Demon of England

by GradGirl2010

After five years of sorrow, Alliahnna finally has Ciel back in her life. Unfortunately The House of Trancy wishes to take him away again. Her love with Sebastian weakening. The bond Ciel and Alliahnna had dissipating Now as a demon will Alliahnna be able to save her family? Or will she be forever alone once more?

45. The Contract is Complete

The Contract is Complete

Moving on.

xxx

(Alliahnna POV)

We were too late. The combined speed of three demons, and we were not fast enough to save him. The garden sent all it had at us. Trying to bide time for Hannah and Alois to complete their business. We refused to let the garden deter us. We cut away the vines wanting to clutch us with their thorns. We leapt staggering heights, scaled the tower as if we were just walking along a park street. It was a tedious effort escaping a garden as frustrating and persistent as its owner. But...much like the owner...and the servant as well...there was a method to the madness that set their enemies back by several steps.

By the time we reached the clocktower, entered that darkened, damned fortress, Alois Trancy had already entered into a contract with Hannah Annafellows. And Ciel Phantomhive - my brother - along with him. Claude and Sebastian seal struggled to maintain dominance over the two boys occupying Ciel's body. Hannah's own cage like seal battled to expel them. In Ciel's right eye the seals waged. In just a few short seconds...Hannah's claim to both boys was set in stone, and neither Claude, Sebastian, nor I could remove it. Ciel was trapped in his body again. At the mercy of yet another demon and her boy.

Claude...Sebastian...myself...with all our powers combined, we were no match for Hannah. She succeeded in her plans. She had Alois. She had Ciel. She had everything. In one felled swoop...she managed to take everything that the three of us squabbled over for months in a few short hours. The worst part is...I did nothing to prevent it. I should have just told Ciel what had happened to him. The consequences be damned. Maybe then he wouldn't have been taken by Hannah or Claude! This would have been over had we just told him the truth. I wish that I could turn back the hands on that clocktower, take us back to the beginning, and change everything. Guess with eternal life...controlling time is not part of the package. A shame. With these powers...I can virtually do anything, go anywhere, bend the rules of man as I see fit. But time is the one factor that will continue to work against me.

(Tears) HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? How did we come to be like this, Ciel and I? When did we go from being happy, loving, carefree kids...to the victims of demons? Ciel signs a contract with a demon to get revenge on those who robbed our parents from us. Then I'm forced to enter the contract, taking revenge on the man who stole him from me. A vicious cycle we've immersed ourselves in. We're just circling the drain until the inevitable happens. Because I chose to abandon him - leave him when the two of us needed each other most - he was frozen on death's edge for five years. Now I am frozen in time, and he's about to be eaten by any one of us demons in the next few moments.

I've never done anything right by you, Ciel. Today, I will make up for it. One way or another...I will end this.

xxx

Hannah was kneeling to one knee. The two rings that adorned different fingers on Ciel's hand were cast aside. Claude, Sebastian, and Alliahnna were trapped in such dismay neither knew what to say. Not that they needed to. No words or tricks can ever reverse what has transpired. They had failed, and would become puppets once more.

"Claude. You ensnared my heart with your deceptive spider threads. I wanted you to become my eternal Highness. But more than anything, I wanted your love."

Those were the final words of Alois Trancy before he fell into a deep slumber. The love he so desperately sought, earned from no other besides Luka and Hannah, was now forever his.

Hannah gently embraced the boy, cradling him in her arms like a newborn babe. In an odd fashion, he was. Newly reborn under a new contract, and shall be tended to until his final moments. None shall take her beloved Jim Macken from her. None. She held the boy with a victorious smile, mocking the three demons who so valiantly fought against her. Their failure was in her arms, and it loomed at their necks like a noose. One she hang choose to hang them from with but a breath.

"I have entered into an official contract with Jim Macken." Not the pseudonym Alois Trancy. That boy no longer exists. Her one eye glowing in a piercing pink, she chortled, "And Ciel Phantomhive along with him."

"You what?" Alliahnna's voice quaked. She was shaking violently. Her eyes were locked on the limp boy within Hannah's arms. He truly resembled a doll. Strings finally cut so he may rest in peace. "How is this possible? Is this even allowed?!"

"I am afraid it is." Claude released a defeated breath. His sharp glare pierced the darkness. Were it those knives were real, he would tear Hannah Annafellows to ribbons. "A human who has entered a contract can never exit from it. However, permitted is the acceptance of a new contract." A plan Claude had for Ciel Phantomhive. If only he had more time, and if Ciel wasn't so proud or attached to his previous contract. "Any contracts signed previous will be erased. Terms and seal revoked. The new will take hold, and the vessel belongs to another."

"Correct." Hannah laughed with menacing triumph. "You see, Beloved Alliahnna, there are many rules and loopholes to those rules you have yet to brush the surface on during your brief time as a fellow member of the night." Alliahnna hissed at her through gritted teeth. How dare that witch address her in the familiar. She has not earned that right. "Do not worry though." She lifted Ciel closer, snuggling her cheek against his. "After tonight, you will learn what it truly means to be a demon."

Alliahnna bared her fangs. Her eyes started to glow hatefully. "YOU DAMN WITCH! I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" She dug in her foot and lunged.

"ALLIAHNNA, PLEASE!" Sebastian looped his arms under hers, holding her firmly against him and lifting her a foot off the ground. Alliahnna thrashed wildly in his grasp, flailing her legs and planting her feet to his legs to escape and tear Hannah's neck open. She was frothing at the mouth like a rabid animal. "Alliahnna! You must restrain yourself! Everything will be-"

"NO, SEBASTIAN! IT WON'T BE ALRIGHT!" He shrill decree hurt him. Mostly because he knew she spoke true. After tonight, nothing will ever be as was. Not that it ever was the same in the first place. Nothing has been as it was for almost ten years. "I'm tired. I'm tired of this." Her boorish struggling went limp. Her feet were rejoined with the ground as she hung her head. Her bangs obscured the tears glossing her eyes. The madness within her raging like a fire consuming a forest. "This should have been done long ago. But we kept...we kept lying to him. Don't you get it?" Doesn't he understand?

"I do, My Lady. I truly do." He reeled her in close, hugging her tightly. He ran his hand down her back, soothing the savage beast within her. "We will make this right. I promise."

"Yes, Lady Phantomhive. Do not despair. All is not lost yet." Hannah sniggered. Sebastian ensured to tighten his grasp on Alliahnna's shoulders. He felt her twitch to tear Hannah apart. "My Master's soul gained control of Ciel Phantomhive's body. By doing so he was able to enter into a contract with me." She emphasised her domination of the coveted prize. "Ciel Phantomhive's soul won't see the light of day. It's here, trapped and powerless, inside this body." From a breath of air, a small flame burned away Hannah's bandage around her eyes, freeing the cerulean iris to breathe the air. Her caged seal glowing upon the eye like Ciel's. "And so it will remain until my Master's soul has been released, and our contract is fulfilled." The demoness leisurely meandered past the trio of furious demons. Her overconfidence and possession of Ciel had Claude and Sebastian coveting her disembowelment. They have never felt their hands tied so strictly in all their lives. "Follow me." Hannah curtly ordered the three.

There was no arguing about the matter. As if on leashes, Claude, Sebastian, and Alliahnna followed the woman. She led them toward the docks of the Trancy Estate. The waters were calm and peacefully, lapping mildly as their current carried them on their merry way. Ashame the benign waters belie the true chaos hovering over them. It is along the river snaking through the land that they will be taken to the vast ocean. From there it will be a matter of idling, waiting, and speculating. Once they've entered onto the ocean, the real trial will begin.

"What are the details of the contract?" Sebastian broke the stifling silence. He and the others followed closely as they meandered down the stone steps to a small boat waiting for them. "What does Alois Trancy want?"

"That is a secret between my Master and me!" She bit jadedly.

"How presumptuous." Claude scoffed. Hannah set Ciel into the boat, lying him down gently as if he were a prince doomed to an eternal slumber. Ironically, that's the fate destined for him at the end of this madness.

"Is Ciel even still alive?" Alliahnna hissed.

