CHAPTER 25

"The entirety of this plan's success falls on tonight's performance. We will win no matter what. Are you all ready to give it your all?"

"Let's do this! PHANTOM FIVE!"

The boys began to head out, chatting and laughing amongst themselves as we readied ourselves for phase 1 of our infiltration mission. I was on my way out when my teenage overlord called out to me, a stern but trusting smile on his face.

"I'll leave this part to you Jessie. Make sure to succeed."

I shot him a confident smile and bowed.

"Of course, I am a maid of the Phantomhive household. If I couldn't do this much, what kind of a maid would I be?"

This earned me a chuckle from the demon standing beside Ciel while the boy rolled his eyes in exasperation. I knew that I was annoying, but with this much pressure on me and the boys to succeed, I needed something to help take my mind off of it.

"Alright! I'm off! I'll see you soon!"

We stood in the darkness, surrounded by the backstage crew who rushed about to prepare the finishing touches before the carols began. An hour earlier, we had made our way into the music hall as employees, allowing us to sneak into the backstage area of the music hall with relative ease. When there, we made our way to the changing rooms where I had knocked out five of the backup singers that were part of the choir and stuffed them into a closet.

"Blimey…You're a scary one."

"Part of the job I'm afraid."

I shrugged and gave Cheslock a small smile. I had gotten so used to the violence that simply knocking someone out had no issues with me at all. The boy scratched the back of his head as I yanked off the cloak from the last chorus member and handed it to him. Soon after, a backstage staff member came into the change room and ushered the disguised boys out and towards the stage. I followed after them, using the darkness to my advantage.

"You guys ready?"

All five nodded and I gave them all a thumbs up before the group was called onto the stage for the usual Sunday carols. No one suspected a thing as the carols went by smoothly and the back up singers were given the signal to leave the stage as it was time for the S4 to perform. As planned, the boys remained on stage and it didn't take long before the crowd noticed that there were still members of the choir that hadn't left the stage yet.

"Hey, you bunch of frauds!"

The S4 whipped their heads around, finally noticing that there were people behind them when there shouldn't have been.

"You call yourselves "shining" with such dimly lit candles? Hah! Don't make me laugh. How about you take a good look at the genuine article!"

With a flourish, the P5 ripped off their cloaks and moved into their starting positions and the room burst into surprised gasps. We had paid off the guys in charge of music and lighting, so on cue, music began to play and the performance began. The strong and enthralling beat echoed through the hall as the P5's singing and dancing lit up the stage, forcing everyone to keep their eyes stuck to them. I pulled the curtain aside slightly to take a peek, noticing that the crowd were still frozen with shock, still processing what they were witnessing before their eyes. Edward stepped forward, pointing at the crowd with a sly and mischievous smirk on his face.

"Hey listen up! We are the true rulers of London's night! We are the Phantom Five! For those of you who'd like to dance til you drop, just head out to the front. I'll make sure we go at it until morning, alright?"

I watched as a few women in the crowd began to swoon and gush at Edward's brazen attitude and the energy in the room was starting to pick up again. Some people were begin to dance along to the catchy beat and others were beginning to rush outside the hall, eager to check out this new group and I saw a glimpse of a man with violet hair rush out of the hall. That brought a smile to my face and I wished that I could have seen the look on his face. Before security could rush in and "escort" us out, the boys and I rushed out using the back exit, their faces were alight with excitement and the purest joy.

"That was amazing!"

"Midford! Did you see the look on their faces?"

"My heart is going to beat out of my chest at this rate!"

"I understand that this is exciting and all, but can we return quickly? I am as blind as a bat right now."

With that, we headed back to Funtom Music Hall and made our way back up to Ciel's office. I knocked on the door and waited for Ciel to let us in. When we entered the room, Ciel was looking out the window, his back towards us as Sebastian slowly turned and greeted us with his usual smile.

"Did you see that Jessie? Weren't we amazing?"

"You guys were brilliant! All that hard work has paid off! What I would give to watch that again!"

"That was absolutely mortifying, but I think I can see why our seniors were so devoted to this."

Edward's face was glowing red, likely due to the fact that he was still a bit embarrassed about his character and how he had to portray himself on stage. Ciel sat back on his chair and faced us, a satisfied look was plastered on his face and I could tell that he was enjoying the chaos that we had raised.

"Excellent work, all of you. Our infiltration tactic has had quite the profound impact."

Ciel smiled as he glanced out the window again to see people were flowing into our music hall like bees into a hive, many of which were guests from our opponents.

"Let's keep this up and crush our opponents until they can no longer lift their heads. I know you have just finished one performance, but make sure to look after yourselves and get ready for the big show tonight."

