The Luxury Cruise Ship of Horrors, Campania

At the Barnett townhouse...

'So who is this little one, Allen?' Madam Red greeted her son home.

'Mother, I'm sure you heard of the 'scandal' as Ciel put it.' said Allen. Madam Red cringed. Yep, EVERY NOBLE got a love letter informing all of them that the Kelvin Family has lost its Baron and Noble status for Baron Kelvin's atrocious crimes.

'So this one is...'

'Yep. Her new name from now on is Rose Anne. Her majesty re-named them herself. A new leaf to start over per se. Ciel left her education to you because I still have my own training from Master after all.' Allen beamed. 'Speaking of which, I'll go home to our estate. Good luck with her!'

'She'll be fine in my hands hunny!' Madam Red chirped as she kissed her son on his head. 'But first, a medical check-up is in order...'

xxx

Barnett Estate of 'his father'...

'Welcome back, Allen...I was quite lonely for a few days.' Undertaker greeted. 'Then again, I keep up with the news also...'

'Well, it's pretty much over and I can go back to lessons now.' said Allen as he stretched.

'I'd like to hear about that...'

And so...with Undertaker sufficiently filled in, it has been...three weeks since the Noah's Ark Circus case. However, Undertaker was called by Ciel for a burial job.

Sebastian's.

'You're burying Sebastian?!' Allen squawked as Undertaker put down the phone. 'How the hell did that happen?!'

'Well, it's an acting burial job, don't worry...heeheehee...' Undertaker chuckled. 'We're faking his death, is all. Leave everything to us~!' Allen raised an eyebrow before snorting.

'Heheh...well, I'll continue training while you're at it...because since I do things, I end up rusting a bit.' Allen chuckled. 'By the way, I need to know more of the organization containing people like me.' he said. 'You found out just now, right?'

'Yeeeesss...nasty people towards to their Exorcists, they are...that's why I saved you on that night.' said Undertaker. 'Do not be fooled by them. Do you want to lose the life you gained because of them? A loving mother, a home, a family because you're forced in a war that's not yours?' Allen shook at this and bit his lower lip. 'All government and public services know of them, so take care not to show off your power in public...'

'The Yard included then.' Allen growled. 'They'll sell me!'

'Yep.'

'Looks like I'll have to settle for super-strength and speed my power grants me.' Allen sighed. 'I'll only use my main ability when it's a matter of life and death. And I'll avoid churches in the near future too...' Undertaker sweatdropped.

xxx

April 9...springtime...

'Allen,' said Madam Red. 'Ciel sent you an invitation.' she said with a beaming smile as she took Rose home. She still has bandages on her face.

'An invitation to where?' Allen asked her as he towel-dried sweat off his face from training.

'The Cruise Ship, the Campania. It'll be on a three-week trip for New York in America!' Madam Red chirped. 'You see, Ciel asked me to use my connections to investigate rumors of the Aurora Society working in hospitals to raise people from the dead, so he's calling for extra manpower.' she said. 'They'll be onboard the Campania at April 17.'

'Raising the dead?' Allen frowned as Madam Red took out a newspaper with the article on it. 'Complete rubbish!' he snarked as he threw the article haphazardly at a table top. 'You can never bring back the dead! Even if you do with Black Magic, it's no longer that person!'

'Try telling that to them.' Madam Red sighed. 'But what's not publicized is that the upper-rank doctors of Karnstein Hospital, including the director Ryan stoker founded and opened the Aurora Society that holds presentations for the results of their experimentations regularly and gain large donations from the nobles-our family included who got empressed.' she said wryly. 'I heard from Baroness Cecilia about this because she's involved and I happen to be a doctor so she thought I'd be interested! Most likely they're members too! They even taught me the formal greeting of the society so you're recognized as a member!'

'Formal greeting?' Allen blinked owlishly as Madam Red went blue...a baaad sign, both Allen and Rose noted.

'Y-you see...you must make a very serious face as you do this. Say the phrase as seriously and passionately as you can. 'The Complete Flame in our chests shall not be extinguished by anyone'. As you say 'we are', you must strike this pose.' Madam Red raised her arms as if a bird about to fly and her left leg bending upwards. Allen gasped in horror at the incredulously embarrassing pose. Rose cracked and laughed like a hyena. 'As you do this pose, say 'The Phoenix!' at the same time.'

