Chapter 25: The Knife Block

There was a murmur through London, it was infectious and had finally reached the ears of a very nervous Sebastian. Live seats had been sold, people were randomly wishing him luck and he felt his stomach churn nervously. Ash was clearly bragging about his skill, even if Sebastian was classically trained. Ever since the incident with Ciel, the pair were becoming distant, both for the fear that Ciel would do something to him before the competition. He wanted to escape, but didn't know how, as far as he knew he belonged to Ciel, he had little to no power over his life. It wouldn't have been so frightening if he actually had control over it. It had gotten to the point that Sebastian seemed to flow with the tides, his life was always controlled by another, he longed to be free. "If I can win this, perhaps I can cut myself free," he muttered as he looked at the group of people.

Ciel's father had given him directions to get to the kitchen, every part of him was alive with both anxiety and excitement. He slowly walked over to the studio and stared at the massive glass doors leading to the BTN studio. The floors were perfectly clean and he could tell this was perhaps one of the biggest events since Doctor Who and the unveiling of Harry Potter. He slowly walked through the foyer and noticed the eyes that seemed to follow him, as though he were a valiant knight marching to battle. With his bag in hand and knowledge he could survive this, at least he hoped.

Standing outside the door was a young woman with wild black hair and large cans around her neck. She was accompanied by a young man with spiky red hair and another with long blond hair tied behind his head. The three looked at one another and then to Sebastian, "Are you really the Patissier?" Joker asked wide eyed, he looked shocked more than anything. He slowly stood before them, as always he was seen as another lost boy. "Yes," replied Sebastian softly. The three exchanged looks of bewilderment before turning to him. "Welcome, Mister Michaelis, this is Beast she is our makeup supervisor. This is Hooper, he's done the score and I'm Joker, the director," he said with a warm smile. Sebastian looked at each of them and nodded. He honestly wanted to get this over with, "Okay we are going to do a light make up, you're skin is beautiful, we just don't wan the lights to kill you. Hooper here is going to play your theme," commented Beast as she twirled a powder brush between her fingers. Sebastian looked at the man named Hooper, he had brown hair that seemed to be a mess with a pair of nearly black eyes. His nose was rather crooked and looked as though it had been broken more than once. A scarf was draped over his neck and his hands were in the pockets of his jeans.

"I'm Hooper, the Composer and Conductor, we managed to snag the LSO. I'm heading to the mixing booth, we will be going live soon and I want to make sure everything is perfect," he said with ease, his foggy english accent hit all the right notes and made Sebastian slightly nervous. "Will I have to speak?" he asked. He wrung his hands as he thought about how odd he would sound on the telly. There was a pause as Joker looked at him curiously, "Probably," he replied. Sebastian hummed and slipped one of his long bangs behind his ear, he had no idea how he was going to do this, "Don't worry they all know you have a French background," Joker replied, "No one is expecting a foggy accent." Sebastian nodded, he was still tense and wondered just how he was going to make it through this.

Beast smiled and nodded, "Shall we?" she asked as she gestured for him to follow. Sebastian did so and realized just how large the studio was, a beautiful black and red emblem hung on the wall, "Top Chef?" he asked as he read the sign. Beast nodded as she lead him into one of the rooms, "Yes, that's what we are calling it," she said happily as she opened the door. Sebastian was about to enter when he noticed a familiar man dressed in pure white with white hair and violet eyes. "Easy on the liner," sneered the familiar voice of none other than Ash Landers, the very chef who had thrown down the gauntlet. "Well, look what the cat dragged in, a little late to be applying make up now," he commented with irritation.

Sebastian froze and looked at the chef, he honestly felt nervous around Landers, "I got a little lost," he replied uneasily, his french accent became a little more pronounced. Landers chuckled, "Ever so the cute Frenchmen," he mused. Sebastian felt his temper begin to bubble, "At least I don't look like I've never stepped out into the sun," Sebastian countered. In all honesty he had no idea where this was coming from but he would run with it, offhandedly he wondered if he had been hanging around Claude a little too long. Ash huffed and crossed his arms, "I see, says the man who is just as pale, pot calling the kettle a little black," he remarked. Sebastian was about to shoot another remark when Beast stepped in. "Okay boys, let's end this pissing contest," she commented as she settled Sebastian in a chair. "I'm going to just add a little concealer and bronzer since the lights are violent," she stated as she opened her powder box.