"We've got some refreshments ready in your changing rooms, so please head down and relax before your next performance."

Sebastian said with a friendly smile as with a cheerful shout, the boys rushed out of the room, excited for their first proper performance in this music hall.

"You did good today Jessie, seeing as things went smoothly."

"Thanks, but it wasn't just me. Those boys scare me with how capable they are. But then again, they were trained by Captain Capable over there."

I jerked my head over to the smiling demon who gathered up the documents on Ciel's desk and bundled it up before handing the boy another bundle of documents. Ciel let out a sigh, running his hand through his hair as his eyes skimmed over the contents of the papers in his hand. Sebastian tilted his head to the side, like a confused puppy but the creepy smile on his face told me that he knew exactly what I was talking about. I reported back how things went during our mission.

"Anyway, I'm sure Mr Shady Fortune Teller will make his way into the show tonight. I saw him rush out during our P5 performance."

Ciel's lips curled into a truly evil grin at the mention of Bravat and he leaned back into his chair.

"Perfect. Let's show him the famous Phantomhive hospitality."

"Yes my Lord."

I felt shivers roll down my spine as the room seemed to drop several degrees.

"Right…well…I'm going to leave you two to enjoy your evil planning. I'll head down now. The show should be starting soon."

"Keep your eye out for Bravat."

"Sure thing. Shouldn't be too hard…just look for the guy with purple hair."

So I left the office and headed to the hall where the performance was going to take place. The entire room was completely filled and the staff members were preparing to close up the doors when they noticed me.

"Ah Miss! You're here!"

"Hiya! Thanks for all of the hard work! I'm just here to enjoy the show."

"Of course! Do you-"

"Have a light stick and a towel? Yep, all prepared."

The woman offered me a warm smile and closed the door behind me. Hah…to think that we really got a light stick made. This is really too much. I chuckled to myself as I tucked the light stick into my pocket.

~A week earlier~

"A what?"

"A light stick! You know…a stick that lights up?"

"And why is this necessary?"

I sat across from Ciel, my sketchbook placed in front of the boy with designs for a light stick on several pages.

"To increase performer and audience engagement of course! Also an easy way to make a little more money, but that's not the point. If you want to increase the number of loyal and die-hard fans, merchandise is incredible important and light sticks is one of those things that are crucial to a successful fanbase. Imagine this…the night is young and the show has reached its peak, suddenly the lights go out and everyone is encased in darkness. Then suddenly the P5 pull out glowing sticks and fans are asked to do the same. Together the performers and the audience and waving their light sticks together and the room is filled with colour and it seems like it's just you and your bias on stage…Doesn't that just make you feel so engaged? Like you are part of the performance as well?"

Ciel seemed to pause for a moment, the look of confusion and bemusement on his face was slowly being replaced by one of consideration before finally his eyes traced over my sketches and the annotations on the side.

"Sebastian, how are the preparations going for the hall's interior design?"

"They have been completed and will be arranged as we have discussed."

Ciel continued to look through the sketchbook before his eyes stopped skimming and fell onto a particular design, a look of interest filled his eyes as he slid it over to Sebastian.

"Good. As for your suggestions Jessie, let's go ahead with your…light sticks and the merchandise. It shouldn't be a problem for the manufacturers of Funtom to create these items. Sebastian take care of this."

"Yes, my Lord."

~Present Day~

"Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to the Funtom Music Hall! Brace yourselves because tonight, we're going to dance like there's no tomorrow!"

The room was filled with murmuring and quiet chatter as the curtain were raised but the P5 were nowhere to be seen.

"What? Where are the Phantom 5?"

"Did they miss their entrance?"

"IT'S SHOWTIME!"

The sound of Edward's voice echoed throughout the hall followed by WHOOSHING sounds as the P5 dropped down from the ceiling and flew over the top of the crowds. The crowd was filled with OOHs and AHHs as the P5 landed onto the stage, unclipped themselves from the wiring and threw off their cloaks dramatically.

"Now that you're all here…you will not be getting away without paying a hefty price. Tonight, you belong to us and we won't stop until we have stolen the hearts of each and every one of you. So prepare yourselves! HERE WE GO!"

The performance was well underway but the crowd weren't very energetic, well that was until the P5 pulled out their towels and began to swirl it around in the air. The crowd suddenly burst into cheers as they joined in, copying the P5's movements and it really did feel like a concert. Suddenly, the boys leapt down from the stage and began to walk down the walkways, getting up close to their adoring fans. Though, despite having purple hair, Bravat still eluded me and I wasn't able to spot him amongst the crowd. To make matters worse, the lights went out and plunged us all into sudden darkness. The crowd began to shift and move about, unsettled by the lack of light when Edward's soft and timbre voice rung out, beckoning to the audience.

