Chapter 30
Ciel had never thought he would ever see this room again. No, he did not want to ever see this room again.
This setup being the exact copy of that room four years ago made him feel worse. Even the splats of dull red blood that he remembered seeing near one of the lamps from the virulent cult was there in the same spot where the one from years ago was. The cages were filled with children, emaciated like how the other children and him were. This room has the Faustus circle too.
Not a single detail was missed.
This fact was utterly disturbing.
He couldn't bring himself to gaze away from it. The temperature was no help; it was chilling him to his very core. Cold tingles of shock and fear was traipsing up and down his spine, he had to clench his hands into fists in attempt to suppress his trembling - no way was he going to show weakness to anyone here.
Then abruptly, something warm wrapped itself around his left wrist. He, however, did not feel it until a whisper drifted into his ear.
"It's okay, Phantomhive…" Ciel jumped and turned to that with an icy glare which faltered when he realized it belonged to Estella. Her eyes held understanding and concern. "You're…You're not there anymore." She shook her head with a bitter smile.
She felt his muscles relax as his left hand slipped out of its clenched form. "No, I'm…" Ciel seemed unsure of what to say to her.
In the end, he just settled with a curt nod. He pulled his wrist free from her grip and turned away.
His face darkened when he turned to the baron. "Why." It took him tremendous effort not to shoot the baron and flee from the room.
Baron Kelvin giggled. "I'm jealous of those who were able to spend that day with you. It was you who killed them, right?" He leaned forward in his wheelchair. "Please, I beg you! Let me be a part of it all! I have prepared everything!"
The baron threw his arms wide open, beaming at the place of his creation. "The room of the ceremony."
Ciel glanced around the room and returned to the baron with a glare. He could feel himself trembling once again
"The sacrificial lambs."
His fingers were twitching with the urge to raise the gun in his hand to fire at the baron.
"And the last piece, Earl…"
And that he snapped. In the paroxysm of anger, he pulled the trigger.
….
"What the…" Estella gasped as she watched the baron fall from his wheelchair.
"Phantomhive…" She glanced back to Ciel who looked like he was about to hyperventilate. His hand that held his gun was shaking uncontrollably.
"FATHER!"
She whipped around to that, only to be shock to see an enraged Joker charging at them with a glinting dagger.
In the act of instinct, she threw herself in front of Ciel, facing Joker with her gun raised up at him. "Get back, Phantomhive!"
Her fingers which were about to close around its trigger suddenly stopped when the abrupt memory of Joker from that night struck her. Was she really going to kill him? Her heart sank at a realization.
No…can't kill him.
Quickly, Estella kept the gun in its holster and whipped out a dagger out of another.
Fight.
Shifting her legs to get herself to a fighting stance, she held the dagger out, preparing herself to strike.
Joker's eyes narrowed on her. "Star, never thought that we would ever cross blades. I-"
Suddenly, blood was gushing out of the arm he was using to hold his dagger.
Lowering her dagger, Estella gasped in shock at the man who was now squirming in pain on the floor and to his detached arm beside him. "Ahhhhh….!"
"Estella, it is good to see you so dedicated to your duty as a bodyguard, but…" she tore her eyes off the man to Sebastian who she realized was the one who amputated Joker from the bloodied dagger in his hand, "…as long as I'm here, protecting the Young Master would be done by me."
"And Joker," Sebastian smiled down at the screaming man. "Please do not disturb my master."
"Arggghhhh…!" Joker continued screaming in pain.
Estella gazed down at the man with an apologetic look. "You didn't have to amputate him, Sebastian…" She glanced up at Sebastian disapprovingly.
"There's no need to sympathy for the enemy."
"But-"
"It hurts, Earl!"
All attention fell onto the fallen baron.
….
"It hurts, Earl!" Blood poured out from the baron's mouth as he exclaimed. "It's…soo painful!" Baron Kelvin dragged his body towards Ciel and desperately clutched onto his legs."Please…I beg you, if you're going to kill me, do it just like you did to everyone else on that day."
