-:- Subject 13's Butler -:-
.:A Kuroshitsuji Fan Fiction:.

Author: AoUsagi

Summary: Ciel takes the leap into Oblivion, only to wake into a strange white-washed world of beeping machines and white-coats doctors. The only thing that seems real is Sebastian, who steals him away from the hellhole laboratory to save him from the sick sake of science.

BeforeNote:

Ok so I've got a confession. I didn't mean to leave this finale for like...three months.

But I've just finished my final semester at university, and the last three months have been absolute helterskelter chAOS.

(PS – at time of writing this chapter, I haven't officially finished uni YET, I have one more week of classes and four final assignments to finish so eh but I could honestly not wait any longer for this chapter)

And it's been epic.

So, y'know, here's the ending.

The actual ending, that is. (it's long, buckle up kids)

(PPS- I should be animating for a final project or finishing that illustration assignment rn but ykNOW WHAT? NAH)

- Mercy

…

BE WARNED – there's death and suicide and sadness ahead. Just keep it in mind kiddlies. Mama Mercy loves you and hopes you are all well.

It's 1AM at time of posting. I started writing this chapter at 8.30 last night. Yeehaw!

Chapter Seventy One: Everyone And Their Ending (PART TWO)

-:-

London. A Year and A Half Ago.

"You asked to see me, sir?"

William T Spears was not a man who was unfamiliar to having a new authority sweep in and turn his workplace upside down. He had, at first, been understandably shocked at the detachment of the Dispatch sector from their original benefactors, some near four years ago now. Having the legendary Lawerence Anderson come swooping in and assume control of the rouge sector had also been a real kick in the teeth at first. But William had grown accustomed to the fact that nothing lasted, and everything would undoubtedly come to an end. A new benefactor, a new leader. A new sector or a new direction of work.

So, when the one and only Vincent Phantomhive, had strode into the Dispatch's hospital wing turned rehabilitation centre for the four surviving Subjects of the Karnstein experiments, and had demanded that all information be presented to him and that he oversee every single process, every signature signed – everything, William had begrudingly accepted.

This was just another change. Change was inevitable, he told himself sternly. Look at Grell for example – finally confident enough to come out of their shell after so many years of hiding beneath a false veneer. In a few months, Grell would commence their transition properly – time had just been so short with everything happening all at once, personal agenda's had been forced to take a backseat.

As he thought of his long-time friend and fellow agent, William had to suppress a small smile. Despite how so many viewed the flambouyant agent, William couldn't help but be proud of Grell.

The man seated behind the office desk in front of him cleared his throat, bringing William right back to the present. This man. This mystery. Dark hair and a mole next to one eye, Vincent Phantomhive was a man cut from a whole different cloth altogether. Anderson had had no sway over how much involvement Phantomhive had. After all, it was Phantomhive's son that had been the key to blowing this case wide open. Of course the Queen's Watchdog would be all about taking over all control of the aftermath.

"Yes. I need to speak to you about something," Vincent Phantomhive said, catching William's eye and holding his gaze. "Please. Come in."

Despite the enigmatic air about the aristocrat, William couldn't help but get the feeling that under all that cool and collectedness, Vincent was just a man fearful for the future of his family. A man who had lost so much only to have regained it. A man not willing to let it be taken away again.

William approached and Vincent slid a file across the desk, flipping it open. It showed surveillance photos, clearly taken without the subject's knowledge, at various locations around London.

"I had one of your agents follow my son and the Trancy boy," Vincent said quietly. "When they wanted to start going out and beyond the rehab facility."

William quirked an eyebrow – not exactly old news. He hadn't been initially informed, but had found out by accident when Eric had been groaning about the two youngsters successfully managing to ditch Alan on several occasions. William, although unimpressed by the fact that his agents had been instructed to act without his knowledge, had remained quiet. Surely, he had told himself, if Phantomhive had his reasons, he would eventually have to tell Spears.

He enjoyed being right, but he wished he hadn't had to wait several weeks for this particular conversation.

