Ah, the zombie titanic arc. So much gore and yet only so many ways to say 'zombie' without using the word 'zombie' darn 19th century logic. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! So please review and I apologize for the over use of the word 'corpse'
Blood.
That's what covered the room after this lawn mower wielding shinigami obliterated the corpses head. The scent was intoxicating even through the cloth, and my eyes turned gold as this Ronald Knox fellow spoke with Sebastian about the rising corpses. I removed the cloth and relished in the scent. After such a long time without a decent meal, not even the slight scent of death could stop me from having my fun. But there was one thing that did stop me.
The whir of a motor and the grunting of Sebastian had me changing, ferociously attacking the shinigami who jumped backwards.
"Woah, another one? If the head were to get wind of this I'll be in a heap of overtime, and I'll totally pass on any overtime. So why don't you both just disappear?"
I was about to attack again, but Ciel called out.
"I'll go on ahead! Damon, leave this to Sebastian and come with me. We have to hurry!"
I looked solemnly at Sebastian who just nodded with a smirk. Rolling my eyes, I ran after Ciel who'd gone ahead and spotted someone coming up behind Ciel. By scent I knew who it was, but Ciel had his gun out and the adrenaline rolled off him in waves. If she did what I think she was going to do, he could potentially kill her so I ran between them and barked; stopping her and getting his attention.
"Lizzy? Why are you here?"
"I saw you run off so I followed you! I told you to wait, but you just disappeared. Why is Damon's dog here?…Oh yeah, this is your ca-"
She was cut off as Ciel covered her mouth and ordered her to go back to her aunt. She whined about it, but we had to leave her behind in order for her not to be caught up in all of this. I sniffed the floor, following the man's scent to the best of my abilities and we ended up in the freight storage.
I could smell the snakes so I knew Snake himself would be around here somewhere, which he was. It seems as though he wanted to share his food with his companions, but because the smell of serpent was so thick I wasn't able to sense Lizzy or the corpse that came up behind her.
Ciel grabbed her and pulled her out of the way, knocking down the lantern that illuminated the corpse. I stood fearlessly between them and the thing, growling lowly as I spoke to Ciel, making sure Lizzy didn't see my mouth moving.
"Master, this isn't the same corpse."
"Ryan revived another one? Snake, take care of Lizzy while I do something about the corpse! Snake? Hey, are you listeni-"
Snake was transfixed with something and I followed his gaze to discover something that would've caused me to pale if I wasn't in wolf form. Hundreds of caskets were chained to the ceiling and lining the walls. As the corpse in front of us began to move forward the coffins began to clank and rattle, breaking their bonds as the walking dead burst through the coffins.
"Run!"
Ciel, Lizzy, Snake and I all ran. I was staying towards the back to protect any stragglers, but we were surrounded. A particular carcass went after Lizzy and Ciel shot it in the head, instantly killing it. He looked around and spotted the tall pile of luggage where Lizzy would be safe.
"Snake, take Lizzy to the top of the luggage, quick!"
He did as Ciel asked as Ciel began shooting as many of the things as he could. I wanted to help, but with Lizzy there I couldn't change into my larger form unless Ciel said it was okay, and trying to fight these things in my smaller form would only endanger myself. I was about to tell him this, but I was interrupted as a corpse came too close to Ciel for comfort.
"Ciel behind you!"
It was centimeters from touching him when I attacked the corpse, biting down hard on it's jugular while trying desperately to break its neck as it clawed at me. When I finally achieved that, I noticed the other corpses were occupied with the snakes and Ciel being lifted up to the top of the luggage. I too began to climb up, but the nails of one of them tore into my back ankle until I shook it off, just barely making it to the top of the boxes where I laid down and licked my wound.
"Seems like they can't climb up here."
But why?
"They have little intelligence and no sense of pain."
Right, because if they did, they'd fight off the snakes and climb the stairs.
"The only thing left is their hearing. If they rely on their ears we may be able to distract them with a sound."
Snake threw the left over plate that he had, but they didn't so much as flinch. Suddenly, the crates we were on began shaking violently as the carcasses chewed and clawed their way into the luggage.
"Snake can't you stop them?"
"Not with this many, says Oscar!"
"Damon?"
I glanced at him calmly with a slight smirk on my wolfish face as Lizzy freaked out and asked the fated question.
"Damon's here?"
Ciel's face lit up knowingly as he held Lizzy close, glaring at me and my calm demeanor.
