Grell and the Undertaker are fighting Hannah, William and Ronald have been tasked with protecting the Campbells and the other guests. However Claude and Sebastian run into a snag when they arrive at the cave which Alex has been taken to.

What's Sterling really up to?

Will Grell and the Undertaker survive Hannah?

Who will win Ronald's little challenge?

Will Claude live through this?

I hope you enjoy,

~Kuro

P.s. I do not own Kuroshitsuji.

Chapter 61: The Spider and the Fly: Part II

He drew a deep breath and began to murmur a summoning. One which wouldn't require a demon or tome, his aura flared and he gazed into the pool. "Monsters of ice and snow, which may never melt," he said darkly as he drew his hands from the pool. Dark crystals began to form and spread around the sink and he smiled as he gazed at the dark water. "Happy New Year, Faustus," he chirped with delight.

Alex drew a deep breath and sighed, it had gotten really hot in the room; however everyone seemed to be enjoying the party. The music was pounding and she noticed the light hearted atmosphere which was going to welcome the New Year. Though out the evening she had spoken with a number of different people, future contracts her jobs and others just stating they admired her work. The door to the observation deck as open and she slipped outside, the air was ice cold and she looked up at the dark sky to see s silver moon hanging over head and a white halo around it. It was beautiful and she sighed, her breath was visible and she could see the mountain rising in the night. The snow glistened in the light of the moon which made the mountain glow and she smiled. This was majestic and beyond inspiring, "Such beauty," she breathed as she admired the scene before her. There was a loud crack and her ocean blue eyes narrowed, there was an eerie glow in the distance. "What on earth?" she asked as she approached the railing, the glow grew more intense as what ever caused it drew closer. It was a bright purple like the black lights which were inside, however this one was growing more intense. "Someone must have lifted on of the lamps," she mumbled as she leaned against the railing. "Hello?" she asked cautiously, a shiver ran up her spine and she froze. Something was wrong, the cracking grew louder and the eerie glow became even more intense. The wind blew and she heard a whisper ride it, it was garbled in a language she had never even heard. "Hello?" she asked once more in hopes that who ever was playing with the lamp would cease their shenanigans.

There was an even louder crack and her eyes widened with terror, standing before her was a massive spider made of ice. Its eight legs stabbed through the elegant wood and it had violent red eyes. "My god," she whispered in terror, segments of it glowed purple and she realized that was the light which she was seeing. Its massive pincers loomed before her face, her lips parted and she paled. She had seen spiders before however nothing as terrifying as this. "Good evening," said a sweet voice and Alex turned her head to the side. A woman with violet eyes and white hair stood on the other side of the deck. "Hannah," she breathed and the woman laughed, it was a twisted sound. "I'm going to enjoy watching them squirm as what they love is ripped out of them," she sang. Alex shivered as she looked into the glowing red eyes of the icy beast. She finally found her voice and screamed, "Claude! Sebastian!" Hannah hissed with irritation and looked at the spider, "What are you waiting for get her out of here!" she shouted. In moments the spider had yielded to her command. Alex struggled to get away only to be wrapped in a black and sticky substance, she had never felt something like this. It was soft and smelt horrible as she was bound. "Claude, Sebastian!" she hollered again, the spider continued to wrap her in it's web and she felt the silk reach her neck before Hannah walked over. She removed her scarf and smiled, she was a breath away from Alex's face and she said, "Don't worry this won't hurt a bit." Alex was going to scream again only for Hannah to press the scarf against her nose and mouth.

