Hello people! How is everyone? I really hope and wish that wherever you are, it's much cooler than what Greece is right now... no chance to sit for long without air conditioning 😫! If where you are is equally or even hotter... I feel you, friend! *pat pat on shoulder* I hope my chapter will make you feel even a little better, so... please, enjoy to the fullest!

Also, thank you to darkangelynn5 for your comment! I'm so glad I'm not alone in this ship! 😍

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or its characters. I entirely own only my OCs, arcs and ideas/themes not mentioned in any form of the franchise (manga, anime, games, movies or musicals).

Chapter 32: The Tutor, Escape Plan

Sieglinde was kneeling on the ground, her hands clutching her skirt and in her mind a constant buzzing; the cold night air of the forest ruffling some of her stray strands of hair but could not pay attention to that. The sound and light of the flare Ciel had fired were almost gone, but still she could not bring herself to care for anything other than the storm of emotions raging inside her. Selina was standing by their side with her blades ready to push away any approaching foe before their reinforcements arrived.

Ciel looked at the girl and took a step closer. "The outside world is full of those who would take advantage of you. You may yet experience more hardships than what you did today." He said coldly as he came closer, dropping his flare gun and pulling his pistol from his pocket. "So choose. Will you still venture beyond this forest? Or… will you take the easy way out instead?" He pressed his gun on the girl's forehead showing his intention of shooting her if need be, ignoring Selina's cry of agony begging him to stop.

Sieglinde's red, puffy eyes opened wide and her heart skipped a beat at the cold, emotionless face the boy she had come to consider a friend exhibited. She remained silent for a while and then cast her eyes to the ground as new tears started flowing.

"I am horrified I brought 'SuLIN' into the world. I no longer know what to believe in. I don't want to think anymore. I… just want to disappear."

Ciel narrowed his eye as he lightly pressed the trigger. "True. If you have lost the will to utilize your prodigious brain, it would be better off fertilizing the weeds instead. If you die… you need not hear the death throes of those you might have saved." He said seriously and Selina could swear a shadow of sadness and guilt crossed his deep blue eye, even for half a second.

"Saved?" Sieglinde asked, trying to understand what the boy was saying.

"Since you were able to develop an ultimate poison… I thought perhaps you could develop an ultimate antidote to save the villagers. Something not unlike a magic elixir to astound the world." He grinned at her.

"A magic… elixir?" The girl's eyes lightened up behind her tears and a glimpse of hope made them sparkle beautifully. "Could I… really do… such a thing?"

"I cannot say for sure, but your chances would be nil if you died here. Emerald witch, I will ask you again. Will you die and flee? Or live and fight?" He asked her with an authoritarian tone in his voice.

The girl clenched her skirt even harder and spoke. "I… want to live! I want to live and fight!" She announced with determination and rekindled desire for life.

Selina was watching as her master hid the gun and kneeled in front of the young lady, offering his hand in a handshake that sealed their alliance and friendship anew. The blond witch could not speak, astounded by how the young boy - currently reminding her very much of a devil, a young but nevertheless cunning devil - managed to breathe new life to this emotional rag the girl was by giving her a new purpose.

She had never understood - and her guess was she would never do - why demons would choose to do that. As far as she was aware of, Selina had no personal experience with that side of demons, but had heard and indeed found really weird that these black and vile creatures born from the darkest emotions a human soul could ever experience, were able to push back to life and give a purpose to an utterly despaired human, even if they claimed that human desperation was what they were yearning for.

The two children were now walking slowly through the forest, Ciel supporting Sieglinde trying to take a few steps with her tiny feet, and Selina still circling around like a guardian hawk, shielding them from any possible threat. Ciel thought he glimpsed a purple sphere, from time to time, surrounding and moving along with them, but thought his eye must be deceiving him due to the poor light of night in the forest. After a while, Bard's loud voice was heard as he along with the rest of the Phantomhive servants joined them.

"Well, then." The young Earl said, sighing relieved from Seiglinde's weight. "We will divide into two groups as planned and escape from this forest. Our retreat operation begins now!" He announced and preparations began.

"My lord, forgive me for my audacity, but I must admit that... when you managed to reawaken lady Sullivan… the way you did it… you really looked like a certain demon we know…" Selina whispered, helping him get ready for his part in the plan.