"C-Ciel!"
"It's okay. I'll definitely protect you at least! No matter what!"
"How admirable, Young Master."
Knives flew from the stairs where Sebastian was waiting and I could only sigh.
"It's about time you got here. I couldn't do anything with Lizzy watching."
"Well, isn't about time you got serious? The Young Master is covering her, and I can't have my Master being killed because of your negligence, Damon."
"Don't stand about, clean them up already!"
"As you wish."
"That's my line."
"It's not very stylish, but if destroying their heads is enough then I guess this is the fastest way."
The moment he slammed the head into the ground with that sadistic smirk, I lost it; jumping into the crowd and changing fully to join him in the obliteration. I didn't care at this point if Lizzy saw me, I was so lost in the heat of the moment that nothing was stopping me from downright killing them as well if they got in my way. Snake, Lizzy, and Ciel's fear all combined with the blood that was being splattered across the floor sent me into a frenzy, until I was stopped with one word.
"Damon."
The corpses were all destroyed, but adrenaline still pulsed throughout my body causing me to shake with excitement as I looked crazily around the room, where I locked eyes with Sebastian. I froze, watching silently as my heart began to slow, his steady gaze calming the rush within me. I changed back to my smaller form, limping as my weight rested on my injured ankle. Sebastian addressed Ciel and a quick change of gloves later, the small group was back on the blood covered floor.
"Couldn't you have done it with a little more elegance? Just like a beast."
I tuned them out as I tried to keep my instincts under control, just as I caught sight of something from the corner of my eye. Ryan was making a break for it and I couldn't allow that to happen. I snuck over and grabbed the man's pant leg in my jaw, growling loudly to alert the others to his presence.
"It would be good to ask him."
"Ryan Stoker!"
He began mumbling a bunch of nonsense, kicking me rather harshly in the side of the face as he tried to get away. I saw a glint in Sebastian's eyes as he came over an held the man's arm in a painful position.
"You shouldn't have injured my pup. I might have taken actual pity on you if otherwise. Besides, there is no need for you to be in such a hurry. There is plenty of time before we reach New York, so we'll listen to your story leisurely."
"Oh? You actually care. That'd be sweet, if you weren't about to kill our information source."
He relaxed his grip slightly at my thoughts as the man spilled the fact that he stored ten times the amount of corpses in the other freight storage. I sniffed the air and mentally frowned, limping over to Ciel trying to pull him towards the stairs.
"Damon! I don't have time to deal with you right now! Sebastian, take my aunt and the others to a safe place."
"But sir-"
"I have Damon, Snake, and a gun. I'll be safe for a while. Come back as soon as you're sure they're safe."
"Certainly."
"Now then, tell me everything and be brief. I'm not very patient."
I scoffed at this, causing him to glare menacingly at me before getting some answers from Ryan. He had a machine up in his room that would stop the movements of the corpses so that was where we were heading. Ciel continued to ask questions to Ryan, but one question caught my attention.
"What is the purpose of carrying all these guinea pigs to America?"
The man had to be threatened before he gave us any answers, but what he gave us intrigued me. Being a demon had it's benefits. I've been alive for a while and knew how human's minds worked. If a company bought this technology, like Ryan said, they were probably planning a war.
And these things would do it too. They feel no pain and are nearly impossible to kill. The perfect indestructible soldier.
"Snake, remove your snake from Ryan. It's best if we pretend to be his comrades."
The loud sounds of the engine room had me practically deaf, but that didn't stop me from snickering when Ciel was forced to do that stupid pose again. His face was red as a tomato and he purposely kicked me when we headed to the elevator.
"God damn, that hurt."
"Damon. Language."
"Seriously? When we get out of here you better teach Ciel a thing or two as well."
"Ah, I'll never understand humans."
"Something up?"
"Lady Frances and her family. They did nothing but waste my time claiming they can protect themselves when I could be helping Young Master."
"Right, cause I'm useless. Che."
I stumbled when something rocked the ship and sea water flooded the engine room where we were at. I tried my best to get through the water, but the salt burned my ankle and being in wolf form was less than appropriate at the moment. Lizzy was having a hard time as well with the heavy dress on and we nearly got left behind as the flood gates closed.
"This is why I never wear dresses. Stupid things only drag you down."
"Damon, keep an eye on the Young Master. He has asthma and I don't need him dying under your care."
"Of course. Think about his well being. I'm fine by the way."