"He is very much alive, and he is safe inside his body with my master." Hannah reassured her with a disgustingly mocking tone. Alliahnna replaced Grell for Hannah at the top of her list of people to kill. She very much could. With Sebastian and Claude's help. "I will also grant you all another piece of information." Hannah meandered past Alliahnna to the two male demons, cupping a hand to either of their cheeks. "My Master does not wish for both of you to live. In accordance with his wishes and our agreement one of you will end your life as a demon." Eyes narrowed as the noose coiling to their necks squeezed tighter. It was becoming unbearable to breathe. "Alliahnna," Hannah's hand ghosted to her chin. Her fingers pinched on, tilting her beautiful eyes to meet her entrancing pair. "You are, of course, permitted to compete as well." Sebastian gaped in alarm. Claude, however, was dying for another shot at her and Sebastian. "My Master bears no ill will against you. He has taken into account that you tried to save his life and has granted you leniency." Guess she shouldn't complain. Good karma strikes again. "Therefore he has deemed you an arbitrary competitor and a consolation prize. It is only Sebastian or Claude who must perish."

"Don't I feel bloody special." She grumbled.

"The struggle will end when either Sebastian or Claude claim victory, and the terms of the contract my master signed to me have been met." She found a sort of deranged entertainment in mentioning she and Alois were in a contract. She is a child who always stared through a window at the prettiest and most fashionable hat she's been coveting for years. Now that she has it, she wants the entire world to remember to whom it belongs. "When this has happened, my master will agree to release Ciel Phantomhive's soul. And after that…" Her lips parted in that twisted smile that grew all the more wider as her advantage grew.

"Hannah…" Claude approached, crushing fingers to her shoulders, "What's to stop us from killing you?" Claude knack for reading minds. Sebastian and Alliahnna were resisting drawing their swords and knives.

"I will be suffused with the shade of the noblest blue! And your precious Ciel Phantomhive...will come back to life."

xxx

(Alliahnna POV)

Our course was set. Our hands were tied and we knew better than to tug at the leashes around our necks. Futile was it to argue further, or proceed to ask hypotheticals in regards to the situation at hand. The only way to save Ciel and free him from the clutches of Alois and Hannah...was for either Sebastian or Claude to die.

There's not a single doubt in my mind that Sebastian won't win. I know he'll win. He has to. Claude is slippery and elusive, much like a spider, but Sebastian has skills and is a tactician of the highest caliber. He may not even need me to join the battle. But I won't let it be said I didn't try to fight for my brother. I won't be so complacent as to assume I can stand on equal ground with Claude. He surpasses me in strength tenfold. As did Ash Landers, and we know where he is. But together, Sebastian and I will win this contest hands down. There's no need for me to be apprehensive. And yet...I am.

What is this horrible feeling inside of my chest? Why do I have the ominous sensation that something terrible is going to happen? It has to be the bit of information Hannah refused to share with us. Without saying, she knows what awaits at the end of this 'grudge match' she is sending them into.

Ciel...what's going to happen to you - to us - when this is all over? Why do I feel as if...Sebastian will not get what he's desired after all these years?

(Alliahnna POV)

xxx

The smooth and relaxing rocks of the waves coaxed Alliahnna asleep a few hours into the long trip. In spite of what awaited at the end of the journey, there was a serenity in the calm before the final storm. The lapping of the open ocean was a comforting. A symphony of splashes, curling waves, and hissing salt bubbles whispered in her ears. The stars cascading in a gorgeous array in the ebony sky were hypnotic. She would have watched them all night. Were it that Sebastian was beside her instead of rowing the boat with Claude, the night would have been perfect. For the time being, she let the waves guide them along, letting her mind drift. Lying on that boat, letting sleep claim her and the whimsical peace blanket her, Alliahnna's naivete deluded her to think there was nothing amiss. That, in spite off all that's happened, the world was at peace once more. Even if it is brief, and never to happen again, Alliahnna planned to live in this moment. Because, after tonight, an all new version of Hell will arise from the depths of Hell.

Alliahnna awoke to the sound of ominous singing. Soothing, and rather moving to the heart, the foreign words carried a certain unease within them. As if it were a eulogy for those walking the path that will lead them to their deaths. A proper song to coax the fear of dying from the wandering soul. Alliahnna sat up on her hands, twisting and cracking the drowsiness from her body. She was disappointed there was still miles of open ocean surrounding them. Sebastian and Claude were still rowing vigorously, defying the currents to reach their intended destination. Sebastian welcomed Alliahnna back with a tender smile that she exchanged back. The singing that grew louder spoiled their moment.

Hannah was singing an old lullaby to the slumbering Ciel - Alois. His hands were folded to his chest, and his head was propped to her lap. The small boat served as his coffin, carrying him to his end at the edge of the fogbank. Ciel looked just as he did when she saw him after five years on the demon's isle. A boy just sleeping his years away, enveloped in death's icy coils. Death has taken a new form, split into four different acolytes who wish to tear him apart. Well, three, to be precise. Alliahnna does not crave Ciel's soul. Nor any soul of a human. She simply wants to save him. For the last time.

"Huh?" Alliahnna was taken aback by a familiar frigid air brushing her cheeks. She gaped in amazement at the fog rolling in from a familiar peak at the ocean's dark horizon. It was like a memory from a dream she had hundreds of years ago. "This fog…" The ocean being swallowed by a fog so dense the sharpest of knives could not cut through it. The sky and stars were blotted out. The very world around them disappeared. "The smell of death in the air…" The sea salt air was replaced by a metallic, musky, decomposing aroma. Immersed in the offputting scents, the fresh tingle of pine and wood coasted on the air. She knows these waters. This air. She twisted around to Sebastian, "Are we going back to the island?"

"So you remember?" He chuckled adoringly by her deduction.

"Of course. How can I ever forget?" Nostalgia washed over her.

This was the long day's journey into night Sebastian took her on after their contract was completed. Ash and Angela perishing in the domain reverence was poetic and righteous judgement for their own disgusting sins. She was left absolutely drained after that battle. Pushing her body beyond the limits it could truly handle, and stemming on the grief of Sebastian dying right before her eyes. Just like before, she awoke from a tumultuous and heart wrenching battle to this fog. It was comforting, in a way. At the same time, a fear she never knew she had for these waters made her shiver.

"This had to have been one of the longest journeys I'd taken with you. Alliahnna reached into the water. The water must have been freezing, but she didn't shy from it. In fact...she wanted to swim through it. "This is where...my old life ended and a new one began." She wondered how far she could swim, how deep she could go, before she got tired. Or lost air. She can't believe she hasn't thought to do that before now. "Seems like forever ago."

"Forever is relative to demons." Claude decided to offer his input. Cynical though it was, he held merit. "We have so much time on our hands that we begin to lose interest in the world we glut ourselves on."

"To think that's what awaits me eventually." Alliahnna moved down the boat, relaxing her back to Sebastian's legs. "For now...I think I will enjoy what my youthful appearance has permitted." Sebastian welcomed her idea. Until the time deems otherwise, there is no reason she should not enjoy what is no longer hers. He continued to paddle the boat, brow furrowed to the thickening fog.

Glittering lights in the fog sparked Alliahnna's impish nostalgia. She feels like a child returning to a place she has not seen since childhood. The fireflies that danced through the night which were actually the thoughts of those who have passed through Alois and Ciel's life coming to meet them. There were so many. Equal to the amount of people the pair have come to meet. Be it on good terms or bad, there a dozens who have met and been influenced by Alois and Ciel. To think, Alliahnna saw just as many during her journey. She never forgot how warm they felt.

"I remember these too." She held out her hand, catching and releasing one. "The thoughts of humans coming to meet us. So beautiful...and yet so sad." So many people Alois and Ciel will be leaving behind. Alliahnna wonders, how many loved ones is she truly living by being a demon. These lights are the final witnesses of our voyage. She tilted her head back, letting the cool air wash over her. Once the fog clears, and the island emerges, there will be no turning back.

