According to the bound doctor, the quickest way to his stateroom would be through the boiler room, which would also be the safest area of the ship since the zombies would not likely venture to places outside of the public's reach. Though, any semblance of safety was thrown out to sea when they all felt the ship rock uncontrollably, making all the gauges shift the needle to DANGER. The engineers around them were confused by the motion, knowing that even an overworked engine would never shake a ship this much and they most likely were not aware of the carnage above them. Luckily, the shaking did not last too long, but it still left everyone wondering what could have caused it. "It looks like it steadied," Lilliana said as she tried to keep the mortal group moving,

"Do we think we hit something?" Lizzie said as she stayed close to her fiancé. However, her question was answered as they saw gushes of water quickly enter the boiler room, filling the room with freezing water. The sudden wave pushed them back, causing everyone to lose their footing and even separating the group. Everyone looked in fear as they heard a loud siren and saw flashing red lights, signaling that the seal-tight doors were closing. The engineers knew better than to be on the wrong end of that door; anyone who wasn't fast enough was guaranteed to drown.

"Hurry! You'll be trapped down here," the lead engineer said to everyone, hoping to not witness a preventable death tonight. Snake and Ryan, now free from the clutches of the python, rushed to the exit and Lilliana wasn't too far behind, but when she noticed that her young lord and his betrothed were not there, she frantically looked for them. When she saw that they were at the far side of the room, she knew there was no way for them to make it unless she helped them. However, she was pulled back by the lead engineer, who believed he was saving her life.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she tried thrashing out of his grip, which was a bit painful with her injuries.

"It's too late for them," he said, but she managed to land a blow with her elbow to his gut, forcing him to let her go. She apologized before quickly rushing to them, just in time for the door to close. This was not the ideal situation, but at least she could guarantee their safety as the room quickly filled with water.

"Lilliana, why would you do that?" Lizzie asked as she and Ciel swam to the damsel.

"I had to, my lady. If I let my employer and his future wife die on my watch, then what kind of maid would I be?" she said with a bit of a cocky smile reminiscent of Sebastian's.

"Well said," Ciel said. Finally, a compliment out of the brat. "Now, we need to find a way out and fast. Lilliana, is your . . . weapon strong enough to break down the door?"

She had to think about her answer. "Technically, yes, but I'm afraid that will cause more problems than solve. If we cut the door down now, I could accidentally kill everyone in two ways. The pieces of the thick, steel door could crush them or the water could rush in the water and drown them. I cannot bear to know I snuffed out a life, even out of survival."

Ciel nodded. He knew what she really meant; as a Grim Reaper, she wasn't allowed to take another life. He only knew of one Reaper to perform mortal homicide, but he was thoroughly punished for it, at least, that was what Lilliana told him. Knowing her standing with the other Reapers, it would be safe to assume that she would probably endure a worse punishment for even killing one human in an accident. Ciel looked for another way out of the room and up a ladder, he saw a chute small enough for the children to fit. Still, that left Lilliana helpless, or at least, in Lizzie's perspective. Ciel, who knew better, was confident she would be fine even if the room filled with water. "Have everyone leave the area immediately! Lizzie and I will get out through the ducts," he said as he guided her up the ladder.

"Yes, my lord," she said with a bow before heading to the steel door to relay the message. At this moment, the room had filled half-way to the point that she could not feel the floor with her feet and had to swim to the door. "Listen up! I need everyone to leave. It's not safe to stay here even if the water is sealed. Odds are, the ship is more damaged than we know and that room could burst in any minute."

"'Wait, no! We can't leave you behind!' cries Emily desperately," Snake said in a high-pitched voice as he slammed the door with his fist.

"We'll be alright, I promise. You don't want your friends to spend too much time in cold water, do you? Don't forget that I can hear their cries too," she said, desperately trying to convince him to leave. Although they were enemies in the past, he had grown loyal to them and started to treat them as he did his former circus troupe. Even his snakes trusted her and she trusted them as well to help Snake when he needed some guidance. "Please go on! Find a lifeboat and make sure that everyone is safe."

He knew he couldn't win this argument, but desperately tried to find a way to help them. He threw one of his snakes toward the duct above him and said, "'Keats will help you find a way to get through. We will meet again soon, won't we?' Emily asks." Although his high-pitched voice sounded utterly worried, he managed to keep his normal voice as calm as ever. It made Lilliana chuckle a bit.

"Yes, you have my word. Phantomhive servants refuse to die so easily. I'll make sure the young couple is safe and we'll meet you at the–," she tried to finish, but she could hear commotion on the other side. Though the sound was muffled, she could hear the engineers all in a panic as they heard the elevator go up. Judging by the shouting, it was someone who used it selfishly, not caring if the others were in danger or not, and that led her to believe that it was Ryan who escaped. She cursed under her breath, but this was no time to focus on something she had no chance of changing.

