was so much to do in upcoming days, and she wanted this investigation to come to a conclusion as swiftly as possible. Dropping her hands to the surface of her dressing table, she had to admit to herself that sleep would not be forthcoming tonight. Therefore, it would me more efficient to find something important to do.

Rising from her seat, she found the suitcase she had stuffed under her bed and opened it, rifling through the contents. Eventually, she found the notebook and pencil she had been looking for. With determination, she stationed herself at her writing desk and began tapping her pencil on the wood as she thought.

Clearly active investigation was out of the question. She and her cohorts had already uncovered one of the asylums largest secrets that night, and she was not willing to risk further search simply because she could not sleep. This being the case, there was only one other thing left for her to do.

Undertaker had said he had been having a difficulty of design, which she couldn't agree with more. His method for stimulating the brain was painful, cumbersome, and simply not feasible in the long run. Having to constantly recharge an animated corpse was inefficient, and entailed a long recuperation period for the poor sod being fried. Ideally, the electrical charges should be less powerful, and administered constantly. Also, the system that brought about these currents would have to be unobtrusive, hidden completely within the brain. As well as all of this, the system would have to be fairly self-sufficient, requiring minimal operation for recharging.

Biting her bottom lip in thought, she stared into space for some time, creating, in her mind, a plausible design for such a system.

Beginning to see where she had to go, she began sketching ideas into her notebook with vigor. What she had in mind for Undertaker was a device that produced a constant electrical current, and was easily recharged, meaning that it could be reused over and over again. For its design, she believed a battery model would do the trick. Clearly the chemical reactions that drives a battery's current would have to be reversible, thereby allowing the battery to be recharged and reused. This recharge would only require enough energy to drive the chemical reactions backwards, meaning that it should be relatively painless for the body.

Also, if she was able to make one small enough, it should be able to fit inside the cranium without being too obvious.

Having come up with an idea that had the potential of working, she began designing models and supposing the supplies required. If she could determine which reaction to use and the amount of chemicals needed, then she could have a blueprint to begin experimentation on by morning.

"Well," she muttered to herself, unbuttoning her cuffs and rolling up her sleeves, "let's get to work."

I bet ya'll never thought you'd see me again! Well, there's chapter 11, finally! I hope it was enjoyable! I'd just like to thank everybody for the wonderful feedback I've been getting for this story. It honestly amazes me, considering how sporadically I update, but I really love reading every comment and seeing all of the love this story has gotten. Thank you!