Claude has managed to locate Alex, however he has to slip in with out anyone noticing him. He manages to do so but realizes how quickly time is fleeting as they finish the first five sacrifices and prepare to finish the summoning by sacrificing Alex.

Sebastian has managed to locate Claude but runs into a barrier around the factory. Can he get in before something horrible happens to Alex?

Who else is playing this deadly game and is Claude going to get more than he bargained for?

I hope you enjoy,

~The Dark Ringmaster

I do not own Kuroshitsuji.

Chapter 16: The Reality of the Nightmare

Claude knew this after fallowing the information he had been given by Damien but he had no idea what they were saying. "The fox?" asked Fulton in confusion, foxes were usually hunted, and why her majesty would want one in her court was a mystery. "Campbell replaced the queen's guard dog, the late Phantomhives. A clever and sly lord from Essex, who was trust worthy only to the queen, even if he was hunted by her dogs. Secretly he would work in the shadows to keep the demons at bay," said Wilcox, "He was the most powerful man in the court, yet now no one knows where he is." Fulton stared and whispered, "He vanished after the accident?" Wilcox nodded and said, "Now then let's get inside."

The door clicked as it closed and Claude jumped off the roof, he slowly reached for the door and realized that this was a horrible idea, since it was the main entrance. He looked up and noticed a window missing on the third floor. Once again he leapt in the air and climbed up the side of the building. He reached the window and slipped through it quietly. The floor was covered with dust and cobwebs hung from the ceiling like lace. "Perhaps now is the best time to embrace my true form," he whispered before pulling his cell phone out and putting it on mute. He could transform with everything one but the cell phone. For some reason modern technology didn't work well when he was trying to transform. The cell phone sat on and old work bench, he closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, the human form people saw was an illusion the form which was truly his had eight legs and many eyes. He slowly exhaled and opened his eyes, he was no longer the dashing tall man but a massive gold and black spider. He sighed as he slowly grew smaller, it would be very bad for him to be seen as a massive tarantula, he would have to settle for a smaller size.

From bellow he could hear chanting and the screams of innocent children. He crawled through a crack in the floor boards and slowly stepped into the web of another spider. The other spider was about to challenge him when it backed off. Claude ignored this and watched from above as they completed the branding of the children. The glass dome which had covered the roof was clean and he could see the moon moving across the sky. "How can I stop this?" he whispered.

Sebastian glared in frustration he had been trying to contact Claude for the past hour, both with his cell phone and through their bond. Claude and Sebastian were bound together as lovers, which meant they could communicate long distance unless something had occurred. He paused and looked at William, "How far did Ronald get?" he asked. William paused and looked at Grell, "East London, however they must have moved by then," he replied. East London had factories however it wasn't what he was looking for, "A red herring," he whispered as he typed Claude's number in the phone. "What does a fish have to do with it?" asked Grell in confusion. Sebastian started the search and responded, "When training dogs for the hunt, they would drag a red herring on the ground and get the dogs to track it. Later they would introduce the scent of the fox and have the dogs chase that. However there was a twist," he paused and smirked. "Another man would run out with a herring and drag it across the ground prior to the release of the fox, even though the dogs had been introduced to the scent of the fox, some were fooled into fallowing that of the herring," he said. William paused and whispered, "If that was a distraction, what did it prove?" Sebastian looked up at him and asked seriously, "Did anyone notice he was missing until Claude tried to call him?"

Grell replied after a moment, "No we would have been told right away if it was believed he was in danger." Sebastian nodded and his red eyes narrowed, "That was the point, to make him seem to disappear," he said. William shuddered the thought of a fellow shigami vanishing was frightening. "How?" asked Grell, he swept a strand of his red hair out of his eyes. "A barrier and a strong one too," replied Sebastian. He looked at the screen and notice it had finally come up with Claude's location. "An old glass factory?" asked William, he leaned on the desk and got closer so he could read the text. Sebastian paused and said, "Why would Claude be there, unless," he paused and looked at Grell. "Ronald was fallowing the stench wasn't he?" he asked. Grell nodded and responded, "Yeah he complained about getting nauseous from how strong it was when he came across it." Sebastian sighed and responded, "He fell for the herring, and Claude may have as well." William shook his head and leaned on the desk, "I doubt it, he isn't as dumb as Ronald." Sebastian sighed and responded, "Let's hope not."

