Hello Lovelies!

I would first like to thank all of you for your warm welcome back into the writing fold and all the new reviews, follows and favorites that I've received. I'd also like to offer a special thanks to Mfaerie32 for the mounds of extra support and all the wonderful compliments.

I'd also like to say that I've taken some liberties with the Circus Arc. I have to admit that the switch between Lion and Tiger was purely accidental but I'm pretty happy with it. Anyway, I hope you all love this chapter and I'm glad to be back. Writing may go a bit slow in places but I'll try to stay on top. Not be sporadic and to randomly abandon you guys.

Thanks for your never ending support.

Ta,

Majix

The inside of the tent was about what Sebastian expected it to be, dull, predictable, and all around rather tedious, but the immortal waited patiently for the physician to arrive none the less, choosing instead to look around in search of obvious clues.

There wasn't much to go on, merely the typical things one would find in a tent such as the one Sebastian found himself in. Workman's tools littered the space, making the tent appear well lived in, frequently used. Sebastian stood from his instructed seat and slowly circled the floor, running his gloved fingers along the wood surfaces and the flowing material of the tent's fabric sides.

It was ordinary.

There was nothing out of place, nothing to give him any real insight as to the people who frequented its walls, but then again, based on the surrounding items, the demon was forced to assume that the doctor didn't usually conduct his affairs within this area. It was more likely that the ring leader, who Sebastian had learned was named Joker, had placed him in one of the common rooms and went to fetch the good doctor.

The dark haired immortal remained free of any visible wounds, and there wasn't a single speck of blood anywhere on his clothes. The doctor's tent would've, most likely, been somewhere in the center of the camp. Unless he was bleeding out there was no logical reason for Joker to drag him through the maze of tents to find the physician.

Of course, that was more than a little unhelpful considering the type of information the elder sought, but Sebastian wasn't one to give up easily. This was merely the start, and patience is almost always necessary in the beginning, especially knowing that his prey was walking straight back to him with the answers his Master so desperately sought.

Sebastian was not so foolish to believe that the man would up and tell him everything he wanted to know, but when it came to humans, they were easily side-stepped out of valuable information. Mortals loved to contradict those around them, unknowingly giving away more than they realize in the hopes of proving themselves right. That was often a way of procuring specific bits of knowledge as was forming more complex questions into simple inquiries that appeared innocent from the outside.

It was the latter path that Sebastian figured would aid him in a situation such as this. Aside from finding a way to gain entrance to the behind-the-scenes of the Circus, the immortal hoped to address the prosthetic limbs that he'd seen. If Sebastian could manage to engage the doctor, provided that the limbs themselves were crafted by him, then he may be able to find and opportunity to touch them. If they were indeed made from the bones of a human, he would be able to tell with a single brush of his fingers. The demon allowed himself an arrogant smirk, he wouldn't even have to take off his gloves.

As it turned out, the dark haired immortal didn't have to wait long for the doctor at all. Just as quickly as he'd departed, Joker had returned, with the physician and the lion tamer, Beast, in tow.

The man before him wasn't exactly what Sebastian expected. For starters, the doctor was confined to a wheelchair. He was thin, not so much as to appear malnourished or unhealthy in any way, but he appeared fragile. A dark mop of curles adorned his head and a pair of thin spectacles sat on the bridge of the physician's nose. He wore a vest and trousers, light in color.

As far as people went, he appeared fairly ordinary, but as Sebastian knew, looks could be incredibly deceiving.

A more intense look at the doctor's body showed that his legs were still rather normal in size, so either he'd had his accident more recently than expected, or there was more about him than meets the eye. The familiarity of his movements in the wheelchair solidified the demon's assessment further, but the Dark haired male said nothing.

"This is the 'ne, Doc."

Two dark brows lifted in startled surprised, "You were attacked by Betty?!"

The dark haired man quickly wheeled over to where the demon sat, looking him up and down in search of a wound.

Sebastian smirked in amusement at the confused look upon the mortal's face, "I wouldn't exactly call it an attack, per say." The demon ignored the stunned look that Joker and Beast were casting his way, "I would be more inclined to refer to it as a love bite of sorts."

Joker and Beast shared a look of disbelief and it took every scrap of willpower the immortal possessed to keep the smirk from his face, choosing instead to shrug with feigned indifference.