Ciel sighed with a touch of blush on his cheeks. "Well, whether I like it or not, I have been observing him for three years now, I know how he manipulates people… how he manipulates me sometimes." He obviously did not like that, but knew it was part of the price he had to pay. "And I cannot deny he has been a good teacher on many levels… Of course, there is no need for him to know that last part…" He finished glaring at the woman with an ordering look leaving no room for any objections.

"Of course, my lord." Selina smiled and bowed her head making a silent agreement with the boy master.

"Ah! What about Sebastian?" Sieglinde asked all of a sudden, worry and question evident on her features. "If they use the miasma… rather, the mustard gas on him…"

"You need not worry. There is nothing my butler cannot do." Ciel answered and the girl's admiration for the Phantomhive party grew, as she saw everyone smiling with great faith to the black clad butler's abilities.

And they were right to believe in him, even if not everyone knew his true nature; they all knew he was indeed one hell of a butler and that was enough for them. They were certain he would carry out his master's orders with absolute success and soon would be joining them.

{~}

Back in the factory, Sebastian followed his master's orders to the letter, feeling entertained by the humans' efforts to stop him by shooting at or dousing him with mustard gas. Soon, he was standing in the midst of exterminated "wolf men"; their muzzle masks in pieces scattered on the floor and their human faces bloated and bleeding by the gas exposure.

"Now then." Sebastian said to himself clapping his hands to get rid of any speck of dirt and then inhaled deeply drawing in all of the gas.

Only moments later, he stood in the room the crone had escaped to. Her escort dead on the floor and the briefcase containing the lethal formula in the demon's hands.

"There are those who preach illogical notions like love and affection. Then there are those who can sacrifice their flesh and blood so rationally. And that is exactly why I find humans so amusing." Sebastian said, shutting the briefcase tightly.

The woman turned with a cry of fear, seeing him alive and unharmed, and then the poison gas alarm started screaming. It was only then that she saw a wisp of gas coming out of the man's delicate lips with every exhale; soon the room's air was filled with it, choking her, making everything burn inside, the pain was tenfold of what she had experienced years ago and tried to shield mouth and nose but in vain, tears were already running plentiful from her eyes.

Sebastian spoke and with every word or breath more gas was released in the air. "You love this poison gas so dearly… that you sacrificed your beloved daughter's life. Consider this my token of gratitude for exposing the young master to mustard gas." His voice full of irony. Now, he snaked one hand around the woman's waist and almost embraced her as she was clutching his tailcoat and struggling for breath. "How is it? How do you like your long-awaited taste of the death born of the brain you so adored?"

He mocked her right before he sealed her lips with his own in a poisonous kiss that released any gas still left in his mouth straight in hers and her lungs, killing her in a matter of agonizing seconds. Throwing away her limp, lifeless body, he silenced the alarm forever and then went on following his master's earlier orders; destroying all traces and evidences about synthesizing SuLIN in whatever way he saw fit, do as the beast within him wished to entertain his black soul, or whatever it was what he had. All he needed was a paper and a tiny flame from a burner to start the fire that soon devoured the place along the mountains of papers and years of research.

"Oh, dear master. I am afraid you have the wrong impression. My greatest amusement at the moment, you see – besides my spicy games with my Selina, of course – is the one I am playing against you, while bound by my butler livery. So it would not do to act on impulse and behave like a beast. However, if you are particular to my being such a devil… I shall act accordingly. For I… am one hell… of a butler."

He chuckled, walking in the middle of roaring flames; their tongues licking the demon's shoes and whirling around him - casting bright red light on his beautiful features - as they were getting hotter and stronger, consuming everything in their wake.

{~}

Snake was running through the forest, panting breathlessly due to the child's weight on his back, Bard was running in front of him with a pair of goggles on his eyes and his equipment strapped on his body while Selina, always brandishing her swords, had the role of the rearguard in their simple formation.

"I can hear footsteps! They are gaining on us – says Oscar." Snake informed.

"Snake ears are amazing!" The chef said trying to sound cool but his eyes failed to hide how scary he found that cold-blooded creatures.

Selina's ears focused on the footsteps constantly approaching, as well as the barking and howls, as the military trained dogs were zeroing on their target. Wolfram was heard calling to Sieglinde and sped up leaving the rest of the soldiers behind, as soon as he spotted the girl's black and green dress and her flowing locks on Snake's back.