Sebastian hummed, he had never had someone attend to his skin, usually he was busy treating wounds, not carrying about the fact that he was lilly white. He was about to ask her something when the door opened, standing in the threshold was a very excited looking Hooper with a CD in hand. "Okay I'm going to give you a taste of just what you guys will sound like," he commented as he slipped the disk into the CD player. "Ash you're theme is first," he stated as he pressed play. Obviously this was to prevent himself and Ash from ripping one another to shreds before the show commenced. The room was filled with horns and trumpets, it sounded like a rather jolly march, a classic which rang through the streets as a display of prosperity and nationalism. Yet at the same time it was cold and distant, as though it were a dynasty coming to an end. Landers was smiling with approval as the march echoed through the room, part of Sebastian prayed that his theme wouldn't sound anything like that. The girl who had been working on Landers finished applying blush to the chef, "I approve," he said smoothly as he left the room.

There was a pause as Hooper turned his attention to Sebastian, "I figured an arrogant march would suit him, your's is farm more," the composer paused and gave a thoughtful smile, "creative." Sebastian tilted his head to the side, the composer seemed to enjoy the theme he had composed for Sebastian more than Ash. The room was filled with a soft and beautiful sound, it was soothing and enchanting on it's own. A soft chime played in the background as violins swelled and the bass played pizzicato, it was smooth and elegant. A distant horn blew and Sebastian felt as though he were floating, it wasn't arrogant or long, it was sweet and nostalgic. "This is mine?" he asked slowly as he listened to the melody float in the air. Hooper nodded and hummed, "It's all yours," he replied with a grin. Sebastian hummed, it reminded him of the sweetness of his work, "I like it," he replied softly.

Beast chuckled as she ran a comb through his hair, "I'm glad, now the theme for the show, Ash left before he could hear it," Hooper stated as he turned his attention to the deck, "However I think you need to hear it," he stated. Sebastian was confused as to why this was so important, he was about to ask when the sound of snares tapping filled the room, it was soft. He could feel the energy build as the violins jumped in, they swelled with gusto as the massive drums entered alongside them. His heart was pounding, it felt as though they were flying through London, the horns blared calling for attention as the music sped up. It was a world of sound and beauty, in all honesty it reminded him of the Harry Potter scores, not that he was opposed to that. "This is simply amazing," he breathed as he opened his eyes and looked at the man before him. He honestly didn't think a kitchen could sound like this, then again Hooper's world of sound was radically different when compared to that of any other. "I have to go soon, Beast remember his coat is black and Ash is wearing white," he stated before turning on his heel. He was about to leave when he looked over his shoulder, "You know, a lot of us are praying you win, it would be nice to get rid of Landers," he commented before leaving.

Sebastian stood up and slipped into the jacket, he was about to face one of the best chefs on international TV and at that second all he could think about was where the cavalry was. Then again he should have known that by accepting the challenge he would have to do this on his own. "It looks like the cavalry won't be coming over the next hill," he commented as he looked at his reflection, he wasn't sure what to say, so he simply smiled a little before leaving the walls of the dressing room, soon enough he was going to be put on the spot.

~~xXx~~

The halls were crowded with a number of people, all of them running to and fro, in preparation for the airing of one of the most heated competitions in cooking to be seen. Standing in the middle of the hallway was a very confused blond, a crinkled rectangular sheet of paper was in his hands and he turned it several times. His cerulean eyes were locked on it as he pursed his lips. In his other hand was Claude's mobile, "Why did the Head Chef have to forget his blasted phone? That wanker," he hissed as he looked at the poorly drawn map. The ink had begun to run thanks to the accident he had that morning, he had dumped a cup of water on it, crinkled it to shove it into his pocket and nearly ripped it in half when it had been snagged in a door. The paper was slowly starting to fall apart and Alois looked at it in confusion.

"Okay, so it should be down here," he commented, "Just go through the hallway. Well that's simple enough," he commented. Alois looked up from the page and froze, his jaw dropped as he looked at the intersections, there were a total of five passages to choose from, not counting the one he had just come out of. Sitting in the middle of the floor was a massive stature of a microphone with the ambigram BNT. Alois paled as he watched people push and shove past one another in an attempt to get to their destinations, "Fuck," he whimpered. He looked at the map again quickly and then at the hallways, the arrow had smudged and tinted the page blue in that spot. "I'm so screwed," he whispered as he turned around and looked at the total of six hallways. Alois reached into his pocket and was about to call Claude when he realized that he was holding the man's mobile.