"I approached with unearned familiarity, which I must admit, was quite rude of me. I apologize."

The three mortals stared at him with a mixture of confusion, awe and startled apprehension before the tall redhead burst out into laughter, even going as far to double over.

Beast immediately went from confused to livid at the leader's amusement, "Joker! This isn't a funny!"

The dark haired woman fumed as the easy going redhead straightened himself and offered her a smile, "Isn't it?"

Her lips thinned, pressed into a tight line as she considered the man in front of her, "No, Joker, it's not! He ruined my bit and made me look like a fool!"

Sebastian frowned in feigned apology, I assure you, that was never my intention, I merely -"

"Your intentions mean nothing!"

"Beast!"

All eyes turned to the previously soft spoken doctor, his eyes alight with disappointment, "That's no way to talk to our guest!"

Outrage filled the lion tamer's eyes as she took in the unwavering knit of the physician's brows and the frown pulling at the corners of his mouth, "You can't be serious! He's the one -"

"Are you or are you not a professional?" Irritation crossed the brunette's features as the man in the wheelchair cut off her protest, Tense silence enveloped the tent as Beast continued to glare at their guest, but she said nothing to contradict the calm doctor, her jaw clenched in obvious annoyance as none of the others came to the rescue of her defense.

"Just be glad that he wasn't injured."

Sebastian's attention shifted from the currently present troupe members to the voice of the newcomer. The demon was quick to recognize the spiky haired blonde as the knife-thrower from the main act. An affectionate, somewhat oblivious smile was the first thing to attract the immortal's attention, drawing his eye to the bright circles of makeup settled on both cheeks. Ease glazed the boy's features, making his eyes appear bright below the unruly blonde spikes his hair.

His costume was much the same as Joker's in a completely different way. Where as the leader's outfit held a bold diamond pattern, the blonde was clothed in black and white stripes. The shirt was long sleeved, thick black stripes running along the length of the teen's forearms, the collar high, blocked only by the expanse of stripped ruffles wrapped neatly around his throat. Beige material stretched across the blonde's torso in the form of a vest lacking in buttons. Thick cotton tights adorned the length of his legs, coming up short just above the tall white boots, the silver snaps gleaming even under the false light.

"Dagger!" Joker smiled in greeting, nodding happily at his word, "Right you are! We'd have to tell the troupe leader and I don't think anybody'd want that."

Both the blonde and the redhead laughed at his statement, but below the carefree air of their joke, Sebastian could hear the strain of veiled fear, the tension of truth behind their laughter.

The raven haired butler raised his eyebrow in question, "You aren't the leader?"

Joker waved him off with a laugh, "Oh Heavens no, I'm not nearly scary enough for the job."

Sebastian stored away his gathered knowledge for later and nodded in amused acceptance before Joker turned back to the blonde knife-thrower, "Was their something that you needed?"

Dagger jerked his thumb towards the doctor, "I needed a little help with my prosthesis, the others said that I could find Doctor here with you."

Sebastian frowned in confusion, looking over the blonde teen with interest before realizing, with a start, that the younger man did have a prosthetic leg and that the demon had initially missed it.

"Are you the doctor who created the prosthesis?" Sebastian glanced around to the others, his eyes darting to each anomaly before returning to the gaze of the smiling physician, "I couldn't help but to notice."

The only one who seemed to tense at the demons question was Beast, but the others disregarded her, most likely not even having noticed the subtle shift in her body language to begin with. Sebastian cast her a quick look but said nothing before returning his focus to the doctor, watching with rapt attention as Dagger hopped up onto the table and rolled up one of his pant legs.

"I am indeed. They're exquisite, no?"

Sebastian stood from his seat, moving towards the pair as the doctor carefully shifted the false limb back and forth in a natural type motion. "Quite beautiful, are they made of a pale wood?"

The doctor shook his head, running his fingers over the smooth surface of the crafted piece, "No, ceramic. I carve each if them myself to make sure that they're perfect." The curly haired man smiled as the rhythm of his patient's movements as he pulled a small tool from his pouch and quickly tightened the screws, "Normally, they don't give much trouble. They just get a bit loose over time. Nothing a screwdriver won't fix."

Crimson eyes swept up and down the length of the exposed limb before the demon spoke, "Does everyone at the circus have a prothesis?"