Ciel's face held nothing. Nothing at all.
Estella's eyes widened. Like what he did to everyone else…? Phantomhive killed…
Ciel freed a leg from the man's grasp and crudely stepped on the man's head. He snorted, pushing his feet harder against his head. "The same as them?"
A hand flew up to Estella's mouth as she stared at Ciel with wide eyes. The person standing in front of her was not the Ciel Phantomhive she knew for almost a year. This Phantomhive was dangerous, cold and cruel. She could comprehend why, but still…this was new. She certainly did not like it, and it… was scaring her.
The gun in his hand clicked as Ciel raised its muzzle at the baron's face. "Kneel down like a worm then… and beg the demon to do it."
Demon? Her heart did a somersault at that word. She tilted her head in puzzlement. Beg the demon to do it…? What is he talking about-
"PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM!" Estella whipped over to Joker to see him shakily raising himself off the floor. "Despite what he is, he saved us! We were abandoned by our parents and our country. He saved us from the fear of starvation. Many brothers and sisters of ours are still at the workhouse. If he dies, we can't live on. And that's why-"
"You kidnapped those children?" Ciel interrupted caustically, his eye cut over to Joker. "You have obeyed this man in order to survive…by sacrificing others?"
Joker shut his eyes in anguish. "Ah…yeah." He lowered his head dejectedly. "For kids like us, England was a living hell. We didn't have money to buy food or protect our friends. We had nothing."
Estella gazed at the man sadly. So much pain and sufferings. Everybody's hurting.
"However, Father saved us from the pile of rubbish. He gave us hands and legs, allowing us to protect what's most precious to us. That's why we decided to live. Even though, it meant living another kind of hell. I knew from the start that it was wrong but…"
"You are not wrong."
Joker's eyes snapped open and glanced up at Ciel. "Huh?"
"You fought to protect your world, isn't that good enough?" Ciel turned to face Joker. "Afterall, justice in this world is just a bunch of principles made by those with power to suit themselves. No one really thinks of others, you will lose everything if you can't keep up."
Indeed. A cruel world we live in…
"Only two kinds of people exist in this world- those who steal and those who are stolen from." Estella stared at her master solemnly. And I'm one of the kind who was stolen from. "So then...today I just stole your future, that's all..."
Silence trailed after him.
Estella's eyes widened in surprise when Joker suddenly fell back on the floor, laughing. "Hahahahahaha! Exactly! However…you will also have some important things stolen from you tonight."
"What?"
"My fellow circus members are paying a visit to your manor tonight."
….
They reached the Phantomhive manor in the middle of the night; the winter air was unnaturally chilly and freezing due to their insufficient clothes. Cursing the cold, they stepped back to the edge of the thick forest behind them.
"This is it? It's so big. Seems it might be a tough job to find the room of our target." Dagger could see his breath rising out in thin wisps as he breathed out heavily, clearly visible under the glow of the full moon.
"Let's spilt up then. Wendy and I will start from the top." The sound of footsteps was muffled by the snow beneath as two of his circus members sprinted away. Winter could be vexatious and be a hinder most of the time, however, tonight was an exception. It was the perfect cover for them.
"Big sis, let's start from over there." Dagger glanced over his shoulder when no answer came. "Big sis?"
Beast seemed disturbed and uncertain. "Ah yeah, I'm coming."
"See ya, Jumbo!" Dagger called out to the silent bald man as Beast and he rushed off toward the manor.
"Ah." The man nodded curtly, staring out at the quiet manor before taking off himself.
Seriously, this place is massive. And we must finish before dawn…
….
"We circus members are professionals. We eliminate anyone who crosses our path while on a mission, no matter who or what." Joker had a smug smirk."I wonder how many people will be killed while they search the manor for you, Earl."