"Shit," he squeaked as he looked at the people in suits, he was still in a bartender's uniform. This was honestly his worst nightmare, he was so very lost. He quickly grabbed a man's arm and asked, "Can you tell me how to get to Studio 2?" The tall man looked at him, he had blond hair and a pair of blue eyes, he looked very confused. "Was? (1)" asked the stern man, Alois was confused for a moment. "I'm looking for Studio 2, do you know where it is?" he asked again. The man held up his hands defensively and commented with a rather apologetic look, "Ich spreche kein Englisch (2)," he replied. Alois looked confused for a moment as the tall man turned to walk away, "Hey! You didn't tell me where Studio 2 was!" he shouted as he jumped after the towering German. The German turned the corner and was gone, only now did Alois realize he was very lost now, not even the poorly drawn map Soma had given him would be able to help. He stood on a balcony and looked around in confusion, "Oh shit, he's gonna kill me," he muttered as he looked around.

The blond bartender jammed the map back into his pocket and sighed, he had heard time and time again to stay put if he had gotten lost, however he was in desperate need of the loo. He looked around for a moment and shrugged, "Well I'm in the same building how bad can it be?" he asked himself as he set off on a mission to find the loo. He continued down the halls as he looked for the familiar signs of a restroom, this was going to take far longer than he anticipated. Not a single one of the doors looked remotely similar to the one he was searching for.

His shoes clicked against the floor as he continued to slowly open doors and peak into them, his curiosity had always gotten the better of him. Several of the rooms were empty offices, some looked as though they hadn't been cleaned in the last century, which was a little frightening when he heard a strange noise emanate from one of them. "Do people not know how to clean?" he asked as he continued down the hallway and opened the door to a room that looked very similar to a conference room. "I wonder what their meeting rooms look like," he mused as he pushed the door open. The familiar sound of a woman panting filled the air as well as the creak of wood. Alois hummed in confusion and opened the door a little wider to see a busty secretary bent over the large table. Her glasses had slipped off her nose as she gripped the edges of the table for stability. Her lips were open and her eyes closed as she moaned, brown hair fell from her bun as she tipped her head back.

The man's massive hands groped her chest as he slammed into her and Alois started, "Um... could one of you tell me where Studio 2 is?" he asked curiously. The pair froze and both blanched, clearly this wasn't his greatest idea. "What the fuck! You little wanker! GET OUT!" roared the man as he cheeks reddened with both embarrassment and anger. Alois sighed and shook his head, "You guys can screw each other all you want for all I care, I just want to get directions," he stated. There was a pause as he watched the woman gather her clothes, "You know you should really use a rubber, no glove, no love," he chimed. Before he could say anymore a shoe was heaved in his direction. Alois ducked as it whizzed over his head, "I'll take that as a no," he stated as he closed the door and went in search of someone else to ask. He clasped his hands behind his back and continued on his quest, "She had horrible cuticles anyway," he commented as he turned the corner.

Standing in the hallway was a very familiar sight, a slate haired young man, "Trancy, where have you been?" he snapped, as always Ciel was being difficult. Alois sighed and held up his hands, "I got lost," he admitted, "And then I came across a fuck session, I decided they needed tips." Ciel was quiet as he looked at his bartender as though he were insane. "YOU WHAT?" he hollered, his voice reverberated off the walls, making the scene seem far more intense than it should have. "I came across a superior screwing his subordinate without a condom so I suggested that he used one," he replied. Ciel stared at the blond as though his head were on backward. Alois shrugged as he walked past the young Phantomhive, "Her cuticles were a nightmare, but I didn't bother with tips for those," he stated as he made his way into the Studio to find Claude. Leaning against a wall was the mysterious Head Chef, his golden eyes were locked on the logo on the wall. "Claude!" Alois chirped as he hugged the man violently. "Yes?" he asked slowly as he looked at the blond squeezing him, "I brought your phone." Claude simply plucked the device from Alois' fingers and slipped it in his pocket, for once he hadn't ranted about the bartender being too clingy. Something was very wrong, he looked pale and nervous, "Claude?" asked Alois slowly as he tugged on the chef's sleeve. "You're nervous aren't you? He's about to battle Ash and he has no one there to aid him," Alois said slowly.