Once the message was relayed, she hurriedly walked up the ladder. Although she could have easily jumped to the high floor, she couldn't look suspicious in front of the oblivious human and it was starting to get annoying. Her Death Scythe was difficult to explain, but luckily, no one really asked questions when it has been helpful in slicing zombie heads. Though, she soon regretted taking her time as she witnessed the two in an argument. "You'll need to take off your frock," Ciel said as he opened the chute.

"No!" Lizzie yelled as she crossed her arms to protect the dress.

"Don't be a fool! The skirt will only get in the way while you're crawling!"

"I won't! I promised myself that whatever happened, I would always be adorable to you," she said with regret in her voice. However, he was having none of it and forcibly ripped the back of her dress, making her gasp in terror and immedialty start crying.

"That was not the way I would have handled that," Lilliana said, almost chiding the boy, but he explained his actions.

"Don't either of you see? If she dies, she'll never wear her favorite dresses again! If she dies, that's the end and as much as I can try, I don't have the capabilities of bringing her soul back from the Grim Reaper!" Ciel yelled, surprising the two women. This was one of the few times he expressed intense emotions and it was enough to unnerve the both of them. It was also rare for him to care about anyone's life since he was usually on the side of tormenting those who deserved it. To actually want someone to live was surprising to Lilliana, the one who witnessed him care little when his own aunt was killed in front of him. Sure, he did not wish death on her, but he knew that she deserved it for her crimes as half of Jack the Ripper.

Despite her tears, Lizzie took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I'm being silly."

As an act of regret, he threw his coat over her to give her some modesty back. "Don't worry. When we get home, I'll ask Nina to make you a new dress. It will be even finer than this one. How's that?"

"You don't have to do that. I'm sorry for acting so foolishly."

"And I'm sorry for behaving so boorishly," he said in a calm voice before hearing a chuckle from behind them. "And just what are you snickering at?"

"Oh nothing, my lord," Lilliana said with a covered smile. "Still, as much as I'd like this cute moment to continue, I believe that we forgot that time is of the essence." In her words, they could feel the water on their feet. Has the water risen so high already? Lizzie took off her frock as Lilliana helped him up the chute and quickly repeated it for the young girl. Though, he nearly had a heart attack and screamed when he saw a snake waiting for them. "Oh, I forgot to mention that Keats was going to guide you two out of here."

"You could have warned us earlier!" he said before taking a breath to calm his racing heart.

"But how are you going to get out? The space is too small for you," Lizzie said with worry. Such a compassionate human they were stuck with. Too bad they couldn't ease her worries with the truth.

"I'll be fine, my lady. I will find my own way out of here. I'll try to listen closely through the vents, but if I am too far behind, we'll rendezvous at the lifeboats," she said before closing off the duct to at least try to prevent the majority of water from filling the duct in case they were too slow.

"Let's go," Ciel said as the young couple crawled their way out. Lilliana sighed in relief knowing that they were safer, but she was in quite the predicament. This was the only way out of the room other than swimming through a gaping hole in the wall to the sea outside. She could try exiting that way, but then she wouldn't be as close to them as she wanted. Even if they were in a duct, she could follow the path to make sure they exited safely. She had no choice and had to wait until the engineers had left the other room so she could slice the door down, but they were still trying to get as many people in the one elevator as they could. Fortunately for them, she did not have a need to breathe, so even as water completely filled the room and her lungs, she was completely fine. True, the water was cold, but she had the luxury of waiting for them to finish evacuating.

After what seemed like forever, she did not hear any commotion from the other side and figured everyone had finally left. Despite the water holding back her strength, she managed to slice the door in one blow, forcing all the water to rush over. Luckily, she was right, and she managed to swim to the elevator, which was now inoperable. She sliced through the top of the elevator and let the water guide her up the path. She had to find those kids soon. There's no telling what could happen as long as two Grim Reapers were onboard.

It didn't take her long to find them since she used her enhanced hearing to listen to their movement. She was relieved to see water escaping the vents they passed, which redirected the water flow away from the crawling children. Though, she was surprised how many levels up they managed to climb. She made sure to be right underneath a vent in case either of them fell down. Sure enough, as she was climbing the stairs to the next level, she could hear that Ciel had fallen and Lizzie yelped in worry. Though, she did not hear a tiny thud and wondered what could have prevented it. As she reached the area in question, she was relieved to see that Sebastian had caught him just in time. "Thank Lucifer," she said as she ran to the vent to help Lizzie down.

"Where have you been? It shouldn't have taken you this long to complete a mission," Ciel asked rudely. And the brat was back.

"I apologize for my tardiness. It won't happen again," he said as he observed the crowd. "I see that we are two men short and Ms. Killiamo is soaking wet," he said with a bit of a smirk at the end of his sentence.