Estella's face scrunched into a frown at the thought of the four who were like her family in danger. She knew they were fully capable of protecting themselves, but it was still worrisome. Her master's fiancé was currently spending a night there too. Why wasn't her master worrying? The look of indifference seemed to come across loud and clear said that he wasn't, and that puzzled her.
"Killed huh?"
"Yeah, even your servants won't be spared."
Ciel raised an eyebrow. "My servants?"
Joker's smug smirk drooped and glanced over alarmed, when Sebastian abruptly chuckled. "What's so darn funny?" He demand with frustration.
A condescending look came across Ciel's face as he rapped his cane against the floor. "Just who do you think you are dealing with?..."
Snapping her attention over to Ciel, Estella's eyes widened in realization.
"…They are the servants of Phantomhive!"
Guilt struck her like a hammer. Yeah, how can I be so stupid!
Her eyes darkened with a war of emotions passing across her features and finally settled with a fierce glint. Her hands curled into fists. Who am I to doubt my comrades' abilities?
She grinned.
"So am I! Who do you think you are underestimating us, Joker?"
….
"They are the private army me and Sebastian picked for employment."
Jumbo gazed down at the gardener he just brought down with his fist. The gardener was lying prone on the dirt ground, blood was continuously leaking from the wound he created. There was no way this young man was going to recover so quickly from the blows he just delivered. Nobody has been able to get up from all that before.
"It can't be helped." Jumbo gazed down at his fist and shrugged. "Forgive me." Those two words, however, held no meaning.
One down.
Jumbo took a step towards the manor and was about to take another when he felt a tug on his cloak. "They'd get mad at me, wouldn't they." He heard. He glanced over his shoulder with narrowed eyes to only have them widening.
"Young Master told me. And Sebastian also…" The gardener he thought was supposed to stay on the ground now stood behind him. The gardener seemed oblivious to the trail of blood that was about get into his left eye. He simply smiled. "To never ever let someone go inside while they are away."
It was too late for Jumbo to dodge the incoming fist.
….
Joker choked. "Wha…"
The two sprinted down the stairs, desperately trying to dodge the statues that were thrown at them by Finny with his super strength.
"What..What the hell are they?!" Dagger struggled with speech, trying to run as fast as his legs could carry him. "No matter how you go… about it, this place is… strange!"
"Y-Yeah! Hurry, let's get to that room! The Earl might be hiding there!"
.…
Grinning at Joker in a charmingly disarming way, Estella's eyes practically twinkled with pride. "To protect the Phantomhive family's secrets and pride."
"Getting down the stairs sure was hard huh, Mr. and Mrs. Goose."A voice greeted the moment they pushed open the door and stepped in. Both whipped their heads to the source, shocked to find Bard standing by a counter, sifting flour into a bowl as if they were no intruders.
"Welcome to the kitchen." Bard said calmly, sifting the flour. "This is the end of the tour."
"Like you can afford to say that, facing us unarmed!" Beast sneered violently as she threw out her whip, slashing it towards the chef.
"Idiots." Bard evaded the attack effortlessly with smugness.
As Bard was crouching down to evade it, he reached under the counter. "The kitchen is the chef's holy place where even the butler can't raise his voice to him. There are also a lot of tools that the butler doesn't know about. For example…" He straightened with a large war weapon and fired.
Bullets flew as he shot continuously.
"CAREFUL, BIG SIS!"
….
Ciel nodded and faced Joker with a meaningful look. "Those…"
The air was cleared of dancing smoke. The shooting has ceased.
A relieved Beast soon turned distraught when she found out that Dagger had shielded her from the bullets with his body. He was severely torn with many bullet holes, and was on the brink of death.
"I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!"
….
"…are the Phantomhive family servants."
The room once known as the kitchen caved in around Beast, dust and flour came up in clouds after it. She glanced around at the chaos around helplessly and up to the three servants, glowering at the middle one.
"I told you from the start right? The kitchen holds many secrets. Do you know the story of the Minnesota wheat flour that blew eighteen people into the afterlife?" Bard smirked down at her. "Well, enjoy that flour. I'm done with the pre-cooking."