"We have no need for the shining light of stars…All that we require to bring light into the darkness is you."

Suddenly the light sticks began to light up and the hall was filled with hundreds of glowing wands, each with their own colour and once again, the hall was filled with the sound of OOHs and AAHs.

"Alright everybody! LET'S RAISE THE ROOF AND BLAST IT OFF INTO THE OLD STARRY SKY!"

It was time for their final song as the crowd cheered and everyone was now jumping up and down to the sound of the beat and waving their light sticks. Everything was going extremely well and the energy levels were already much better than they were in Sphere Music Hall, so I considered that this was a major win. In every way possible, we had managed to outdo our opponents, all we had to do was keep this going until we had stolen everything from them…and to be honest, it wasn't going to be that hard. Finally the show was over and the staff directed the extremely satisfied guests out towards the "Hi and Bye" area where each member of the P5 had their own little section to personally send off their fans. Ahh…and mum used to say going to concerts was stupid. I knew Bravat would have to leave through this way, so I pushed through the crowd and made my way out to the exit and sure enough, I finally caught sight of Bravat. He had moved away from the crowd, stopping by the staircase that led up to Ciel's office. He was frozen in place, his face furrowed into a heavy frown and I could only imagine how shocked and out classed he must have felt after seeing all of that.

"Ah! If it isn't Mr Fortune Teller from Sphere Music Hall."

He whipped his head around at the sound of my voice as I strolled towards him with a friendly smile. His frown suddenly vanished, replaced by a gentle smile as if he was trying to mask his confusion but I had been watching him the entire time and I knew he was feeling overwhelmed.

"Ah! You're the young lady who came with the little boy and the tall dark gentleman."

I continued to maintain my smile, trying to imitate Sebastian's unsettlingly welcoming grin as I stopped in front of him.

"I didn't think I'd see you here. Did you also watch the show? I thought it was nothing short of brilliant!"

Bravat's smile faltered for a second before the sound of multiple footsteps echoed above us as Ciel and Sebastian made their way down the staircase towards us, both wearing the most shrewd grin I'd ever seen them make.

"Well, well…what a surprise it is to see the gentleman from Sphere Hall. Did you enjoy yourself at the show today?"

Bravat's smile completely vanished as he stared up at the young boy and the tall butler behind him. He looked back down to me and then a faint smile grew on his face.

"You're Earl Phantomhive."

"So it seems like you already knew who I was from the moment you first met me."

"I would have never expected to see someone of such noble birth and status come up with a plan like this. This theatre that you have created may use the most cutting edge technology but that isn't everything. Nothing will surpass the luster and shine of the original product."

Ciel let out a short laugh as he shrugged, his eyes filled with mischief.

"Well, we will just have to leave that to the audience to decide won't we?"

"Indeed, that is correct. But…don't you think that if one cannot gain the support of one's closest friends, how should they hope to do so with a group of strangers?"

"That is because they have yet to see the show."

In that moment, I swore I saw lightning shoot out between Bravat and Ciel as they engaged in a staring contest, challenging each other to see who would break first. That ended up being Bravat as he muttered a goodbye under his breath and began to walk away. I began to head towards the staircase when suddenly he grabbed my arm and leaned forward.

"My offer still stands Little Lady. Our doors are welcome if you decide to change your mind."

Before I could retort, he let go of my arm and left the hall with a sly and knowing smile. The fuck? Yeah right…as if I'd go join your cult. I was halfway up the staircase when I heard a loud CRASH like the sound of broken porcelain and Ciel cursing. Without hesitation I raced up the rest of the way and turned a corner to see Ciel heaving with anger and Sebastian watching with nonchalance.

"It isn't like you to mindlessly vent our your frustrations like this."

"SHUT UP SEBASTIAN! I know…I know…"

Ciel stormed off into his office, leaving the demon and I to clean up the mess.

"Yikes…It's been a while since I've seen him throw a tantrum like that."

"It seems that fortune teller has hit the Young Master's sensitive spot."

"You don't say…And here we are…cleaning up the mess as usual."

Sebastian didn't say another word as we picked up all of the broken pieces of the Meissen Vase and threw it away. The weeks went by as Sphere Music Hall and Funtom Music Hall continued their musical war, each week Funtom would do slightly better and gained more and more popularity while Sphere Music Hall would struggle to keep up, losing more and more of their guests to us. I mean, I would be lying if I said I didn't feel bad for them but like… they were literally stealing blood without consent from unconscious people, likely for something super shady, so the guilt I felt slowly dissipated.

