The Devil's Bride *Sebastian Love*

Her Butler, Exterminating

  "Huh? A guest this late at night?" Jumbo glares at the small boy, greatly underestimating him. "I'm sorry, my orders are to not let any strangers in while the master is away. Could you come visit another time?" asked Finny sweetly, almost endearingly as he rubbed his eyes.
"We're pros." Gloated Joker. "If anyone crosses our paths for any reason on the job, we eliminate them. You two are the target, I wonder how many will be killed while they search for you?"
"Killed?" asked Ciel lackadaisically.
"Yes, everyone, even the servants."
"My servants?" continued Ciel incredulously. Sebastian chuckled slightly, while Alette's breathing became ragged.
"What's so funny?"
"What do you take them for? Those are Phantomhive servants, and a Vamphina butler. Finny lay on the ground, seemingly dead.
"Forgive me."
"Words cannot simply cleanse your soul, especially when you try to repent the sin of murder." Jumbo swirled around, but found nothing. He returned to find the body gone, and a woman in all black, shorter than him, but with fire in her eyes. "Hello." She greeted, before dealing a punch to the jaw that not only stunned Jumbo, but knocked him over.
"How can a woman have that much strength?" he wondered aloud. He tried to get up, to find Finny over him.
"You can't do that, or I'll get in trouble. The young master ordered me and I have strict instructions from Sebastian not to let anyone in. There was a pitiful scream, then a loud crash as Jumbos skull was crushed against the stone. In his dying moments he looked up, to see the dark woman again, her curly hair blowing in the breeze. That, was how he died.
"Gee, thanks for helping out while I recovering, Miss Lovelace." She nods as Finny rubs the back of his head. "Aw, look at all this blood! That was mean, I hate being hurt, you know."
"Peter, Wendy, run! This mansion isn't normal!" he screamed.
"Jumbo! What happened?" called Peter and Wendy. They hop from tree to tree, until they see two people standing over a large hole in the wall. "Don't tell me he got Jumbo?!"
"Please don't shout at night, you'll wake Lady Elizabeth." Requested Finny, ever so politely." They then stole his hat, he watched as it floated up effortlessly, seemingly like magic. Selma however caught a glimpse of the string,
"Dammit you'll pay! How dare you kill Jumbo!"
"How dare you! I liked that hat." Screamed Finny. In a fit of rage, he punched the tree. Cracks spread rapidly throughout the bark as the tree tumbled down. "Now I can't hide it anymore." He scratches at the ink tattooed upon his skin. "The young master gave that to me!"
"What the hell?!" yelled a confused Peter, Wendy and himself were not expecting such backlash.
"The young master never locks me up!" defends Finny, running after the acrobats with full speed. "He never makes me fight death matches with my friends!" He thrusts his fist forward, breaking through the brick wall without so much as a scratch, not even a hint of pain. "I love this place!"
"What is he, a monster?!" shouted Wendy.
"He's slower than we are though!" reminded Peter.
"So I made up my mind to protect it!" explained Finny, they fly over to the top of the enormous estate, away from the enraged Finny. He then charges the wall, defying gravity.
"Let's go!" yells an alarmed Peter. "We'll cut you in half!" It was then that the bullet fired. Peter did not realize anything had happened until he felt the warm spray of blood on his cheek. "Wendy!" He tried to run to her corpse, but was met with a shower of bullets. Selima sat perched with her sniper rifle, right next to Mey rin. Selima took aim again at Peter who was darting around, while Mey-Rin shot round after round at him without aim. She was a perfect shot without glasses.
"Damn it!" His flips and tumbles were the only reason Mey Rin and Selima missed so many times. "From the roof of the west? Bloody hell, how big an army does he have!? I'm sorry Wendy, but the brat will have to wait." He took aim and flew upward toward the West tower to confront his enemy. "What is this? These rifles don't have scopes...But they still got her in one shot at this distance?" He walked around warily, searching for the enemy. He sees a flash of movement, then a bullet whizzes past his ear, nicking him barely.
"Always follow the young master's instructions." Muttered Mey-Rin. "Welcome the master every day with a nice clean mansion...that is a maid's job. When there's filth here, I get rid of it!" He puts up his arms in a futile attempt to shield himself from their bullets. He feels a hot flash of pain in his shoulder then a trickle of liquid as he realizes he's been hit.