"They're here! Now make 'em dance!" Bard said and Snake instantly stopped and stomped repeatedly his foot forcefully on the ground before starting running again, Selina close behind him.

A moment later, snakes started falling from the trees biting the soldiers or embracing the dogs in their scaly coils, tightening until the unfortunate animals could not move. Wolfram looked more surprised than harmed from the sudden attack, and without losing a beat screamed a "Halt" in German as he shot with his pistol, only to receive an answering shot from Bard, who now seemed to take Selina's place at the back.

"I told ya! I can't understand a word yer sayin'!" He also screamed at the unlikable blond giant.

They all took cover behind trees as Wolfram and the others were shooting constantly. Bard – not the goofy chef but the experienced ex-soldier – practically ordered Selina and Snake to move on first, since he would stay behind to buy time. He emphasized to Snake the importance of not dropping the "young lady" with a side smirk as he was chewing the end of his cigarette.

"You needn't say that. Don't forget to come back in one piece." Selina told him with a similar smirk as she and Snake had already started to run again.

"Ya needn't say that too!" He chuckled and shoved a hand inside his bag, only to pull it out holding a… marmalade can. "Maybe it's time to give this feller a try."

He threw it towards the trees the Germans were hiding behind and the can rolled, stopping right in front of them. Bard heard Wolfram again screaming something and could only guess what he said, as he heard him throwing himself further away in the bushes, taking cover from the explosion that followed right after. However, he was really surprised to find the man only slightly blackened from the smoke, pointing the gun at him when he peeked from the tree that was his shield. They both fired and Wolfram's bullet scratched Bard's forearm making it bleed slightly. They kept exchanging shootings and Bard was surprised to find the man was moving extremely fast, like a wild animal in rage. And indeed he seemed to be in so much rage that his eyes were sparkling; that was what Bard managed to see before the man's boot landed on his face, throwing him a few centimetres away on the ground, leaving the soldiers deal with him and then dashed in the forest pursuing Snake.

Bard yelled informing the young footman and the tutor, but when Snake turned to look behind, the blond butler was already launching himself at them with a knife in hand. Selina was fast enough to twist around and land a hard kick on the man's hand, stopping his assault. However, the man was also fast and equally flexible; therefore, he stood on one leg and flung the other straight at her spine, hitting her quite hard as his other hand, still holding his pistol, attempted to punch her. Selina avoided it and tried to stab him with her blades but again he proved inhumanely fast; he slashed at the back of her one hand with the knife, hit her other wrist with the back of his gun forcing her to let go of her blades, while giving her a head-butt that landed on between her eyes and nose. Selina cried in pain as her sight blurred and heard a light crack from her nose. For a second, she could not do anything, but that was enough for Wolfram who kicked her stomach with his knee and then pushed her away; her body banging on a tree and landing ungraciously on the ground. Without stopping for a breath he ran again behind Snake.

The young man was relatively strong and his load not that heavy, but slightly heavier than an eleven year old petite girl should, and after so much running he had started getting tired, and although he was without doubt pushing himself beyond his limits, he could sense his feet getting heavier and slower. That was the reason why in the few moments Selina's and Wolfram's encounter took, he had not managed to run but a few meters, a short distance the muscled butler crossed in seconds and once again launched himself on Snake. This time he managed to slice the younger one's arm with so much force that made Snake stagger for a moment, before landing heavily on the ground, his hands unable to hold on Lady Sullivan, who also hit the ground ungraciously leaving a muffled cry of pain.

"My lady!" Wolfram cried as he took her lithe body in his arms.

"Why, thank you for coming to get me." Ciel's voice was heard coming under Sieglinde's bangs and Wolfram dumbfounded saw a pistol pointed at him, held steadily by a childish hand, as the other one pulled off the black long wig and the cap that completed the boy's disguise in the girl's slightly tight clothes. "Here is your 'tip'. I do hope you will accept it."

{~}

Wolfram could not believe his eyes, because he was always so focused on retrieving his lady, that as soon as he made out of the forest's darkness her shape in her usual garment, his mind and eyes were trained only there. Therefore, his mind never registered the image of another petite figure wrapped in Ciel's cloak, huddled in the arms of the small-figured but extremely strong and fast gardener, running away from him in the opposite direction.