She blushed as she extended her arm so Keats could get down and wrap around her shoulders. "W-We were walking through the boiler room, but the room suddenly filled with water. I asked Snake to secure us a lifeboat, but it appears Ryan managed to escape in the commotion."

"Are any of you injured?"

"No. Ciel and Lilliana protected me just as they promised," Lizzie said with a sweet smile. It was nice to see her smile despite everything happening around them.

"And what of the others?" Ciel asked.

"Unharmed, my lord. They sent me to find you."

"What about you?" Lilliana said as she stood between Sebastian and the children so they wouldn't see her red eyes. "Please tell me that isn't your blood on you."

"I was getting to that," he said with a stern expression. "I managed to run into Mrs. Stoker on my way back, which is partly the reason for my delay."

"And she is not with you because . . . ," Ciel asked. He had thought to use her as leverage if Ryan were to escape as he did. Now with them both running free, they couldn't gain the upper hand if either of them refused to cooperate.

"I'm afraid there is more to her than we realize. She actively tried to get me killed by those creatures," he continued, observing all their eyes widening with shock. "According to her, they are attracted to beings with souls."

"How could she know something like that?" Lilliana asked.

"I think that she might not be . . . truthful about who she is," Sebastian said, making sure to choose his words carefully. "If I didn't know any better, I'd assume she was a–!"

However, the roof above them started to shake and they could hear the sound of a motorized engine on the other side, slicing the area into a perfect circle. In seconds, the roof started to collapse, revealing the perpetrator of that damage, though it was someone they did not expect and they regretted seeing. Up above were the two sets of Reaper eyes they were aware were onboard, but they were shocked to see a familiar red-head join their ranks. Sebastian pulled the couple back from danger while Lilliana stood behind them, keeping out of view for the moment. "We don't have time for this," she said under her breath,

"I'd hope to see you here, darling," Grell said with a smirk as he kept his eyes glued on the butler as the two other Reapers descended below. "Hi Bassy dear~! What else besides destiny could have brought us together again today?"

"Coincidence," Sebastian said coldly. Out of all the Reapers, this was the one he hated the most, even more than William. He managed to get on his every nerve for multiple reasons, most of them involving dangering the young lord and constantly flirting with him.

"Ah! You're always so cold and that makes me so very, very hot, my dear boy," Grell said as he tried to get close to Sebastian, but not succeeding.

"And this is what we should have tried to avoid," Katia said before noticing Lilliana behind the trio. Her breath hitched as she saw the red bandages on her upper body. At this point, with the water mixing into her wounds, it appeared that she was wearing a red shawl around her.

"Mr. Sutcliff, there is still the little matter of soul collecting we must attend to," Ronald said, trying to get his attention away from Sebastian even for just a second.

"And deny myself quality time with my dear Bassy, I think not–," he said, but finally noticed the woman behind him and shuddered. "Oh dear gods, you look awful."

"I'd watch your tongue if I were you," Katia warned.

"Why? This weak human girl doesn't look all that threatening when she looks like that," he tried to say condescendingly, but noticed a glint of metal heading toward his way and immediately jumped back. "What the hell was that for?!"

"She did warn you," Ronald said with a bit of a bratty smile.

"Who does this hussy think she is going against . . . ?" However, he noticed the Death Scythe in her hand and the wheels in his mind started to turn. "Wait a minute . . . is that . . . ?" he said before noticing her angry red eyes that were ready for a fight. Poor Keats had to hold on tightly. "WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ronald said before looking at Katia. "Apparently she was told not to disclose that Lils was here. Something about neglecting duties and such."

"And why keep such a secret from us?!" Grell asked in offense. "You are a dear friend that lives under my roof. The least you can do is tell us all your secrets!"

"I-I'm sorry, but William ordered me not to," Katia said, trying to keep the arguing to a minimum.

"The more you mention the reasoning, the more I want to fight you guys instead of him," Lilliana said as she swung her Death Scythe toward Grell, but was blocked by Katia's katana.

"If anyone is to blame, it's me. Fight me all you want, but I also don't want to see you get punished for obstructing a soul collection."

"Right now, that should be the least of your worries about me," she said as she managed to push into Katia more, forcing her to pull back.

In the commotion, Sebastian grabbed the children and was trying to escape the room unseen, but was caught by Grell, who stopped him in his tracks with a swing of his chainsaw. "And just where do you think you're going, dear Bassy? Don't you know it's rude to leave in the middle of a conversation?"

"I'm afraid we're in a hurry. I shall have to ask you to move," he explained as calmly as he could, wishing that, for once, that if he asked politely, just maybe, he might listen, but he knew the truth.

"Oh, and if I say 'no'?" he said coyly, but once again had to avoid getting cut down by Lilliana's Death Scythe.