"And, sir?"

Vincent's brows knitted in concern.

"What are they doing?" he said, almost to himself, as he studied over the photographs. The images captured both Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy, seemingly searching for something around each location they arrived at. "What could they possibly be looking for?"

William felt a hard lump settle in his throat. He had a sneaking suspicion of what it could be, but single the most pivotal player of this entire game had mysteriously vanished, he had felt it wise to not yet show his own hand. He wanted Vincent Phantomhive to say it.

To admit it.

"Perhaps they are partaking in a hunt of some sort? There's been a string of online events using real-world locations recently." William offered only slightly sarcastically. "I hear they're quite popular with young people."

"No, no no - " Vincent was distracted, pouring over the photos again. He held up one for William to see. "Look. They're too focused on something written on this ledge. Ciel's taking notes. He was always an exemplary student but after everything that's happened..."

"Sir, perhaps there's not as much to this as you're thinking," Will tried to say it kindly, but he knew he was going to come off as icy and uninterested. "You're concerned for your sons well being. But don't you think that, as exposed to the outside world as he was coming right out of that hell hole, that he'd be excited to share this with the Trancy boy?"

William didn't say it, but he and Grell had agreed almost right off the bat that Ciel and Alois be allowed to conduct their 'tourist trips'. He'd had to make Grell wait to deliver the news, however. If he was right about this, then he had to continue to play the part of the oblivious. He'd much rather stay out of such tentative family affairs.

"I don't...I don't know." Vincent said, breaking Will's train of thought. "Will you listen to what I have to say, Spears? Even if it will be hard to take?"

He had to pretend to consider it.

"Of...course, sir."

"Sebastian Michaelis has been missing for months on end. His last known location was the docks on the night of the rig rescue," Vincent said quietly. "He was the one who knew my son the best. But he'd...he'd changed."

You can say that again. William recalled, with a pang of guilt, how he'd ordered the hit on Sebastian that night. Michaelis was to be shot on sight. It was the knowledge that the Phantomhive boy was not dead by Michaelis' hand that had saved him that night.

How the tables had turned, William sighed inwardly.

"Changed, sir?"

"He was defeated, when I spoke to him." Vincent murmured, resting his chin in his hands. "I thought he'd fight. I expected him to argue. But he...he didn't."

"You spoke to him, sir?" Another puzzle piece that fitted the rest of the jigsaw.

"He said – he looked me dead in the eye, and he said...that he loved my son. 'More than life itself', he told me. That was why he didn't fight me when I told him that his involvement with my son's life had to come to an end." The Queen's Watchdog absently eyed the photographs. "How can someone claim to love someone else so dearly, and yet let them go so easily?"

William almost let his facade slip. He had seen the way the boy had cried, relentlessly, when no one would speak of Sebastian Michaelis' disappearance. How the child had lashed out in his anger and bitterness.

"Sir...may I ask," William chose his words carefully. "Was that the last anyone saw of Sebastian Michaelis? Were you, perhaps, the last to see him alive?"

Vincent nodded morbidly.

"You know...removing people in my way has never been an issue before," the man said slowly, no longer trying to meet William's eye. "All for the better. I have my son back. My wife is recovering, miraculously. I was certain she'd die of heartbreak within the next six months, but we have our son back. And yet...my son...my Ciel...he's miserable."

There was a crack in Vincent's voice.

"I've seen him, Spears. I've been there, watching. The way he treats the nurse staff, his own medical team – the way he's paired off with the Trancy boy and how they share their secrets with no one, like it's them against the rest of the world. The last time I physically held my son for longer than a brief hug was when he was shot by the girl. I know it was an accident, I know she's unstable – I fear for her condition, too. But my son has become so distant…all because..."

He trailed off, and after a moment William feared that the man may never finished his confession. This had to be it.

"Sir?" he prompted gently.