And I would be surprised if we were losing because 1…I spent at least 10 years of my life surrounded by pop culture and concerts and modern technology and I made sure to use all of the knowledge that I had to ensure Funtom would win and 2…we have a literal demon who could do practically everything perfectly. But that wasn't going to be their only problem because making a theatre and an idol group to expand our business wasn't even the real reason we did all of this.

Another few weeks passed by and the competition between Sphere Music Hall and Funtom was reaching a stalemate. To our opponents, it was hope that they would be able to pull a fast one and triumph over Funtom but for us, it was the perfect time to strike.

"I really do feel bad for those guys."

"And why is that?"

"They just keep forcing themselves to do better than us without even knowing that we don't care if they beat us or not. If I found out that all of the blood, sweat and tears I had put into doing something meant nothing to my opponent who wasn't even taking it seriously…I would be absolutely crushed."

Ciel glanced up at me, his eyes leaving the documents he was reading through. I looked back at him and let out a sigh, throwing the thick bundle of information gathered by Sebastian about his findings on the body dumping from Sphere Music Hall onto the table.

"Look, by those guys, I mean the S4. That dodgy Fortune Teller has probably been working their asses off just to overcome the Phantom 5. I even heard that Violet collapsed at one of his performance from over exhaustion and anaemia. Turns out Violet is a fellow "Sirius" so I'd assume they've been taking his blood too."

"And you know this how?"

"While I had some free time, I snuck in and heard about it from the staff."

This earned me a shocked stare from Ciel and I shrugged. Turns out I was pretty good at sneaking around.

"If they've turned to taking blood from their performers, it must mean that our plan is working perfectly. And with the info Sebastian has gathered, I'd say he's found where they have been dumping the bodies."

"That is correct."

I felt my soul leave my body as I whipped my whole body around to see Sebastian standing by the door with his signature smile. I glared up at him as I placed a hand over my racing heart.

"You're back."

"I have returned Young Master and indeed, I have organised to have a reporter accompany me tonight to capture our prey red handed."

"Good. See to it that you get this right."

"Yes, My Lord. They'll be on the front cover by morning."

And sure enough, when I woke that morning and headed into the kitchen, Bard was reading the newspaper and on the front page was a very large picture of two men covered in dirt in a hole standing over the corpse of a young lady wearing the silver bracelet handed out by Sphere Music Hall. The title, in bold and capitals, was 'HORRIBLE MURDER BY SPHERE MUSIC HALL!'. Yep, that ought to catch people's attention.

Sebastian had made morning tea for Soma, Ciel and the reporter guy who was apparently an old friend of the family…Real nifty, I know…Mey Rin and I were cleaning as per usual that morning when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it Mey."

When I opened the door, Inspector Abberline was there with a frown and newspaper in hand.

"Ah, hello. Is Earl Phantomhive here?"

"He is currently with another guest but I'll let him know that you are here to see him Inspector. Please come in."

"Thank you."

I walked up to the drawing room and knocked on the door before opening it.

"Young Master, Inspector Abberline is here to see you."

Ciel rubbed his forehead before nodding and told me to send him up. So I went back and escorted him to the room.

"Hello there Inspector Abberline."

"Earl, I have come to ask you a few questions."

"Very well. I apologise, but could the two of you please kindly step out the room for us?"

Without any hesitation, the reporter (whose name was Pit) and the Prince stepped out of the room, leaving Sebastian, Ciel, myself and the Inspector.

"This is your handiwork isn't it? This newspaper article has caused major issues with many of the bureaucrats and nobles involved with the hall going silent but the police were able to expose the nature of Sphere Music Hall. Though I find it extremely hard to believe that a photograph capturing the perfect moment to catch them red handed at the scene of the crime to be obtained. It's not normal."

Ciel smiled, taking the newspaper from Abberline and gestured for him to sit down. He then ordered Sebastian to prepare and serve him some tea. Then Sebastian thoroughly explained what we had found about Sphere Music Hall, afterall, the Scotland Yard had helped us with the autopsies in Undertaker's absence.

"It is true that Sphere Music Hall was taking blood from its guests as we had suspected. Previously we had surmised that it was for blood transfusions however, from our investigations, we found that their research had progressed immensely…more than we could have imagined. They had sorted blood into four different classifications and had even set up methods and technology that prevented blood type rejection."