Joker shook his head before the doctor could answer, flexing his skeletal fingers, "We're an odd sort of group here. A couple of our main troupe put the Doctor's skills to good use, but not all of us."

Sebastian stood silently beside the Doctor, watching him work as the others chatted. Of course the demon was paying half a mind to their conversation for any useful scraps of information but most of the crimson eyed immortal's attention was drawn to the blonde's leg.

There wasn't a single chance that the material used was ceramic in nature. Though it looked strong, if not a bit heavy, the grit was all wrong. It was more similar in textured appearance to specific types of bone china, but the demon still wouldn't be able to tell without feeling it.

Sebastian stood by, watching the comfortable exchange with curious maroon eyes. There was familiarity between them, more so than the demon would expect. They'd obviously been in contact for quite some time and the blonde haired preformer didn't seem disturbed or questioning of the doctor's physical limitations. That alone made the immortal even more secure in his reasoning that the man in the wheelchair wasn't really crippled. His legs were far to muscular to have been atrophied over the course of his relationship with the troupe members.

An array of words floated between the pair as the Doctor finished up his work, re-attaching the false limb before offering the young man a smile, "There you are, Dagger. Good as new."

Dagger offered a gracious smile in return as nimble fingers quickly rolled the material of his leggings back down over the curve of his crafted limb, "Thanks, Doc!"

A flurry of noise sounded within the tent as the entrance flap was thrown open with wild abandon, revealing one of the acrobats, "Hey Dagger! Think fast!"

Before any of the performers could process the action, the tiny brunette threw a thick mug with all her might before turning and fleeing, her high voice carrying as she sped away, "You're it!"

With all the grace of a being that knew himself to be superior, Sebastian jerked back, watching with amusement as the glass sailed past his face, missing by mere centimeters before his hand darted out to catch the offending object, wrapping securely around it in a display of agility.

Stunned looks met his unintentional performance before Joker broke the silence with loud booming laughter, clapping his hands in entertained delight, "Well done, my friend!"

The Doctor sputtered in apology while the other two continued to stare at the demon in unadulterated shock. While unintentional, Sebastian wasn't displeased with his actions, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth as the immortal felt the thick and undeniable waves of disbelief rolling off of the lion tamer.

Of the two shocked performers, Dagger was the first to recover, rubbing the back of his neck with what appeared to be embarrassment, "Sorry about that, Wendy and I have a sort of game going on."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow in silent questioning and the blonde cast him a sheepish look, a cautious smile returning to his previously stunned face, "Lots of things can go wrong on stage. We all have ways to keep our reflexes on point in case of emergencies."

It made sense, in am odd sort of way but the dark haired immortal chose not to comment, offering the cup to the embarrassed youth instead.

Dagger took the offering with a chuckle before saying his goodbyes, making his way from the tent with Beast at his side. Sebastian watched the pair with carefully concealed scrutiny. There wasn't a single hitch in his step, nor hers, no awkward shift or unsteady gait. They appeared perfectly normal, falling into stride beside one of their many peers before disappearing all together.

Very curious, indeed.

Joker whistled, picking up the mug from the table, turning it in his hand before looking to the man in black.

Sebastian shrugged nonchalantly and reached for his coat, shrugging it back into place before standing to take his leave. He turned to dark haired man in the wheelchair, bowing his head respectfully, "Doctor."

Joker stepped forward, offering his hand to the butler in parting, an easy going smile brightening his face as Sebastian took his hand without question shaking it firmly, "Both displays where quite impressive, my friend. I wish we had more folks like you in our group."

A victorious smile curled the demon's mouth into a smile that barely managed to remain on the other side of mischievous as Sebastian squeezed the redhead's fingers lightly, "Is that so?"

Ciel waited patiently, or rather, quite impatiently, for his butler to return.

The air around him was sticky with restless energy, and the Earl found himself drumming his fingers uncharacteristically against the side of his thigh. It wasn't that the blue haired teen thought the demon incapable of fending for himself, but Ciel disliked the idea of being in the dark to what was going on.

Of course, the duo hadn't formed any semblance of a plan along their journey towards the circus, and that really was for the best. As much as Ciel enjoyed order, the truth was, that plans quickly became a sort of hindrance in their line of work. Events rarely went according to plan, choosing instead to fall apart at the most inconvenient of times, and it was much easier to go in somewhat blind.