"All because I killed Sebastian Michaelis." Vincent admitted bitterly. "He had to be removed, his involvement with Ciel ran too deep, too close. Can you imagine how much of a nuisance he'd be if he were here? The rest of his medical team is bad enough – I accept that they know so much more about this than anyone else, but somedays I think that Doctor Atkins-Brown thinks he runs the damn place."

That's because Bardroy Atkins-Brown is the leading medical scientist on the case, William bit back the thought, because you went and murdered the only other person who knew more.

And there it was. After so long waiting, of everyone trying to pretend that everything was hunky-dory when it was most certainly not, there it was. Finally, closure on the case of one missing man.

Well, William fought to keep his breathing calm. At least closure for Vincent. So long as that's his own truth.

"I see, sir." William said slowly. "You do understand that I'm obligated to report any necessary information pertaining to the entire operation to the board and my Dispatch superiors, yes?"

Vincent had visibly slumped in his chair, as though the life had been knocked out of him. He nodded miserably.

"Yes, I understand. I too will have a lot to submit in my own report." He replied, before looking back down at the photographs. "I've faced so many horrors in my time as the Watchdog, Spears. But I've never had to face my own child and tell him I murdered the man who meant the world to him. How the hell am I meant to do that?"

It took the mastery of composure that Anderson himself would have been proud of, but William managed not to smirk. He could just imagine Ciel's reaction. The boy would have a conniption.

Without waiting to be properly dismissed, as he felt the Watchdog's disgrace from across the room, William moved to leave.

"Carefully, I suggest," he replied shortly before seeing himself out.

William T Spear very much enjoyed being right, but deep down, it hurt his heart knowing just what he'd been right about. And he had a sneaking suspicion that Grell had more to tell than they were letting on.

-:-

The notebook sat, where it had been the last five days, on Ciel's nightstand. He had stared at it endlessly, still unable to figure out the meaning behind the strange message left behind by Sebastian.

C-O-N-N-E-C-T-.T-H-E.S-P-I-D-E-R-S-W-E-B

Clearly it meant something as straightforward as connect the dots. Put the pieces together to see the complete outcome.

But Ciel still had no clue what the pieces where. He had poured over the various places he and Alois had visited, all the places he had been during the entire escapade of being an escaped lab experiment on the run with a bunch of socially-awkward doctors. Nothing added up. But Sebastian trusted him to figure it out.

"Uuuuuurgh."

The groan came from the doorway, where Alois was slumped against the frame. At first, Ciel's heart twisted – Alois suffered badly from pain attacks if he missed a dose of medication, and for a moment Ciel feared that Alois was hurting. But then the dramatic fifteen year old continued to slide melodramatically down the wall til he was kneeling on the floor, and then proceeded to lie face-down on the linoleum.

"What are you doing?"

"Clearly I'm dying," Alois mumbled into the floor. "But that's still on it's merry way. What I'm currently doing is moping."

"Oh," Ciel realized the reason for Alois' actions. "Mey said she wouldn't take us out today, huh?"

"She goes, 'I'm busy'," Alois made his voice high-pitched and sing-song for effect. " 'There's a lot of lab work to do today okay? Nooooooo I caaaaant take yoooouuuuu'."

"She doesn't sound like that," Ciel frowned. "And she would've offered to make an alternative plan, so stop being rude about her."

Alois looked up at him. "Urgh she did but what's the point? We were all ready to go today. Waiting is boring."

With a sigh, Ciel set aside the book he'd been trying to read. He eyed the notebook on his nightstand.

"You know..." he said softly. "Maybe we don't need Mey to take us..."

-:-

"Oh my God oh my God oh my God," Alois's cackles were hard to contain once they were out on the road. "I can't believe you did that. We did that. Mostly you. But oh my God. We just stole a car."

Ciel rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop the thrill ripping through his chest as they pulled out of the parking complex of the Dispatch grounds. All they had to do was clear the security gate, and that was it. He prayed it was just an automatic one and not a manned station.

"Technically we're not stealing it," he replied. "We're just borrowing it. We'll bring it back."