Claude nodded as he looked at the glistening silver kitchen before him, his golden eyes were locked on the doors which the chefs were to enter through. "He has my back in the kitchen and yet out here, he is defenseless," he murmured, his voice was soft and Alois could tell that internally Claude was in turmoil. The iron chef wasn't as strong as he appeared, "He can do it, he has to," whispered Alois. Golden eyes looked down at him through rimless glasses and Alois noticed an emotion that he had never seen in the chef's eyes, worry. "He's not steel, he will break," he whispered. Alois slowly touched the side of Claude's face and traced the faint worry lines that were slowly beginning to caress his features, "No and that's what makes him strong, he has you, even if he doesn't realize it," he commented. He could tell Claude was still apprehensive of the idea and part of him didn't blame the chef.

"Still, there's something that haunts him, I've never seen him look so haunted before until that day in the rain," Claude stated after a moment. There was silence between the pair, even Claude had noticed the look, fear whenever a man got near him. Part of Alois wondered how deep that fear went, he knew Sebastian had been hurt in the past but didn't know how badly. How deep the scars ran and the pain he had to endure for him to look like that, for a human being to look like a terrified animal when touched. For once he had no idea what to say and that was even more terrifying. "He can do this, if he can handle you, he can take care of Ash," Alois said after a moment. It was only now that he wished he had the same way with words as the Sommelier.

~~xXx~~

Diedrich grumbled as he paced back and forth before the elaborate office of Vincent Phantomhive, the toymaker's obsession with elegance didn't go missed by the German as he paced. What he had learned disturbed him, to think that Vincent's own son had been part of a black market dealing and owned Sebastian was irritating. The boy Vincent and himself had groomed to be a stand up citizen had actually supported the slave market. Something so vile that not even Vincent allowed in London, he paused to look at his watch, Vincent was late, he never ran late. He remembered calling the man's secretary and stating it was urgent, she had promised to relay the message and yet the Lord was nowhere in sight. "Where are you?" he hissed as he angrily thrusted his hands into his pockets.

"He won't be coming," called a familiar and rather tired sounding voice, it was cool and collected. Diedrich spun to see Tanaka standing before him in the customary Phantomhive butler's uniform. His eyes were honed on the German noble as he took a step closer. "Tanaka?" asked Diedrich in confusion. The elderly butler stood before him firmly, years of training and experience seemed to appear in the action of standing at attention. In many ways he was like a pawn on a board bracing himself for the will of his master. "I'm afraid I can't allow Vincent to know of his son's deeds, it would tear him apart," he replied.

"Explain," hissed Diedrich, his anger was seething as he attempted to process what the butler had just told him. No servant would dare to keep information from their master, no matter how painful. "Rachel hasn't been well, in fact she is far more delicate than before. She went to a biopsy today, there is a chance," Tanaka fell silent as Vincent's eyes widened. Rachel was his life, he knew how the woman had gotten the Lord through some of the darkest times of his existence. "The results," he asked cautiously, attempting to hide his shock. Rachel's condition was going to throw them all through a loop again. "We won't know until Thursday, day two of the competition," replied the butler. Diedrich threaded his fingers through his hair and tugged at it, "What am I supposed to do? Ciel has trapped Sebastian, he's hurting him. The chef wouldn't look so haunted if the boy hadn't done something to him," Diedrich whimpered.

He had to choose between hurting Vincent with the truth or allowing this event to be overlooked. "I have worked something out, but I need your trust that I will get Sebastian out of this safely and when the time comes, your aid," Tanaka stated. Diedrich was confused for a moment, the butler had made a move of his own and was planning on playing his hand without Vincent knowing. "What do you plan on doing?" asked Diedrich slowly, he was brimming with curiosity. Tanaka hummed and shook his head, "You will know in time, I'm nearly finished setting it up," he stated.