"I'll force the issue," she said with her red eyes still in view, but with a sinister grin. "And we both know very well how deadly I can be when I'm angered."

Grell gulped a bit, remembering when they fought after seeing Beast's record. "Though, if I remember correctly, I did land the finishing blow."

"The only reason you're alive right now is because I had to change my shirt so I could look presentable at work," she said, before noticing Ronald trying to land an aerial attack with his lawnmower on her, forcing her to retreat back to the trio. The motor wasn't running, but if he managed to hit her, she might have been injured regardless.

"Dammit, I missed. I was hoping that we could have knocked her out before anything bad could happen," he explained. "Look, Lilliana, I want to be supportive of Mr. Spears' orders to separate us, but I'm afraid that having you as a wildcard is not a risk worth taking. There are over a thousand souls to be reaped tonight and unless you join us, we can't risk having you or that demon running around unchaperoned."

"Speaking of which," Katia said as she tried to strike Sebastian, but he managed to throw the children out of his hands and protect himself with his knives. "With such a large amount of souls yet to be collected, we cannot let you go, so you'll have to either subdue you or force you to join us until the collection is over."

"Unacceptable," he said as he pulled back so he could throw silverware at all three of the Reapers. Sadly, all of them managed to dodge his attacks. "I refuse to be within meters of that pervert or its companions."

"How rude of you!" Grell said with some feigned offense as he swung his chainsaw to the demon butler, who moved out of the way just in time. "I simply don't repress my feelings, that's all."

"Is that what you call your behavior?" Sebastian asked with disgust before he managed to kick him in the gut, forcing him back a few meters. While Katia and Ronald rushed to help him, he gestured to them to stay back.

"I've never been one to mind a little force," he said with giddy as he rode out the stinging pain. "Let's have a death match that the world has never seen!" With those fighting words, he continued to sporadically swing his chainsaw, in hopes that he could dye his favorite butler with his blood.

"Who are these people?" Lizzie asked Lilliana, who was making sure the children were safe as the two fought.

"They're . . . Well, . . . ," she stammered. She could not think of a way to explain who they were without exposing their true nature. After all, they talked so openly about souls and collecting them, even when they thought Lilliana was a human.

"They're nuisances," Ciel finished. "We can explain more at another time, but for now, we have to leave," he said as the trio tried to leave, but they heard Ronald's lawnmower revving.

"Ah ah ah, little ones. I'm afraid no one is going anywhere with the company you keep," he said with a grin. "After all, if we hold the master hostage, surely the dog will obey."

"You don't have to say it so crudely," Katia said with a regretful face. "But he is right about one thing."

"Like hell he is," she said as she got between the two groups, but they all noticed that Grell had managed to slice one of the windows of the deck. Despite climbing a few decks above the boiler room, they were still below the waterline of the ship, which had risen as the ship sank. Just like before, water slowly rushed into the room, causing a wave to overcome everyone in the room. Luckily, they were still fairly close to the waterline, so other than the initial wave, the water flow diminished quickly. Still, it forced the children to separate from their protectors, but they used the confusion as an opportunity to leave the area.

"Let's go," Ciel said as he grabbed Lizzie's hand and tried to run away, but the water did more than scatter the brawl; it also scattered pieces of broken furniture onto their pathway and obscured it from their sight. Not paying close attention, he managed to trip, forcing the two of them to fall to the ground and splashing a lot of water, getting the two servants' attention.
"My lord," Sebastian said as he tried to run to them, but had to block Ronald's lawnmower with his bare hands.

"Oh dear, split your focus, did you?" Ronald quipped, spitting back Sebastian's words from the last time they fought. This was going to be a problem for him; as long as he was preoccupied, he could not aid his young master. He looked at Lilliana, hoping she could go in his place, but it appeared that she was dealing with the same problem.

"Dammit, Katia! Let me go," she yelled as she tried to escape Katia's arms holding her shoulders back, preventing her from moving.

"I'm sorry, Lily, but I cannot have you interfere with a scheduled death," she said as she held on to her tightly, but did not know how long her strength would last. Despite her size, she was the strongest of the trio and she was handling a Rogue Reaper who was not at her strongest. Still, if Lilliana was determined enough, she might use her demonic instincts to gain more strength and break free.

"What are you trying to suggest?" she said in a panic before hearing moaning from a horde of zombies heading toward the children. Her heart raced and she could tell Sebastian was just as worried for their safety. Even if they were certain Ciel wasn't going to die, they would never hear the end of it if they failed to save Lizzie. It didn't help to ease their nerves as they heard Ciel yelp out in pain as he tried to get up. The fall must have sprained his ankle, meaning he wasn't able to move. He did try to shoot the zombies that got close to his future wife, but he only had so many bullets in his pistol and he did not have any time to reload even if he had another magazine.