He never responded back so I paddled my way over to Ciel, searching for any escape route. I spotted the air duct above and limped up the stairs, barking to alert Ciel to my plan. I focused my energy to get up the rest of the stairs and ignored Ciel's little argument with Lizzy, until I heard him cough. I stopped what I was doing, shaking as much water as I could from myself before resting against Ciel's side trying to keep him warm as I heard his breathing change.
Eventually, we managed to climb into the duct with one of Snake's snakes leading the way. Ciel wanted to go first and I wouldn't leave Lizzy in the back, so when Ciel fell through the other side of the vent I couldn't do a thing. I listened for the impact, but heard none as Sebastian's smell wafted up through the vent. I relaxed as he helped Lizzy out and jumped down myself, yelping as I rolled my ankle on the ground.
"Aw, I almost forgot about Damon's dog! Sebastian, she hurt her leg protecting us, can you help her?"
"Of course, Milady."
He knelt down next to me and I glared, turning my head away from him in anger. Not half a second later, I was pinned to the floor as he grabbed my ankle harshly, forcing me to yelp again. He smirked at my obvious pain, but wrapped up my ankle with a torn piece of table cloth before rising and offering his coat to a sneezing Ciel. Just as he began to lead us away, my ears picked up a small sound coming from above us.
"Sebastian! The shinigami!"
He immediately looked up as Grell and Ronald Knox came down with part of the ceiling.
"Long time no see, Sebas-chan~! It must be fate for us to meet again!"
"Just a coincidence."
"Just the guy I didn't want to deal with, idiot."
"Now, now, Sebas-chan. You should indulge him just a bit, no?"
I just sat back with Ciel and watched as he began his fight against Grell. Ciel turned to me as I absent mindedly cleaned my front paw, double checking that Lizzy wasn't listening.
"Why aren't you helping him, Damon?"
"Why should I? He purposely hurt me for his own amusement and didn't bother to care at all about my welfare, being too focused on your orders. 'Sides, he'll be fine. It's not that hard to take care of Grell."
I somehow shrugged my shoulders, but froze when I saw Grell cutting through the side of the ship. Water poured in and I was shoved back into the wall with Ciel, Lizzy unconscious in front of us.
"Lizzy!"
He struggled to move as I shook my head to clear my dizziness. The scent of death hit me in the face, clearing that instantly just as a group of walking dead headed towards Lizzy. I managed to get up and decapitate a few, Ciel shooting a couple also, but there were too many. Teeth sank into my shoulder and back and I yelped, closing my eyes in pain just as I was dropped to the floor. Lizzy had put a sword through the head of the corpse that had a hold of me before.
"It's about time…"
"Damon, you knew about this?"
"She never smelled of fear…only of perseverance and sorrow."
Lizzy continued to defeat the carcasses one after another, but it was when she went after Grell, Sebastian stopped her and knelt at her feet to apologize.
"A demon apologizing…never thought I'd see the day."
I struggled desperately to stand and managed to get to Ciel, curling up against him to keep him warm, since I could still hear the slight raggedness in his breathing. The best part was, when Sebastian went to finish off the reapers, Ciel stopped him.
"We have no time to worry about them! Ryan holds the keys to everything! Follow him!"
That got Ronald's attention as he began flipping through his book. He was going to die. They left and Ciel tried to stand, but even I knew that wouldn't be possible in his condition. Lizzy offered to carry him too until she had yet another break down, thoroughly embarrassing Ciel which managed to get actual laughter from Sebastian.
I stood up gingerly as Sebastian picked Ciel up, catching the scent of Snake as he came forward with no Ryan in sight. Snake knelt down to me with sorrow filled eyes and asked if I was okay. I discretely nodded and as our small group made it's way up to the deck, I managed to sneak away and change back into my human form making it to the hall and spotting none other than Ryan trying to make his escape.
"Damn, it's already tipping. Where in the hell-"
The boat lurched sideways and just as he was about to fall to his death, I grabbed a hold of his leg, falling over the side as well thanks to my ankle injury. Luckily, I was caught. Unfortunately, I was caught by my injured ankle by Grell, and hanging upside down allowed gravity to pull my shirt and coat up and over the bandages and possession mark. Wonderful.
"A woman? With my Sebby!"
"Sebastian, your boyfriend's seriously needs to get a hobby."
"Are you talking about Grell? And why?"
"Let's just say my secret could very just be the death of me."