'I have to do that?!'

'That's the society greeting! I laughed my ass off when your grandmother did it!' Madam Red laughed hysterically much to Allen's dismay. 'At any rate, I'm giving you 100 pounds to spend on in your investigations.'

'I can't believe it...I have my pride as a man and for me to do such a stupid thing...I am looking forward to trashing this organization completely when Ciel gives the order! I am sooo destroying them good!' he cried in outrage ala Johnny Bravo style. 'Did you tell Ciel I'm coming along?'

'Yes, I told him dear. But uh he might get a tad occupied so you'll have to investigate on your own before he could make a move.' said Madam Red. 'Because the Midfords are coming, see?'

'Oh.'

xxx

April 17th...

With a First-Class ticket and luggage ready, Allen went onto the ship on his own, headed for the 1st Class accomodations. 'Whew...I docked safely.' he sighed. 'I better go to my assigned room and get ready.' he went to his room to unload. He opened his luggage to arm himself. He had gone to Undertaker to help him make hidden weapons that are concealed in his sleeves...a katar gauntlet, and he has a gun holster for his two revolvers and bullet pouch hidden under his clothes.

He then locked up his room and started wandering around. First off, looking for his grandmother, Baroness Cecilia. He looked in places where the nobles would frequent, until he found her by the docks. 'Grandmother!'

'Oh, Allen! Come here boy!' Baroness Cecilia greeted her grandson in delight. 'Is Ann here?'

'Ehh no, she has her hands full at work so only I can go.' said Allen with a sheepish smile. 'She asked me to bring home american souvenirs though.'

'Oh what a shame, this is a really once-in-a-lifetime-chance!' the Baroness dowager exclaimed mournfully. 'I suppose we can bring her home souvenirs and photos...'

'Oh yes, grandmother, I heard things from mother about the you-know-what...'

'Oh, THAT? Maybe we should go together yes?' Baroness Barnett smiled. 'Maybe they can do something about your frail body. The presentation will be later at 1:00.'

'Ohhh...' "Chance!" 'So what do we do?' he has information to pass off to.

xxx

Around the banquet area...

Allen found some excuse to ditch his grandmother who was off with the other relatives on the docks, enjoying the ocean breeze. He found Ciel, Sebastian and Snake with the Midfords dining together. "Oh crud...I'll have to wing it." 'Hello.'

'Oh, so you're here too!' Marquid Midford greeted. 'So the Barnett Family is here too eh?'

'Yes, but mother can't make it though. She has her hands full in the hospital.' said Allen sheepishly as he took a chair and moved to sit with Ciel. Upon sitting down, he quickly put a folded paper on Ciel's lap. 'So it's just me, grandmother and some uncles. Some sort of members-only gathering and they're members.'

'Oh, a club.' Marchioness Midford huffed. 'I don't get why some people spend time in social clubs when there's always parties?'

'We'll never know. Maybe more opportunities for socializing.' said Ciel wryly as he subtly pocketed the paper. They talked some more together until they finally separated. The Midfords will go exploring, Ciel said he has to meet some businessmen and Allen said he'll go back to his relatives.

'Now then, what did the paper say, young master?' Sebastian asked Ciel who opened the paper.

'It's about the Aurora Society and ulp...an utterly horrififyingly embarrassing fixed greeting.' Ciel blushed in sheer horror as he gave the paper to Sebastian.

'Good to know the Barnetts are involved, otherwise I'll have to pull an arm and leg to get the information out.' said Sebastian while twitching. 'At 1:00, is it? We better watch out for waiters and empty wineglasses before the event. And 30 pounds to pay for the toll.'

xxx

12:30...

The Barnetts are in after paying for 'completely purified water', and saying the fixed greeting and pose upon greeted by some people.

Allen hid his mortification from his relatives and using his 'I'm a child, I want to explore' disposition, he was able to roam around and hide until the events start. He watched a coffin brought in, and in came the founder, Ryan Stoker. He used some device to bring the corpse of Margaret Connor back to life and as expected...she came back wrong. The audience panicked. Allen then made a move to bash it's head with a kick.