The fog bank parted on the water. With it went the gorgeous, fuzzy lights. On the edge of the bank, the Island of Death appeared. Razor sharp sickles curved at Sebastian, Alliahnna, and Claude's necks. This was their final stop.

xxx

The walk up the mountain was easy enough. A steep climb was nothing more than a jaunt along a busy street. If memory serves correctly, there should be a ruin - a sort of shrine - at the peak. Nestled in a forest. When the group of demons arrived, however, the ruptured ground crackled at their feet. Hollow wind blew past them, whistling across the barren land torn by a catastrophic force. The sanctuary that should be the epicenter for the mountain's top was a desolate crater now. The bench that house Ciel was in it's perfect state. The neighboring trees were dead, charred black and gnarled. The remains of them slanted. The trees in the vast distance untouched. Deep cracks littered the hardened ground.

Alliahnna released an impressed and unsettled whistle, marveling at the wanton destruction around them. "I'd forgotten about this." She slyly grinned in Sebastian's direction who seemed to be ignoring the scenery. This entire mess was his doing. After discovering Ciel's soul was taken, Sebastian flew into a rage and disintegrated the entire mountain top. "Good times, eh Sebastian?" Sebastian shot an impatient glare. She jumped out of her skin, breaking into a sweat. She laughed nervously, waving her hands frantically, "Never mind! Sorry to bring it up! My what a lovely night!"

Claude laughed mockingly at their banter, then turned his smugness to the scenery. "This island of death is a sanctuary for demons. It seems your rage has left it in a rather pitiable state, Sebastian." Well whose fault is that? Alliahnna growled heatedly at him. "You should really learn to control your temper."

"You brought us to this place for a reason!" Sebastian curtly ignored Claude and stopped Alliahnna from fueling his immature quips. "What do you expect of us?"

Hannah set her precious master to the stone carved bench. Alliahnna had the horrible feeling wash over her again. Seeing Ciel on that bench again...it tore at her. But there's something else. "This is the ideal location for a battle." Hannah elucidated while petting Ciel like a pet. "You will engage in a duel between demons."

xxx

"How ridiculous!" Ciel characteristically scoffed.

In an abyssal plane much like the one Ciel was trapped in previously, The Phantomhive Earl was shackled to a lonely platform for checkered tile idly floating in the breach. Clouds of violet speckled by red drifted along the endless sea of black. Shackled to Ciel, pressed back to back and ensnared in the fleshy prison, was none other than Alois Trancy. The first time these boys are placed side by side to one another, and they aren't at each other's throats. Perhaps it is because they know how futile a squabble between them would be. After all, a poetic and tragic end awaits them. Exerting themselves now would be pointless. So, until Hannah is done with the trio of demons, they will listen and watch as they try to kill each other.

"A duel between demon butlers...and a demon Earless…" Ciel added with a grudging choke.

"Yes, amusing isn't it." Alois snorted in a calm demeanor. "Seeing two grown men act like desperate children. To be honest, I thought Alliahnna would decline."

"I'm not surprised. She lives for dueling. It's her own personal high." Ciel sounded as if he was disparaging her, when the truth is he was positively acknowledging one of her niches.

"She does seem to enjoy fighting. Has she always been that way?" Alois asked in genuine curiosity.

"She has. It's her one vice that caused the most trouble." Now he was deriding her. But his sister aside, there is something he wants to know. "After this duel, then what happens?"

"My wishes will come true. And when they have I'll die for real and Hannah will eat my soul." He announced placidly. The thousands of wishes he's made to the stars, and finally one is coming true. "After that I'll return this body to you!" He added with a gleeful tone.

"Return this body?" He scoffed. This hapless, helpless, broken doll of a body.

"I did a terrible thing to you, Ciel." Alois admitted regretfully. "Sebastian, Claude, and Alliahnna - they love you so much. I wanted to punish you for living such a blessed life."

"Love, eh? How childish!" Ciel mocked him. Love. What a pathetic term for a fleeting moment. Alois was baffled by his response. "You don't know Sebastian or Alliahnna at all, do you? Have you any idea how they'll react when they learn the details of the contract?" That secret was enough to send him spiraling in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. How desperately those two will fight. The dire situation pushing them beyond their limits. All for the fruits of their labor to turn to ash in their mouths.

xxx

Hannah led Claude, Sebastian, and Alliahnna into crystal lined caverns. Jagged, razor sharp protrusions of crystallized rock were sprouting from ceiling to floor. The thin, wayward pillars Their emerald green glow cast a luminescent coating to the bedrock of the surrounding cavern. Moisture from the air outside made the air humid. The turquoise stone was covered with bits of salt. Caves traveling for miles and miles around circumvented the island, carrying funnels of air throughout the entire island. It howled in disembodied moans, as if the spirits of those who have been brought to the island before were still lingering on this heaven abandoned island.

Ciel was placed on a ledge far enough from the fray that is to come. Eyes glowing brightly in the dim emerald lighting, Sebastian removed the glove of his left hand, exposing his Faustian seal. He let the glove fall to the ground, discarding it for the moment at hand. Claude was seated to a boulder with Hannah seated to his lap. His right arm wrapped at her back, his hand holding her mouth agape. His left hand, his own seal laid bare, was stretched across her stomach, holding her by the hip. His eyes were glowing as well. Hannah removed her headdress, and released her long silver locks from the braid she confined it to. She was shedding the articles that made her the humble maid of Trancy, and revealing to the human world the demoness that has lived amongst them for centuries. And for the last time, the demon sword will be plucked from her body. Alliahnna stood off to the side, her eyes glowing in tandem to the sword being summoned from within Hannah's bowels. Her exposed seal was pulsing as the sword's resonance beckoned to her. The raw power contained in the sword was one to be feared, and yet marveled at.

Sebastian traced his hand up her cheek, snaking two fingers inside her mouth. She gagged as the arm slithered down her windpipe, the hand wriggling around in the pits of her body for the demon sword Laevateinn. Claude tightened his grasp, holding her firmly in place. Alliahnna braced herself for the part she dislikes most. Sebastian jerked his arm back. Laevateinn smoothly, if not painfully, unsheathed from within Hannah, covered in her bile and saliva. She gasped for precious air, shaking Claude's arms off of her as she collected herself.

"I stand by it." Alliahnna mumbled under her breath. Sebastian arched a brow at her. "If you ever put something that big in me, I will end you."

Sebastian chuckled at her threat, and then leaned to her ear. He cupped a hand to his whisper would not be heard. "Have I not done so many times before now?" Alliahnna exploded cherry red. She cursed herself for walking into that one. Still, she's glad to see him smiling. Even if it is brief. That smile is what she found to be his most enchanting feature. Sebastian appreciated her ability to be jovial during such serious circumstances. He was able to shake off the tension before their battle.

"No human weapon known if powerful enough to fatally wound a demon." Hannah educated the trio, retrieving the sword from Sebastian. "That said, a wound caused by a demon sword will NEVER heal! The damage done by such a blow is PERMANENT!" She tossed the sword up, staking it into the ceiling. "There is no hope for a soul pierced by a demon sword. It will be utterly obliterated." She finished with a twisted smile. One of the three souls tonight will be completely devastated, and left as a rotting carcass. "Now then…" Hannah positioned herself in the middle of the arena. Claude and Sebastian on either side. The time for talk was past. Action will be the deciding factor.

"A demon duel with a single sword!" Claude summarized the severity of the situation.

"A singular sword to battle for a singular soul!" Sebastian added gruffly.

"A singular soul for the singular demon that prevails!" Alliahnna hushly said behind a hand.

The stakes are higher than ever. Either they fight their hardest and push the boundaries, or no one will leave a victor from this accursed island. No one...except for Hannah and Alois.

Claude and Sebastian shifted into their stances. Hannah found them ready and raised her hand into the air. The pair ran in circles around her, their dagger glares locked to only each other. The prospect of Ciel was just a fatal stab away. Sebastian was in no mood for this game. He would pour all of his energy into winning his duel. Into winning his young master. Claude, however, could hardly contain himself. From his malicious grin, he was drooling like a hungry dog dying for the food that is within his grasp.

"When this is done, I will sink my teeth into the Young Master's soul!" Claude declared. He leapt for the sword. Sebastian jumped after it as well. He thrust his hand, his fingers inches from wrapping to the hilt. Claude shot his hand forward. A thin thread shot from his sleeve, wrapping to the hilt. He threw his body into a swing, freeing Laevateinn and wrenching it far from Sebastian's hands. Thus far, the tide of battle was shifting to his favor. Hannah, watching from the side with Ciel, will enjoy their struggle. "I'LL BITE HARD!" Claude growled, flourishing Laevateinn in his hand. Alliahnna furrowed her brow, reaching behind her back. "DEEP AND GRUEL! THE SOUL IS MINE!" Claude charged in a single push. He swung the sword with more strength than needed. Sebastian easily dodged the barbaric swing. Rock and dust erupted, a gash tearing in the stone. Claude wildly thrust the sword for Sebastian's skull, laughing crazily in the anticipation of tasting Ciel.

