Breaking the Web

Okay, folks. I'm not feeling great and I really want to get through this chapter. I'll put an effort, but don't expect a masterpiece.

Moving on

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'A hand plunging into Alliahnna's chest. Terror frozen to her dying eyes.' Sebastian was rooted in mid-stride on a dirt road. "Alliahnna!" Abject horror widened his eyes. He spun around to the road he and Grell recently traveled. The Trancy Manor was just on the other side of those hills. Within those Hellish halls, his Master and Lady are being subjected to a fate most foul. And just now, something terrible has befallen his beloved.

"No…" Shaky breaths escaped his throat. His trembling hands lifted, stretching to grasp at the girl he can sense fading into the eternal blackness. "She can't be…" Sebastian refuses to accept it. This isn't possible. Alliahnna can't be...dying. The urge to race back to her side pulled at his legs. To abandon the village he and Grell sought to expunge answers behind the Trancy Mystery and race to her side. But he cannot. He cannot leave this mission when he is so close to finding answers. The secrets within the webs Claude has sewn will be the key to rescuing both Ciel and Alliahnna. And he will do so. Without fail. "Please...My Lady...hold on."

xxx

Days always seem to drag on tumultuously lately. Nights being the final stretch before the new day dawn are worse. The tension polluting the air choking those wanting to proceed to a draw in a single breath. Turmoil and drama wrapping its coils to the legs to slow them. Strife and opposition constantly sprouting in the direct path. Attempts to make the next day arrive were moving at a sluggish pace. Reasons to move aren't even valid. It's all becoming too much. It's not worth it anymore. The easiest thing to do would be to lie down and let the days pass by without a single care. Yes. That would be preferable. Too bad foolish family pride won't allow it.

Ciel won't allow it to end this way. Not when his ultimate goal is close at hand. Whatever that goal is now. Alois is dead. The madman suspected to be behind his parent's death is gone. Now there is just Sebastian whom he must deal with. And there is the matter of Alliahnna he must attend. He is convinced she knows more than she is divulging. What fate truly befell Alois. Did Ciel kill him with his own two, shaking hands? Or was it the hands of another who have slain him? And these foreign demons calling him Master and waiting on him hands and foot - what are they on about? Is it a ploy? Are they allied with Sebastian? So much confusion. His mind is tearing itself apart trying to paste it in a proper order. He needs rest. He needs to clear his thoughts. Tomorrow should-

"GAH…!" Ciel threw a brush. CRASH! The bathroom mirror shattered. Hannah was rooted in place with abject dismay by his brash outburst. The adrenaline in Ciel's thin veins was buzzing, firing on all cylinders, heaving from his mouth in a fire.

"YOUNG MASTER! Whatever's wrong?!" Claude his hands to the slender young man.

"I thought I saw him…" Ciel breathlessly replied, backing away. "I thought Alois was in the mirror!"

"Master! Are you hurt?!" Claude inspected him for wounds. The boy was as immaculate as he arrived. Not a single graze on him.

"No. I'm alright…" Ciel reassured him solemnly. Hannah and Claude arrived. Ciel was perturbed he didn't see his beloved sister fretting over him. The crash was loud enough to reach the ears of those on the other side of the world. "Where is Alliahnna? I wish to speak with her!" He demanded. She can at least bother to come check on him.

"Lady Alliahnna, Lord? Has she not returned?" Claude gasped with false ignorance. Hannah caught the smile he was trying to hide.

"What do you mean returned?" Ciel snapped at him. Claude adored the daggers that can shred the mountains in his glares. "Has Alliahnna left the manor?"

"Forgive me, Lord. I assumed she would have told you." Claude professed with a swift bow. The gleam across his glasses obscured the phantom victory making them glow. "Lady Alliahnna, I'm afraid, has left the manor, My Lord. She departed earlier in the evening."

"WHERE?" Ciel roared. First she abandons him during their walk. Now she takes it upon herself to leave without so much as a word to him. Who does she think she is? He's the Head of the Family! He's the master! She cannot act however she pleases because she has the power to! "Where has Alliahnna gone?"

"My Lord…" Claude sank somberly, curling his lips so he would not be forced to speak.

"Answer me, Claude! Where has Alliahnna gone?"

Feigning woeful reluctance, Claude exhaled. "As I knew she would, Young Master…" He looked Ciel in the eye, wanting to watch the boy closely, "Lady Alliahnna is returning to the Phantomhive Manor. To Sebastian."

"She what?!" Ciel snarled. Absolute rage twisted his brow. Just the reaction Claude hoped for. "What do you mean she's going back to him?! I don't believe you!"

"I know this pains you to hear, Lord! But I am afraid it is true." Claude knelt to one knee, a hand over his heart. "You heard her words previously. She is still carries powerful feelings for the demon."

Ciel growled through his gritted. In his mind he refused to believe Claude. That Alliahnna would willingly leave him to go be with that wretch. After everything he's done. After the pain he has caused them. Yet, in his heart, he cannot stifle the feeling that this was the motive behind he abrupt exit. "Why did you not stop her?!" He frothed at the proving to be incompetent demon.

"Lady Alliahnna is far more elusive than I ascertained she would be. She eluded my grasp, and turned a deaf ear to my plights."

"She cannot go near him!" Ciel was shaking with rage. "My orders-"

"Forgive me, My Lord! But your orders were for SEBASTIAN to not approach. Vice versa does not apply to Lady Alliahnna." Claude stressed the loophole in Ciel's orders. This made him seethe. "And, forgive me for saying also, Lady Alliahnna is still too infatuated with the demon. His sins aside, she loves him with all her heart." Claude lowered his head apologetically. "I am truly sorry."

Ciel bit his lip, close to breaking the skin. That's why! That's why she took off in such a hurry. Why she has be behaving so distracted and distant? And he hostility towards those who saved them. It all made perfect sense. And here he thought she had one of her famous epiphanies, or discovered a means to help further their agenda. No. She's gone back to the side of that traitor.

"Let us see you off to bed." Claude insisted. It was late in the night. "Hannah! Clean this up at once. I will see the Young Master to-"

"No! Leave it!" Ciel barked venomously. Heat was pooling past his teeth. He startled Claude and Hannah by kicking shards under a table. The smallest gash never so much as blemished his perfect skin. A shame. Claude was looking forward to tasting him. "Leave this mess! I wish for Hannah to see me off to bed!"

"Hannah, Lord?" Claude gasped with utter confusion. He's always been the head butler of the manor. To always be by the Master's side whilst the others engaged in arduous activities throughout the manor. Instead...Hannah is requested? What's brought this on? "I want you to find Alliahnna and bring her to me at once!" Claude was taken aback by Ciel's orders. Finding Alliahnna will be problematic. He was about to protest when Ciel roared again, "I don't care if you have to kill Sebastian! I want her here! Now! Do you understand!"

"Yes, My Young Lord." Claude dutifully acquiesced with a bow.

"Good! Hannah!" Ciel motioned a hand, meandering out the door. Hannah followed after him. She cast a sly grin at the distraught Claude, then she closed the door behind her.

Claude lingered in the humiliation floating in the silence. He has, for the first time in his career, been replaced by an underling. "What's this...Hannah!" Claude growled under his breath. She may fool the Young Master. But she cannot fool him. There is a new set of fangs sinking into Young Ciel.

xxx

(Alliahnna POV)

'A dark, desolate space. Not the smallest traces of light converged. The cobwebs rife all around, housing sacks of newborns waiting to be born. Spiders greedily devouring a gaping wound in a chest. Sneaking their way inside, tearing at the jagged flesh, digging for the heart. Their pincer fangs gnawing and ripping at patches of skin. Muscle, bone, and marrow swallowed hole, providing the spiders the sustenance to breed and multiply in the dozens on the spot. '

This scent. I know it well. The scent of rotting flesh in stagnant air. The odor that exhumes from a corpse as the elements begin to return the mortal coiling vessel to the earth from whence it came. Just before the scavengers comes to consume what has yet to be reclaimed. The wolves will pry the flesh from the bones. The insects will burrow inside, and will nest in what is left. Or they too shall eat the vessel they have found. I think...I think those creatures are starting with me. I can feel their tiny legs crawling over me. Feel their teeth ripping into me. Though I can feel them devouring me...I cannot feel any sort of pain, or discomfort. But why? Why have they come for me? I am not dead or dying...am I?