Alex thrashed in the web and felt it start cutting into her skin, "I wouldn't do that, the web will cut you to pieces and then we can't have our fun with you," she said as she pressed the scarf harder over her mouth. It was soft and reeked of Wisteria, Hannah's perfume. Everything seemed to fall away as Alex attempted to hold on to her slipping consciousness. She fell limp in the web and Hannah watched as the spiders carried the unconscious girl up the mountain. "Now to find that arrogant arachnid and repugnant raven," she commented as she turned on the ball of her foot and went toward the glass doors which she had seen Alex leave from. "While you take care of them I will go claim my prize," sang a dark voice. Hannah looked up to see silver hair glistening in the moon light, his emerald eyes glowed and he smiled. "I will do my best to destroy them, my lord," she said softly as she curtsied. Sterling grinned with delight as he leapt off the roof and landed in on the deck behind her. "Please do Hannah," said Sterling with a smile, the black crystal was draped around his neck and now glowed beautifully. He snapped his fingers and Hannah watched in shock as a gust of wind blew though and he jumped. He was several feet off the ground before he grinned and snapped once again. He vanished in a burst of snow flakes and Hannah smiled. "You see Claude I found a master much more powerful than Ciel had ever been," she whispered as she pushed the door open.

Sebastian looked over at Claude to see him speaking with an Ambassador from Italy about their policies when he looked toward the glass doors which lead to the patio. Something was wrong, Alex was no where to be seen. Canterbury came in and was quick to skid to Sebastian's side, he was out of breath and a number of people stared at him. Canterbury held his hand up and quickly whispered in Sebastian's ear and Claude stared wide eyed at Sebastian. The pair nodded to one another and Sebastian turned to Canterbury, "Alert the shinigami," said Sebastian quickly. Claude smiled and was quick to end his conversation with the Italian ambassador and run over to Sebastian. His golden eyes were filled with anxiety however he kept his typical poker face in tact. Sebastian looked at Claude and waited until he was before him. "Thompson and Timber spotted Hannah and Sterling however there is something unusual about Sterling," said Sebastian. Claude looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?" he asked. Sebastian's eyes narrowed and he looked at the other guests, "Claude he's a mage and a dangerous one," he whispered. Claude girt his teeth and for a moment his anger was palpable, his aura cracked and he hissed. "I'm going to rip him to shreds," hissed Claude angrily. "Rip who to shreds?" Claude's eyes widened when he heard this and he turned to see Lord and Lady Campbell standing behind him. "What?" he asked in a panic, he wanted to know immediately how much he had heard. Lady Campbell looked shocked, she had paled and Lord Campbell glared at Claude. "You stated she would be safe with you, and now she is missing," he snapped. Claude sighed, they had heard it all. He looked at the other guests and whispered, "We need to leave this room, and reconvene in another." He looked at William who was cutting through the crowd, Ronald nodded and walked over to Lucius, it was as though they had rehearsed this plan, and yet all of this was completely spontaneous.

Grell and the Undertaker nodded as the pair walked over to the glass door and the Undertaker chuckled as he opened one of them, "I bet she wasn't expecting us to play with her," he said. Claude turned on his heel and looked at the Campbells, Lord Campbell looked determined. "Fallow me," said Claude quickly as he made his way out of the room. Sebastian fallowed and William trailed behind them. They were walking through the hall when they noticed Ronald several paces ahead of them, he gestured to an empty billiards room. Claude nodded and Ronald quickly slipped inside. There was chatter and Claude paused. "Oh you're playing for cash?" asked Ronald innocently. William groaned and was about to barge in when he heard Ronald say, "I bet three thousand pounds sterling that I can sink them all in a single break." There was laughter fallowed by a crack, and then silence. One by one the people which had been in the room left and William stared, "I can't believe he sank them all in one shot," groaned one of the young men. William walked in to find Ronald perched on the billiards table he twirled the cue and said, "Eh, a party is a party." William chuckled and shook his head, "Insensitive as always Mr. Knox," he commented. Ronald smirked and tipped his fedora to Lady Campbell. "It's a pleasure to see you again, madam," Ronald said before jumping off the table. Sebastian closed the door and said, "Alright, Canterbury, Timber and Thompson are outside."