"Lizzie, run now!" he yelled, but it seemed that she was frozen in fear as they continued to approach her. The deities fought hard to break free from their captors, but neither Reaper was willing to let them go for a second.

"Answer me, is Lady Elizabeth Midford going to die?" Lilliana asked with both panic and anger building up inside her.

"It's hard to say. You can't expect us to memorize every name and face we see on the To-Die list," Grell said, watching the scene closely and excited to see the result.

"Just look at it!" she said as she watched the zombies approach the lady and circling her.

"Ciel, I'm sorry. I did want to be adorable for you until the end, but it seems I'm going to fail. Forgive me," she said with a sad smile as tears streamed down her cheeks. The servants used the last bit of their strengths to overtake the Reapers and finally break free, but they already knew that they were too late. Despite all their efforts, they knew that she was going to—

The sound of a sword piercing undead flesh grabbed all of their attention and everyone, even the Reapers, looked in shock to the wielder of the sword. Unknown to them, they were close to a coat of arms that happened to have real swords behind it. Despite the dullness of the blades, Lady Elizabeth Midford managed to stop a zombie in its tracks and proceeded to slice more and more zombies with ease. Her footwork was precise and dainty as she seemed to dance with her swordsmanship, even as she grabbed a second sword to slice twice as many of those creatures who had frightened her so severely. It seemed that she was even walking on the walls to get the right angle to aim for the head.

"I'm sorry," she said with tears in her eyes as she looked at Ciel, who could only look stunned by what he was witnessing. "But I didn't know what else I could do. You're the last person I ever wanted to show this side of myself to. But now, it's my turn to protect you, no matter what the cost may be." Sebastian and Lilliana were just as shocked as the young master was. Sure, they were aware that as a Midford, it was required of her to at least learn the art of fencing and the like, but they were unaware just how skilled she was. She never even hinted that she was this capable of protecting the one she loved truly, but somehow, they felt a bit of ease knowing that Ciel would have a wife that could protect him like a Phantomhive servant would. Though, the head servants did feel some shame that a human was able to save their young master before they could.

In no time, she was able to clear the hallway from the horde of zombies, but her bloodlust wasn't satisfied. With her newfound bravery, she looked inside the room they escaped from and ran to the closest enemy in her sights: Grell.

"If it means protecting you, I'll happily abandon being cute," Lizzie exclaimed before aiming her sword toward him, though he did not seem to be too worried. If anything, he was partly surprised that the little girl he saw earlier was planning to attack him. However, her attack was thwarted by the least likely person: Sebastian, who managed to catch the tip of her sword with two fingers inches away from the puncture.

With a regretful face, he said, "My lady, you have done more than enough." Although he was happy to see her newfound strength, he also knew the cost she was paying for doing this, even if he could not quite understand completely.

Lizzie took a couple of breaths to calm herself. "I don't . . . I can't . . . ," she said before feeling a hand on her shoulder. It was Lilliana, who had the same face as the butler's.

"We have failed you for putting a lady through such trouble. Our deepest apologies," she said before the two of them bent on one knee and kept their heads down. "Please, forgive us". Lizzie's small smile was enough of an answer for them.

"In the meantime . . . ," Sebastian said as he stood up. ". . . please allow us to sort things from here."

"I must admit that the wave took some of the wind from my sails, but such a life, yes?" Grell said, completely ignoring the tension in the room. Of course a Reaper couldn't understand the delicate nature they were in. "Shall we pick up where we left off?"

"Sebastian, Lilliana!" Ciel yelled. "We don't have time to deal with these three. Ryan is the key to this incident. We need to go after him!"

"Ryan? As in Dr. Ryan Stoker?" Katia asked. The sound of his name triggered a memory in Ronald as he quickly looked through his To-Die list.

"So if we find this Ryan fellow, we'll learn the truth about these walking corpses?" Grell asked. As much as he wanted to spend all his time play-fighting with his love, he equally wanted this shift to end and what better way to do that than to find a way to end the walking dead.

"There it is, look," Ronald said as he showed the two other Reapers his findings. They nodded in acknowledgment.

"Knowing him, he's trying to find his wife," Katia said as she looked closely at the description.

"This handsome thing is married? But on the file, it says he's a widower," Grell stated.

"There must be a mistake. Lilliana and I met her and she is, beyond a doubt, alive," she said as she looked closer in the file, seeing the same typo.

"Is she the one that sent you that letter?" Ronald asked, observing Katia's cheeks blush pure red. He was trying to stir up a bit of drama, knowing full well that Grell would take the bait.

"What letter?" he asked with an open ear.

"Why did you have to bring that up now?" she asked, but was suddenly gripped by Grell, who shook her intensely.