Sebastian bobbed and weaved between the fervent strikes. The breeze of the narrowly missing blows was enough to make him shiver. Claude was fast and his is strong, Sebastian can admit to that. But in terms of skill, Claude was no better than a child. Sebastian caught him off guard by darting forward, passing Claude with a graceful spin. The spider watched stunned as his adversary pirouetted behind him. Sebastian stooped low, sweeping a leg and tripping Claude's feet out from under him. The spider slapped a hand down, causing a shocking ripple to vibrate up Sebastian's body. He folded his sword behind his back, swinging his lower body and flailing his legs in a crazed kick. Sebastian flattened onto his back. The legs breezed past his face. Sebastian curled back, jumping off his hands to his feet and then charged. Claude blindly swung Laevateinn in retaliation. Sebastian slid on his knees, wrenching his head back and smirking as the sword missed. He propped on a hand, angling a kick for Claude's head. A wrist met the crook of the ankle, making Sebastian hiss. Claude clamped his hand to the ankle, holding Sebastian securely. He drove Laevateinn straight for Sebastian's black heart, only for the cursed blade to be met by cold stone. Sebastian had twisted onto his palms. He threw himself upright, pushing on his one free foot and cracking the back of his head on Claude's forehead. The curve of a plam caught the quaff head. Fingers grabbed a fistful of long black locks. Sebastian's head was yanked back hard. The bones in his neck close to snapping. Claude held Laevateinn at his neck, grinning crazily as he hovered the blade barely a centimeter from Sebastian's fragile veins. Sebastian's brow knit sharply. He snapped one hand to Claude's wrist and then jabbed his elbow in his stomach. Claude choked on the air, releasing Sebastian who skipped several feet away. Claude shook off the blow. He charged at full speed, thrusting Laevateinn wildly like before. Just as before, Sebastian dodged the fervent attacks. This round about was becoming tiresome. Time to change tactics. Sebastian bent all the way back to his hand. He swung his foot up. The toe darted for Claude's sword hand. At the last second, Claude swung the sword out of the way. Sebastian hissed through gritted teeth. He was open to an attack. As his body came around full circle, Sebastian was able to tuck his feet in order to spring from the inevitable swing. But Claude already had the sword above his head. Like an executioner with his axe. Sebastian grimaced as the sword's shadow widened to his face. The blade inches from contact.

Shimmering silver steel darted in Laevateinn's path, halting the sword a mere breath from Sebastian's flawless skin. His crimson eyes opened in abject shock and awe. Claude was taken aback by the guard. A simple rapier stopping the incomparable Laevateinn was unprecedented. He hissed to the side at the intruder who dared to hinder his triumph. Hands firmly grasped at the hilt shaking under the raw strength being fed to Laevateinn, eyes brimming in crimson, Alliahnna had joined the fray, smiling victoriously at Claude's outrage. "Remember what Hannah said! I'm allowed to play too!" Hannah chuckled under her breath, idly petting Ciel like the loving pet that he is to her. Alliahnna moved in, adjusting her arms and twisting the sword. She moved between Claude and Sebastian, deadlocking the rapier and Laevateinn in an X. The stone ground caved as Alliahnna dug her feet to remain stationary. Claude winced as he was forced to edge back three steps. To think a newborn's powers grew this much in such a short amount of time. "I won't let it be said I didn't fight for Ciel until my last breath!" Alliahnna waited for Claude to push, then she collapsed her strength. Caught off guard, Claude stumbled forward. Her elbow darted for his nose. Claude managed to throw himself backwards, ghosting underneath the sneak attack. He whirled around, bringing the sword down. Alliahnna flipped her rapier, pressing the width to her palm. She winced in agony as Laevateinn connected with her sword. The vibrations rattled her bones to the marrow, making every blood vessel and nerve burst. The shrieking metals pierced her ears.

"Impossible! No human weapon can withstand a demon's weapon!" Claude roared.

"Were it this was a human's weapon!" Alliahnna panted. Her arms were going numb, caving under the strain Laevateinn and Claude put on her. "This weapon was made for a demon's hand! Or substitute demon, as the case used to be!" She stated with a cocky smile.

"What?" Claude gasped. Sebastian chuckled under his breath.

"Sebastian forged this sword for me so it would never wither, break, or lose its sharpness as it is used." For years that sword has served it. It's slain hundreds who would stand in her way. And with this very sword she killed Ash Landers, the monster who stole everything from her and Ciel. "Jasper and Zanosuke reinforced it soon after."

"That explains why you were able to deflect Hannah's bullets so effectively." He pushed Laevateinn hard against it, trying to force the blade to at least bend. It may have clattered under the warring strengths, but the sword would not bend. "The steel does not wane regardless of strain!" Claude scoffed at how he had not put two and two together before now. No matter. It will not help her.

"Granted, this is not a demon sword. Damage by this is easily healed from." As she has proven dozens of times. "As compensation, it can combat a demon's weapon. AND BOY DOES IT STING WHEN IT CONNECTS!" She shouted with a crazed grin. Alliahnna thrust and twisted a foot, wrenching her body in a furious spin. She diverted Laevateinn off side, launched the brunt of her foot in a backwards kick.

Claude ducked under, feeling the heel brush his hair. He back sprang off his hands a distance from her. He shifted Laevateinn protectively across his front, holding his stance firmly. "The ideal weapon for a girl with strength she cannot control!" He scoffed. His shoulders bounced as he laughed. "You truly are coddled."

"That is where you are wrong!" Claude's eye darted to the corner. He jumped back. Sebastian dropped out of nowhere, his heel coming down in a hazardous kick. Stone and salty rubble exploded as his heel struck where Claude once stood. "There was never any sort of coddling." Sebastian pivoted sharply. The sound barrier broke as he charged. Claude moved his arm to strike. Sebastian's hand clamped to his wrist, crushing the assortment of bone and muscle in a vice like grip. The shock alone was enough to almost paralyzed Claude's fingers. He hissed disdainfully at the boastfully smiling raven. "We exploited and aroused one another's potential to the peak of their fruition! If one faltered, the other compensated!" Sebastian yanked him forward, thrusting the full brunt of his elbow into Claude's nose. The sickening crack, followed by splintering hot pain, sent him staggering in a daze. His grip on Laevateinn did not falter an inch. "Not that someone who handicaps his cohorts to accentuate his superiority would understand that!" Sebastian lifted Claude by the sword arm, pulling him hard into his fist. Blood exploded from Claude's mouth, spattering to Sebastian's clothes and mockingly grinning cheeks. The triumph was short lived by a foot on Sebastian's hip.

Claude's pained daze changed to maniac glee. He threw himself back, fluttering two powerful kicks into Sebastian's chin, sending him hurtling into air. Claude cackled blissfully, licking the blood dripping to his lips. He launched after him, drawing the sword back. Sebastian grimaced as he wasn't able to steady himself. Shadows darted from behind him. The two demons gaped at the ceiling. Alliahnna flipped around, planting her to a crystallized rock. She drew her sword back with both hands, then stomped her foot in a rapid launch. Claude weaved back, crossing his sword and intercepting the stainless steel tip. Alliahnna pushed her sword, driving Claude backwards. He placed a palm at the sword, pushing back. Then his eyes widened. Sebastian slammed a palm to the whole of his face, flipping himself beneath him. His fingers interlaced with his hair and the tails of his coat. Throwing all of his weight forward, Sebastian threw Claude, sending him skipping on jagged rocks to a rebounding stop against a boulder. He dropped to a knee, stabbing Laevateinn as a crutch to not hit the floor. He coughed up blood, running on dry fumes as he fought to catch his breath. Sebastian and Alliahnna landed in the middle of their arena, fixing hair and suit in prideful display of their advantage. Ash and Angela were no match for them, and they were angels of the highest order. What hope does a pitiful spider have against them both?