Now, Sieglinde lifted her head from Finnian's chest and threw a scared look behind as she heard a distant gunshot. German soldiers were pursuing them for some time now, firing their guns, but something told her the specific bullet was aimed towards someone close to her heart.

"Be careful! Keep your head down." Finny warned her and she lowered her head again, as bullets were flying around them.

Young Finny was running at great speed with the little girl, dressed in his master's clothes, in his arms... and Mr. Tanaka on his back. The old man, although tall and lean, was never heavy and most of the time looked as if he had shrunk to a smaller version of him, making it even easier to be carried. Finny remembered his master's order of him taking Lady Sullivan, in order to protect her and take her away from the bad people, away from the ones that hurt and kept her shut in the castle and the village, filling her mind with lies.

"I want you to bound through the woods faster than the wind… just like your namesake…" His master had told him laying his trust on his fast legs, legs faster than any hare, just like the Finnian of the Gaelic myth from which his master took the name and gave it to him, instantly turning him from a weapon with the number twelve to a living, breathing human under the human name of Finnian.

That memory seemed to fuel him with more determination and strength. He informed lady Sullivan their way would get a little rougher, asked her to be careful not to bite her tongue from any bumps on their way, and then ran even faster, if that was humanly possible. The soldiers behind him were left in surprise staring at the back of him speedily vanishing in the forest. He soon reached the end of it and with no hesitation jumped over a cliff.

He looked at the beautiful starry sky and smiled with eyes sparkling happily at the sight and the feeling of freedom. He landed in the shallow river beneath and heard the soldiers above him gasping in utter surprise seeing him standing up, since they were certain he would not survive the crush. However, the painful tingling of his legs from the sudden and rough contact with the quite cold, for August, water and the hard rocky river bed, made him cry and unable to run for a few moments. Sieglinde looked at him, frightened he was really hurt, seeing tears running from his green round eyes.

The soldiers above took advantage of the insanely fast runner's pause and aimed to take a shot at him, but failed as a rain of bullets out of nowhere pierced them killing most of the team. Finny and Mr. Tanaka heard the cries of the dying and wounded and were both sure the sharpest eyed maid to ever exist had their back. What surprised them was Mey-Rin's sudden warning cry drawing their attention to the figure of an armed woman in front of them. Sieglinde was surprised to recognize one of the village women serving her from time to time, now dressed in a military uniform and with a relentless, cruel look in her eyes pulled the trigger aiming at her.

However, the little girl did not expect the bullet would not find its target, only because the old butler in his full height and strength was suddenly standing in front of Finny, cutting the bullet in the middle with his sharp katana and mind blowing precision. She was left looking at the old man with mouth open in awe for him.

"Finny. You two go on ahead. This old man shall deal with her. We will accomplish anything that is at the behest of our master. Such is our duty as the Phantomhive servants!" Tanaka said with a steady voice and in a position ready for battle.

{~}

Sieglinde was right to fear the shot she heard was not one of the many the soldiers were firing at her and Finny.

Ciel fired and got Wolfram, but the boy's smile vanished seeing Wolfram's head snapping backwards and in an instant back in its place and then felt the man's strong fist landing on his soft still childish cheek. The gun left his hand and now Wolfram had stranded the small body incapacitating him. Ciel was more than surprised to see that the man had dodged the bullet at the expense of half of his right ear.

"If only you-!" The man said in German with rage boiling inside him. His hand circled the thin neck and the gun pointed at the young face. "If only you… had not come… my lady would never have-!" He growled as his fingers tightened.

"Smile!" Snake yelled and that was enough for Bard - still dealing with the rest of Wolfram's team - and Selina - struggling to focus and stop the world from spinning around her - to move towards their master being strangled by the gigantic man.

Bard started running, ignoring the very few already wounded men left and Selina tried to get up only to fail majorly, as the world took a fast spin, making her stomach turn and sending the taste of vomit in her throat. She managed to pull a dagger from her belt and got ready to throw it to Wolfram but, to her frustration, realized she could not be sure if Wolfram was indeed were her eyes were seein him; scared her dagger might hit her master instead, she halted her shaking hand, letting out a furious groan of "Fuck!". Bard was also swearing in a similar manner, as he was still too far to shoot the man and his legs were not running fast enough to take him closer.