Diedrich found himself in the same position, if Rachel had indeed developed another case of cancer it would kill her and Vincent would lose one of the few things in his life that he valued over his own. Yet, if he didn't tell Vincent about Ciel the Lord would find out later and he would lose a friend. "What do I do?" he asked slowly as the butler turned to leave. Tanaka paused and looked at the lord, "Simple, what you have been. Protect them both," he stated before walking away.

~~xXx~~

Sebastian drew a deep breath as he hoisted his black bag over his shoulder, his entire body was shaking, never in his life had he been put on the spot like this. He had done demonstrations at the college, but was never expected to speak about them, silence was his mantra as he worked, concentrating on creating a dish rather than explaining. Ash looked like the type that would enjoy the attention from the camera, he was smiling brightly and looked ready to chat away. The wild haired red head appeared before them with a head set around his neck and clipboard in hand, "Okay before we go on set, some rules. Don't sabotage each other's work, no cursing we'll be on international TV, act as though the cameras aren't there and most importantly explain the dish as well as it's inspiration. In addition you are allowed to use any technique you know to craft your dessert," Joker stated, his eyes fell on Sebastian whose stomach was in knots. "Questions?" he asked as he lifted his eyebrows. Ash shook his head and smiled as he slipped on his massive chef's hat, Sebastian reverted to his Torque. "No," Sebastian replied hesitantly. Joker smiled as he turned to his stage assistant, "Doll, on my cue have them walk through," he stated.

The young woman nodded and grinned, Sebastian watched as he bright orange bangs bobbed, she had several flowers in her hair and looked like a woman out of the fae kingdom. Joker disappeared leaving Ash and Sebastian standing side by side, "Scared, Michaelis?" asked Ash with a snarl, clearly he had ignored the rule about antagonizing the other competitor. "You wish," he replied as he waited for Doll to begin her count. "Ten," she stated as she looked at her stop watch. "I'm going to make you wish you never entered the industry," sneered Ash. Sebastian tuned him out as he listened for her count, "Five," Doll stated. "No I'm going to show you what a real patisser looks like," he stated as Doll called three. Ash wrinkled his nose and hissed, "I'd love to see that."

"Two," Doll called as she looked at the pair. Sebastian smirked, he had to do this, even if he was terrified, "Then watch closely," Sebastian commented with a note of sincerity. Before Ash could respond Doll motioned for them to enter. The pair stepped through the glass doors and into the kitchen that any patissier would dream of. Every surface gleamed and camera men had been strategically placed throughout the space. Standing before them was a panel of six judges, all well known in the industry, it was only now that Sebastian realized just how real this was going to be. A slate haired young man walked into the studio and smiled, it was the same man from the restaurant and he looked very much like Ciel in this light, it wasn't until now that he realized they had the same hair color. "Welcome to Top Chef, you two have been read the rules and now we will go about how things will proceed," Vincent said happily. He gestured to a silver table with a beautiful pine knife box on it, several knives were in it and Sebastian had a very bad feeling about this.

"One of you will select a knife from the box, on it is the name of the mystery ingredient you will be working with, you have a half hour to complete your task," Vincent stated with an air of authority. He slowly glanced at Ash's face, even though he looked composed, he thought for a brief moment he had seen the chef's eyes widened a little. "Since Mr. Landers is the challenger it has been decided that Mr. Michaelis pulls the first knife," he stated, "Whoever wins this challenge will get the opportunity to draw the next one." Sebastian's burgundy eyes were locked on the box, he was to draw the knife, it was terrifying at first, he had no idea just what was in the box. "Mr. Michaelis if you please," said Vincent smoothly.

Sebastian slowly took a step toward the box, the hilts of the blades glistened under the hot studio lights. He looked at the set of knives, eight handles for him to select from, his fingers swept over the smooth pine the box was made of, the logo on the side contrasted the light wood. He could feel the gaze of each judge and Ash on his back, he continued to look at the block and was about to back away when he looked up to see Claude smiling confidently. He gave a firm nod and oddly that was all it took. Sebastian's fingers wrapped around the cool, click hilt as he slipped it out of the block. The blade glistened in the light as his eyes fell on the ingredient, it felt as though he had just managed to pull Excalibur from the stone as he held it up to examine it. After doing so he flipped the blade in his hand to show what the blocky bold letters on the blade proclaimed the ingredient to be. He smiled confidently as he watched Ash's face twist in a look of pure terror, the one ingredient he knew he could work to his advantage.