It wasn't unheard of for Sebastian to take the lead when he saw an opening to their cause, quite the opposite. Like Ciel, the demon was a master strategist, perhaps even more so than his blue haired ward, but the teen often ignored that fact, content to reap the rewards of such skills rather than address them.

But still.

Regardless of how many times Sebastian had found their opening in any given situation, Ciel often found himself wracked with nerves. The dark haired male surprised him by standing up and offering the troupe his assistance. Though Ciel shouldn't have been surprised. Anytime a feline was involved, the teen could almost guarantee Sebastian's willingness to become involved.

Despite being quite unwilling to address any such feelings, Ciel could admit that seeing the lion attack Sebastian had left his frantically beating heart lodged in his throat. Such things never failed to leave the teen wide eyed and momentarily speechless. He'd seen the demon shot, stabbed, burned, and on one particularly gruesome occasion, beheaded, but no matter how many times Sebastian brushed off the threat of mortal death, Ciel never quite managed to suppress that flicker of terror that left the teen momentarily offline. For that brief moment, it left him unable to connect with the logic that reminded him of Sebastian's inability to be killed in such ways.

Ciel was sure that, bar divine intervention, Sebastian couldn't be killed by any sort of mortal weapon, but the teen could never be sure.

Death remained on the list of unspoken topics between them. They didn't speak of it, of how Sebastian could be killed, or of the teen's impending death sentence. Sebastian's declaration of being at the Earl's side until the very end was the closest they ever came to addressing it.

Despite Ciel's curiosity, he hadn't found the courage to ask the raven haired immortal about the limitations of his power, the chinks in his supernatural armor so to speak.

The unmistakable sound of a carriage door opening jarred the blue haired Earl from his thoughts, and he found himself glad to see the demon unharmed. Pale skin remained unmarked, and Ciel couldn't even tell where the primal creature had bitten into the immortal's flesh.

"Sebastian."

Maroon eyes met the visible blue of Ciel's one exposed iris as the demon bowed his head respectfully in greeting, "My Lord."

Pride coccooned the teen as he straightened his shoulders, clenching his fingers in a fist, unwilling to acknowledge his previous nervousness for the man in front of him for a second longer, "I hope you found something of consequence while you were being tended."

A teasing coil stretched Sebastian's lips into a coy smirk, eyes alight with mischief as the demon raised his gloved fingers to knock on the wall behind his head, signalling the driver that they were ready to leave, "Is that a hint of worry I detect in your tone, young Master?"

Ciel resisted the urge to grind his teeth in irritation before scoffing at his servant, "Don't be ridiculous, Sebastian."

"Of course, young Master."

The only thing that cued the blue haired teen into the immortal's barely contained smirk was their intimate knowledge of each other but the younger man didn't comment. Instead, he tilted his head in feigned impatience, drumming his fingers against the upholstery of their carriage, allowing the vibrations of their travel to caress his fingertips, "What have you found, Sebastian?"

Practiced eyes took in the subtle way the demon straightened, the amused air between them being exchanged in favor of the professionalism that both beings seemed to thrive on while casing the thrill of the hunt.

"Admittedly, not much, young Master. I was taken to a frequency used area in favor of the medical tent. It was rather unfortunate."

Ciel nodded, a thoughtful expression capturing the features of his face, "I expect that you did, in fact, meet with the doctor?"

The demon dipped his head in agreement, "I did, my Lord."

"And?"

Sebastian remained momentarily silent as he recalled the information that'd been unknowingly gifted to him, "I discovered that the onsite Doctor is in charge of all the troupe's prosthetic limbs."

Ciel raised his eyebrows in silent exclamation, "All of them? Are there more than just the two?"

Sebastian nodded, "The blonde knife thrower has an artificial leg as well, but I can't be sure of the other members. They're quite well done, my Lord. I admit that I didn't even realize he possessed a prosthesis."

The blue haired teen hummed thoughtfully as he considered the act they'd seen, relying on his memory to try and recall if any of the others had false limbs.

"They're quite well-made, young Master. The doctor claims to carve all of them by hand."