"Yes but! Is this a crime? Are we criminals now? Oh my God this is insane. We should go back, we'll be in so much shit. Bard will kill us. Oh my God, Spears will kill us." Alois babbled on, anxiously tugging at his seatbelt before he paused. "Where the hell did you learn to drive?"

They pulled up to the security booth, and Ciel breathed a sigh of relief when no other person was in the vacinity, just a card scanner and a camera. Of course. But they'd have a decent head start. He flashed the ID card he'd lifted off of Finnian earlier – it was a dirty thing to have done, and Finni would definitely be in hot water for it, but somehow Ciel felt it couldn't be done any other way. He'd left everything behind, except the notebook. It sat on the backseat, tossed there in their haste.

"Sebastian taught me." He replied as the security boom gate lifted to let them pass. The moment they were off Dispatch grounds, Alois whooped with glee and Ciel let the thrill of their rebellious little act tear through him again.

-:-

The joyride took them all over London and it's surrounding areas, purely for the thrill of it, until somewhere near Maidstone, the car's petrol light flicked on. They had been gone for most of the afternoon, and Ciel was certain by now that they would have been missed.

His father would throw an absolute fit, no doubt. His mother...Ciel tried not to dwell on the emotions undoubtedly plaguing his poor mother by this point.

Pulling into a fuel station, Ciel and Alois' excitement fuelled adventure came to something of a pause. Getting out and starting to fill the tank, Ciel watched as Alois flitted cheerfully off into the station shop. They'd paused a few times on their ride, once to pick up a map which had been unceremoniously tossed onto the backseat with the notebook, and another to get some bottles of water. Alois had flashed his father's shiny black credit card with a grin, happy to tap it till it wouldn't cough up any more money.

As he held the pump open to fill the car, Ciel absently let his eyes wander. There wasn't many people out and about, a few other customers milling around the shop side. His eyes fell on the backseat of the car, where his notebook and the map lay.

Something clicked in his head.

Every place on the map seemed to correlate to another. The last one, the one they'd found the other night and had hurriedly scribbled down, suddenly didn't seem like quite so much gibberish. It lead a straight line from the heart of London, beyond the interconnected other places, up and beyond London's edges. North west, towards Scotland.

"No way," he breathed, almost not realizing that the pump had shut up, clicking to indicate the tank was now full. All Ciel could see was how obvious the whole thing was.

Sebastian had created a spidersweb of locations, and at the end of the trail had to be...the spider.

Without really thinking, Ciel hung up the pump and cast his eyes over to the shop. Alois was chatting animatedly away with the cashier.

This is it this is it this is it this is it. The thought raced through Ciel's head over and over. I found Sebastian.

The rest was history. Ciel found himself diving back into the car and flooring it away from the petrol station. He caught sight of Alois Trancy, agape with horror, standing uselessly on the forecourt in his wake, having realized his abandonment. He saw the cashier running out yelling, other drivers and customers all looking around stunned.

He didn't think about what was going to happen next. Alois undoubtedly would call the Dispatch. His parents would get involved. The search would begin for the wayward Subject Thirteen. Dispatch agents would be crawling all over London – and Ciel knew that Bard, Mey and Finni would insist on being a part of it too. He tried not to feel guilty for abandoning them.

Something told him that it wouldn't work out if he did. Someone knew something about how and why Sebastian was forced to go to ground. Anyone might be suspect. All the faces he could recall flashed through his mind, and he began to wonder mutely who might want to take Sebastian out of the picture.

With grim realization, Ciel knew there was only one person who would truly go to such lengths for the ones they loved so much. He didn't want to believe it.

His father had been nothing but good. Nothing but kind. Caring. Watchful. Loving. Observant. Over protective…and maybe just a little too sure of himself.

As Ciel drove around the outskirts of London, avoiding all the major places whilst doing his best to obey all traffic laws he could recall, he knew in his heart that it was true. It all made sense. Of course he could never had told anyone else about this. His father would have known in a heartbeat. Maybe his father already suspected Ciel of his actions.