"We missed." Sighed Mey-Rin
"It's not over yet!" assured Selima. They reload and start firing once more. He clings to the tower by the threads of his string. Ruble flies down, hitting him in the face. He coheres to the tower for dear life.
"I can't get close! How many shooters can they have?" he ponders. Peter peeks around the corner to see only two figures, one with bright red hair and the other dark curvy figure from earlier, the one that hovered over Jumbo. Was she death? "Two?! Then all those rifles were there to cut loading time. Jumbo was right! We gotta clear out for now!" He realizes. He swings his string to a nearby tower, then flies off. He thinks about the first time he ever flew like this. It was with Wendy. "These people are crazy!" he yells. "No, they're not crazy. A roof full of rifles couldn't hit Wendy at that range. Which means it must have been the sniper that killed her..." He makes eye contact with the dark figure, then feels the bullet pierce his skin. Then it all went dark. And that was the end of his life.
"Sounds like he has bodyguards." Acknowledges Beast, clinging to the scarf given to her by Joker.
"Yes, I s'pose we should expect that from nobles." Relies a stagnant Dagger. "Let's let our elders handle 'em, and we'll find the target." They run in, stealthily sneaking into the estate, only to be met with the resistance of Bardroy, who lights a cigarette.
"Hi. I've been waiting for ya. Finny took the back door. Mey-Rin took the sides. Which means you could only get in from—" Dagger had had enough of talk; he was going to save and impress Beast. He throws a blade that would have been dead on, if Bard hadn't moved. "Hey, that's dangerous! I was still talkin'!" He continuously blocks the blades with his lighter, while Beast attacks from the left. He hadn't done much in acrobatics or dodges in his life as a cook, but that didn't mean he had forgotten how. He does a handstand then tumbles over, so that Beast's whip evidently misses. "Sorry, I'm not into that kind of thing!" He then dodges another strike. This girl was fast. "Dammit, everybody's a Solomon Grundy! Tryin' to live fast and die young! It's a real waste, don't you agree?" They look up, to see three ominous figures from above. One short and stout, one with bright red hair, one with glowing fuchsia eyes. "finny, Mey-Rin, Selima, give 'em what for." They can hear the sound of stone scraping against the floor, and guns cocking.
"Who gives a maid and butlers guns?!"
"We do!" replied Selima, taking the time to polish her knives.
"Upsy Daisy!" yells Finny as he pitches the statue toward the two intruders. Dagger dodges as it lands right between them. He flings a few knives toward the one called Mey-Rin. She immediately shoots them out of the air. He is beginning to wonder where the third one is, when he dares glance up. She hangs form above, unscrewing the chandelier
"Miss, we have to run!" instructs Dagger. They take off, dodging Bards strikes and Mey-Rin's shower of bullets. The chandelier comes crashing down where they were.
"All right, we'll kill them later! First, the target!"
"Got it! Guess we better just check every room." He decides. They twist the golden door knob and then hear the slightest ding; the ring of a bell. "It's a trap?"
"Mey-Rin, the rats are in the drawing room. Go at 'em from the west wing." Commands Bardroy.
"Yes, sir."
"Finny you approach them from the central staircase. And don't get lost."
"Yes, sir!" squeals Finny,
"I'm sorry, Miss!" Yells Dagger as they run. They then stumble upon the maid, guns ready and loaded.
"Dagger, get back!" She takes her whip, wraps it around the nearest painting and yanks it forward at the maid. She shoots it to bits instantly, not so much as flinching. Dagger throws a couple of blades in her direction, but she steps aside around the corner. Then the other dark figure is there. Selima, smirks at such a simple challenge. The daggers were losing their momentum; she catches them all without a problem and whips them forward. Then Mey-Rin is back, shooting the vase behind them to pieces. The knives barely miss, and would have hit them had they not dove. They turn to see the weapons stuck in the wall where they once were.
"Found the rats!" they hear a childish voice call. They turn to see the smaller one that had taken on their elders carrying two enormous statues.
"Him again?"
"Here we go!" he calls, throwing the first statue. Daggers weapons do nothing to the hurdling stone.
"This way!" screams Beast, diving into a nearby room. Instead of meeting a soft landing, they are met with hardwood stairs. "Ouch! Who are these people?" she wonders aloud.
"Please don't run away!" pleads Finny as he throws another figurine.
"Hurry, Miss!" They plummet down yet another set of stairs to evade inevitable desecration by the pile of rocks. "All right, Miss?"
"Yeah."
"This place just isn't normal!"