Claude growled venomously, bearing his fangs like the rabid animal he was becoming. Murderously glowing eyes pierced the duo like daggers to a chopping block. His knees buckled through the electricity shooting through his nerves. He forced himself back into his stance, lugging Laevateinn in both hands. He wasn't done. He will never stop. Not until both The Raven and The Bat are dead and buried.

"Put that down before you hurt yourself!" Alliahnna scoffed. She held her sword in both hands, drawing it to head height. "In age you are superior! But in swordsmanship I outmatch you!"

"Do not let a simple contingency make you cocky!" He frothed at the mouth like an infected dog. "For every second you breathe I have lived centuries longer! You cannot hope to match me!"

"I've trained nonstop since the day I was born a human in the art of combat! Sword or hand, it does not matter!" Sebastian will testify to that. "In this fight where the terms are not yours," Alliahnna's feet edged forward. Her crimson eyes flickered pink, "I AM THE SUPERIOR DEMON!" Sebastian's coat was jostled when she took off in a dash. She brought her sword down and swung up. Claude moved Laevateinn, intercepting the swing. He received a dose of punishment, but he can still fend her with one hand. She bared her fangs at him. The hatred burning in her eyes disgusted him. "Ciel will not be yours! Even if I have to devour him, I will not allow you to have him!" Sebastian was shocked. He never imagined those words would leave her mouth.

"You would devour your own brother?" Claude chuckled.

"If it means saving him from further humiliation, I WOULD COMMIT A GREATER SIN!"

xxx

Ciel's remained impassive as her words echoed in the black abyss. He scoffed at her decree, closing his eyes to the ridiculousness. Commit a greater sin. He repeated in his mind. With Alois's back to him, the boy was unable to see his eye become glossed with heartbroken tears. What greater sin is there...than becoming a monster of the night.

xxx

Alliahnna stretched a foot up, stamping to Laevateinn. Claude gaped in disbelief when she pushed up and flipped behind him. She whirled around, her sword barely knicking a string on his coat. Claude startled her with a backwards kick to her hand, knocking her sword free and impaled to a stone several feet away. "DAMN!" Claude impaled the sword to the ground. He connected two punches in her stomach. A third is where he held and twisted the fist, lifting her feet off the ground. Blood exploded from her throat, her trembling eyes widening.

"A good thing there's nothing in there. I'm surprised you didn't lose your little bastard before hand with the beatings you take!" That tore at her core. An aura filled black mist exhausted on his shaky breath. Claude bounced her off his fist, let her linger in the air a moment, then spun and drove a swift kick to her chest. Alliahnna was sent flying to a bed of crystallized rock. It crumbled to pebbles beneath her, leaving her numb and limp in a daze. Her vision was blurred. A malicious shadow was moving over her. Her cloudy eyes already knew who she was looking at. And who was looking at her. Claude stood over her, tapping the sword mocking at the fragile veins at her neck. "And one step at a time," He took the sword in both hands, aligning the tip to her windpipe, "The Phantomhive lineage fades with the SCREAMS!" The sword went down. Alliahnna's eyes stayed open to meet her killer and maker with pride.

The sword was knocked from Claude's hand, sent flipping into a stake in the wall nearby. A foot quickly retracted. He gasped in dismay, turning to be met with a swift punch in the nose. He staggered back, holding his nostrils as blood trickled out. He was grabbed by the hair and back of the belt, lifted off the ground, and thrown down a slippery, bumpy slope to a pile of crystallized rock. Claude was able to recover and brush it off. He hissed through gritted teeth, glowering at Sebastian as he helped his beloved to her feet.

"Can you still fight?" Sebastian rumbled.

Alliahnna spat up dirt and saliva, wiping her face clean. "If I stop now, this will be for nothing!"

Just the answer he'd expect from his Lady and Master. Formerly or not. "Then let us proceed outside, shall we? It has grown unbearably stuffy in here." Claude was baffled by his comment. Alliahnna, on the other hand, saw how he was looking at the sword and shivered at what Sebastian had reeling in that demented head of his. "A small space like this hinders my ability to move freely! But I can fix that!" Sebastian retrieved the sword, swinging his lower body and wrenching it free. The blade sharpened on the rocks. He flipped around, aiming the sword for the cold stone below. "Let's widen this place up a touch!" The sword broke ground. Reverberating rumbling echoed throughout the cavern.

"HANNAH!" Hannah gaping eyes at Sebastian diverted to Alliahnna. He started springing up to the cave's entrance. "GRAB CIEL AND RUN!" Hannah was baffled by her warning. Suddenly plummeting tears in the bedrock split open, webbing to the entirety of the cavern. From floor to ceiling and to the integral stability of the mountain, the island started to crumble and fall. The cavern was becoming buried by weakening rubble. Support column gave under the immense strain.

"COME, MASTER!" Hannah scooped up Ciel, racing after Alliahnna.

"DAMN YOU," Claude's hands found Alliahnna's lost sword, and pulled it free from the splitting rocks, "SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS!" Sebastian rather enjoyed what he did. Not only has it freed him to fight as he pleases, but Claude has lost his advantage.

xxx

Hannah and Alliahnna were the first to make it outside. The blustery, icy winds caught them off guard briefly. The salt stung their eyes. The two demonesses were shocked and awed by the disaster measuring equally to the storm that raged on the island. The starry night sky was blacked out by the stormy clouds. The gentle, pacified waves they traveled across were now scaling stories high, roaring and crushing to one another. Pieces of the stark island were falling into the sea, sinking to the black abyss where the island would soon join them. Hannah and Alliahnna stumbled as the surface broke under them. Canyon deep crack sprouted from the caverns they demolished, tearing the island asunder. In just minutes the island will no longer be there. The sanctuary for demon kind gone and buried under leagues of water.

"He certainly knows how to leave destruction wherever he goes!" Hannah hissed, clutching Ciel close.

"Now, now…" Alliahnna chortled. She always wanted to say this, "If he cannot leave a gaping mark on the world, what kind of butler would he be?" Sebastian and Claude emerged from a tear that reached their cavern. Hannah and Alliahnna watched them soar high into the sky, fighting over that blasted sword. Alliahnna rushed over to Ciel, planting a kiss on his forehead and brushing hairs from his face. "I'll be back. And you take care of him!" She warned Hannah. The demoness fully intended to watch over him as if he were her own child. Alliahnna raced after the fighting demons, prancing off jagged rocks as they sprouted beneath her.

xxx

I'll be back. Ciel mocked her in his mind, touching the spot he felt her kiss. You always come back...don't you? London, the bridge, the island - Alliahnna always came back, only for a piece of her to die when she did. And now...his sister was dead. The girl fighting for him outside...she's just a husk with her appearance. You always came back Allie, His fingers stiffly curled to a fist, But not this time.

xxx

Sebastian held the advantage with the sword in hand. He need only plunge it into Claude's beating heart. The victory was premature and short lived. Claude kicked the sword from Sebastian's grasp. It plummeted for the freshly opened canyon below. Alliahnna skipped off her toes at a rapid speed, darting in a zigzag for the canyon. She pushed off the ledge like a bullet fired from a gun. He outstretched fingers wrapped to Laevateinn's hilt. She tucked into a roll, skidding to a halt in her stance.

Claude, still flipping in the air with Sebastian, planted his feet to the rival demon's back and kicked off. The force exploded from his back to his stomach in a devastating shock, propelling blood from his mouth. Alliahnna's sword in his grip, Claude clasped both hands to the hilt and sliced downward. Alliahnna spread and dig in her feet. She flourished Laevateinn, pressed the broad width to her palm. Claude axed the rapier with tremendous might. The swords shrieked in their deadlock. Neither sword was breaking under the other's oppression, but the specially made rapier was losing in durability. As both she and Claude surmised it would. Specially made or not, the weapon was a glorified human brand compared to the raw abomination it was facing. Another blow from Laevateinn, and the cherished sword would be nothing but trash.

"Angels, Reapers, Demons! What a Hellish existence!" Alliahnna spat with a crazed grin.

"And it only continues for the long run!" Claude pushed down, bending her arms and legs. "Demons are eternal! We do not age past what our forms allow! The appearance you hold is the one you will see for the rest of time!" His face split down the middle with a twisted smile. "A real shame you won't be able to experience it in its whole!" Claude kicked her in the stomach.