Claude nodded, "We need to find her, however I don't sense her in the lodge, which means," he began and looked at Sebastian. "She's on the peak, we've got to find her and fast," said Sebastian as he looked at Ronald and William. Ronald nodded and said, "We will protect the guests, with the triplets, something tells me what ever snatched her will be heading down the mountain." William pushed up his glasses and commented, "We can't stand vile things, we already tolerate you." Sebastian sighed; as much as he hated to admit it William did have a point. "We will head up the mountain," Sebastian responded and Claude nodded and looked at the Campbells. Lord Campbell's eyes narrowed and he looked determined to have a part. "What makes you qualified to go up the mountain at this time of night?" asked Lord Campbell angrily. Claude looked over at him and Sebastian responded curtly, "Simple, if we wait any longer she will die, you said it yourself the temperature is dropping." Lord Campbell stared at red eyed demon and realized that Sebastian was being much more honest than he had in the past. "I trust Claude with every fiber of my being. If there is anyone I know who can get her back, it's him," said Sebastian sternly. His voice was firm and proud, Claude looked at Sebastian.

It had been a long time since he had heard Sebastian take such a stand for him, he felt as though he were floating on air, "Lord Campbell, could you call the rescue team if we aren't back with in two hours?" he asked. Lord Campbells hair swayed as he nodded and Claude looked over at Sebastian. "Let's get her back," said Claude protectively and Sebastian nodded. There was a loud bang fallowed by a dull rumble, "I really hope that isn't what I think it is," said Ronald nervously as he opened the door. The sound of glass shattering split the air and Ronald stood face to face with a massive ice spider, "Guys the time to plan is up! It's time to get to work!" he called as he reached into his pocket. William darted out of the door and was quick to pull his hedge trimmer. He smiled as he attacked the ice creature with it. Claude darted out of the room fallowed by Sebastian, in moments the pair were racing up the mountain, they were faster than usual and Lord Campbell stared in shock as he watched them vanish from his line of sight. "What in god's name was that?" he asked in confusion. William laughed and called, "They don't respond to god!" Lady Campbell stared in shock as William dodged the spider and Ronald crashed on top of it with a bright red lawn mower. "Let's make this more interesting, let's keep count," he said brightly. William's green and gold eyes narrowed as he pushed his glasses up his nose, "That's not funny Mr. Knox." Ronald laughed and whispered, "Who ever wins get's to choose how we have sex." William stood there wide eyed for a moment and looked at Ronald. This meant Ronald had to do what ever William desired. He closed his eyes and pushed up his glasses, his cheeks were slightly pink and he commented, "You're just asking for trouble. I condone it this time." A series of screams ripped through the air and Ronald dashed down the hallway, "You're going to regret it!" called Ronald as he sprinted to the main hall.

Grell looked at Hannah and sighed, "Oh my it's you, I remember you. The woman who pretended to be so meek in the Trancy house," he said. Hannah looked at him and smiled, "I didn't think Claude would send a transvestite and a retired reaper to kill me," she commented. Grell smiled and laughed, "You see that's the problem between you and I," he grinned wickedly and reached into his pocket expecting to find safety scissors only to have his chain saw back, "Oh yeah baby I'm off probation!" he shouted. The Undertaker looked at Grell in confusion, "You've been off of it for years, what did you do?" Grell blushed and responded, "I'll explain later." The Undertaker nodded and was quick to pull a glistening silver scythe. Hannah staggered backward and she stared, "You're a reaper?" she asked in terror. The Undertaker cackled, "No dear, I'm the Grim Reaper," he sang before lunging at her. Grell revved his chain saw before Hannah leapt backward and dodged Grell's haphazard attack only to come within inches of the Undertaker's scythe. Her eyes widened and she pulled out a pair of semi automatic weapons. Grell laughed as he did a back flip and commented, "Your white dress is nice, however it will look dazzling after it's been stained red with your blood." Grel shifted in the air and listened for the click of an empty barrel. The Undertaker laughed and was quick to swing his scythe again, only this time he slashed the barrels of the guns to the ground. Grell stared as the Undertaker sprinted forward and attacked her once more. "It seems that for an old man you're quiet skilled at this," she commented only to jump behind the Undertaker and kick him across the patio. "However it's like they say, you can't teach an old dog any new tricks," she commented with a smile. She slowly walked over toward the Undertaker only to find Grell jumping in front of her. Hannah stared in shock as she ducked; the teeth of the saw were a breath away from her face. Long white hair fell to the deck of the patio and her eyes widened in terror. Grell had bobbed her hair, and he smiled, "It needed to be cut," he chimed. It appeared that she had misjudged them; this was going to take much longer than she perceived. There was a flicker of silver as Hannah threw a knife at Grell's chest, only for him to deflect it with his chainsaw. It was a neat trick he had learned thanks to all of his encounters with Sebastian.