"Yes, the way things are going, the earl's probably in hiding somewhere."
"Just this once, we ought to retreat and regroup. Let's get to the roof and meet up with Peter and Wendy."
"This just had to be the day Joker's not here!" She sighs. "Joker..." They peek into the kitchen and are surprised to find it occupied.
"Yo." Greeted Bardroy. "Poor goose and gander. Must be rough, wandering all over the mansion! Guess my line is, welcome to the end of the world—the kitchen." Dagger pulls out a few more knives while Beast lashes out and cuts the basket Bard is holding in half with her whip.
"You're pretty cocky, facing us unarmed!" Dagger tosses one of his daggers and Bard blocks it with a metal bowl.
"Idiot! The kitchen is a chef's sanctuary, where even a butler can't interfere. It's full of tools even a butler doesn't know about! For instance..." He uncovers a large gun; one no one is quite familiar with.
"What's that?" questions Dagger.
"Here I go!" He begins mercilessly shooting. "It's the latest weapon. Ol' Hiram brought it over from the States. With this baby, war will be totally different than it was in my day." He fires off another round, and Beast is frozen in fear. She thinks to herself, asking why she was so conscious of everything at this moment, why she couldn't move her feet. "You're gettin' a special personal meal from the chef—better savor it!" he mocks. He then takes the time to stop, after he has run out of bullets. Shrapnel lies everywhere. Including in Dagger. "It's got great destructive power, but the accuracy needs some work." He acknowledges. "Better tell the young master it's not ready for mass production..." Beast opens her eyes; she hadn't even realized they had been clenched shut. Her pupils shrink in horror at what she sees.
"Dagger!" she yells, noticing that his back is sticky and wet with blood. Even his hair was matted with it. He had saved her life in exchange for his own. "Dagger, you idiot!"
"Thank...goodness...you're all right... Run...tell Joker..."
"Why? Why would you do that for me?" she sobs, she can't help but let the tears fall at this point. She knew she was gone as well as her friend. Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth as her tears drip down onto his face.
"Miss..." She thinks back to the time when they were all cold homeless, abandoned. She can't help but sob for the loss she had not suffered." A tear leaks from the corner of his eye. "I wanted to take you...over the hill..." he explained. He noticed he was having trouble breathing. His hand falls limp and she screams out of pain.
"Dagger!!"
"I'd rather have met a pretty girl like you at a pub over some warm beer." She turns around and with scorn spits
"I'll make you pay!" She, in a desperate last attempt for her life, whips at him in anger. He dodges it by any means necessary, ducking, using flour...
"You think you can get away that easily?!"
"Nope! Finny!" And then the effigy came crashing in. Bits of glass shards pierced er arms and legs but that was nothing compared to the rage and sorrow she felt.
"Now all the prep works done! Told ya didn't I? The kitchen is full of secrets. I'll tell you one of them; the finer you grind a flammable powder more easily it ignites. When you get the right concentration in the air it might as well be an explosive gas. Have you heard of the flour mill incident in Minnesota that sent eighteen men to their maker?"
"Wait I'll take care of her. Then you can blow the place up." Pipes up Selima, who had been silent during his little monologue. She jumps down, feeling the impact shoot up her legs. That only motivated her. She had never liked this woman, for several reasons. And now, she'd finally get to do what she'd been wishing she could do all along. She whipped a few knives forward, but Beast whips them out of the air. It is clear that that will be no way to take her down. She allows her to think she has the upper hand, by not dodging her next attack. The whip wraps around her wrist but this only works to her advantage. She grabs the whip and yanks so that Beast loses her balance and falls. Then, she reels her in. She struggles, but ironically, that only makes it worse. Once she is in arm's length she picks her up and slams her against the stone wall. She groans in pain, which spreads throughout her whole body. She feels nails, digging into the flesh of her neck. She chokes, as Selima removes skin, flesh, blood from her with her very hands. She couldn't even scream in pain anymore, just choked on her own blood until her vision was blurry. She died painfully, her throat ripped out. She looks back scornfully.
"The only reason you've made it this far is because you've never faced any true opposition."
"Sorry, lady, but this is our job." She apologized, not meaning it. Selima climbs out and as Beast clings to life, Bard strikes a match and throws it. The last thing she sees before the fir snuffed her out was Joker. Selima takes a picture of the scene, capturing the gruesomeness of the scene. Then she perks up, away from her satisfaction.
"The young mistress. I can't sense her anymore."