"What are you doing?!"
Bard threw in a lighted match. "Going to a safe place. As for you, do find your companions in the afterlife. Goodbye."
"Wait, you-"
The explosion went off even before the woman could finish her sentence.
"Sorry, miss." The trio turned away. "But these are our jobs."
….
Her heart was crying for that man who lay bloodied and amputated. That Joker who stood strong and confident in front of his crowd was a different man. Now, a broken man who was desperately clinging onto his life that was going to fall apart any moment was all she could see. She knew deep down that he was someone who could and would never find genuine peace.
Estella sighed heavily as she watched the scene play out before her.
"The Phantomhive house is a phantom that exists solely for the purpose of eradicating the Queen's distresses." Sebastian glanced down at Joker with a nonchalant smile. "If you step into that den, you can never return into the light."
"Private army?" Joker who was lying supine on the floor, turned to lie on his stomach. From the skeptical scowl on his face, it was clear that he did not believe whatever the butler said."Those guys are pros; don't think you can easily-"
"You're free to believe it or not." Sebastian mused, twirling the dagger in his hand. "However, don't forget that these are capable people selected by me." The butler ceased the twirling of the dagger and pointed its blade at him.
His heart sank with dread. The look on the butler's face came loud and clear that he was speaking the truth. Joker squeezed his eyes close; face grimaced with remorse and pain. He has sent his family to death.
Please, please live.
"I wonder…" Joker opened his eyes and glanced up with a bitter look. "What we should have done. Like the nursery rhyme…We were 'capable of playing only one song.' But if…if we had been born in another country," He started to cry, heaving with sadness. "We and our bodies…wouldn't have been like...like this." His body shook to his painful sobs.
"Don't cry so shamefully." Ciel said unmoving, gazing blankly at the floor beneath him."The world is not kind to anyone."
Joker shakily raised up his head to look at the Earl. "Smile…."
"My name is Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel's eye swiveled over with a sharp look, his annoyance making an appearance in the form of narrowed eyes and guarded body language. "And that alone."
Silence that followed after seemed to have an emphasizing effect on his averment.
"Ah, sorry to make you wait for the supplement…"All heads snapped over to the intrusion.
Ciel came to recognize him as Doctor from the circus.
Doctor looked from faces to faces as he rolled in on his wheelchair. "Huh? You're…Ah, I see. Black, Smile and Star."
Estella and Ciel narrowed their eyes simultaneously while Sebastian just returned the stare emotionlessly.
"So what Joker said was true." Doctor who they always thought was handicap suddenly stood up. "But even worse than cops that can't be bought; we have the rumored Queen's lapdog." He, for someone who was 'handicap', climbed down the stairs to the circle they are in, perfectly well.
"Doctor…" It was apparent that even Joker had thought so too. "Your legs…you're walking…."
The bespectacled man gave him a wave of nonchalant, giving a dry chuckle. "My legs? Ah, there's actually nothing wrong with me. Kids like you wouldn't get all jumpy if I just sat down."
His eyes swept over and widened at the baron who laid wounded a few feet behind Ciel. "Baron Kelvin!?" He rushed over and inspected the said man's wound. "Ah…this is bad. How awful, a patron who could understand my ideals."
"Ideals?" Sebastian questioned.
"Yes. For a very long time, I was searching for the perfect artificial limb and wanted to continue its development."
Doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully and gave the baron's wound a calculated look before straightening upright to meet Sebastian with an excited look.
Oh great, another loony. Estella's eyes rolled heavenward. And this one is going for a story, huh?
"After all of my research, I was able to make the finest materials possible!" Doctor raised his arms dramatically. "It was lighter and sturdier than wood and more beautiful than the mineral characteristics of ceramics I had made something that no one had ever made before. However, gathering the materials was difficult task."