There was a wave of snow which fallowed Claude and Sebastian as they sprinted. They had sprinted past the last of the trees, and were heading toward the peak. The temperature was dropping rapidly and Claude commented, "There is no way she can survive this in that dress." Sebastian was beside him and replied, "I can't sense her." Claude looked around and paused, his eyes fell on a cave, there was no way it was that simple. Then he sensed it, "Sebastian look out!" he shouted. Sebastian skidded to a stop; one of his long onyx black bangs swayed and hit the barrier. His red eyes widened as he watched the tip become singed and he took a step back. "That's certainly new," commented Sebastian. Claude nodded and looked at the massive glowing purple barrier. "It's well established too, someone has been planning this for a long time," he commented. Sebastian's eyes narrowed and flickered their dangerous pink hue. A smirk caressed his lips and he commented, "Do you really think a barrier like this can keep me out?" His aura flickered as he slowly reached out to touch the barrier. Claude stared in shock as it fell with little resistance, "You really can go where ever you wish," muttered Claude. Sebastian nodded and slowly entered the cave; there was a light ahead. There was a patter and clink which made Sebastian stop in his tracks. Claude looked at him and asked, "What was that?" Sebastian looked over at him and replied, "I have no idea."

Claude's golden eyes widened with terror, for Sebastian to not know what produced the sound was an unnerving thought. The pair slowly advanced, the cave was damp and colder than it had been outside which only made Claude more anxious to find Alex. Sebastian's head snapped up as he heard something scurry toward them. His red eyes looked to Claude who nodded. In moments they had dashed toward the area in which the light emanated from. The cavern was actually deeper into the mountain than they had anticipated, they stood in side a massive cavern. The ceiling of it was high and laced with stalagmites. The scurrying sound continued and Claude commented, "I think I know what that sound is." Sebastian glanced over at him in confusion only for Claude to say, "Look up." The ceiling was covered in black fibers and Sebastian noticed a number of what looked like glass spiders. "What?" he asked in confusion as he looked at the walls, they were covered in the thick black silk and he looked at Claude. Claude had been the only one he had ever seen who could produce something like this. "The better question would be who," cooed a voice on the other side of the cave. Gold and red eyes locked on the place in which the voice had emanated from and they narrowed. "Arnold Sterling," said Claude darkly. "Have you finished what I had asked you to do Mr. Faustus?" he asked as he took a step closer, the black crystal around his neck was still glowing eerily. The violet light which had been produced by the crystal gave Sterling a frightening appearance. "I had expected you to send you're clock work spiders," he commented, his voice was darker than usual and a grin of glee caressed his lips. "She's our responsibility," he snarled. Sterling chuckled as he jumped in the air and cross his legs; he was hovering in the air in a seated position. "That's what you told the Campbells at least, however part of you is just aching to devour her," jeered Sterling.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed, "I should have known I was working for a Sorcerer," he spat, "You guys lack all imagination." Sterling looked at Sebastian curiously and ran a hand through his silver hair, "Perhaps, however I didn't think the pair of you would fall for the same trick," he commented. Sebastian snapped and lunged for Sterling only for him to vanish and reappear on the other side of the cavern. "As you pointed out demon, I'm a Sorcerer, it's going to take more than that to kill me," he commented as he smiled and pulled his wand. With the flick of his wrist a rush of water hit the pair. Claude jumped and clung to the webs above his head as Sebastian twisted out of the way and landed on a massive rock in the back of the tavern. "Yes and as you said, we are demons," said Sebastian with a note of irritation. In moments he leapt off the rock and attempted to deliver a swift kick to Sterling's head. Sterling ducked however he didn't expect Claude to come at him from behind and punch him in the back. There was a loud scream as he leapt vertically in the air to get away from the pair. "I never expected you two to fight to well together," he commented as he twisted backward in the air to doge another pair of punches the duo had thrown. Sterling landed in the middle of the cave and he laughed, "Let's see what happens when I add a distraction," he said happily. Claude and Sebastian looked at one another, there was a loud crack and the pair looked up to see a massive spider looming over their heads. It was made entirely of ice and was larger than all of the other ones the pair had seen before. It crept over it's black web to a large bundle which was wrapped in the black silk. Hanging from it was a strand of brown hair and Claude's heart nearly stopped.