"Was it a love letter? Did you manage to catch a girl's eye? What did it say? Who did you meet? I. Need. To. Know!" he said in rapid succession, practically vomiting out his questions that she had no time to answer. "I'm sorry, my dear, but we don't have any time to play. As much as I would like to stay, I'm afraid our game is over for now." With those parting words, he jumped up to the previous floor, making sure Katia was in his grip still and Ronald followed. This should be entertaining. "So sorry to rush off, There are some things that I am dying to know, more than this undead situation. I promise to paint you rosy red next time. Until we meet again!"

"I-I guess we can look the other way as long as Lily watches him," Katia said, but was soon pulled away by Grell.
"Spill everything. Now!"

"Well, as much as I hate the idea of getting yelled at, I have to let you go. Lilliana, please make sure that he doesn't cause us any trouble. It'll save both of our asses," Ronald said before following his colleagues.

"I'm going to kill them," Lilliana said under her breath, but soon noticed Sebastian and Lizzie rushing to Ciel's side, who was still struggling to get up. He tried his best to stand while leaning against the wall, but the pain was too intense and he immediately collapsed.

"Oh, your leg!" Lizzie said before kneeling down before her fiancé, making sure her back was toward him. "Here, let me carry you."

Ciel was shocked by her helpfulness, but Sebastian was quick to intervene. "That's very kind of you, my lady, but perhaps you would allow me."

"Y-Yes, of course," she said before rushing to her feet as if she was caught doing something wrong. "What was I thinking? How silly of me." Soon, tears started filling her eyes and she was quick to release them, confusing the trio.

"H-He didn't mean to offend you, my lady," Lilliana tried to explain, not knowing what caused her to act this way, but she was quick to answer.

"Now I'm one of those scary girls Ciel hates! I ruined everything!" she said in between her sobs.

"What are you talking about?" Ciel asked, trying to console his arguably irrational fiancé.

"Remember what you said when we were younger? That you didn't want a wife who was strong?"

"What? That must have been a long time ago. How would I be angry with you for saving my life?"

"Y-You mean you're still going to marry me? You really don't hate me?" she asked as she started to calm down, hoping to hear the words she wanted from his mouth.

However, his tongue tied, trying to find the right words. "Hate? Of course not," he said, but was visibly flustered. It was hard for a boy like him to express his feelings, especially toward the woman that he clearly admired. As for any arranged marriage, love is more of a byproduct than reality and he knew that. She truly did love him, enough for her to break her cute identity to protect him, but Ciel couldn't quite pinpoint his feelings for her, and that was clear in his uncomfortable body language. His flustered face was enough to make his head servants try their hardest to hold back their laughter, which returned his rationale and anger. "Now is not the time for this! You said we should get to the deck?" he angrily said to Sebastian, who was covering his mouth to suppress his laughter.

"How fascinating. Even my stalwart lord is a helpless child when facing Lady Elizabeth," Sebastian said in between chuckles.

"That's quite enough from the both of you," Ciel said before he was picked up into his butler's arms.

"Well, shall we be going then?" he said as they headed to the direction of the lifeboats,

"If you don't mind, there is something I have to do before we reach the lifeboats. It shouldn't take me long," Lilliana said before departing from the group.

"Don't be late. That's an order," Ciel said.

"Of course, my lord," she said as she ran around a corner before using her inhuman speed to perform her task quickly.

"Get back! Women and children first! And you call yourself a gentleman?" Edward cried out to the crowds that were boarding the lifeboats. It was a rushed process, but with dedicated sailors and knights guiding the evacuation, many of the passengers had been able to board the lifeboats with little hassle. True, some noble gentlemen tried to board them before their wives and children could in fear of running out of space, but men like Edward tried to keep the honor code and barred them from boarding. Luckily, there were enough lifeboats to ensure that each passenger would have a spot, and since a large percentage of those onboard were dead, there may be room to spare.

"Edward! Paulina!" Lizzie called as she spotted her brother and her maid in the distance. He hugged her tightly, thankful that she was all right despite all the craziness around them.

"'Smile! Black! You're all right', Oscar says gratefully," Snake said as he watched the trio run to them.

"Were you able to secure us a lifeboat?" Sebastian asked, not too happy to see that Lilliana wasn't around. She didn't exactly tell them what she was doing, but hoped she wasn't interfered with by her Reaper colleagues. They were becoming more and more of a nuisance than they initially thought.

"'Yes, it's the next one. Where's Lily?' Oscar worries," Snake responded. "'Please tell me that she made it out of that boiler room!'"