Abberline recoiled in shock at this information, almost spitting out his tea. I didn't blame him for being this shocked, because I was just as surprised to see how advanced the technology was for something set in the 1800s. Sure it was during the industrial revolution but still…

"Turns out Bravat was pretending to be a fortune teller but really, he was testing and recording the guests' blood types using a reactive liquid medicine. We weren't sure how the blood was being categorised but from hearing the "fortunes" of the guests, we could see that there was a definite difference in quantity between the four types. It wasn't until we saw the number of vials stored in a facility that we were able to quantify the difference with 44% being Polaris, 44% Vega, 10% Canopus and 2% Sirius."

"I see…the percentage for Sirius is extremely low."

"Correct. And since they were already causing deaths in that situation, it was very simple to expose and exploit the fault in their system. We just had to steal the source of their supply. For example, let's say, for instance, that there were 1000 guests in total. That would mean that they would have started with 20 Sirius guests. If we stole 20% of their guests, that would drop their Sirius numbers from 20 to 16. Though it is a small amount, it was still enough to drive them desperate enough to leave to this event."

"And yes, the victim caught was indeed a Sirius."

Abberline's mouth was wide agape and his eyes widened in shock as Sebastian seemed to answer Abberline's unspoken question.

"B-But wait a second. You mean to say that…you planned for all of this to happen despite knowing that someone was going to die because of it? That's…a bit extreme isn't it?"

Ciel sighed, his expression unchanging and unyielding as he stared dead into Abberline's eyes.

"Understand this Inspector. You and the policemen, as righteous people of the law, were unable to take this method and I, a wicked noble, took it upon myself to carry it out. That's all there is to it. But if you did have a better way of doing it, I would have appreciated you executing that plan before I did mine."

Abberline stood up to retort but we all knew that the police and even himself, had struggled with this case for ages before we took action and that, without our help, this would have still been going. It wasn't pleasant but it was what needed to be done. Since he was unable to say anything else, Abberline thanked us for our "service" and then I escorted him out. A few days after that, Ciel decided to stop all activities for the music hall because, 1- Edward's mother, the Marchioness dragged the poor kid off the stage mid performance, 2 – the P5 members were still students and had to attend to their studies and 3 – our main goal for the music hall had been accomplished.

"Ah Young Master! The carriage is ready for you."

"Alright I'm coming."

I waited outside the door for Sebastian and Ciel who was dealing with Sieglinde and Soma complaining about halting the P5's activities. I was honestly just as sad about it too because I had put a lot of effort into creating the group and I had gotten extremely attached it to. And another one of my bands have disbanded yet again…

"Ah Agni!"

"Jessie…"

I cocked my head to the side at Agni's downtrodden expression and noticed that he had one of the newspapers in his hand. It was unusual to see him with such a sad expression.

"What's wron-"

At that moment, Ciel and Sebastian had finally escaped the noisy duo and exited the room.

"Master Ciel, do you have a moment?"

"You too? What's going on? Can it wait?"

"It is regarding this. Is it true that Funtom was the cause for this incident?"

Agni lifted the paper up to us, revealing the picture on the front page.

"And what if it was?"

"The Prince may not have realised it yet, but it means he was indirectly involved with this case of murder. I ask that you please refrain from involving him in such dangerous cases like this."

There was a pause before Ciel stepped around Agni nonchalantly.

"Fine, I understand. I will refrain from using both him and you again."

"Ah! Please don't be like that! The Prince sees you as a very dear friend of his and he earnestly wishes to be of he-"

"I have never once viewed him as a friend. In the first place, I do not recall ever asking the two of you to remain in Britain as a favour or anything, correct?"

"That's…"

"You were the ones who decided to poke your noses into my business. I merely use whatever pieces I have in hand. If you're not happy with that, you can start packing your bags and go back to your country. Let's go Sebastian, Jessie!"

"Master Ciel!"

I felt my insides twist and churn at the cruel words that Ciel had slapped across Agni's face. I loved Agni and Ciel so much and to see Ciel be so cruel to Agni made me feel sick. I knew that it wasn't my place to step in to this conversation, hence why I didn't…but it left such a sour taste in my mouth. I knew Ciel really did appreciate Soma and Agni but Ciel would never admit that. And if anything, he'd rather keep them at a distance so that they wouldn't get hurt and so that he wouldn't get hurt either.

"You really are an exemplary butler Mr Agni."

Sebastian also strolled past Agni, a look of respect and a hint of amusement flickered in his smile as he made his comment and followed after his Master.

"Agni…I know you must be hurt by his comments, but please don't take it to heart. It was rather cruel but he really does appreciate what you and the Prince have done for him. I think he really cares for you but he…he has a lot going on. So please take my word for it. We all appreciate you and Prince Soma and would never put either of you in actual danger."