In seconds he was off the floor and hanging upside down from the web near the buddle which was shaped like a human. "Alex," he shouted as he challenged the spider. "My, this will be intriguing," sang Sterling as Sebastian lunged for the silver haired sorcerer. Sebastian's fist made contact with Sterling's sternum which caused him to tumble backward. Claude made his way over to Alex and noticed how the web was eating into her skin, "Acids," he muttered angrily as he attempted to get closer. He didn't expect the ice spider to crack to life and with one of its eight legs it pushed Claude away. The golden eyed demon fell backward and caught himself before he fell from the web. He grit his teeth and jumped on top of the spider. His grip was tight as he attempted to separate the head from the body. "If he keeps doing that my spider will bite him," said Sterling with a note of joy, "and kill him." Sebastian wrapped an arm around Sterling's neck and whispered something in a tongue which Sterling would never be able to understand. "Claude, don't," called Sebastian. Claude clung to the spider he looked down at Sebastian with curiosity until he felt a pinch in one of his hands. Claude hissed and pulled his hand away, he stared at the bite, he had never been bitten before by a spider. They always respected him. His eyes narrowed as he attempted to shatter the slider to pieces once again. His hand felt stiff and he began to feel the heat in it. He groaned in pain as he twisted the spider's head once more. "You will obey me," he shouted with irritation.

Sebastian was too distracted by what Claude was doing to notice Sterling was doing a counter charm. There was a loud bang and the pair was sent flying across the room violently. Sebastian smashed into the wall and slid to the floor. Sterling's head collided with a chunk of ice and he hissed. In moments the pair was up again, only this time Sebastian had every intention of finishing this. "You want the price of hell so badly, I will introduce him to you," said Sebastian darkly. Claude looked down at Sebastian and he shouted, "No, he will be able to ask you for a contract!" Sebastian ignored him and the golden eyed spider demon hissed as he leapt off the spider. If Sebastian was going to show his true form than so could he, the dark from outside the cavern began to invade the space as the two demons cast aside their costumed to show Sterling who he was really playing with.

Hannah glared at the pair of reapers, and was about to attack once again only for the Undertaker to quickly swing his scythe. There was a flash of silver and the sound of the scythe split the air as it sliced a path. There was silence fallowed by an elegant spray of red and the undertaker ran one of his hands through his white hair. A series of stitches ran across his face and he smiled. "It's been a while since I played with a demon," said the Undertaker. Grell looked up to see the work of the Undertaker, he had taken Hannah's head in a single swing, it now rested on the observation deck. Her once white dress was drentched with blood and Grell looked up at the Undertaker, "Whoa," he commented. The Undertaker cackled with glee and commented, "No we can't learn new tricks, but I've got some old ones which work better." Grell shuddered as he watched her corpse hit the deck, his eyes then floated to the Undertaker. He had seen the Undertaker wield his silver scythe before, however that was only viewing records it wasn't to kill. The Undertaker's silver sickle vanished and he looked at Grell, "Are you okay?" he asked sweetly, as he held out a hand to the red head. Grell nodded slowly and took the silver haired shinigami's hand.