Alliahnna staggered back, maintaining her stance. Her arms were numb from the heated parries. And Laevateinn was exactly light. The power it holds was seeping into her. Driving her mad to hold onto it. "I'll still outlive you!" She launched forward. Claude folded her weakening sword behind his back. With both hands Alliahnna swung Laevateinn. Each miss provided by Claude's dodging was effortlessly combined with a shifting kick and opportune thrust. Claude was easily able to dodge her preemptive strikes, but was losing ground the further he edged back. And this bout has dragged on long enough.

"How does it feel to wield true power in your hands?! Is it delicious? Does it make you tingle?!" Claude tried to mock her, able to see she was straining to keep her sanity. It was fading each time she missed her target. At the same time, she was losing her willingness for small talk with him. She wanted to split him in half like Sebastian did the mountain. Watch his blood stain the bedrock. Claude, however, was no longer in the mood for her. In fact, he's grown tired of Sebastian's demented errand dog.

"I'll kill you! For everything you've done to us! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Enough! Time to end this!" Claude declared. Alliahnna thrust the sword forward. Claude stepped to the side, letting her pass by him enough to snap his hand to her wrist. Claude twisted her wrist, freeing Laevateinn and impaling it to the crumbling stone ground. He swung up his foot, connecting with Alliahnna's stomach and sending her hurtling high into the sky. She was flipping out of control. She was gripped in a daze. She managed to shake it off, steadying herself in midair. Too late. Claude rocketed after her. With her own sword, he wrenched his arm up, cutting a gash that travel from her left hip to her right shoulder, shooting past her as he blood sprayed to the night air. Alliahnna, too in shock to retaliate, started to weave backwards, curving upside down in a plummet for the earth below. Claude awaited her as her dazed stare fell unto him. Her rapier gleaming in the moonlight. Claude lingered in the air a moment longer, watching Alliahnna fall like a doll without strings. She was another 100 feet from the ground. He launched into a dive, drawing the sword back. A few seconds before she hit ground, Claude plunged her own sword through her stomach, smashing the hilt brutally to her abdomen. The blade pierced solid stone, her entire back cracked the ground on contact, and blood erupted from her mouth and every wound she'd sustained.

Alliahnna lied helpless to the cold stone. Her vision clouded, and her body was heavier than lead. Her blood was pooling to the cracks, being fed to the island that was crumbling right beneath her. Those few short blows robbed her of whatever strength she had left in her to fight. Standing, or so much as twitching her eyebrow, wasn't an option. She was even too weak to turn her head, to see the sword impaled in her stomach, holding her in place while Claude was free to do with her as he wished. Her fingers itched to grasp her weapon, to pull it out of her stomach and continue the battle. That was no longer an option. She was done. She can't...she can't fight anymore.

Claude freed Laevateinn, sauntering over to her in a tortuously slow stride. He won't wait, he won't taunt her. He'll just plunge the sword so deep no one can ever remove it. And then, once he finishes with her, it will be Sebastian's turn.

As Claude neared her, Alliahnna cloudy eye moved upward. Claude paused, hearing rapid footsteps coming toward him. Just like before, he turned just in time to be rammed full force by Sebastian's shoulder. He saved her again. Just as she knew he would. The Raven stopped short and added a kick to Claude's hands. And, once again, Laevateinn was freed from another's grasp. It beat the air as it flew in an arch, falling into a spreading pit.

"THE DEMON SWORD!" Sebastian gasped.

"PHANTOMHIVE'S SOUL!" Claude raced after the sword. Sebastian debated between the sword and Alliahnna. Does he retrieve the weapon to end this madness, or does he stay to ensure Alliahnna will live to fight another day. He was conflicted.

Then Alliahnna grunted dryly, spitting up blood to clear her airway. "G...O…" She choked at first. Sebastian wavered. She cleared her throat viciously, frustrated that Sebastian had such a weak expression on his face. "GO!" She roared, throwing a hand out. "SAVE CIEL!" Because she no longer can.

"RIGHT!" Sebastian broke into a dead sprint, catching up to Claude in an instant.

"Save him...Sebastian…" Alliahnna whimpered. Her arm fell limply. "End his suffering once and for all."

I will return to you! I swear! Sebastian vowed as he and Claude dove with a hand stretched to retrieve the demon sword. It was still falling in into the gorge, waiting for one of them to claim it. The weapon that would decide the inevitable fate of Ciel Phantomhive.

The Demon Sword, Ciel Phantomhive's soul - "I WILL HAVE THEM BOTH!" They both cried. Both of their hands clutched the falling sword's hilt.

xxx

An eerie, deafening silence stagnated the air. The dark clouds were rolling across the sky. Cold drops to Hannah and Alliahnna's skin startled the pair. They gazed dazedly to the darkened sky, finding themselves to be met with a few more drops at their cheeks. Finally, as if the heavens were gripped by the sorrow crushing the land before, rain pelted the island and surrounding ocean. The sky was weeping for what has been allowed to transpire. The rain came in a feverish downpour, soaking the ground, Hannah, Ciel, and Alliahnna to the bone.

"It's raining. My, my…" Hannah admired.

"It would seem…" Alliahnna lurched in agony, "Someone is saddened by our grotesque behavior." How ironic that heaven would weep for the acolytes of Hell. She managed a weak and despondent smile, turning her head to the side. She felt nothing. Empty and emotionless as her blood spilled into the fresh veins of the sundering mountain.

xxx

"Because of Alliahnna and Sebastian, the revenge I sought to exact was fully achieved." Ciel confessed to Alois. The end was drawing nigh as the boys lingered in their prison. Much was weighing heavily on his chest, making him writhe under a gnarling tension tying him into knots. It isn't how he planned to have his revenge exacted, but it was enough to sooth him. To know that, in the end, the ones who robbed him of everything had perished. "I existed for a singular purpose. To have Sebastian devour my soul."

"But then Hannah and I signed our contract." Alois joined in on the confession. "And your plans were foiled." This isn't much anymore that weighed the Trancy boy down. He professed his love to Claude, was spurned, and then received a warmer love from Hannah who had always been there for him. He has gotten what he wanted. There is only the matter of Sebastian or Claude dying to end his miserable existence.

xxx

Sebastian and Claude continued their plummet, spiraling about one another in their personal deathly dance. From one exchange of hands to the other, Laevateinn was tossed about in a frenzy as it was swung by one demon and caught by the other. Blood thirsty grins stretched to their cheeks. Claude would thrust the sword, hoping to stick Sebastian to the bedrock they fell past. Sebastian would dodge his attack and steal the sword, return the favor tenfold.

The light at the top of the pit the two demon fell down was the symbol of their salvation. Just on the other side was the reward they would reap. Not knowing that their fruits would turn to ash in their mouths once they have bitten into it.

xxx

"I can almost pity them. Fighting while still in the dark." Ciel moaned. True regret loomed over him.

xxx

Alliahnna stared blankly up to the sky. She chuckled grimly, wondering if it was bad that she couldn't feel the rain anymore.

Meanwhile, Claude and Sebastian found a solid ledge. The pair hadn't bothered to pause for a moment before engaging in their heated bout. Sebastian took advantage of Claude' barely touching ground. He swung the sword. Claude flipped and kicked the sword into his own grasp. Sebastian quickly regained footing, tackling Claude and grasping desperately to the sword.

xxx

"They battle now not knowing what happens with they win."

xxx

Claude and Sebastian were in free fall. Their demonically glowing eyes piercing the darkness like blades, shredding one another to ribbons. In one fierce spin, Sebastian launched Claude off of him. The Spider landed to a narrow protrusion. The rock keeled under his weight. He gasped in dismay, too disoriented to counter. Sebastian brought the sword down.

xxx

"Not knowing the truth of their reward." Ciel closed his eyes.

xxx

Claude cried out in agony. The bedrock at his back, and Sebastian over him, Laevateinn impaled Claude's stomach, staking him to the place that would serve as his tomb. Sebastian savored the look of utter despair in The Spider's eyes. The victory he so immaturely claimed ripped forever out of his grasp. His end drawing nearer as Sebastian pushed the sword deeper. His despair was like candy to Sebastian. The knowledge that he had failed, lost to the very weapon he so coveted and thought he held supreme ownership of.

xxx

Up above, Claude imminent death was sensed by the idling demonesses. Though invisible by the rain, water trickled down Hannah's cheek from her eye. The Demon Claude was no more. Still, she was able to smile.