Drip...drip...drip. This dripping. A form of lethargy has taken hold of me, therefore I am too exhausted to be frightened or dismayed. But the sound was enough to influence chills to scale my skin. Drip...drip...drip. I have heard this sound many a time before now. It is what comes when a body is left. Abandoned to unforgiving cycle of life. Drip...drip...drip. It is blood. My blood. Drip...drip...drip. The fatigue, the heaviness, and the inability to feel whatever is tearing at my body. I am bleeding out. But why? Why am I bleeding? Drip...drip...drip. Am…am I going to die?

"Only if you so desire."

You. You're still here?

"I will always be with you. Regardless if the mortal coil has vanished."

Heh-heh. You sound like him. Sebastian. He used to say, all the time, that no matter where the world takes me, he would always be there when I needed him. That, even if Hell were to sent its warriors to come and fetch me, he would stand against them, and protect me until his last breath. He kept true to his word. Just as he always has. Sebastian Michaelis - always truthful, faithful, loyal. The man that I grew to fall in love with, and am now hosting his child within me.

"If ever a pair of lovers had a complicated relationship, Romeo and Juliet have now taken second to you and Sebastian. Ha-ha-ha. I never imagined you both would be at arms with one another. Not like this. You both seemed inseparable."

I can't begin to fathom what made me believe he would ever harm me. No man would ever put up with someone in this situation if they didn't truly love them. Even whilst I feared him adamantly, and Ciel ordered him away, he stayed by my side. Waiting to whisk us away from the danger we put ourselves in.

"Which he could not do so long as Ciel's orders remained in place."

Ciel! Where is he? I have to see him! We're both in danger! For that matter, where am I? How have I not come to question my own whereabouts yet? I cannot move, it's painful to breathe, and I am bleeding profusely. What's happened to me? Who has done this to me? I can't remember. My head feels fuzzy. (Door creaking open.) What was that? A door? (Footsteps.) Someone is coming! Who? Is it the person who put me here? If so, I will enjoy rending his neck from his shoulders.

(POV End)

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The door at the top of the cellar stairs opened. Claude entered inside, checking to ensure neither Hannah nor the young master have come to follow him. An impatient nagging of the missing triplets prickled at the back of his mind, but he cast those thoughts aside for the moment. He has more pressing matters to deal with. It is best to deal with them now before the Young Master grows more suspicious than he already is.

Swiftly and quietly he closed the door behind him. The dim glow of a candelabra cast a funneled light down the stairs. Claude wasted no time descending the steep flight of stairs, entering the storage cellar. Minor memories of his previous adventures in this cellar brought on a small smirk. It was here where Young Ciel was kept safe and tucked away for Alois to possess. It was also here Sebastian Michaelis first launched his opposition against them. His Lady Demon at his heels, striving to flaunt her newfound powers and prove her might. What a naive and pathetic young girl she is. That pride has finally landed her in a spot from which she can never recover.

Meandering past the shelves housing the varieties of teas - a vacant spot where the new moon drop was once nestled - Claude happened upon a door obscured in a shadowed corner. For years it has gone unnoticed by the previous heirs. Alois himself wasn't even aware of the door's existence. A perfect place for a spider to conduct his private business.

Claude twisted the knob. The seal of the doorway cracked open, sprinkling worn splinters and caked on debris to the floor. As he entered the room, the candelabra's glow frightened a mass of spiders to their burrows beneath stacks of straw. Sticky moisture was coagulated and oozing from the creases in the brick, tiled walls. Claude set the candelabra to an old barrel. He adjusted his glasses, casting an hungry grin to the pool of crimson blood illuminated by the dull flames. In a casual stride he approached the pool, stopping just as the toes of his shoes came within an inch of it. As the darkness began to adjust to the candle's glow, white threads of strong webbing absorbed the light. Metallic strings anchored to the entirety of the wall, a body was hanging spread eagle, slumped over like a ragdoll without strings. The most taut of bonds were wrapped at the thighs and waist, securing the legs from effectively kicking out. The torso shared a similar fate, tightly restrained to the wall so the figure could not twist to freedom. Arms and legs, lifeless and heavy, were spread out to the brink of the joints popping out of place. Wiry, matted hair was clumped together by dried blood. Claude scrolled his malicious gaze up, chuckling at the pair of paling feet dangling lifelessly a couple feet above the pool. Thin trails of blood spiraled the ankles, leaking from the stained maroon pants. The black vest was hung open. The white undershirt stained permanently in abundantly spilling, drying blood. The spider feasting upon the hole in a chest made him tingle in eager anticipation. Finally, when he had drank his fill of his prey's pitiful state, Claude brought his golden orbs to the fading Alliahnna. The light leaving her eyes made him tingle anxiously. She seemed to acknowledge his presence. But the strain to scowl or so much as react was too much for her.

"Still alive, I see." Claude chuckled. She has been tucked away inside the cellar for several hours. He assumed she would be in rigor mortis by now. It would appear he's miscalculated in regards to her will once again. "I will give you this. You are tenacious. But even a demon's tenacity has it's limits." He can hardly call her a demon. She may have demonstrated impressive skill, but her adaptation into her new skin was severely lax. "It is a shame you did not choose to live in soundly in the dream I've granted you. Ciel seems quite taken with his new accommodations." A twinkle of light showed in her eyes at Ciel's name. Claude reached a hand to her wound, cradling a spider in his palm. "While your wound is not mortal, it will not be so easy for you to recover from. And my spiders," He held one to her dimming eyes, lightly brushing a finger to her cheek, "Shall ensure that a corpse is what will be presented to My Young Master. That is, if there is anything left." He chuckled, returning the spider to its feast.

Alliahnna merely hung in her bindings. She offered no words of protest, nor did she shape the smallest glare of fight in his direction. For the first time in years, there was nothing left within Alliahnna Phantomhive. Her fight was a fading flame in frigid air. Another strong breeze, and she will be snuffed out. Ciel, Sebastian, Elizabeth - those she has grown to love, care for, and protect will see her as a rotting corpse by the time she reemerges from the dark place Claude has hidden her. That is, if the spiders haven't completely decimated England by then.

Feeling that his work was finished with her, Claude picked up the candelabra and began to take his leave. The opening door brushed the last bit of fresh air over Alliahnna's skin that she would feel. Claude cast one more victorious grin at her. The threads of time which tangled the Trancy Manor have now abandoned the dying bat. The moment the door closed, the darkness swallowed Alliahnna. The isolation grew thick as Claude lengthened the distance.

xxx

Claude locked the door to the cellar, tucking the key inside his pocket. His spiders should make quick work of her. Much like their master, they are very thorough when cleaning up messes. If all proceeds as planned, he would return in the early morning. By then Alliahnna should be ready for disposal. Not a trace of her left to rouse any sort of suspicion. In the meantime, he will need to distract himself with work in order to span the time of his search. Master Ciel ordered him to locate his beloved sister. And so he has. But to return now would be detrimental to his plans. He was ordered to return with her. He cannot return with what won't be there by the morning. And Ciel never exactly said when he should return.

"The webs are closing in around." Claude purred, entering the hallway. "Soon, it will be time to feast."

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(Alliahnna POV)

Claude...that's right. Claude is the one...who brought me here. This wound in my chest, Claude snaring her in his web, plunging his hand through her back to her chest, he did this to me. UGH! My head is pounding like a drum. The harder I try to force myself to recount these previous moments, the more pain I inflict upon myself. No matter. This pain is nothing compared to what Ciel will suffer. No doubt Claude has created an alibi for my absence. Likely whispering lies in Ciel's ear, driving another wedge between us that he has assured himself we will never be able to remove. He may very well succeed. He's nothing if not resourceful. The proof is in my current predicament. I became wise to his deception, and I confronted him about it. He then tried to silence me. And I was brought here. Left to rot in this dungeon, be consumed by his pets until there is nothing left.

"Eaten alive by Spiders. Heh. Certainly not the way I expected you to go. Then again, Sebastian was supposed to be the one by Ciel's side at all times. Claude has effectively replaced him. All because Ciel's mind wasn't strong enough to resist the illusions brought before him."

An illusion. I wish that's all it was. Instead, we've helped the illusion in which we've immersed ourselves to blossom into a full nightmare.

"What do you mean?"