"I see…thank you Jessie. You are always so kind. I feel sad to see Master Ciel, who is still so young, to walk such a dangerous and lonely path. We care deeply for him and would like him to rely on us a bit more but I must also look after the Prince and, Master Ciel is always in such dangerous situations. But with you and Mister Sebastian, I know he will be safe. Please continue to look after yourselves and Master Ciel."

"Ditto…I hope you take good care Agni. You and the Prince. I care for you both a lot, more than you could ever know."

I gave him a hug, pulled him in tightly and felt his arms wrap me into a tight embrace.

"Jessie!"

"Coming!"

I quickly pulled away at the sound of Ciel's impatient shout and gave Agni a quick peck on the cheek before dashing in the direction that Ciel and Sebastian had gone. I got downstairs and Ciel and Sebastian were staring up at me with impatience, a glare adorned Ciel's face and I knew that something was bothering him deeply.

"You know that was really uncalled for."

The glare deepened as we both got into the carriage with Sebastian's help.

"I'm not in the mood for this Jessie. We have work to do."

"Sure…I'm just saying but that was really mean."

"Hmpf!"

Ciel turned away, looking out the window at the passing people and stores as we headed to the Pub that the P4 were supposedly meeting that afternoon. The trip was filled with an awkward silence and I found myself playing around with the hem of my sleeves. I looked up to see Sebastian staring at me with mild amusement. I wasn't in the mood for his sarcasm or snarky comments but I could see that he was definitely enjoying my misery. I was still deeply upset about Ciel's comments to Agni and the look on his poor face when Ciel said he didn't see them as friends and essentially told them to Fuck off. And though I couldn't blame Sebastian from being amused since he was a heartless demon, I still hated his smug face.

"You keep smiling at me like that and I'll carve it off."

"You can most certainly try."

Ciel let out a disgusted groan and rolled his eyes. These past weeks have been tiring for all of us but Sebastian still found time to annoy us whenever he could, including me…late at night…when I was trying to sleep. Since we were staying at the London estate, I had the room to myself so there was really no danger of getting caught but with each night, Sebastian became hungrier and more enthusiastic. Sure it just meant that I was even more tired, so sleep came easier but the morning after would be an absolute hell to get through. At some point my thighs had become numb from the constant…uhhh…activities. And Ciel was too observant for his own good, so it didn't take long for him to notice the nature of our relationship…much to his disgust.

I don't blame him though. It's like finding out that your older sister was banging your tutor. Urgh…when I put it that way, that sounds fucking gross. Anyway, before I could let my mind go down that road, the carriage came to a stop outside the pub, rain pelting the windows and the streets, creating a dark haze. Sebastian got out first and opened up an umbrella for Ciel and I. We entered the crowded pub, chattering and laughing rushing past us as we opened the door. It didn't take long before we spotted the group across the room and made our way over. However, upon approaching, I noticed that there were only 3 of them. Violet is missing? I thought these 4 were really close? Did they leave him behind? Did he get caught?

"Shall I introduce you to a nice inn? The beds aren't too comfy but it's a private room with a sturdy lock for safety, however, you won't be able to open it from the inside."

That's a jail cell you prick. I rolled my eyes at Ciel's words as the P4 leaped back in shock.

"To think that the charismatic S4 are now sneaking around, sipping tea at a pub on the outskirts of town. What a cruel, cruel world we live in. How about ordering some food at least?"

At that exact moment, Sebastian came back with a plate of Ale Pie and another plate of Fish and Chips, supposedly the Pub's specialties.

"Now then, I have a question for you gentlemen. Where are Bravat and Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth? Midford's little sister?"

"Don't play dumb. She's been at Sphere Music Hall this entire time!"

"No wait! We really haven't seen her, not even once!"

Bluer suddenly began to clutch his ears, and violently shake.

"We didn't know anything! WE HAD NO IDEA THAT BRAVAT WAS DOING SOMETHING SO…SO DREADFUL! I can't believe we were taking part in such heinous acts!"

Redmond began to rub his forehead with his hand, ruffling his hair as he leaned against the table, his face grim and dark. I noticed all three had bags under their eyes and clearly they were victims in this whole thing. I still stand by what I said…I feel real bad for these four.

"We honestly just wanted to have fun with everyone. If we obeyed Bravat, everyone would continue to smile and it made us so happy."

"So you guys really had no idea that Bravat was doing all of this blood collection? You know on each of the different days of the week?"

"Yes…we were told to take an exit after singing one song. He always told us that the guests were just bathing in a healing starlight shower."

"Right…and let's address the elephant in the room…as the S4, there should be four of you. What happened to Violet?"