Dark brows rose in minor confusion as the deep baritone of the butler's voice dragged Ciel from his recollections, "Hang on, he creates them himself?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Hmm.." The teen looked to the rapidly passing foliage as he considered the immortal's words, "Do you know what he crafts them out of?"

Sebastian's eyes darkened with displeasure, "The physician claims that they're made from ceramic, but I'd stake my life on bone being the real material source."

"Bone? From what creature?"

The demon shook his head, "I am unsure, my Lord, but I do know that there's no way they're made of ceramic. Not with the strength and fluidity we saw during each of their performances," A mischievous grin curved the demon's lips, "Aside from the lion tamer's of course. My apologies."

Ciel chuckled at the Sebastian's comment before the immortal continued, "However, not is all as it seems, young Master."

A frown captured the blue haired male's lips, "What do you mean, Sebastian?"

"The doctor."

Ciel arched one of his dark eyebrows in question, "What about him?"

Sebastian leaned back, crossing one of his legs over the other in a way that reminded the teen more of himself than it did of the demon's normal mannerisms, "He appeared to be bound to a wheelchair, but upon further inspection, I discovered that he had no reason to be."

Ciel's frown deepened, "What do you mean?"

"His legs, young Master. They were quite strong, easily proportionate to the rest of his body in terms of muscle mass."

Ciel crossed his arms thoughtfully, "That doesn't mean that he isn't crippled, perhaps the accident was recent. It takes quite a while for muscles to thin and deteriorate from atrophy, Sebastian."

Sebastian shook his head, "I thought that as well, young Master, but upon my medical examination, two other members of the circus joined our company. They were all very familiar with the doctor, and their mannerisms towards him and his height level suggests that they're used to addressing somebody far shorter than them."

Faint flickers of frustration broke through the thoughtful mask of indifference upon the younger man's face, "Why would he pretend to be incapable of walking?"

The demon shrugged, clearly as lost to the reasoning behind the doctors motivations as the Earl, "I'm not sure, my Lord. Perhaps it puts him at an advatage."

Ciel thought about that for a moment, unconsciously biting his lip as he considered all the advantages to being underestimated by surrounding peers. It was something the blue haired Earl was quite familiar with, and often times, proved to be a valuable asset. People tended to make the mistake of underestimating those they thought to be weaker and more easily subdued than them. The only real question was why the doctor would need to be underestimated.

That is, until an all together disturbing thought crossed the Earl's mind.

"Sebastian?"

The demon looked to the dark haired teen, "My Lord?"

Ciel fought to conceal the lump of disgust in his throat as he addressed the man in black, "Is there any chance that the material used to create the artificial limbs are human in origin?"

Sebastian frowned but didn't look away from the teen, "It is a possibility."

As any good detective can tell you, there are times that random thoughts bring on a hunch. It isn't something that can be explained or proven, but sonetimes hunches and gut feelings proved to be far more useful than evidence or fact. However, in this instant, Ciel found himself wishing that he could shy away from the thoughts and ideas that'd begun to form within the darkest center of his mind.

Perhaps the doctor used his underestimated stature to take advantage of his victims, to attack and immobilized or disarm before taking from them what he needed to create his prosthesis.

Ciel refused to entertain, even for a moment, that the materials came from the missing children. Aside from it being a terrifying and, altogether, disturbing thought, it was a long shot, and fairly unrealistic. If the prosthesis were indeed made of bones and the missing children were in any way involed, it was far more likely that the doctor was trafficking the children on the black market in exchange for the materials he needed, human or otherwise.

Both ideas were equally worrying, but neither really had much merit. However, as both servant and master lapsed back into the momentarily dark embrace of thought-filled silence, Ciel couldn't help but to feel that, one way or another, something ugly would be dragged to the surface of their investigation before the adventure ended; and where Ciel Phantomhive was concerned, something ugly could be anything from a rogue death god to a very pissed off demon. There was no telling where the investigation would take them.

Ciel turned back to the immortal, "Did you manage to find us an 'in', Sebastian?"

The demon's thought provoking expression turned to one of mischievous intent, his mouth coiled in a devious grin, and though Ciel knew by that expression alone that he had, the teen was also fairly sure that it wouldn't be pleasant.

"I have."

Ciel waited patiently for the immortal to continue, raising an annoyed eyebrow at the demon's drawn out silence.

"It seems, young Master, that you and I shall be joining the circus."