'Alliahnna's head lowered. Tears started to pool at the corners of her eyes.' Nine years ago...Hell arrived on the back of its hounds, and our very lives were robbed from us with hardly the utterance of a breath. Our homes was swallowed by flames. Our parents along with it. Caused by...by… 'Sebastian is clearly standing with the dead Rachael and Vincent. But that isn't right.' No...it wasn't Sebastian! That was a lie Claude created. It was...was... 'Sebastian's image starts to fade. His black clothes change white. His crimson eyes changed to purple. His hair turned white.' Ash Landers...and Angela Blanc. Fallen Angels bent on purifying the world murdered our parents.

"So you DO remember the truth?"

No call for sarcasm! I've always known the truth! Ash and Angela, along with Queen Victoria, were behind our parents' death. These old men belonging to the underworld abducted Ciel and defiled him. Sebastian may have been present during that time, but he kept himself hidden. The reason behind his cloak and dagger remain a mystery. If on orders by Ciel to stay hidden from me, he would have been able to walk right behind me and I never would have noticed. OH, what am I going on about? How LONG Sebastian has been part of our lives is a nuance! What matters is that he always stayed by us. Regardless if we trusted him or not.

"Then why believe the lie?"

I...I don't know. I guess...I'm torn.

"Torn how?"

After Ash took Ciel from me on the bridge, I was wasting away in my despair in Paris. For a whole year I barely ate, never slept, anyone who came to my door to speak with me was sent away. Constantly haunted by how I failed my brother and my parents. Hung by a noose of the worst kind of loneliness a person can feel. In a bubble I trapped myself. I kept everyone at bay. Never wanted to get close for fear the Phantomhive curse would just take them away. Then...Sebastian came. Much like the fire that stole everything, Sebastian was filling the whole within me with new life. Helping me to begin anew, and brave the world I cut myself off from.

"I'll wager becoming a demon wasn't how you envisioned reentering the world."

Not even close. Phoebus and Schneizel were certainly dismayed. True they smiled, laughed, made fun with and of me, and spent a majority of time with me. But I could see it in their eyes. The sadness of knowing one day I would either be gone from their lives, or would be stripped of what made me human. If I had my way, they would never have learned Sebastian and I were demons. My reasons for keeping them in the dark in the first place were purely selfish. I was worried they see me differently. Instead of the young girl Schneizel took in, they would see me as a monster. Or worse. They wouldn't see me as Alliahnna at all. I was driven to tears when they accepted me. But I wasn't fooled. I knew they were scared of me, Sebastian, Zanosuke, and Jasper. Fear is my speciality. I can spot it in a haze. Things that are beyond mortal comprehension usually are terrifying.

"Yet, in spite of that fear, they stayed. They fought alongside you, defended you, and raised you."

That they did. It's thanks to everyone Ciel and I were able to be reunited. Phoebus, Esmeralda, and Schneizel. Their lessons in politics and human interactions. The combat training, and their undying loyalty were vital to our survival. Mey-Rin, Bardroy, Finnian, and Mr. Tanaka. All of them, without the slightest inkling of what they were facing, stood by me and my family, fending against every enemy that dared to bring us harm. Even poor Elizabeth wanted to lend her aid at the cost of her life. So much has happened that has caused us all to grow. Mentally and Physically we've all matured and risen to new heights. Sebastian and I battled angels, took on both his brother and father, faced countless dangers. Nothing could withstand our might. And still, regardless of everything we'd faced before now, nothing could have prepared us for this.

"Yes. Much was risked in order to reach Ciel on Demon Island. Sebastian reinitiated their old contract so that he may claim Ciel's soul. Too bad neither of you thought to watch out for spiders." 'The sorrow becomes too much for Alliahnna. She begins to sob heavily, succumbing the failure looming over her head.' "Alliahnna?"

How could we have let it come to this? How did this all fall to Hell so fast? Everything the three of us worked so hard to build is falling apart right before our eyes! These past nine years fighting for our lives, climbing to the top of the corpses we've laid - its as if Claude pulled the rug out from under us, and he is now watching us fall. Admiring his victory from his throne made of spiders.

"Hasn't it fallen apart before?"

Yes. But not like this. At least...back then...there was a chance to rebuild. Ciel and I, during what were his last moments of life, reconciled for our past grievances and forgave each other. In that one moment, before it seemed as if the eternal sleep would claim him, we cast aside what drove us apart and mended our bond. Sebastian...we've been at war with one another hundreds of times. We've clawed at each other's throats. And yet, in our heated disputes, we've managed to reparate one another in some way. From apologies to...well...I am still too bashful to speak of our nightly escapades.

"You need not go into detail on those. I am well aware of your 'passionate' rendezvous. Hee-hee. Those are the nights I think I will explode. The love shared between the both of you is overwhelming."

It was. Thinking on them reignites a fire in me. Makes me crave his touch. A funny thing to yearn for in my current situation. The warmth emanating from his strong arms as they wrapped around me was enough to to send me over the edge. To describe how safe I felt in his arms would take longer than what I have been left with. Nothing in this world or the next could pry us apart, nor could it hurt us. The thickest of wedges would crumble in our presence, and cower whenever they would try to drive us apart. And when we kiss...I would melt in his heat. He has a sour exterior, but he tastes sweeter than any treat I've had. Our most carnal of desires would consume us. Our lust exhuming from every pore in our bodies. For hours we would taunt, tease, and tempt one another. It felt as if we were falling in love all over again. Never were our nights boring. Sebastian...was never boring.

"Ciel wasn't boring either. Even when you were kids, he was always creating precarious situations for the two of your. What did he call it? Bringing the adventure to an adventureless world?"

Yeah. Ha-ha. Whether it was in our backyard or in the town, Ciel would long to go on the adventures he read about in our children's books. The Tales of Springheel Jack always excited him. That was our favorite game to play as children. We would both take turns pretending to be Springheel Jack. The object of the game was to find the other who was hiding and snatch their soul away. The foreshadowing irony. We'd always play it at night when our parents were asleep. It made the game feel more...real than when we played during the day. Made our little hearts pound knowing it would be too late by the time we found one another. We'd hide in cupboards, under the floors and beds - anywhere we could fit, we would hide. Even as children we enjoyed the night. It held no terror for us. Just adventure. Ciel hid himself in the attic once inside a small box. Took me hours to find him. And when I did, we were having another adventure with a toyset we'd found.

"You two were always so close. To think it only took a fire and your parents' death in order to break you apart."

It didn't break us apart. We just...weren't mature enough to know how to handle it. Remember, we were only ten when our parents passed. Before that, our parents were our whole world. They taught us how to behave, alerted us when our meals were ready, praised us for our successes and scolded us when we misbehaved. When we'd scuff our knees, mother would place a spell and kiss the pain away. When we were sad because of bullies, father would cheer us up with old stories. Storms would terrify us out of bed, and they would flee to the safety of their parents. Never did we feel safer than when our parents held us. No evil could pass those barriers. Not the Queen's, not the criminal underworld's, not even Hell itself. At the time...our parents were invincible. Gods. No matter who came after them, both our mother and father would fight back with every ounce of strength they possessed and chase those malcontents back to the sewers they crawled out of.

"It is obvious where you and Ciel get it from. They would be proud of the both of you."

Would they? I sincerely doubt that. Because, as I sit here and be devoured by insects, Ciel is being deceived by demons. Just as Alois said he was. Being tenderized for when they finally sink their fangs into him. I shudder to think what Claude is doing to him right now.

"Or Hannah."

(POV End)

xxx

The late night hour was drawing closer to midnight. Ciel lied wide awake in his bed, lost in rampant thought as he stared blankly at the ceiling. His rings and eye patch were discarded to the table beside his bed, warmed by the fresh candles chasing the darkness back. He would close his eyes to try and will himself to sleep. Horrid thoughts on Alliahnna, Sebastian, and Alois would jolt him awake. Make him writhe and churn under the covers. They have been doing so for the past couple of hours. Where are they? What has become of them? What are they plotting?

Question after question, suspicions rousing, and anger boiling his blood. Ciel can feel his own body trying to tear itself apart. Was Alois really dead? Was Ciel the one that killed him? Why did he see him in the mirror? And Alliahnna. Has she really gone back to the Manor? To Sebastian? Why? Doesn't she realize she has signed her death warrant? Does she...love Sebastian more than she does her own brother?

Hannah was able to sense his inner turmoil. She hadn't moved from her place to the side of his bed the entire night. She watched him closely, waited for him to find comfort to fall asleep. It would not be granted to him. Ciel was too torn up inside to sleep. Too much was on his mind to allow him to peacefully closed his eyes. It pained her in a way. He was so frustrated in the gardens earlier. Only be accident was he calmed. She wished to help him. In any way she can.