'I knew this'll end wrong...' Allen swore. 'At any rate, your usual attacks won't work because they're already dead.' he told Sebastian and Ciel. 'Electricity is used to bring back the corpse as by generating electric signals to the brain, that's how the corpse is brought back. Our body is being controlled by small electric signals so we do what we think we want to do. That's the simplest explanation I can give since medical mumbo-jumbo will just confuse you.' he explained. 'It helps being the kid of a doctor eh?'

'Indeed so the only way to kill them is to bash their heads, is it?' Sebastian mused.

'That or destroy their brain to mess with or diffuse the signal, whatever works. It's going to be gross but we have no time to be complaining!'

'Alright you, start talking. NOW.' Ciel growled at Ryan Stoker who was quivering where he stood, with Allen instantly behind him with a blade from his sleeve at his throat. 'Spill unless you want to snap a few carotid arteries with my friend with you?'

'Eep...' Ryan meeped as the blade was against his throat and very sharp. 'M-My company is just a testing company!' Ryan cried out in confession. 'An American Company named Osiris took interest in our experiments and wants us to bring our technology to America to develop a new drug! Please don't kill me!'

'We're not satisfied yet.' said Ciel. "Osiris is probably just some dummy company used to make the deal. There's more to this." 'How many of these corpses did you bring? And how do these corpses react? And why did Margaret Connor bite her own mother?'

'I don't know why she did! But the corpses react to sound so I told the ship's crew to put them in the freight storages where it's completely quiet!' Ryan admitted. 'This ship has the latest gigantic boiler with a reciprocating steam engine at the center...this place is divided into two sections, the boiler separates them so there's TWO freight storages! And in the front freight storage...we stored ten times the samples we have on the back...'

'T-ten times as many?!' Ciel choked in horror. One was bad enough...

'Holy...' Allen shuddered. 'We have to fight an army of corpses who responds to sound...and if they wake up, they'll respond to the frightened shrieking of the people and become zombie food. Just peachy.'

'We have a lot of work to do.' Sebastian sighed. 'And there's nowhere to run if the corpses wake up. We're on water in the middle of nowhere...'

'We'll check the situation!' Ciel cried. 'Secure this idiot!' and the two ran out.

'W-who are you people?' Ryan choked weakly.

'You're a commoner so you wouldn't know. Only high-ranking noble families know of us, you see?' said Allen silkily, still holding Ryan captive. 'We are agents of Phantomhive who directly answer to Queen Victoria. We investigate stuff like this that the Yard cannot handle, you see?' Ryan paled at this. The royalty's looking in into Aurora Society?! 'We rule the underworld society of Britain to keep things in check for the Royal Family and we eliminate rats like you. But for now, the Queen's Dog wants me to secure you so you'll be alive until then.' with that, he knocked out Stoker.

'Now then, I'll lock you up in my room bound and gagged so this way, you'll stay alive. Hehehe...'

Moments later, Ronald Knox came to see an empty room, and a dead Susanne and Margaret Connor with Mr. Connor still in frozen, horrified shock.

'Hoo, boy...looks like I was too late...'

xxx

After securing Stoker, Allen left his room and locked it to look for his grandmother and uncles who were surrounded by zombies on the deck. 'No!' he cried as he took out his gun and aimed for the heads...however, nearby zombies looked at him and made a beeline for him. 'Shit!'

'Allen!' his grandmother cried in horror, especially when Allen was surrounded by zombies.

'I'll be fine! Go and be quiet no matter what!' Allen yelled. 'They react to sound! They follow the sound and the source of the sound means food to these things! To kill them, destroy their brains! Run and hide but BE QUIET AND JOIN THE MIDFORDS!' he hollered as his relatives ran off. 'Now then...guns just won't cut it in my situation...' he swore as he looked around. He was surrounded but no witnesses where he's at. 'No witnesses...goody.' his body glowed white and a fur-trimmed cowl and silver mask manifested, and his hair turned white. In mere seconds, many heads are lopped off. He then deactivated. '...my first time using them in combat but they came in handy.'

He explored the ship some more and using his katars, he sliced off as many zombie heads as he could. In fact, he focused on this more so more people would survive this nightmarish night. He hit the upper floors first where most of the people were. particularly the nobles who keep the surface world of Britain in check. They come first no matter how cruel that sounded to the commoners who were on second and third class decks of the ship.