Alex opened her eyes slowly; she could smell wax and felt metal fetters on her hands and feet. "No," she whispered as he eyes widened with terror. "This has to be a dream, it must be," she said hastily. Her heart was pounding and she realized she was in a white dress. She crawled to the front of the cage and came to the realization this wasn't one of her nightmares at all. In fact it was as if her nightmare became reality, the floor was marked with the pentagram again and she could smell blood. Candles were placed in the candelabras and she could hear the chanting of their participants. "Let me out!" she screamed and the room went still. Each of the robed figured turned to her, she could feel their eyes on her. It was as though she had stopped time, none of them moved save the mast of the ceremony. "Welcome back my dear," he said, she shivered this voice was different from the one she heard years ago. The midnight blue robbed figure approached and stood before her, his hood was up and she could see his stole was a different color entirely it was blood red. Her eyes adjusted and she stared in horror, the stole wasn't always red, it had been stained that. "We've been searching for you so long," he continued. Alex stumbled back and scooted to the back of the cage.

She closed her eyes and began to wish she had gone with Sebastian. If only she had insisted on going with him to fetch the car then she wouldn't be here. "Stay away," she hissed as her eyes flew open. The master laughed and gestured behind him. Standing covered in blood was what was left of a boy, his eyes had been removed and he was covered with lashings. His beating was worse than hers was, "It will be over soon," he cooed as the cage top was lifted from the floor. Alex sprang to her feet and attempted to run when the master grabbed her. "Let me go," she shouted in protest as she squirmed. The master laughed and cooed, "You're much stronger than before perhaps it was better to left you age a little." Alex shivered and spotted a dagger on the table. It's golden hilt was close to her hand, just a step away. She glared and responded, "I'm not a wine, I'm a person!" as she grabbed the dagger. Without hesitation she stabbed him, the master released her and hollered, "After her," as she dashed out of the room.

Claude crawled along the walls as quickly as he could to reach her side, however he didn't take into account one thing. The massive factory was like a maze, furnaces every where along with shelves and racks. It reminded him of the labyrinth at the Turancy manor.

Sebastian, Grell and William had arrived at the old glass factory. They heard a loud scream and Sebastian recognized it, "Alex." His eyes narrowed and flickered a violent purple. Grell stared at the wall behind Sebastian, a massive shadow of black had appeared and he stuttered, "Um Sebastian you're demoning." Sebastian glared at him and Grell jumped, sure he had attacked Sebastian a number of times with his death syth however he wouldn't dare anger Sebastian when his self control was slipping. He was well aware that Sebastian could kill him easily. He sprinted to the door only to be sent flying backward. Grell stared in shock as Sebastian landed on his feet. He had never seen that occur, Sebastian was always able to enter. "Someone put up a barrier," whispered Sebastian. Grell responded, "Who on earth could put a barrier up to prevent you from getting in?" Sebastian was getting more and more agitated, he didn't know the answer but it occurred to him that not only Alex was inside but Claude as well. If anything were to happen to Claude there was hell to be paid. Grell stepped back as the shadow got even bigger.

Her feet hurt from running across the floors with bear feet, dust and glass fragments were every where. "I have to find the exit," she muttered as she turned down another hallway. It was dark and she could hear her captors' foot steps as they chased her. They grew closer and closer, which made her heart pound even more. She hadn't been able to find an exit. All of the doors and windows had been boarded up. "Someone, help me," she whispered in fear as she darted down another hallway. She sprinted until she ran into something hard, "I found you," the voice chimed. Her eyes widened and she looked up, she knew this voice, it belonged to her captor from so many years ago. He had a pair of cold gray eyes and silver hair, he reminded her a lot of Sterling. She stumbled backward and screamed in terror as he twisted her arm behind her back. "It would be a shame to injure such a beautiful prize," he whispered, his very touch made her skin crawl.

Claude finally found her in the maze and jumped off the wall. In moments he had turned into his human form. He was clad in black as always, however his glasses were still gone. "Release her," he commanded. The man looked at him and commanded, "Who are you?" Alex recognized the voice instantly and looked over her shoulder, a smile of relief swept across her face. "Claude Faustus," he replied as he took a step closer. The man held a knife against her throat and said, "Take another step and she dies." Claude sighed, his poker face was in tact yet there was an ominous tone to his voice as he replied, "Wouldn't that be anti-productive?" The man winced and pushed the tip of the blade into her neck, Alex could feel the sharp cold steel blade poking into her. The group rounded the corner with lights in hand and the man laughed, "It's too late now, you should have run when you had the chance." Claude smirked and Alex shivered, his eyes flickered purple as he retorted, "Correction, you were the one who should have run when you had a chance." Her eyes widened and she heard multiple screams as Claude attacked them. "What in god's name is that?" asked the man as he held her still. Claude approached when he stepped into the light and Alex stared, his attire was perfect save a streak of blood on his left cheek. "I wasn't created in his image," replied Claude and the man's eyes widened. He took a step back, his grip on Alex was still tight, "You are a demon?" he asked. Claude's signature smirk returned, he no longer looked board in fact he looked entertained which was even more frightening.