"Has Claude returned yet?" Ciel decided to be briefed since he can't sleep.

"Not yet, Master. And there has been no word of his progress, either." Hannah regretted to inform him. In the back of her mind she pondered the whereabouts of Canterbury, Thompson, and Timber. With the exception of the morning, she has not laid one eye on those three all day.

"Where on earth could he be? And Alliahnna!" Ciel frothed at the mouth. "What does she think she's doing going back to the manor?! Back to...him!"

"My Lord…" Hannah moaned. She sat on her knees, leaning close to him to listen to his plights. "I am certain she will return in the morning, Master." She caressed his forehead, trying to help ease him asleep. "Now please, Lord. You must rest. You look weary."

"I feel weary…" Ciel groaned, touching his forehead. "I wonder...if that is what came over me moments ago." Seeing Alois in the mirror. Perhaps he is weary from the day. His mind is playing tricks on him. Ciel hissed at him frail mind, throwing himself upright in frustration. "I hate this mansion! I want to go home! Go with Alliahnna!"

"To the Phantomhive Estate?" Hannah added.

Ciel shook his head. He wanted to be as far away from there as possible. Far away from the painful memories it houses. "I just want...things to go back...to the way they were." Before demons entered his life, before his parents were killed. He wants to go back to when he and Alliahnna were happy. To when they both could wake up in the morning and know that the day was theirs to seize. Instead of falling asleep at night knowing only despair awaited them. In the midst of her fret, Ciel found comfort in Hannah deep cerulean eye. "Your eye is an odd color. I can't explain it. It's nostalgic, somehow." He cupped a hand to her cheek, running his thumb under the mystifying eye.

Hannah leaned to his soft palm, placing her hand to his. "Master…" She purred, holding his hand gently as she removed it. "Watch closely, and I'll show you something." She pointed to her lips. Her mouth opened inhumanly wide. Ciel froze with horror. Her mouth like an abyss. Peering inside that abyss, Ciel saw a large ball moving inside her mouth. It was squirming around on red veins. The ball spun around, opening as a bloodshot eyeball.

Ciel's coloring melted away. His stomach churned to knots as the eye locked onto him. He was choking on the air as he tried not to scream. WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS? He was looking directly at it. He was staring at the eye. Yet...he could see himself. See his own petrified expression. IS THAT...ME?!

xxx

"AAAHHH..."

"Ciel?" Alliahnna's cracked throat drearily rasped. Was it her imagination? Are her grave wound causing her to hear what she fears is transpiring? Ciel being tortured and tormented by the demons in his company. Possibly. And there is nothing she can do to save him. She's failed. She failed her brother, her parents, Sebastian - everyone.

"GYYAAHH..."

That wasn't her imagination. The second scream flooded her ears. Electricity prickled her spine, jolting her body back to life. The light reignited in her eyes. Breath accessed her throat and she screamed, "CIEL!"

The spiders were agitated by her screams, furiously tearing at her body. The gaping wound in her chest left her temporarily numb to their vicious scavenging. Alliahnna was mentally aware of them. Fully aware that they were feasting upon her like maggots to a rotting sheep's corpse. Though was present set on escaping her prison. Alliahnna was pulling at her restraints in desperation. The threads cutting into her flesh, squeezing reserves of blood her body direly tried to replenish. She was becoming dizzy. Her vision was blurring on and off. The fatigue was tightening in a vice to her, coaxing her to fall unconscious where she was tied.

"Ciel! What's happening to you?! Is Claude hurting you?!" Panic was gripping her. Her heart, what's hasn't been scarred by the spiders, was pounding like a drum. Ciel was in danger. Something terrible was happening to him. He needs her. She needs to get to him. She needs to save him.

"You have to get to him! If you don't...Claude will..." Alliahnna was taken aback, unnerved by her persistent voice's decision to suddenly go quiet. She's usually so gungho about Alliahnna continuing her fight. This new take on silence baffled her. "Then again, why bother?" Alliahnna's heart sank. "Claude already has his claws in Ciel. Sebastian isn't going to be able to save him without violating his orders." Order. The leash to all demons under servitude. To violate the orders strictly given would bring a stain to their name, and shame them for the eternity they live. "That's all that matters to a demon in the end. All that grants them a reason for existing." Alliahnna began to sink miserably, finding merit in the voice's words. "If Sebastian were here, there is nothing he can do without tarnishing his name and reputation as one Hell of a butler."

"So...that's it?" Alliahnna shook, tears streaming down her cheek. Her fingers balled into fists. Despair glossed her watering eyes. "Ciel's...going to be…" She couldn't bear to say it. By Claude's filthy mouth, Ciel's soul is going to be devoured. A Hell of a feast made out of boy so broken and irresolute. What is to be left over meant to taunt Sebastian.

"Claude, Hannah, the Triplets - one of them is going to tear Ciel apart. And then they'll discard him like trash." Alliahnna lowered her head. This cannot be how it ends. After coming so far, can she really just lie down and let these events come to pass. "I guess, in the end, not all stories are meant to have peaceful endings." No… "Claude and Alois are going to get their wish." No… "Ciel will become the claimed prize, and Sebastian will be made to suffer...while you become nothing more than remains meant to be absorbed back into the earth."

There was a spark within her. "NO!" Her crimson orbs ignited into a blazing pink. Enough with this pitiful talk of defeat. "This will not stand! I won't let it!" She balled her fingers into fists. A thin layer of energy emanated from her shoulders to her head. "Ash, Angela, Alois, Claude - too much has been taken! Too many lost! The sacrifices that were made to bring us here will not be in vain!" The band tying her hair broke. Her long hair floated in swaying ripples by her profusely seeping energy. "I have not survived the past decade to lie down and die in a pit like this!"

A dark sapphire aura percolated as a mist from her body. The spiders ceased their feast, tapping their pincers anxiously at the malicious energy. Piecing from the flowing aura, bats took form, warish screechings filling the air as they snatched the spiders from her wound. Sickening crunches made a sinister smile appeared on her lips. Flakes and legs sprinkled to the ground. "Leg by leg, I will tear these spiders apart! Slowly, letting each of my fingers burrow into their flesh, I will rip their veins from their muscles, and drink their blood!" Steadily the thin, pulsating streams spiraled to the threads spreading her limbs. The mist coated to the thickets at her torso, thighs, biceps, and neck. "I will plunge them all into the heart of their darkest nightmares, feast upon their most horrid of fears, as I watch them toil in agony. Just as my brother, Sebastian, and I have for so long!" Like Ash before them, Alliahnna will have Claude and his spiders writhing beneath her, begging for her to end their lives as they are enveloped in the terrors that leave them lying awake at night. "Laughter into screams!" She uttered as her fangs grew. Snaps of the threads popped shrilly. "Dreams into nightmares!" The mist glazed to the whole of her wound, sealing the damage from the inside out. "Delights into fears!" Color, or the healthy lack thereof, returned to her snowy skin. "Porcelain white into Crimson red!" Dark grey jagged scar like marks radiating with red drew themselves out on her skin. Two rose from her chin, stretching over her cheeks. The points touching just under the eyelids. One came down her forehead, stopping between her eyes. She flexed her limbs. The threads all broke at once. She landed to a crouch, slowly climbing to stand erect. "That...is what...makes me…THE DEMON OF PHANTOMHIVE!"

xxx

Claude's rounds about the manor were brought to a halt by a strange tension in the air. From the center of the foyer, he sensed a malignant presence rising. The strength and fury rivaling - or belonging to - a demon. An impetuous and immature essence. This can only belong to...He hummed pensively, glancing toward his feet and for the cellar beneath him. He arched a perturbed brow, wondering if his spiders are having trouble with their meal. Perhaps it would be pertinent for him to see to his little pest problem himself. Three knocks at the door diverted his attention. He growled in the back of his throat. Always interruptions when he's in the middle of something important. Etiquette dictates he must answer, regardless of current dealings. Granted, Claude was baffled by the strange energy amassing, but he cannot ignore a guest at the door. It would be terrible manners.

When Claude answered the knock, he was bewildered. He extended a candelabra, illuminating the lower half of the darkened veranda in an orange glow. There was no one there. Perhaps a prank. Claude meandered out further to investigate. There were no guests present. Not surprising at this late hour. Imagine his surprise to find a raven lurking at the door.