"Not to worry," Lilliana's voice rang from the other side of the crowd. Everyone was relieved to see her, but were surprised that she was carrying a large suitcase with her. It looked rather beaten up and there were many holes punctured in it. "I had to return to our stateroom to retrieve some very important items. Careful though; it's heavy," she said before handing the suitcase to Snake, who was surprised by the weight. It took him two hands to get a good grip of it. She must be very strong to be able to carry this with ease. Though, she got close to his ear and said, "Keats helped me find them. Everyone is accounted for and no one is harmed. They are told to keep quiet."

Snake's breath hitched. He was deeply worried about his snakes, especially after the iceberg hit and water filled up the decks. Snakes may have a good intuition about avoiding danger, but they could only slither so fast compared to rising water levels. In these freezing waters, they would have surely perished. "Thank you," he said in his own voice before giving her a hug. He wasn't exactly the most affectionate person and neither was she, but she knew how important these snakes were to him.

"Edward, might I ask a favor," Ciel said, breaking up the emotional scene. "Put Snake on the lifeboat in my place." Even Snake was surprised by his generosity, but at the same time, he knew what he was risking by saying this. "There are some things we need to do before evacuating."

"You three are staying? No!" Lizzie exclaimed as she ran to them in desperation.

"'It's too dangerous!' exclaimed Oscar," Snake said, though he had the same worry as his snake.

"If you're going to stay, then so will–," Lizzie tried to say, but Sebastian managed to hit a pressure point in her neck, causing her to pass out instantly. Luckily, he was able to catch her before she collapsed to the floor.

"What the hell?!" Edward justifiably yelled.

"I'm afraid we haven't the time to discuss it, Lady Elizabeth can be quite stubborn," Sebastian said before gently handing over the young girl to her brother.

"I'm putting Lizzie in your care now," Ciel said.

Edward wanted to lecture his future brother-in-law about the importance of never abandoning one's loved ones, but he soon realized that was what he was doing just that. For once, he was willing to oblige. "Very well. I have her."

"Let's go, Sebastian and Lilliana," Ciel said, but before they could leave, Edward had one final message.

"There's no need to hurry back. If you don't return, I won't have to see my sister marry you."

"Oh I will return," Ciel said in a cocky tone as the trio left safety and went back to the treacherous decks below. Of course he wanted nothing more than to be on that lifeboat, but he had a duty to fulfill as the Queen's Guard Dog; he had to end the nightmare on the seas before any more damage could be done and he had to apprehend the person responsible so they could receive appropriate punishment by the Queen.

"Are all brothers this stubborn when it comes to their sisters and the men in their lives?" Lilliana joked and only Sebastian seemed to find her question amusing. It was interesting to see how similar Edward was to Bastille; they were both pains in the ass, but they will do whatever they can to protect their sisters. If their lives were different, perhaps Lilliana and Bastille would have been more like Elizabeth and Edward. It was something to ponder. "Now that we are away from everyone, care to explain why you have Reaper blood on you while being around a human?"

"I suppose now would be a good time to explain things," he said as he quickly found a seat for his young master to sit on. "I know time is of the essence, my lord, but I'm afraid that we must take a small break to change out Ms. Kiliamo's bandages."

"Right now?" she said as he pulled bandages from his pockets. She was surprised to see them dry despite being around so much water as of late.

"Mrs. Stoker brought up an alarming fact: these creatures are attracted to beings containing souls, Reapers in particular," he said as he started to unravel her soaked bandages. With the water washing most of the blood away, he could get a good look at the damage underneath. Some wounds were simply deep bites while some were chunks of flesh ripped out. To a human, she would have been dead, but even he was surprised she managed to fight as well as she has. Perhaps her anger was fueling her strength and muffling the pain.

"Why Reapers?" Ciel asked as he crossed his arms in impatience.

"It is a known fact in the deity worlds that Reaper blood is a cure for all types of ailments to both humans and deities. It may be possible that those creatures are after both souls and blood for nourishment."

"Or they are trying to heal themselves," she said as she watched him wrap the new bandages around her. "After consuming some of my blood, they were able to learn and speak a bit. It could be possible that the blood was healing their dead flesh somehow, though we can't know for sure since even Reapers have never encountered the dead coming back to life."

"And it seems that the Stokers are the ones who contain the answers, Annabeth especially. She was the one who relayed this information to me and tried to have me killed by splashing Reaper blood on me."

"If she had to resort to something like that, that means she is aware that you don't have a soul," Ciel interjected. "Could she know your true nature?"

"It seems so and she is aware of Lilliana's as well," he said before finishing up and making sure that the soiled bandages were disposed of. "We must be extra careful around her. She is clearly not human, but I am trying to figure out what exactly she is. As far as I know, she is a being without a soul; those creatures did not come after her either."

"So she could be a demon?" Ciel asked.

"Or even a walking corpse herself," Lilliana said as she moved her shoulders to make sure she had mobility. "We cannot know for sure until we confront her."