Ronald shouted angrily, "What's with these people, shigami are just as important!" He struggled against the ropes again; his death scythe was also missing. "I completely agree," said Sebastian. Ronald jumped and cried, "Sebastian! You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Sebastian smiled and took a silver knife from his pocket and cut the ropes. "It took a bit but I managed to get past the barrier," he said with a note of triumph in his voice. "You're slacking off Knox," said a commanding voice and Ronald turned. "William is Grell with you?" he asked. William nodded and Ronald heard a rustle. "I have something for you," he said as Ronald noticed his vision clear. William had brought his spare pair of glasses, "Thank god I bought a spare," he breathed. He noticed the black shadow behind Sebastian and he instantly regretted being able to see. Ronald stood up and said, "I can't find my scythe it was taken along with my glasses." William frowned and pushed his glasses up his nose, he was about to say something when he heard a choir of screams in the distance. "It would appear Claude is trying to protect her," said William, he felt his book get slightly heavier. Grell looked at him and noticed the side of Sebastian's mouth twitch. He was clearly annoyed and Grell said, "Go, he needs you." Sebastian nodded and sprinted out of the room, even though they had been attempting to summon him, he still had to save Claude.

Silver wear was scattered every where and Claude lunched at the man. His movement was so quick Alex didn't even see it, however clearly her captor had. She had been flung to the floor and she looked up to see a spray of red. Claude had ripped the man's head clear off his neck, her eyes widened and Claude shouted, "Run! I can hold them off, just run!" Alex nodded and took off while Claude turned his attention to another group of attackers. She found herself standing back at the alter. All of the other kids were dead and she looked around cautiously. "You always did have powerful friends," commented the master. Alex turned to him and stared, his hood was off and she trembled, "You're Sterling's secretary Atriums," she whispered. He smirked and took a step closer, "Actually I'm his brother," he said coolly. He did have silver hair but his eyes were green, it was an unnerving combination, "You have no idea how long we've been chasing you," he continued. Alex stumbled back when she noticed a sword in his hand. It glistened in the light and she began to tremble even more violently. "Claude," she muttered as she attempted to run. Atriums snapped his fingers and she was grabbed by a pair of men. "Put her on the alter," he commanded, "Hold her down so that I may finish." The pair did so and Alex attempted to get away.

Atriums slipped her out of the dress and smiled, all the marks they had given her before were there. The lashing she received had turned into scars and he smirked and he slowly ran his finger over them. "Finally, I'll have what I desire," he whispered as he raised the dagger over his head. Alex looked up at the glistening silver blade and screamed, "Claude!" The dagger was slicing through the air when she caught a glimpse of silver fly over her head and hit Atriums in the chest. "I told you to release her," said a very agitated Claude, his voice was deeper than before. She turned her head and noticed his eyes were no longer golden but a rich purple with black slits. Airtimes stared in shock, blood streamed through his robe and down his chin as he fell backward. Claude stood next to her and removed his jacket. Alex was trembling as he draped it over her. "It's alright let's return home," he said softly. She snuggled into the jacket and was about to say thank you when a voice rang, "I'm afraid I can't allow that."

Claude's head snapped in the direction the voice emanated and Alex stared. A giant black snake had appeared on the floor, it had blue violet eyes and Claude froze. "What do you want?" he asked. The snake hissed and replied, "You're death." Alex shuddered the voice cut through her like knives and she watched as the snake changed into a woman with long black hair, her blue violet eyes were large and she had soft facial features. "Lucie, Hannah's older sister," said Claude. She smiled and replied, "I heard you hired my sweet Hannah." Claude glared, he had hired Hannah because of her work at the Turancy estate, he didn't think her sister was coming back into this. "It's been a while Lucie," said Claude coldly. Lucie smiled and responded, "My darling sister was abused by that brat and you did nothing, my sweet and loving sister." Claude was silent and was quick to stand between Lucie and Alex. "I did my best to protect them," he responded flatly. Lucie glared and took a step forward, "You did nothing," she spat.

"It doesn't matter now, I'm going to avenge my little sister," she chimed as she lifted a long green sword. Claude felt his breath catch, "Leviathan," he whispered. Hannah was its sheath the last time he had seen that sword was when he was forced to duel with Sebastian. "I'm going to enjoy this," she chimed as she flew at him with the sword.