"What a surprise." He scoffed complacently. "I thought you were spying from a distance. But here you are at the front entrance."

The flickering glow of the candels revealed a sneaky demon lurking in the corner of the door's main entrance. Ironically, he was sprawled like a bat wanting to roost for the night. "My Young Master's orders were specific. He instructed me to stay out of HIS sight." Sebastian stressed the loop hole. "It's certainly no violation of his orders if it's only you that's seeing me."

"And what of his other order?" Claude crooned menacingly. He turned his head a half inch, allowing his smug smirk to be seen. "The one forbidding you from approaching the lovely Lady Alliahnna."

"Still not a violation. I have not approached her in anyway." Sebastian clenched his jaw at the blatant taunt. His tolerance of Claude's joviality has long passed. "But you've approached her. Constantly!" There was a smile creeping to his lips. The abject rage was twisting his face. "I can smell her on you even now. A perfume to hide the repugnant stench you exude."

"Such biting words…" Claude feigned offence. "Though I completely understand the attraction." He turned to fully grant the clever demon his attention. "An impetuous and pestering girl, though she is. Being engulfed in those razor irises of hers is very intoxicating." Claude blushed in adulation, hugging himself. "The feel of her soft skin is absolutely blissful. And her words - the ferocity in which her silver tongue lashes out - simply exquisite..." He moaned in ecstasy, stroking his fingers down his stomach toward his tingling manhood.

Sebastian's bangs masked the rabid rage glossing them. He has heard enough. Stealing his master - his dinner - and taking pleasure in his service is one thing. But to blatantly revel in laying his disgusting hands on his woman is completely unacceptable. He jumped from his perch, swaying his body side to side as he rose to his feet. Claude was intrigued by what the demon planned to do from there on in. Not that there is much he can do without alerting his master of his presence.

"Now then…" Sebastian sighed impatiently. He removed the blood rose from his pocket, bringing the rotting blossom to his nose. Hints of Alliahnna were soaked in the petals. "I came tonight to return this to you." A flick of his wrist and the flower was tossed into the air. Claude attention was distracted by the flying blossom. In that one instant Sebastian vanished. From thin air a punch sharply drove between Claude's ribs, decimating the falling flower to petals, and sent the demon skipping to a painful stop in the courtyard.

The punch certainly knocked the wind out of him. Sebastian's lust for games has been quelled. Claude may actually be choking on blood. "Another...surprise…" He grunted, shaking off the devastating blow. The climb to his feet was a little strenuous. "A demon terminating a contract is a most unusual occurrence."

"I'M-terminating-nothing! YOU broke the contract first!" Sebastian hurtled the blame where it properly resided. Nothing disgusts him more than a demon setting blame upon another. "We swore to defer our battle over the Young Master's soul until it was FULLY cultivated! That is until after he has had his revenge!" The blood they exchanged on the roses was confirmation of that pact. "Our agreement was to use each other for our mutual benefit until such a time!" Instead, Claude has turned the tables for his own benefit, effectively whisking both his Master and Lady from under him. "Nowhere in that agreement was Alliahnna meant as an added prize!"

"My, my. What's this?" Claude removed his rose, showing sebastian the tiny mites at the stem. "These spider mites have discolored the leaves." Therefore, Claude's part of the agreement wasn't as binding. Leaving him with the liberty to do as he pleases when he chose to. "It seems that my rose was infested all along. Regrettable turn of events." He feigned discontent. The flower grayed in decay, piecing away in the gently flowing wind.

"Indeed...now both roses are DEAD!" Sebastian growled. The anticipated storm has finally arrived.

"The contract is terminated." Claude happily announced, folding his glasses into his pocket. He took his stance, extending a hand toward Sebastian and the heavens that will hear him. "Hear me now! Come Hell or high water I will devour Ciel Phantomhive's soul!" He lowered the hand toward Sebastian, welcoming act two of their dance to the death. "I now understand there is far more than just its superior flavor!"

Sebastian secured his glove. This spider will know what it means to defy a Demon of the Phantomhive's. "And what of Alliahnna?" He grumbled. "What do you intend to do with her?"

"As I said," Claude licked his lips, "Whether she loves me or not," He locked sharp golden eyes to Sebastian's rippling crimson, "I will relish in her body as she tries to squirm free of my web, and then leave her carcass where we can feast upon her until our heart's' content." He closed his fingers, crushing the very personification of Alliahnna in his palm. Claude shot a hand up, catching a fist meant for his cheek. The strength packed inside sent shocks reverberating through his arm. He chuckled smugly, relishing in Sebastian's faltering composure. The swell of the pink, demonic glow in his eyes, his fangs protruding with his animal growl. The famed Phantomhive Butler was falling apart. All for his beloved. "Tell me, Sebastian," Claude leaned in close, "Does it make you thirst for her as well when she tries to preserve her modesty? The cute, sheepish demeanor she projects when her bare skin is ogled?"

"SHUT UP!" Sebastian's next punch connected with his nose. Claude was hurtled into a statue, cracking webbing and crumbling it from under him. The punch wasn't what dismayed him. It was the force in which he pulled from nowhere in order to execute it. "You will not sully her honor with your foul lips any longer!" No more games. No more hiding or restraining himself. An inferno of demonic energy broke free of the cap he willed to stay closed. It was exploding from every pore on his body. "Claude Faustus! You will learned the consequences of touching what does not belong to you!" Sebastian flicked his wrist. Silver knives fanned between his fingers.

"Haven't you learned yet, Sebastian Michaelis?" Claude sprawled his feet apart. He flicked both of his wrists, unsheathing several golden knives. "Everything within my web is mine!"

xxx

Three loud bangs reverberated the cellar door. On the fourth, the door came flying off the hinges, smashing to splinters on the opposite wall. Alliahnna emerged from the cellar. The wooden archway corroded under the intense flow of her flaring demonic aura. Cracks webbed in the wall and floor. She growled rabidly, flipping her refurbished, groomed hair behind her shoulders. The markings of her awakening demon began to shrink away. The pink faded from her eyes, darkening to her famed crimson. The wound in her chest was completely healed, not a trace of Claude's handiwork or the spiders' blemished her porcelain skin. With an impassive glare, she studied the damage done to her newly tailored uniform. The blood will never wash out of it. And to think Hannah went through so much to ensure she had clothes to wear. What a waste. She'll have to apologize to Hannah. After she's added Claude blood to the mess.

Alliahnna skulked the manor's corridors. The decorative wallpaper was peeling as she passed by. Her shoes resounded like thunder with every step she took. The manor itself was trembling in her wake. Each of her senses was stressed beyond the brink of their limits. The slightest crack of the manor resting, tiniest shift in the air from a person passing by, if so much as an eye fell on her - The spiders of the manor will not ensnare her twice.

BOOM! The thunderous noise rooted Alliahnna in place, breaking her free of her swelling demon wrath. For a moment she thought it was thunder from the storm that was rolling in and out over England. BOOM! BOOM! Alliahnna's body tensed. Her ears flexed to focus on the noise. That was no storm. Not the natural one anyway. This was something far more dangerous, and likely to tear the manor grounds asunder. Strikes like lightning shocked Alliahnna's breath out of her. This sensation is one she's familiar with. Two warring presences were tearing each other apart. And it was coming from the front of the manor.

Alliahnna sprinted for the manor's foyer, keeping her eyes peeled for Hannah or the other demons. The manor was eerily quiet, save for what's happening outside. It felt empty too. She hasn't seen anyone since escaping the cellar. Usually it's the Triplets wandering the corridors that are the first to be spotted. No sign of them anywhere. Hannah isn't making her rounds either. Alliahnna can't sense her at the moment. Or Ciel for that matter. And Claude...Alliahnna shudders to think where he is at the moment. Where is everyone?

Alliahnna darted past a window. From the corner of her eye she saw two bodies dart past the window. She stopped on a dime, racing in reverse to the cascading view outside. She pressed herself to the window, squinting to the courtyard below. Her blood ran cold as ice. Claude was outside engaging Sebastian in a heated fight. Silver and gold cutlery was tearing the air to ribbons. Both charging headlong into hand to hand parries, showing no mercy. Neither demon let up for a moment. The aftershocks from their dealt blow shook the windows, and vibrated Alliahnna to the bone. The fury in Sebastian's eyes - crimson daggers cutting through the darkness - brought sweat to her brow. She wanted to cower to the ground, close her eyes and cover her ears until the fighting stopped. She staggered back from the window, placing her back to the opposite window. Sebastian has worn that expression before. The one where his thirst for blood - the murderous impulse- consumes him just as his inner demon takes over. The very knowledge that that monster is rising made her want to scream.