"Also, we must keep the bleeding to a minimum," Sebastian said, "I know it's a lot to ask, but for the young master's safety, we must keep the zombies' attention elsewhere."

"Then it might be beneficial for us to find the other Reapers on board and get them to bleed a little," she said with a bit of a sadistic grin.

Ryan was running frantically all over the ship for his wife. He tried looking for her at the lifeboats, but she wasn't anywhere to be found. He even tried asking the sailors if they saw anyone fitting her description, but they were sure she hadn't been seen. He was worried that the young boy and his crew had taken her prisoner to get him back into their custody, but he was unsure how he would be able to free her from them. All he wanted to do was get onto a lifeboat and leave this nightmare behind. His reputation was in tatters and there was no way to escape this blunder in the Underworld, but he wanted to at least leave this place with his life. Screw the machine and the other people on the ship; he and his wife needed to leave.

As he arrived at the multi-level banquet hall, he noticed that the ship was starting to angle upwards, further showing signs that the ship was mere minutes away from completely sinking. Unexpectedly, he heard voices coming from his opposite direction and it threw off his concentration. He tried to run away from them, but he lost his footing and soon found himself over the ledge. He screamed, anticipating either immense pain or even death, but before either of them could harm him, he felt a strong hand grip his ankle. "Lucky me! Look at the big fish I caught," Grell said with a smirk. "And it's a handsome one, too."

"That's him! That's Dr. Ryan Stoker," Katia said as she walked beside Grell and watched him dangle his prey.

"We really can't have all these Irregulars around, you see," Ronald said as he walked on the other side. "Death isn't meant to be a temporary state, but an irreversible fact."

"So, how do we stop these pesky corpses?" Grell said as he loosened his grip a bit, making Ryan fall a few inches further down.

He was utterly terrified, but he knew he had to answer if he wanted to live. "Please! There's a device! You can use it to stop them, I swear! I'll take you to it, but I want to leave this boat and find my wife!"

"There's that wife you mentioned, Katia," Ronald said. "The To-Die list never makes a mistake. He has to be a widower."

"I'm telling you, she's alive! Look up her file. Her legal name is Annabeth Stoker. It's possible that she is listed under her maiden name," Katia defended.

"Annabeth Stoker," Grell repeated before finally pulling the doctor up to safety. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Have you seen her? She had red hair and green eyes. She should be wearing a green dress," he pleaded.

"Actually, she changed into her purple dress," Katia said, but quickly covered mouth, hoping no one heard her. However, they all did.

"You're still keeping secrets from me?!" Grell said as he once again gripped his friend and shook her repeatedly.

"I'm kind of impressed if you did what I think you did," Ronald said.

"So you've seen her?" Ryan asked, ignoring the damaging comments suggesting his wife was an adulterer.

"Earlier today, before the Aurora Society meeting, but not since." Katia admitted. "Look, we don't have time to talk about this! Right now, we have to find that device and stop the walking dead!"

"How dare you tease me with such juicy tea and not spill it!" Grell said angrily before taking a breath, "But I suppose you're right. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can dissect all your little secrets."

Katia gulped at the thought. "N-Now, Dr. Stoker, where is the device?"

"It's in my stateroom. We must hurry before it's too late," he answered. "And if you're dragging me around, the least you can do is help me find my wife."

"All right. All right. We'll help you," Ronald said before setting Ryan and himself on top of his lawnmower. "Now hold on tight," he said before revving the motor and going forward at a god-like pace. Katia and Grell had no problem following the blonde boy as he navigated through the many halls and stairs of the ship, slicing up zombies whenever they got in the way.

Eventually, they reached the stateroom and Ryan quickly banged on the door. "Annabeth! Are you in there? It's me, Ryan!"

"Just open the door already," Grell said impatiently.

Ryan shakedly reached for his pocket for the key to the stateroom, but felt his stomach sink when he didn't feel the familiar piece of metal. He shook more as he said, "I-I believe I d-dropped it when . . ."

"Ugh, get out of the way," Grell said as he revved up his chainsaw and sliced open the door in no time. The sight only terrified the doctor more. He quickly rushed inside and called for his wife, only to be unanswered. The Reapers slowly walked inside and waited for him to show them the device, but Katia reminisced about what transpired in this room as she saw the half-empty bottle of whisky on the table.

"Impossible!" Ryan yelled from another room. They hurriedly ran into the occupied room and saw him seemingly stare at nothing but the empty air. "This is where I left it!"

"You better have not been lying to us," Ronald threatened. As much of a goofball he could be at times, he knew when the fun was over and he needed to get serious.

"You have to believe me! It was here! Unless . . .,"

"Unless what?"

"Unless he came."

How are either groups going to stop the nightmare on the seas? Will Annabeth or Ryan have the answers they seek? Who is the "he" that Ryan is speaking of? Reviews are appreciated!