"I say. What is the meaning of this?" A strict voice with a heavy German accent said. A voice that made Snake, Bard and Selina stare at the round man appearing out of nowhere and at the moment decisively pushing away Wolfram's gun with a knife. "I never knew he had a daughter." The voice said and confirmed Ciel's suspicion.

That voice and those stern, yet loyal eyes sent the young boy a few years back, when that same German person had visited the Phantomhive manor and informed the shy boy with the big blue eyes hiding behind the curtain, that he would not eat him. The then Earl Phantomhive had laughed and teased the man in a good intended manner, but nevertheless made him feel uncomfortable and then asked him to take care of his family in case something happened; he did not order it, only asked as a favour. The boy behind the curtain could still remember the soft, loving look the Earl's eyes had while speaking for his family.

"You… have not… changed a bit… Diedrigh!" The current Earl Phantomhive managed to utter since Wolfram's hold was still quite tight at his throat. "Although your physique… has changed rather…" He gasped, while smirking at the man with an impish smile.

"Whose fault do you think that is?" The man asked angrily, still keeping Wolfram's knife away. "And one more thing! Do not call me by my given name! I am not… your fag!" He actually screamed the last part as he pulled a gun and with that dodged Wolfram's knife aiming to stab the newcomer, after having released the boy. "Now, stubbly!" He then screamed looking at Bard's direction.

That made Wolfram also turn and look quite terrified at the prospect of being shot, since both of his hands were incapacitated by the black haired man. He frowned seeing the chef still running, not in any position to shoot, and the tutor had only now managed to stand on her trembling legs and take a few steps towards them, but her eyes were still blurry, therefore the dagger in her fingers was pretty much useless. He did not have time to react since a hard kick landed on his abdomen and a bullet pierced his wrist forcing him to let the knife go, leaving him no choice but to pull back and jump to take cover behind a tree, in order to avoid the next shots.

Ciel had gotten back on his feet and was struggling to catch his breath as coughing was shaking his small body. "D- Diedrich, you saved me… What brought you here?"

"Why am I here?! It is because you have gotten yourself caught up in a top secret affair! Like father, like son!" Diedrich spat, shoving Ciel behind a tree.

"If you mean the new poison gas, I-" The boy said but was cut short by a furious no.

"There is something else! The army is-" Diedrich began explaining but then yelled for everyone to get down, while hugging the boy and throwing him on the ground, covering him protectively.

Loud booming noises like cannonballs were heard and trees started exploding in splinters while small fires consumed what was left behind. That went on for a while as more explosions followed, forcing them to stay on the ground as burned wood and leaves were raining over them. Diedrich could only curse his speed for not getting there faster and Ciel was asking, like in a rage, about what was that. At some point the explosions stopped, Bard, Selina and Snake managed to reach their master in agony for his life. However, before anyone could speak, the ground under their feet started shaking, like an earthquake had chosen that moment of all to shake the specific place.

Ciel was left speechless with wide eye looking at the new site emerging from the forest. A huge metallic vehicle, with an equally huge barrel gun right at the front, was rolling slowly on the ground crushing everything in its path.

"I-is that… a mobile cannon?!" Ciel asked in panic, not believing his eyes.

"Do not just stand there, you spineless runts! Run!" Diedrich ordered, grabbing Ciel and dashing forward.

"What the hell?! It's a behemoth!" Bard yelled, losing his cigarette, as he circled Selina's waist with one arm and pulled her other one over his shoulder. They both started running with Snake by their side.

"It is Germany's latest armoured land warship. A panzer!" Diedrich yelled, still running trying to put as much distance he could between them and that monstrous machine.

Aaaand the s*#t hit the fan! Honestly, that was how I felt when I read that part in the manga! I may be totally clueless and indifferent (to my father's disappointment 😛) to mechanical and millitary stuff, but I can totally understand how bad a panzer can be! Quite horrifying!

Also, when I saw Sebastian's shadow kissing the crone's, I was left a little bit like "Don't tell me he got excited by her so wicked and twisted mind 😨!" But then, he threw her body away and was truly relieved... not that it would be too surprising for a demon!

That's all for now! Till next time! Bye!