"Why?!" Alliahnna screamed shrilly at herself. She shook her head violently. "Why am I still so terrified of you?!" She cursed herself. She slid to her butt, clawing at her scalp. "I know it was all a lie! I know Claude tricked me! So why am I so scared to confront you?!" She stared at her palms. They were shaking uncontrollably.

"Because then everything will start to go back to normal."

"You again?" Alliahnna should stop being surprised whenever that voice answers back. She's very persistent with her words of wisdom.

"Think about it. Why are you truly afraid?" The voice quizzed sternly.

"I...I don't know…" Alliahnna was caught off guard by the sudden question. She didn't think she was afraid.

"Yes you do. You've known for quite some time. Even if you rarely acknowledged it."

"I have?"

"Yes. Since the moment you learned he was alive, a fear lodge so deep within your heart started to blossom and you unconsciously began to feed off it."

"He? You mean Ciel?" Whatever this voice was, it thinks she's afraid of Ciel? Shouldn't that be the other way around. There isn't much Alliahnna is afraid of. Ciel isn't close to being terrifying to her. "That doesn't make any...why would I be afraid of Ciel?" She stammered. She's never found him more terrifying than a hare.

"You're not afraid of Ciel. You're not afraid of Sebastian either. You're afraid of what they have, and what both are soon going to take." What they're going to take? Alliahnna fretted. Ciel and Sebastian are going to take something from her? No. They're going to take SOMEONE from her. Someone...Alliahnna thought she would have for the eternity she was doomed to live. "I see you're starting to understand. The fear that you feel, the way you allow your heart to be so easily swayed in spite of knowing the unwavering truth." Alliahnna placed a hand to her hammering chest. An ache was bringing her to the verge of crying."The fear that is choking you has corroded into something far worse. Something you wish desperately to not acknowledge in spite of harboring since the moment he awoke." He - Ciel! What she desperately refuses to acknowledge. A feeling toward Ciel...because of Sebastian. "Pure, surly, malignant jealousy." Her porcelain shell was riddled by cracks popping from head to toe. Coming to her center brow, Alliahnna felt herself shatter, her pieces falling into the darkness of her bitter soul. "You're jealous of Ciel."

Those words submerged her in the abyss that's crowding her mind. She was sinking in the blackness, being consumed by the voice's words. It's a sour taste to swallow. To be jealous of one's own brother is petty. And yet, it's the underlying truth. "I love him. I love Ciel without question. No matter how angry I've gotten, that never changed." Arms wrapped tenderly from behind her. A body pressed at her back, hugging to her like cap but weighing her down like an anchor. "I've devoted my life to protecting him...while he is nurtured, protected, and sheltered from all that will harm him!" The resentment dripped like venom in her words. Her blood was boiling over the top. "He takes...and takes...and takes. Toys, clothes, sentimental objects...and now someone who I've come to adore is in his gluttonous grip." That's all Ciel has become accustomed to. Take what he can and more, while giving nothing back. He's a leech. Sponge that knows no bounds. "In spite of knowing his soul will be devoured in the near future - and though it pains me to no feasible end - the longer this takes, the greater the fires of my envy are stoked."

"Precisely." A pair of lips breathed in her ear. "And it is in that envy I have began to falter." Alliahnna's eyes illuminated with realization. The voice in her ear...the reason it was so familiar. It was her. The person speaking to her. It was her own waning heart. "By giving in to the illusions, you managed to subside these feelings of envy, and allowed yourself to be near your brother without discontent." The figure shook her head, furrowing her brow. "But I am afraid that time has passed. You must live up to your promise. Help him claim his revenge so you may claim what is yours."

"You're right. You've always been right." Alliahnna submitted. As she started to come back to reality, Alliahnna's inner struggled gradually subsided. The voice and the shape it formed faded into black. Claude's hold over her was severely weakened. In order to break it, she will need to take one more step. "My first order of business…" She grinned out the window. The spider butler was in her hungry sights, "Will be crushing that insect under foot."

xxx

Silver and gold knives lined the ground and walls of the manor. Rocks and statues were split down the middle. The ground was turned over by decimating grooves drawn by Sebastian and Claude's rebounds. Both demons repelled one another, spinning on the balls of their feet on a halt. Claude's perpetual smirk pierced the darkness. He unsheathed a new set of knives, lunging into a full speed charge. Sebastian stood his ground. He swung his arm, knives slicing the air for Claude's stomach. The spider anticipated the attack, leaping over Sebastian's head. Sebastian twisted around just as a volley of knives hurtled for his face. He weaved to the side, darting forward as Claude's feet touched the ground. Claude took to the sky again. A breeze brushed his back as Sebastian's borish strike missed. He landed behind Sebastian, driving the knives for his back. The Raven was too fast. He spun and cut the descend golden knife with a crossed fork and knife. Sebastian was amazed by the strength Claude held in one hand, but refused to falter.

Hunger wrought a madness in Claude's eyes. His smile that of a crazed lunatic awaiting to taste what he has long sought but has been denied. Victory he has so prematurely claimed was sending him into a frenzy. Sebastian, beloved Sebastian, completely at the mercy of not his Master, but also the superior strength of the Trancy Demon. Knowing that it was only the raven standing in his way of feasting upon Ciel made him drool all the more animally.

"We demons...we live far, FAR too long! Granted eternal life!" Claude frothed at the mouth. A blessing and curse wrapped into one. "We grow weary from living so long! The tedium alone is enough to make us lose ourselves!" Claude took a step forward. Sebastian's arms bent under the weight.

"And my Young Master and Lady lend a certain spice to the world in which we glut ourselves!" Sebastian dropped his arms, wrenching himself off to the side. Claude's pressured weight made him stumble forward. He was too late to regain balance. Sebastian whirled around, driving a high kick to the back of his head. Claude planted a foot to stop from being leveled. He swatted the leg away, thrusting a knife forth, becoming deadlocked with Sebastian once more.

"Both of their souls dwell in darkness and yet remain unstained!" His envy of Sebastian coming across two such souls in a single lifetime resonated in his words. "It charms us! Vexes us! Tantalizes us! Frenzies us! And now..." As it has been foreshadowed since the dawning of their meeting.

"It has brought us to this…" Sebastian accepted fully and completely, without the slightest hint of regret. "A broken contract! A fight between demons!" Sebastian plowed a fist, jagged rocks sprouted underfoot.

Claude shifted and used the rocks to launch into the air. He twirled himself in a fast spin. A zigzagging line of golden knives shrieked from above. Sebastian flipped back to his hands, springing away as the knives followed in a trail. Before his flips would come full circle he would unleash volleys of spoons and forks, maneuvering about to send them soaring in Claude's general direction. Claude gracefully dodged in mid-air, landing perfectly to the top of the manor's front entrance. He gazed from his vantage point, relishing Sebastian low level dismay. Sebastian hissed through gritted teeth.

"Alliahnna knows of this too. She knows of the purity his soul possesses!" Claude has seen the way Alliahnna yearns to taste him. How his scent drives her wild. She may have suppressed the rampant hunger that once overtook her, but she cannot fight her instincts. "Why has she not attempted to whisk him away? To feast on him."

Sebastian's head sank with anger under the insult of that inane question. "For you to ask such a thing only proves you are not worthy of her!" He shot crimson daggers at the ignorant spider. He has spirited her away, encountered her dozens of times, and yet he knows nothing about her. "My Lady's honor transcends carnal, primitive desires! She would never allow such a simplistic urge to overrule her morality!"

"Morality is for mortals! Which she no longer is!" Claude was growing tired of hearing how that child desperately clings to what no longer is.

"Even so! The fact that she clings to her mortality is one of the reasons I love her so dearly!" Sebastian confessed. And he will do so again until his heart collapses or the sun falls from the sky. "She cares not if she is a demon or god! Because of her attachment to her lost humanity, she has saved countless - including myself, my father, and my brother - from themselves!" To have been there to bear witness to her triumphs - Sebastian knows not of a greater honor. "She shows a greater resolve than any demon before! She is THE demon. A true demon worthy of the name PHANTOMHIVE!"