A loud scream ripped through the air which caused both reapers to look toward the door. The sound emanated from the main hall in which the party was being held. They sprinted further down the hall and stared in shock at the chaos which had ensued. There were spiders entering in every spot which had been occupied by a window at one point. Ronald's jaw dropped and he stared, "There's no way we can do this alone," he said as he darted across the room, "39," he said as he watched the spider fall to pieces before him. A number of the guests watched the blonde collide with the spider on the back of his red lawn mower, there was a moment of silence before William made his entrance. He walked over to the stage and collected the microphone from the DJ, "None of you are on the list so I suggest you leave before you make an untimely departure from this state of life," said William eloquently. There was a murmur and William sighed before saying, "None of you are scheduled to die tonight, however the list can always be amended." The group stared at him in shock and without hesitation they ran out of the room. "Always the life of a party, Will," sang Ronald as he dodged a spider's leg. Ronald slid across the floor and hacked into another massive ice spider, it shattered to pieces as the blades of his lawn mower hit it. "45!" called Ronald as he dodged another spider which had attempted to bite him. "I really hate spiders!" shouted Ronald as he leapt onto the bar and swung his lawn mower once again, there was a cloud of powder as the blades hit the spider, he was grinning wickedly.

"46!" he hollered, "How's it going William?" William pushed his glasses further up his nose and swung his scythe over his head. There was a crack as the scythe made contact with each of the spiders which had surrounded him, there were eight in total. He blinked as the eight fell to pieces around him and he said smoothly, "96." Ronald stared at him and growled, he had no interest in loosing to this man. As much as he loved him he wanted to be the one to torture him. Ronald jumped off the bar and landed on top of a spider, "47," he grumbled. William managed to doge a spider as it attempted to wrap him in a web. "There's too many!" called Ronald. William was knocked to the floor and he looked up to see the massive pincers of one of the spiders over his head. They were covered in jagged edges and damp with red liquid, he sighed and began to hope that Claude and Sebastian would be able to stop what ever was causing this mess. "No there's not," said a dry and ragged voice. William looked over to see the Undertaker with his scythe in hand. In a moment several spiders fell to the floor in pieces as the scythe made it's path. Grell jumped through the air with his saw screaming as he crashed down on the spider which was looming over William. "Oh yeah baby!" he cried with glee. William nodded and jumped to his feet, "Four reapers can handle this right?" asked Grell cautiously. In all honestly William had no idea until he noticed the triplets make their entrance. The three grabbed the legs of a spider and ripped it to pieces. "I think we can handle this," said Ronald as he jumped to take on another spider.

Claude's golden eyes opened and he stretched each of his eight legs and looked at the spider. He had turned into a massive golden tarantula. He was three times larger than the ice spider and leapt at it. He had every intention of ripping it apart for touching Alex. Sterling gaped at Claude and then noticed a black feather fall to the ground. Sebastian moved agilely, his movements were smooth and the feathers continued to fall like snow. Claude was on top of the spider and attempted to break it, only to realize that he had to get it off its web which would mean cutting its ties. Claude took one of his legs and began cutting the ties of web which the spider had been clinging to. However the stinging from the bit didn't subside, it slowly became more extreme and Claude hissed. He had to get this spider to the ground if he had any chance of getting near Alex. In a flash the spider was gone and Claude looked at the spot in shock. He froze and looked about only to see the spider behind him. It pushed him off the web and Claude began to fall through the air.