"It's over…" Alliahnna announced in a whisper. Her bloodied lips held their perpetual smile. "Well done...Sebastian…" She closed her eyes, letting her mind drift in the abyssal space she had grown accustomed to. After years of turmoil and strife, it was finally over.

xxx

(Alliahnna POV)

I am a terrible sister. Absolutely dreadful! As the eldest, it was my sworn duty to look after Ciel! To take care of him because our parents could not. And now, here I lie, as my blood is washed into this god forsaken mountain, waiting in gnawing suspense for Sebastian and Claude to end their duel. All for the purpose of eating Ciel. To take his soul...and leave his husk wherever it may lie.

If this is Divine Punishment for our sins - if this is our bad karma for all the suffering we've inflicted - then we as Phantomhive's shall meet our demise with our heads held high, and our pride in full tact. Even now, as I lie here, I refuse to let my resolve waver or fade. It is merely my heart that is faltering as I wait for the end to come and take Ciel away from me...forever.

Mother...Father...if you can hear me where you are...I have failed you. (Tears falls) I'm so sorry…

xxx

Hannah meandered to Alliahnna's side. She lied Ciel beside her, propping his precious head to a rock. As she gazed upon the slumbering girl with somber eyes, she marveled at the tears slipping down her cheek. Alliahnna, at first blush, appeared to be at peace. But, inside her heart, as Hannah could sense, there was a grief that was worming its way through her soul. When Alliahnna opened her eyes again, she noted Hannah standing over her but did not offer any words of acknowledgement. The combative side of her wanted to tell her to piss of. To tell her that this would have been avoided had she and the others minded their own business. But the forgiving side of her, the side that has come to terms with what has happened, kept her silent. She was willing to let what is about to happen happen. Her fight was over. She's just sad she won't be there for when Sebastian returns.

"Why do you weep, Alliahnna Phantomhive?" Hannah uttered sweetly.

"Because…" She took in a breath, feeling a burning in her lungs, "I swore...that I would always protect him. Keep him safe from the demons that would see him harmed." She turned her attention to the comatose boy. How precious he looked. How peaceful he must be in the midst of what is about to happen. "I failed our parents. I failed him. I am a pitiful demon. And worse still...I am a pitiful elder sister."

"You are not, Alliahnna. Just the opposite." Hannah smoothed her dress at her knees and thighs, kneeling to the succumbing girl. She cupped a hand to her cheek, wanting Alliahnna to see the sincerity that is in her vibrant eyes. "You are one of the most remarkable demons I have ever come to meet. In the centuries I have lived, never has one like you come along. I am sorry we met under these circumstances." She brushed a thumb under her cloudy eyes, able to see the fire still alight within her. "Your were and are an inspiration. I envy how vivacious and lively you can be in spite of knowing what awaits you." She leaned down. Alliahnna closed her eyes. Hannah's lips pecked her forehead, making her cold cheeks blush. "Never lose that light."

"Thank you." Alliahnna managed to find some strength. She brushed the backs of her fingers to Ciel's ice cold cheek, pouring love from her still holding smile. "Ciel, I don't know if you can hear me…but I am sorry." She snaked her hand into his hair, relishing in how soft and tame it has willed itself to stay. "In the end...I could not save you. I lied to you in the hopes of learning of a way to spare your soul. I wanted so desperately to live with you until your old years. That is no longer an option...for either of us." She acquiesced. Her physical fight, and the emotional one, are long over. It was time to accept what is. "Your soul will be taken - you will die - and I will remain as I am for all eternity."

Hannah folded her hands before her, lowering her head with deep regret. "Since we are nearing the end, I am afraid there is a prerequisite in my master's wishes." Alliahnna arched a bewildered brow. Hannah leaned in once again, bringing her lips to her ear. She whispered so softly that not even the rocks around them would hear, her eyes shrouded with a woeful gleam. Horror widened Alliahnna's eyes.

"No…" Tears traced her eye, trickling to the corner. Hannah grasped at the sword in her stomach. "Ciel...no…" Two sharp pains - the sword being ripped from her stomach, then impaling her chest just an inch below her mark - devastated Alliahnna. Her mind and body imploded. A trauma unlike anything she had felt sent her spiraling into darkness. Her whole body lost its vigor, and there she lied like a corpse without its soul.

"Do not fret, Alliahnna Phantomhive. You are not meant to die here on this forsaken land." Hannah scooped up Ciel, meandering for the cliffside ahead. She gazed out to the ominous horizon, basking in the frigid wind blowing her long silver hair. "This is merely to ensure my master's wishes come to be."

xxx

It was done. The battle was won. Sebastian Michaelis was the victor. And now Claude will fade into black.

"It's over!" Sebastian boasted, rubbing salt in his wounds. "Your dreams of tearing the Young Master apart are finished!"

Claude dying eyes were frozen wide open. Not in horror, despair, or even in regret. But in...euphoria. A bliss that, even as he lies there dying, he has allowed himself to be enveloped in by its rapturous silk. He stared past the demon looming over him, peered past the crack highlighted in a blinding light, and saw the young boy he wished to eat lying in Hannah's arms.

"The Young Master has...such a...sweet soul…" He proclaimed adoringly through shallow breaths. Sebastian brow knit in bewilderment. "The battle for his worthy soul has finally reached its conclusion. Even as I wither away…" An aroma to which he will never know the taste teased his nostrils, made his mouth water, "I can still smell his rich, untainted fragrance."

"You think that is the Young Master's soul? You've got it wrong." Sebastian scoffed derisively. How wrong the dying spider was. "It's Alois Trancy's soul that trifles with you. And you'll DIE as he intended." As Sebastian and Alliahnna have desired. "Don't you see? You've been under his control this whole time!"

"Alois Trancy…" Claude breathed in amazement. "It was...hi-BLAH!" Blood bubbled in his throat, spilling to his mouth. He was fading fast. "My spectacles. I've a spare in my breast pocket." Sebastian adhered to his wish, retrieving the fresh, unbroken pair and placing them to his face. For the first time in a while, Claude was able to see the world all the more clearly. "As a demon, I have lived a dull and idle life. Yet Alois Trancy has managed to spice it up a bit. I underestimated his soul. I might have taken pleasure in tearing his soul apart." Claude laughed at his folly. The whole time...it has only been Alois Trancy he has coveted. But now...it was over. "If I am under his control. Then what does that make you...to Alliahnna?"

"What do you mean?" Sebastian's brow knit.

"I always assumed it was...young Ciel who trifled with you. Drove you to such lengths. I was wrong. It was...Alliahnna Phantomhive who pushed you beyond your limits." Sebastian's shoulders sank. A self loathing smile stretched to his lips. Has be truly become so transparent that a dying man can see right through him? Claude tilted his head back, able to see that girl lying in her blood with her sword sticking out of her. "Alliahnna Phantomhive…" The name rolled off his tongue. "Truly, I despised her. Her stubbornness, her drive, the passion in which she marched forward with. The light that never seems to dull from her…" He closed his eyes, wanting to avoid the memories of her defiant persona tainting his fall from grace, "I truly and utterly despise that about her. And yet...in a way...it is what I adore in you." Sebastian disliked others fawning over his beloved. But, as he was dying, he allowed Claude this one privy. "The taste that I licked from you...there are no words to describe it. The noblest of flavors." He snickered as he returned his attention to Sebastian, "Your love for her...extends deeper than her flavor...or her persona. It is…"

"Her." Sebastian finished lovingly. "It is simply Alliahnna. I love HER. And everything that makes her exit." Sebastian inhaled her scent from his glove, tasting her sweet lips on his lips as he reveled in her. "She and the young master are a spice I crave. She is one I will be able to hold onto for the centuries to come."

"And believe me...you will have...centuries…" Claude's strength was the next to fade on the passing wind. The world was beginning to black out around him. "I believe...my time...has come...I'm afraid."

"Well then, have you any last words?"