Claude spat in revulsion of his proclamation. There is nothing more shameful to a demon's stature than when he allows petty emotions to cloud his judgment. "Perhaps one day she shall rival the both us in demonhood! That day shall not come!" Doting on a human soul is one matter. It is another entirely when one indulges in the fleeting phenomena known as love. "The Phantomhives shall soon be nothing but a relic of the distant past! A past she shall soon join once I have disposed of you!" Claude pressed a foot to the flat of the arch, launching in a sharp dive. He crossed his wrists, fanning knives to mask his bloodthirsty grin.

Sebastian sprang backwards. Claude landed to a crouch. He threw his arms open. Barrages of knives tore the air to ribbons, glistening in the moonlight like electrified darts. Sebastian gaped in dismay. He bent all the way back, touching a hand to the ground. He winced as the knives breezed past his cheek, shaving a couple strands of his ebony locks. He shifted his weight, smoothly weaving down another foot, narrowly evading the second wave. Claude appeared above him, his grin growing more twisted as he drew a fist back. Sebastian, unable to dodge, braced himself. With all his might, Claude plowed the fist directly into Sebastian's stomach. Blood exploded out of his throat. The ground cracked under his back, robbing the wind from his lungs. Electricity constricted his muscles, making him go limp like a doll without strings. His eyes blurred briefly. Claude held his fist in Sebastian's gut, twisting and rupturing the muscles in his stomach. Sebastian dryly heaved in agony, writhing as Claude dug into his stomach.

"Fear not, Dearest Sebastian, for your death shall not be in vain. Nor shall your history be tarnished by this outstanding failure." Claude chortled. He steadied himself with a palm to Sebastian's chest. He brought his prideful smirk within inches of Sebastian's scrunched features. "Know that I do admire your conviction towards your two masters, and shall take great measure to ensure songs are written of your devotion." Through his fist her felt Sebastian shaking, struggling to fend against the splintering pain shattering his body. Claude stood above Sebastian, feet on either side of his hips. Sebastian's body was constricted, paralyzed under Claude's thrall. "And now, Sebastian Michaelis…" Claude crossed his hands at the wrist. Dozens of golden dinner knives fanned between his fingers. Triumph glistened in his auburn orbs, "To retire you ETERNALLY!" Claude leapt high into the air. A hailstorm of golden knives shrieked from the sky. Sebastian, unable to move and unable to counter, threw his arms protectively in front of him, resigning himself to the tattering impact. The knives were upon him.

Two rapiers unsheathed from slender hips. A figure threw itself before Sebastian, stunning his eyes wide open. Claude, leagues in the air, gaped in disbelief. Navy hair gleaming in the moonlight, the torrential winds wafted it violently. The two swords were drawn back. Piercing hot pink eyes flared open radiantly.

"A...Alliahnna…?" Sebastian marveled in utter disbelief.

Alliahnna Phantomhive stared her opposition to the core. The knives reflected off the glowing orbs. In a motion so slow time seemed to stop, slashes shimmered and screeched. The knives broke cleanly in half. As if the air itself was being torn to ribbons. Arms swung the swords viciously. The planted feet stayed as such, never a step flattering for an inch. The swing of the arm only succeeding in speeding up, diverting the splitting knives to the left, right, and above Sebastian. The butler ogled her in absolute awe. Her flawless attacks, the versatility in her strikes, the steadfast determination brimming in her eyes. His cheeks flushed. The final wave of knives met the same fate, cast aside broken and worthless. When the rain final ceased, Alliahnna released a breath of relief and returned her swords to their sheaths. She locked gazes with Claude, daring him to send another attack. She'll just remove it.

I made it.

Claude landed without so much as a sound to the fountain. He pushed his glasses up his nose, grunting perturbed by Alliahnna's presence. Tenacity possesses the charm of serpents in this one! "What is the meaning of this, My Lady?!" He demanded, stepping down from the fountain. Alliahnna lowered her head, holding her tongue. The illusion is not yet thwarted. Sebastian is none the wiser to the hiccup in his plans. For just a while longer, he must maintain his deception. He fixed his glasses. "Please! Return inside so I may deal with this enemy!" Claude edged back.

In a brief instance, Alliahnna vanished into thin air and then reappeared with her hand gripping his throat. Twisted rage narrowed her one visible eye. She collided the hull of her fist to his cheek, twisting it viciously, and sent Claude skipping across the ground to a painful rebound at the courtyard's wall. "That is enough lies out of you." She droned. Not a single tone of emotion was in her voice.

Sebastian blinked, shaking free of his stupor. He was astonished. As was Claude. Alliahnna just sent him hurtling as if he were weightless. Another fluke, likely. But her rising threat is becoming real. Approaching footsteps jerked Sebastian back to reality. He followed Alliahnna's marching legs, taken aback by her hued eyes. He was unable to see past the shade her bangs cast, but her presence unnerved him. So much so he swallowed out of apprehension. Will she scold him? Will she be furious with him? With she fear him? Out of the three, he preferred the first two over the last. The unadulterated fear in her eyes, conjured by Claude though it was, broke him worse than losing his master's soul to another. She towered over him, not saying a single word or making the briefest eye contact. This silence...He winced, It's suffocating. Why won't she speak to him? Why won't she look at him? Why won't she do...anything? Please...My Lady...say something….anything! Sebastian squeezed his eyes closed, trembling in place. His master is taken. His lady WAS taken and now stands before him. If anyone can grant mercy, please let Alliahnna speak to him. A word. Any word or action. Send him away! Demand an explanation! Anything! Please...Alliahnna...please….

Alliahnna dropped to her knees. Sebastian gaped as she reached her hands for him. He was about to turn away to refuse her. Too afraid to receive her touch. Too afraid of how she will react. Alliahnna cupped her hands to his cheeks. Before Sebastian could comprehend her motives, Alliahnna crashed her lips to his. Sebastian's eyes flew wide. Claude was in such shock his glasses slipped out of his pocket. Sebastian was trapped in a dazed state. Her warm lips upon his. The passion pooling as her tongue slipped into his mouth. Waves of rapture washed through him. He was lighter than air, heavier than lead. Breathing ushered unimaginable pain, soon followed by an otherworldly bliss. The euphoria knotted his stomach, made his heart want to burst. His head consumed in a haze. He had almost forgotten this sensation. Her taste. Her smell. How he would fall in love with her all over again. Sebastian was starting to lean back. Part him too scared to push further. Too afraid that this will be their last kiss. Alliahnna wrapped her arms around his neck, slid onto his lap, and pressed her chest to his. She would not let him escape. Her beating heart astonished him. It was racing at the speed of light, pounding against his chest. Shakily and uncertain, Sebastian wrapped his arms to her waist. He melted into her embrace, helping deepen the kiss.

The haze that has been clouding her mind. The veil she knew in her heart to be complete woven with lies crafted by Claude and his band of failed demons. Slowly the fog started to clear. Radiant orbs of light pieced the curtain away. The monster who caused the fire consuming her parents, and laughed crazily as Ciel lied dying in her arms...Ash, not Sebastian. Five years after she allowed herself to nearly wither away to nothing, SEBASTIAN was the one to safeguard, nurture, and cultivate her. He turned her into a substitute demon to sate her desire for power. To inflict the fear that rooted her in place upon the world as she fought to achieve the revenge her presumed later brother could not. As he toiled away to help her - suffering humiliations set on by her impulses - Sebastian was equally guarding Ciel, keeping him safe until Alliahnna decided to either become a full demon, or surrender her soul. The fore option being her choice. Everyday since that choice was made - the years as a sub par demon - were filled with an endless array of surprises and adventures. The people she's met, the friends she had made, the family she built - all of it was possible because of Sebastian. The laughter, the glee, all of it she cherished. The good and bad times are what she held on to with an iron grip. They are what made her who she is. Sebastian is the one who has nourished that persona. Never mind the feuding that took place between them. That was natural. It only conveyed what she and Sebastian tried to deny. Mostly her. The day that fabrication faltered, Alliahnna felt an immense weight lift off her shoulders. When she and Sebastian severed that relationship it all came flooding back.

Yes...this is real...Alliahnna slowly removed her lips from his. This is what I wanted. The soft brush of his lips, the sweet taste of him, sent intense jolts shooting to her heart, mind, and soul. This is...my Sebastian.