He checked if the first class decks and the rooms of the first class ship crew are empty of zombies. Once it was, he went down to the front but...a huge iceberg was present!

'Oh shit...and we're going at a fast speed too!' in ten seconds, they'll RAM into the iceberg. Allen decided to hell with it and activated. 'Activate maximum power...' he turned his cowl into a huge ornate winged cannon and gathered power... 'FIRE!' he fired at the left side of the iceberg where the ship would hit into, and blew half the iceberg into smithereens, enabling the ship to pass safely. Upon blasting, Allen deactivated and sank on his knees. 'Damn...the energy I had from eating those curry pots is spent...oh well. I still have some left...'

'That's an interesting power you got there young un'...but it's holy power not demon power...' a red-head in a suit and red coat arrived with a chainsaw. 'You also made it pretty easy for a Maiden's First Night because if such a biiig thing rammed into her, she'll break...' Allen blushed dark at the innuendo. And he knew how THAT feels veeeery well...

'Hey! Quit talking in innuendos!' Allen sputtered out in embarrassment as the redhead laughed at the reaction he caused. 'And if you're a fighter, help out in killing the moving corpses! Bash their brains or lop it off, whatever works!' and Allen ran off, leaving Grell Sutcliff all to himself.

'Humm...first a demon and now an unknown holy factor...this is something they definitely did not tell us.' Grell pouted. 'Oh well~! Don't leave me here sweetie~!'

xxx

Inside the first class decks were zombies being slain by the Midford Family while his relatives cowered in a corner. 'Allen! You're alive and safe!' Baroness Midford cried in relief as Allen came to help with the share of killings.

'They're easy to deal with, provided you know what to do!' Allen grunted as he jumped up to slice heads off brutally and occassional kicking. 'Whew! And to think I said be quiet...by the looks of things, everybody else who's dead is too dumb to live.' he said in disdain as he kicked the nearest head on his foot away. His sleeves with blades still out and his feet were quite bloody with blood splatters on his clothes.

'Well, there was lots of panicking earlier...what the hell is going on here?!' Edward Midford demanded. 'Do you know something about this?'

'Ciel and Sebastian are here on a job,' said Allen tersely as the Midfords tensed. 'It's to investigate the Aurora Society and their claims of bringing the dead back to life with their so-called 'complete salvation' medicine that temporarily brings corpses back to life by sending electric signals into the brain using a device.' he explained. 'However, the corpses came back wrong with a need to feed and they eat whatever makes sounds. Hence at the demonstration in the First Class Smoking Room where its held, the corpse of Margaret Connor bit her mother at the neck, killing her because Mrs. Connor was tearfully welcoming her daughter back. And most likely, Ciel and Sebastian are doing damage control because most likely, all zombies are active. The founder, Ryan Stoker stored a hundred corpses in the front freight storage and at the back fright storage, there's ten times more.'

'That means a thousand!' Marquis Midford moaned in dismay. The Barnetts were just as horrified.

'I cleaned up the first deck before I got here but the second and third class areas are most likely a world of hell.' said Allen. 'And passages leading to the second and third classes might still be open...so who knows for how long the first class deck will stay clean.' he said wryly. 'Please be careful and go to Lifeboats immediately. This ship is no longer safe. Forget the luggage, we can buy them anytime but we definitely can't buy our lives back. The end result are these moving corpses.'

'Right...'

'But mother, Lizzy's not with us!' Edward cried in dismay. 'She went looking for Ciel earlier!'

'Elizabeth will be fine as long as she's with her fiancee. We can only pray they return to us alive.' said Marchioness Midford confidently with a bit of worry on her expression. 'Let's go,'

'You do that. I need to do damage control at the second deck to make things easier.' said Allen softly before vomiting. 'Guaaah!'

'Allen this is enough!' one of his uncles choked. 'Think of your frail constitution! Come with us to safety!' after vomiting some more, Allen stood up shakily and spat the remains of phlegm from his mouth.

'I'm one of the few fighters on this ship. Might as well be useful.' said Allen as he temporarily retracted his katar blades and took out his revolver and pouch and gave it to his uncle. 'Here, protect grandmother with it!' and he ran off.

'Allen!'

'He's made his choice.' said Marchioness Midford. 'We have to look for survivors and take them to Lifeboats!'