"Indeed," Sebastian butted in, rubbing his chin as though he was also enthusiastic about the man's lifework. "Your handmade artificial limbs have an enchanting feel to them. Like Chinese-made bone porcelain tableware."
Estella eyed the butler with a bored look. Nice going, Seb, you just made the loony more excited.
It seemed to do the trick because the Doctor's eyes flared wider in surprise and delight. "Ah Black, you understand this beauty?! I'm sorry ,but can you not put it in the same league as bone porcelain made from mixed cow bones?"
Estella's face scrunched into a disgusted frown. I didn't know they are made of bones…Yuck.
"That's right, you said it was made from special materials?" Sebastian prompted.
"Yes, yes. I can't get them anywhere but here." Doctor strolled over to one of the cages where the children were kept in."This way we don't have to put any effort into throwing them away somewhere. Don't you think it's the best way of recycling ever?" He gestured at the children with a smile.
Ciel swiveled his attention over to the children and quickly gathered what he meant. "No…way." Estella didn't fail to notice how Ciel paled drastically. He looked like he was going to be sick.
"No way. No way…" Estella glanced over to the voice when she realized it wasn't from Ciel this time. It was Joker. His eyes were wide with disbelief. "Wha..What did you see us…as…" He struggled between coughs.
Doctor blinked, completely not poignant. "See, I only get rejected like that. As long as they don't know the truth, everyone is always praising me about how wonderful they are." He sighed exasperatedly as he went on to open the cage door and dragged out a little girl. "But the baron was different. Searching for beauty was his highest motivation. He sponsored me with an abundance of materials and money, the best thinkable person."
"Don't you think it's normal to need the best materials in order to the best products?" The girl was just like the other children they've seen, void and dull. Like a puppet. "As far as society's idiots are concerned, there's no such thing as success without sacrifice." With a contempt look, the bespectacled man laid the child on the experiment table.
Sick…Just like SIGMA. Estella grimaced. What is he-
Raspy breathing from her left side caught her attention and had her turning to it to realize that it came from her master. The fear in his eyes and his trembling… It was so tangible that she swore she could even feel it radiating from him. It was a rare sight that made her heart skipped a beat. The usually phlegmatic Ciel Phantomhive she knew looked so vulnerable right now, and that was scaring her.
His reaction couldn't help but spark her curiosity. What in the world did you have to go through last time….Phantomhive?
….
Ciel froze at the sight of a dagger Doctor pulled out from his coat. A gleam of horror flashed across his eye as he fixated on the dagger, heart pounding loudly with a fear that was palpable.
"A cow's bones are fine, but a human's aren't?"
Cold sweat broke across his forehead as memories fought to surface in his head. The words to order the man to stop were stuck in his throat, the only thing he could feel rising up in his throat was bile.
"Who decided on that!?"
Please someone….Please. The memory of the pleas from his younger self resonated in his head as he watched Doctor brought down the dagger on the motionless little girl.
And then, the man sank the dagger into her flesh with a crazed look.
"STOP IT!" The haunting image of his own captor that mirrored him kept coming. "STOP IT!" His hands flew up to his head.
"Phantomhive!"
Ciel glared heatedly at his redhead servant when he saw her rush forward. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" He yelled in a booming voice, backing away.
Estella skidded to a stop, stunned for a moment. The worried look on Estella's face intensified. "I'm not going to hurt you, Phantomhive..." She took a step forward, raising an arm as though she was trying to touch him.
"Enough!" His hands tightened their grip on his hair as he backed away further, daring the girl to take another step forward. His asthma was acting up again.
"Please…"
His chest heaved and fell faster. "NO!"
"Young master." Ciel timidly swiveled his attention to the smooth silky voice to see Sebastian. Gently, Sebastian tugged Ciel towards him, tilting the boy's chin upward. "Is there something you are afraid of?" You're outside of the cage right now, My Lord." Sebastian reached up to the knots holding Ciel's eye patch.
Estella watched the scene unfold before her, breathing hard with anticipation. Curiosity was pricking at her.