"The day the newspaper got the scoop on us, Violet just disappeared. We don't know where he could have run off to…"

I grimaced and looked over at Ciel, the truth was literally on the tip of my tongue and thankfully, with Ciel's nod of approval, I told them. They were his best friends and they needed to know the truth. If we could get them on our side, they could help us take down this whole operation and we could save Violet if he had been taken.

"Listen guys…this is going to sound real bad but Violet may have been taken by Bravat. He has the Sirius Blood type, meaning his blood is extremely valuable. Bravat wouldn't willingly lose someone like that."

"What!? You mean..?! Wait! So all this time, when Bravat would occasionally call him out alone and his fainting due to anaemia was because of his blood?! Why didn't he say anything!?"

Ciel tapped his cane against the ground with a sharp and loud THUCK, bringing the 3 out of their worried hysteria as all attention turned to Ciel.

"Do you have an idea where Bravat's location is right now?"

The three began to mutter between themselves, rambling like a bunch of chanting shamans before Bluer's eyes lit up.

"Bath! It was Bath!"

"Bath is Britain's famous Spa town is it not? Haha, to think that they would have a music hall at a health resort for the elderly and retired military servicemen."

"How ironic…Let's go both of you. We're leaving."

Ciel left without another word, Sebastian following after him. I turned to face the P4 one last time, their faces filled with exhaustion and worry for their missing friend.

"We will find Violet. Please don't worry and take care."

I bowed and rushed out the door. After another trip on the carriage, we arrived at the spa town and after asking directions from the locals, we came to the unfinished music hall at the outskirts of the town. We looked up to the construction frames still in place and it was obvious that this hall was significantly smaller than the one in London but it wasn't like it was going to be used to host parties or concerts anymore. We approached the front door to see that it was padlocked shut. That didn't mean much to Sebastian's demonic strength as he tore the chains right off and we casually strolled right in.

The three of us continued to look around for any clues, neither of us straying too far from each other when Sebastian began to push an extremely large cabinet away to reveal a set of hidden stairs. I followed on behind Ciel, keeping an eye out for anything that might jump out behind us while Sebastian lead the way. The stairs were clear of dust, meaning that they were recently used so this must have been the right way. At the bottom of the stairs were a set of double doors and without hesitation, Sebastian pushed them open to reveal a room filled with about a dozen elderly men hooked up to the transfusion machines. There was a weird metal bar that had kept them restrained, preventing them from getting up from their chairs. I gripped onto my sais as we entered the rooms and I took my time looking at each of them.

"This is absolutely disgusting. Remind me to punch Bravat in the face the next time we see him. I think some of these guys are dead or at least on death's door. Though, it doesn't look like they've been dead for long."

"It looks like it."

"It seems like a last ditch effort to get as much blood as possible. But why-"

"Oh my God! Violet!"

I rushed over to the boy, noticing that he was white as a ghost and slumped over, the crook of his elbow was a deep purple from where his blood had been drawn. I began to tear up as I pressed by fingers to his neck, searching for pulse and I almost fell to my knees in relief when I felt it. It was faint, but it was there.

"Jessie, is he still alive?"

"Barely! Violet! Can you hear me?"

Violet began to stir, groaning before his eyes flew open and he grabbed my wrist. I felt my heart almost leap out of my mouth but was relieved that he was conscious.

"So it appears you were aware of Mr Bravat's true nature. Why would you go so far along with it?"

Violet began to tear up, covering his face with his hand as he told us that he just wanted to make people happy. He knew that what Bravat was doing was horrible but he didn't want his friends to be involved, to be burdened with such a terrible secret and was trying to reach out to Cheslock so that eventually he would be able to reach us…for our help. I really did feel sick now and the rage that I had supressed was started to bubble up again. Mark my words Mr Dodgy Fortune Teller, I'm going to fucking kill you for this.

"Where is Bravat?"

"He…he…returned to London…"

Violet proceeded to pass out right after that.

"Sebastian take him to a hospital immediately. Jessie, let's head back."

"Yes, My Lord."

We took a few steps before the sound of a revving engine caught our attention and the flash of a familiar redhead appeared right in front of us. The glint of sunlight on steel reflected from the rotating blades of a very familiar chainsaw and I had to yank Ciel back to avoid getting cut by Grell and his flashing gardening utensil.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me."

"Hiya Sebas-chan ~ Long time no see! Ohhh, it must be fate that has brought us back together again."

"No, it's just merely a coincidence. We do not have time for your antics at the moment."

"Oh? Ahhh, not to worry about that one. He's not on our list."

"Oh, no, no! Grell, it is a possibility that he survives because they saved him."

"Othello!"