"Yes." As is his trade action, Claude adjusted his glasses, staring into the eyes of the death that beckoned him. "Passion into insincerity...utter lies into abject truth...a stray dog of an earl into a boy…" He worked a smile to his damning lips. "That's…...what…...makes…...a…but-ler…..." He was gone. Claude Faustus, The Spider of House Trancy, was no more. But it cannot help but be wondered, as whose butler did he die as.

xxx

"NO, CLAUDE!" Alois wailed. It was like a knife stabbed him in his chest it was so vicious. Claude Faustus' life reached a tragic conclusion. As angry as he must have been at the demon, Alois truly felt sorrow for the loss of his favored demon.

"It's over now." Ciel stated sternly, forbidding Alois from speaking any words of regret, or losing his nerve in the face of his loss. There is nothing further that can be done.

Alois sighed resignedly. "You're right." He replied tenderly. "It's all over." He appeared happy about the madness ending. He should be happy. So why does he feel sad?

"Satisfied?" Ciel furrowed his brow.

"I don't really know. I'm no longer really sure how I feel." Alois breathed. In all honesty...he felt numb. This was very anticlimactic for him, and yet he came to expect this sort of response in terms of the duel settling. "But...well...as strange as it sounds...that's just fine with me."

An ethereal light flooded over Alois. Particles of light carried pieces of him away into the abyss, guiding his wayward soul to the awaiting Hannah. Before he was completely enveloped in light, after years of living in darkness, a pure smile spread to his lips. He was at peace with what happened. He can pass on without regrets.

Ciel watched the boy in his final moment, honoring him as he was taken away. Once alone, and his body his again, he rose to his feet, glaring harshly to the demon he knows is looming outside. "Now, Sebastian! The truth is right in front of you now!" He declared firmly, no the slightest bit unnerved by what is about to transpire. "What will you do when you learn everything? What will you and Alliahnna do?"

xxx

Sebastian returns to top to find Alliahnna where she was left. He was dismayed by the sword being move and re-placed at the edge of her seal. He carefully, but firmly, pulled the sword out, tossing the tainted blade aside. He cradled her in his arms, overcome with abject grief at her lifeless state.

"Alliahnna...please…" He brushed hair from her face. The black rings under her eyes made her appear as a ghoul who was dragged from her grave. He prayed that is not where she was. He tried his best to hurry. He did hurry. "Alliahnna...if you can hear me...please awaken…" He placed his lips to hers, sharing his energy - his strength with her. She has survived so much, cheated death countless times - this cannot be how she leaves the world. Not by a blade that should not be able to fatally wound demons of her caliber.

As Sebastian parted his lips from hers, Alliahnna stirred. Her cloudy eyes found their way to Sebastian. The pure relief on his face was enough to send her spiraling with joy. He had won, just as she knew he would. "What...took you...so long?" Sebastian isn't sure how much more he can take in regards to her health. That joy would not last long. Her eyes inadvertently dropped, but they found Hannah standing near the edge with Ciel in her arms. In her mind she recalled Hannah whispering something horrific to her. The light rejuvenated in her eyes as they widened. "Go to him!" She pleaded, pointing towards Hannah. He must claim what's his...before it is too late. "Sebastian...save him...PLEASE!"

"But-"

"Please, Sebastian!" She grasped at his tie, pulling him close so he would see the desperation in her eyes. "You must save him! Stop him from entering our Hell!"

Sebastian was dismayed by her plight, and confused. The tears spilling profusely from her eyes wounded his heart. She was falling apart at the seams. All because it wasn't over quite yet. In honor of her wishes, Sebastian lied her down and rose to go after his Young Master. Once Ciel is devoured, he will be able to return to her side...and stay there.

"I will be back." He promised. He moseyed on his way. Alliahnna closed her eyes, listening to the fervent wind and waves. Why do I feel like that's a lie?"

xxx

Hannah stood at the edge of the crumbling island. Sebastian was standing behind her, wanting his prize handed to him immediately. More than half of it had fallen and sank beneath the ocean. The sanctuary would be amongst the ruins history has long forgotten. The hollow wind wafting Hannah's dress and hair howled in woe for the ancient land. The rain had long since stopped pouring, the heavens unable to weep any longer for the damned beings upon the decimated rock.

"At long last, Master, we can finally know happiness." Hannah proclaimed, gazing out to the darkened horizon where she, Alois, and Claude would soon vanish in. "Dear Master! Claude finally acknowledged you!" It was enough to make her weep with joy. Alois's true wish had finally come to be. She is just sad it had to come like this.

"Hannah…" Sebastian did not wish to be callous, but her time with Ciel was up.

"The terms of the contract I have made with my master have been suitably met." She stated to Sebastian in a professional manner. A declaration etched in stone so it may be known that he is the victor of this battle. "All you have to do now is kill me. Simply do that and your young master with awaken." Simple as that. All too simple. A look of sorrow hued her face. "However…even with his body returned..." She glanced sideways to Alliahnna who was battling in an out of consciousness, succumbing to sadness as she was aware of what was next, "Ciel Phantomhive is as good as dead as a dead person to you! Much like Alliahnna when she lost her human self." A horrific realization struck Sebastian. He glanced to Alliahnna, he exposed seal sending shivers down his spine, then back to Hannah. She can't mean… "My Master and I have succeeded. Our work is nearly done. As for Ciel Phantomhive…" She started to say. The cliff gave out under her, sending her plummeting for the rocky ocean below.

Sebastian reached out a hand to catch her, to spare his master from falling with her. As she drew farther away, Sebastian saw her lips wordlessly utter a warning. An omen to further open the wound that Sebastian had been cradling for the past six years. When her message was clear, Alois Trancy's true wish made apparent, abject terror gripped him. A horrifying splash made Sebastian spring on impulse. He dove for the tumultuous waves below, diving for his young master.

xxx

The breaking island shook asunder, quaking violently as it stubbornly fought to stay afloat above its watery grave. Alliahnna was impassive to the virulent shaking. She cared not if the island sank or if it took her with it. She was stuck on Hannah falling to the deadly ocean waiting to swallow them all, taking her beloved brother with her. Once Sebastian dove in after him, Alliahnna felt the pressure mount. The goal they both have sought for years was continuing to elude them for one final trek.

"Yes...save...him…" Save him...so that he may be be spared from an eternity in a damned existence. Hannah, just before she left Alliahnna's side, whispered, 'My Lord Alois Trancy wishes for Ciel Phantomhive's soul to be forever untouchable. In that event, Ciel Phantomhive will reawaken...as a demon.' Alliahnna's heart broke into thousands of little pieces. Had she the strength left, she would howl to the bleak heavens, crying as Ciel's pure human essence is corroded by demon blood. Ciel can never be devoured. Sebastian can never have what he's wanted for so long. All of it will be for nothing. There is only one course now. One way to end this turmoil and suffering so she and Sebastian can finally move on. "Please...Sebastian...for me...kill him!" She would rather he die than be reborn as a monster of Hell.

The mountain split down the middle of her back. Alliahnna felt her body beginning to slip between the crack. Hot, musky air gasping past her, almost lifting her up before...she plummets. Alliahnna closed her eyes. Weightless as the bottomless pits of the sinking island swallowed her. In that instance, before her mind and body succumbed, she began to recall all the adventures she had with Sebastian and Ciel. From Paris to England - a portion of the world knew the terror the Phantomhive's could excite, and the lengths they would traverse in order to get what they wish. They laughs they shared. How hot their argument become. The fun times they had when the criminal underworld wasn't sticking its nose where it doesn't belong. Those times seemed like they would never end. Who knows. Maybe if she'd tried harder, changed a few moments, they probably never would have.

Lizzie, Schneizel, Soma, Phoebus, and the others. None of them know where they are, or what's about to happen. Perhaps it is for the best. She just wishes she can see them one last time. Them...Ciel...and Sebastian.

Please...forgive me...To whom the plight was directed, that is what she will take with she knew...someone would hear it. Her tears twinkled in the dimming light. "Goodbye… " The darkness swallowed her. Alliahnna Phantomhive vanished from the world's eye.

I'll always love you.

To be continued.

HA! ONE MORE FOLKS! I LIED!

The next chapter will be relatively short. Just a prologue to what's coming.