"Come…." Her heart picked up its pace as Sebastian tugged on the knots.
She had always wondered about that eye patch but had never dared to question her master about it. What was she going to find behind that patch?
"Call my name."
At the same time, her insides suddenly started stirring. What is this feeling? She swayed on her feet.
"Seb-Sebastian…"
She watched Ciel pushed himself away from the butler, trying to stand firm. She gazed the eye patch at his feet and glanced up only to realize that it was impossible with him facing away from her.
And then, he faced her direction with his right eye glowing dark purple. "KILL THEM ALL!"
She recognized that glowing mark in that eye, alright. "Phantomhive…" She gasped at that mark in his eye. She had read and seen it from the book Brandon gave her.
It was the Faustus contract mark…just like the one they were standing.
This means…
Estella whipped her head over to just in time to see Sebastian abruptly disappeared from his spot with unnatural speed, and came to a realization that she couldn't bring herself to believe.
She shuddered.
Sebastian Michealis was a demon.
….
Sebastian is a demon. Sebastian is a demon. Sebastian is a demon. This realization pounded harmoniously with her thumping heart.
A cry of surprise had her turning behind to see Sebastian stab his arm into Doctor. Gaping in horror, she watched the bespectacled man crumble to the ground. His blood was smeared and splattered all over the ground and the experiment table.
Estella swept her gaze over to Ciel across her with widened eyes. "Phantom…" However, the boy was too engrossed watching Sebastian do his destructive work. The deeply furrowed eyebrows on his face and wild look on his face made him seem like he has gone nuts. "…hive."
CRACK!
She turned to just in time to see Sebastian lift his feet away from the dead baron's head, the realization that Sebastian had cracked his skull made her nausea. Her jaws dropped open when he suddenly disappeared and appeared again beside Joker. With a swing of an arm, he gave the finishing blow to the man.
"It's done." Sebastian moved towards Ciel.
She followed, walking with caution to meet them. Her body swayed with weariness as she moved along. All these were taking a toll on her, draining her physically and mentally. Not to mention, it was already way past midnight. She was heaving with the desire to give in to sleep at the very moment, praying that this tormenting night would be over soon.
"NO, IT'S NOT!"
Estella glanced up with a puzzled look only to find herself being pointed at.
"DON'T FORGET HER!"
"Me…?" She stopped short with a look of disbelief. She almost forgot to breathe. "K-Kill… me?"
….
Her heart felt like it has dropped into her stomach. Her thoughts were in turmoil. The wave of confusion, disbelief and pain came over her and crashed down her weary self, she suddenly cried.
At the same time, adrenaline got her throwing her arms around the male. "Snap it out, Phantomhive!" She wept, burying her face into his chest. She was weeping for the children, Joker, her and mainly for Ciel. She has to save him.
"Don't touch me so casually!" He shoved her away.
She stumbled back, gazing up at him with a pained frown. Her breath hinged at how unfriendly and void his gaze was on her, as though he didn't recognize her.
He thinks I'm going to hurt him…She realized in horror.
"What are you standing there for, you stupid demon!?" Ciel snarled.
"My, my…" She snapped her head over to that to see Sebastian watching her intriguingly with a raised eyebrow."Guess I'll just head on with his order."
Estella stood there in silence. Obvious weariness was seeping into her features.
"Sebastian," She finally spoke. "…You can kill me." Her voice was quivering with resignation and weariness."However, do it only after I bring him back."
Sebastian's raised eyebrow merely quirked higher.
"Nobody is going to hurt you now." She raised a hand to wipe away her tears as she slowly turned to Ciel with a tearful glare. "You're safe now. Don't you understand, you idiot?"
Yanking the boy forward, she cupped his cheeks and pressed her lips against his.
Praying that he would come back.
Praying for this tormenting night to be over.
She has never, in the fourteen years of her life, yearned to see the morning light this much before. Not even when she was in SIGMA.