I turned around at the sound of a new voice. In walked another green eyed grim reaper with dark green shaggy hair that kind of spread out to the sides of his head and kind of made him look like a lemon. He wore round glasses and a lab coat but I couldn't see him carrying a death scythe…though that didn't mean he didn't have one on him. I took a step in front of Ciel, my hands rested on the grips of my sais just in case they decided to attack.

"So you're the rumoured Sebas-chan. Hmmmm, yes! I can see that you are definitely Grell's cup of tea."

"Right!? I told you so!"

I let out a snort of laughter hearing that Grell has been going around telling everyone about Sebastian and his infatuation with the demon. I looked over to see Sebastian's face completely blank with almost a hint of disgust at the mention of his nickname. Ciel's lips twitched slightly and I knew he kind of found it funny too.

"Of course it's you reapers again."

Othello immediately raced over to Ciel, completely bypassing me and excitedly began to examine Ciel.

"Ohhh it's so rare to see such a young child under a contract! I feel like I've seen you somewhere before though. How about some liquorice candy?"

He proceeded to pluck a single hair from Ciel's head before I swiped at the reaper with my sai, causing him to leap back and away.

"Hey! Drop the hair mister!"

"Aww, but that would be such a waste! This is the first time I've collected a sample from a living contractee! How exciting!"

"THAT'S DISGUSTING! DROP IT!"

"As for you little Miss! I've heard about you! The girl that Grell and Ronald was talking about. Even Mr Will Spears mentioned you. You may not know this but every soul is present in our records, even unborn babies and those who have died but we could not find yours no matter how hard we looked. Then you were supposed to die on that cruise ship but miraculously didn't! I would love to get a sample of you as well."

"Back off! You take a hair off my head and I'll shave off yours. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Hmpf, isn't it obvious you daft girl? We're here to work but if you'd like Bassy…you can invite me out sometime after 5 o'clock you know."

"Let's go Young Master."

The three of us turned and made our way towards the exit, Grell yelling after us. It was almost funny until I realised that Grell had called me a daft girl. Rude!

"Still in any case, it's unbelievable how advanced their technology is."

This stopped Ciel in his tracks and he turned and asked Othello what he had meant.

"These people were mostly suffering from renal failure, which is a supposedly incurable illness. It's essentially a sickness in which their kidneys are unable to break down toxins in the blood. As such, these machines are used to replace their "dirty" blood with clean and fresh blood. So they are practically cured of their illness."

"Yeah, until they eat or drink or smoke something which causes their blood to become dirty again. So they'd just have to go through this process again anyway."

"Oh! You know about this? How great! A fellow scholar!"

"Wait, so you're saying that this whole thing was to replace their blood?"

"Yep! Seems like it! Here take a look!"

Othello opened up his book to show us that the cause of death for many of the patients here had been extended drastically and that rather than dying of renal failure, it was for other reasons instead. That's…pretty fucking insane actually. With no more time to lose, we left the two reapers to do their thing and raced out of the unfinished music hall. We delivered Violet to a nearby hospital to get treated and looked after as soon as possible, the rain was still pouring down around us.

"Sebastian, contact Abberline and inform him about the facility in Bath as well as Violet's situation. With this many bureaucrats dead, parliament will fall into absolute chaos. And notify Double Charles."

"Yes, My Lord."

"I wonder why Bravat has come back to London. He did escape during the whole uproar but why would he come back here? Is something big going to happen? You're probably sick of hearing me say this but, I have a real bad feeling about this."

"I don't know Jessie but, it has been bothering me too. But all we can do is wring the truth out of him when we catch him. And aside from that, Lizzie is being a quite a pain right now. She still hasn't returned home after all of this mess. What could she be thinking? In any case, let's return to the town house."

We got into the carriage, momentarily escaping from the rain. I sat in silence, staring out at the grey skies and equally grey scenery. The world seemed to have lost its colour with all of the chaos that has been happening these past few days. My mind was exhausted and I didn't think I could take anymore mental abuse. It was fast approaching the cold season again, meaning it had been almost a year since I had been here. The rain reminded me of the night we had apprehended Jack the Ripper and met Grell for the first time. It was also raining that night. It was cold and damp and dark and these feelings of loss filled me again. How much more was there to lose? I let out a tired sigh and rested my head against the carriage window when suddenly the wheels hit a bump in the road and my head collided with the frame with a THUMP.

"Ow…"

"We must be almost there right? Riding in the Hansom Cab always makes me so sore."

"I will prepare some hot tea when we get back."

I slumped back against the carriage and stared back out the window. Hmmm…I could go for some of Agni's chai tea right about now…

END OF CHAPTER