Her glossy trembling eyes took Sebastian aback. Her flushed cheeks and raspy breaths making his heart skip several beats. "Alli...ahnna?" He breathed. Her lips tightened. Tears gathered in her eyes. Sebastian hesitantly lifted a hand. His fingers curled in and out, an inner debate to whether or not he can truly touch her again...or will be pushed away. "Alliahnna? Are you-" Alliahnna buried her face in his chest, squeezing her arms around him. "Alliahnna?!"

"I'm sorry!" She screamed into his chest. Her tears soaked into his coat. Sebastian was so caught off guard he wasn't sure how to respond. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SO SORRY!" She shouted over and over again, cursing her foolish gullibility. "I should have known it was a lie! I should have seen through it! I should never have...I'm so sorry..."

"My Lady…" He moaned somberly. He rested a hand at her back, massaging up and down. He sensed it. Her mind recovered from the hallucinations Claude's hypnosis inflicted. "There is no need for you to-"

"I love you!"

Sebastian's breath hitched in his throat. His mind exploded into thousands of pieces. "What did you say?" He gasped.

Alliahnna hissed through gritted teeth. Does he truly intend to make her say it more than once. Fine! I'll say it until you never forget! She grabbed his collar, yanking him so close he could see himself in her frenzied glare. "I love you! I love you so much that it hurts!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. A smile stretched to Sebastian's lips. "Us breaking apart had nothing to do with Alois, or Claude, or any of this mess! I didn't care that you stopped me! Or that you were furious with me! None of it mattered!" She shook him violently, wanting it to sink in that none of this was his fault. It was because of her folly.

"Then why?" That's all Sebastian wanted to know.

"I hated sharing you with Ciel!" It shamed her to admit. But it's true. "For five years you belonged only to me! Your eyes were only for me! Your loyalty was only to me! Yes, My Lady belonged only to me! Everything about you - you were the one thing I never had to share!" Sebastian wasn't sure how he felt by being referred to as a thing. He wouldn't ruin her moment. "I always had to share what I held precious with Ciel from birth onward. Never a day passed where my arm wasn't twisted so that little brother could be appeased." Her blush deepened. She diverted her gaze to the ground. "I...I didn't want to share you."

Sebastian found her confession adorable. While she was speaking from her heart, he couldn't help petting her like that weeping child. Her soft hair bouncing as he ran his hair down the long, smooth locks. "My eyes are only for My Master in a professional manner." He leaned back to one hand. He cupped her chin, bringing her flushed gaze to meet his warm smile. "In regards to you...they are for so much more." He ran his thumb over her lower lip. "With these eyes I can see what it is within, beneath, and around you. And with my hands," He traced the backs of his fingers to her neck, moving toward the V peeking swell of her breasts, "I can feel it as well. Just as I will until you truly cease to not love me." In other words, until the end of time.

"How disgustingly sentimental!" Claude's guffaw spoiled their moment. He was picking himself up, dusting the debris from his wrinkled uniform. He spat at their reunion, stomped on their pathetic confessions of love and adulation. They make him sick. "If this is how you both feel, then I shall send you both to Hell together!" He summoned more knives to his hands. Sebastian and Alliahnna snorted at his claim. The pair exchanging nods, rising to their stances. Sebastian flared his knives while Alliahnna readied her swords. Claude was not deterred. Two demons or two hundred. It matters not. He will fight until his last breath in order to keep Ciel. "Naughty, naughty, Sebastian Michaelis! Weren't you ordered to never approach the Young Master's sister again?"

"I approached him! Ciel's orders were for him to never approach his sister!" She cleverly looped around the vague order. His sister...Alliahnna chuckled darkly. "Then again, Claude, perhaps he can never violate that order. After all," She evilly licked her lips, flashing her demonic eyes up to him, "I haven't been Ciel's sister in over a year." Sebastian chuckled. He's glad she hasn't lost her touch at finding loopholes.

Claude seethed through gritted teeth. "Take that miserable wench! I do not need her! Her soul is soiled by her demon essence!" Alliahnna found a compliment is his discarding of her. "The Young Master shall remain with me! Once we have made our contract, he will be all mine!"

I knew it! Alliahnna hissed in her mind. "You can't sign a contract with him! He's bound to Sebastian!"

"I am aware of that, My Lady! That is why I attempted to cut it off!" He licked his favored cutlery. "Although, I must confess, this knife is too dull to remove his hand and seal. One of your swords word be preferable." Alliahnna tightened her grip on her swords. He won't get within three feet of them. "Regardless is removing the seal is not applicable, I'm sure I can continue to pervert Sebastian's contract. It's simple, really." He snorted.

"You can do that?!" Alliahnna gasped. Sebastian grunted with dread. Ciel is waning in the mansion as they toy around with Claude. Either they get to him now, or everything they are fighting for is void.

"SEBASTIAN!" The call sent chills down his spines. Alliahnna, Claude, and Sebastian twisted back. Beyond the dark forest, capturing the three demons in disbelief, there was a maze constructed entirely of hedge scaling in the distance. Monstrous, thorny vines were snaked to a clocktower. When that appeared was beyond either of them, and not really relevant. What they heard coming from it turned their blood to ice. "SEBASTIAN!"

The trio ran for courtyard wall, squinting hard to find who called them. "Ciel?!" Alliahnna gasped. Sebastian and Claude were in dismay. Ciel was climbing that monstrosity.

"SEBASTIAN! ALLIAHNNA!" Ciel cried again.

"Young Master!" Claude put his grudge match aside and kneeled before his master.

Alliahnna was repulsed by his kowtowing, but then was bewildered by the empty space left by Sebastian. She found him hiding behind a statue and was stricken by dread. 'Stay out of my sight!' Those were Ciel's orders. Ciel called for him! He knows Sebastian's here! That means...he saw him!

"You're being summoned. He knows you're here." Claude's voice wavered as he kept himself from outright laughing. Alliahnna ground her teeth together. "You've been seen! And not just by me!" He continued to throw the failure in the demon's face. The night was his. "Such disobedience! You're a disgrace to butlers everywhere!"

"Says the butler that killed his own master!" Alliahnna roared. "I'm curious Claude, if disobeying a master makes Sebastian a failure, what does killing one make you?!" She brazenly challenged. Claude was growing tired of her constant interference. He will relish putting her in her place.

"SEBASTIAN! ALLIAHNNA! HELP ME!" The plight caught the gaggle of demons off guard. "PLEASE HELP! SEBASTIAN! ALLIE!" Ciel begged desperately. He climbed higher and higher, turning to the night covered realm to cast his pleas farther. The plight was...foreign to them. "If you don't I'll climb all the way up!" He threatened. He put one hand over the other, moved one foot at a time. Sebastian and Alliahnna knit their brows. Something wasn't quite right. "I'll keep climbing! I swear I will! You both had better get here quickly!" Sebastian and Alliahnna stares hardened. The boy scaling the thorny vines wasn't quite right. From miles away they could almost see it. "I'll climb this thing!" The distress had left his tone. He sounded giddy. A maddening smile split his face down the middle. "I'm going straight to the top Sebastian." Ciel chuckled impishly. The seal carved into the right eye, the face, voice, and body were all the same. And still...by every degree...that wasn't Ciel.

"Sebastian! Get out here!" Alliahnna howled venomously. Claude was startled by her step forward cracking the ground. She balled her fingers into fists. She bared her fangs at the pretender scaling the tower. "That thing on that tower...that is not Ciel!"

"You are correct!" Sebastian huffed in Claude's direction. "I have done nothing to disobey orders yet!" The opposing butler was deflated, sinking miserably as his victory was snatched away quicker than he could blink. Sebastian joined the pair at the wall, glaring at the false boy. "That is not my Young Lord."

"No. No it's not." Claude reluctantly agreed.

"It's MY Young Lord! Earl Alois Trancy!" Hannah Annafellows stated sternly. Claude, Sebastian, and Alliahnna were rooted by her decree.

By the time either demon stumbled upon the truth, Ciel - Alois Trancy - arrived to the top of the tower, and was now standing mere centimeters from the edge, and a plummeting death. "I'LL FALL OFF! I'LL DO IT!" He crooned. "DO YOU HEAR ME, SEBASTIAN?! ALLIAHNNA?!" Just as soon as the shackles were loosened, Hannah and her little puppet tightened once more. This time three demons were ensnared, and they would not break free of their bonds so easily. "I'LL FALL ALL-THE-WAY-DOWN!"

To be continued.

Almost done.