Ciel just prayed he could get out before they found him again.

-:-

When Grell had heard the alarm that Subject Thirteen and Twelve had disappeared, and that a car had been taken without authorization from the parking garage, they hadn't really been surprised. What had surprised Grell was how William handled the news. It was as if William wasn't particularly hurried about organizing the search parties, even though he did under the watchful eye of the distraught Vincent Phantomhive.

In fact, as Grell and William buckled into their own vehicle to head out in search of the boy, now that Subject Twelve had been located safely in Maidstone, Grell could almost feel the satisfaction radiating off William. Something had happened, and Grell just hoped they'd be privvy to the juicy details of that meeting Will had been called into with Vincent that in their own way, Grell knew that the Phantomhive boy would be all right. Michaelis had been right, the boy would find him. They would find each other. That's what mattered.

-:-

When Rachel Phantomhive got the distressed call from Alois Trancy, the boy sobbing over the phone about being ditched at a petrol station and scared witless, she had acted on instinct. She had been the first one out to Maidstone to meet the teenager – even his own parents were absent, both of them at a big conservationist lecture at a univeristy in Manchester for the weekend. Rachel had been the first to learn what Alois and her son had been up to in the last few weeks, the truth behind their adventures and the truth behind Ciel's suspicions about Doctor Michaelis' survival. And when Trancy had hiccuped his way through his own conclusion about why Ciel had abandoned him, Rachel knew it was true. There could never have been anyone else for Ciel but Sebastian; his wisdom, his guidance. She'd seen it when they had first met four years ago. The bond between them was beyond anything many people could comprehend.

And although it broke her heart that her baby boy had felt it necessary to leave this way, she found herself willing to accept it. Even as tears rolled down her face when her beloved, harried husband had arrived on the scene, she knew it couldn't be any other way.

-:-

When the news stations caught wind of the grand escapade, not even Sieglinde Sullivan's parents could prevent the media from getting their grubby hands all over it. The Dispatch was thrown into chaos, trying to stop reporters from getting onto the grounds to pry deeper into the case. The Phantomhive, Midford, Trancy and Sullivan families all went into a social media black-out. But the tabloids already had the story. The infamous Phantomhive child had gone missing. When the stolen Dispatch car turned up wrecked somewhere off the highway outside Edinburgh, the news was all over it. No sign of the boy, no sign of injury or accident. The car was a write off and the child was long gone by the time the authorities found the vehicle.

-:-

In the end, it was assumed that Ciel Phantomhive stowed away in a cargo ship out of Edinburgh. A scarf that matched the description of the one the boy had been wearing the day he disappeared had been found on the docks. It was unknown where he intended to go, but the case became closed once it was assumed that the boy had left domestic waters. His father was initially determined to pursue him, but somehow the boy's mother had reasoned him out of it. The boy was gone. Where could he possibly be that they could find now?

It was strange, everyone hearing that Rachel Phantomhive was the one to be the voice of reason and desire to let their only heir go. Finally, Vincent relented, and turned his attentions to the continuation of the Karnstein mop-up operation. Word had it that he finally tracked down the elusive Chinese businessman who had been both his ally and his enemy. Word also had it that the man in question did not survive the interrogation that followed his arrest.

But in the end, it was all just speculation and rumours. The Phantomhive medical team came to terms that both their leader and their cause had gone; and through the heartbreak, they were able to understand, to some degree. Finnian McInnes, once the rehabilitation facility eventually saw the release of it's last two Subjects back to their parents care years after the disappearance of Ciel Phantomhive, turned to his passion for gardening, becoming the grounds manager at a museum. Mey-Rin Maddigan returned to Cornwall with Paula Landsdale, and together the two women mended and rebuilt the ravaged beach house estate. Bardroy Atkins-Brown retired from his work in medical sciences and instead left to travel – the last anyone heard of him, he was backpacking through Australia.

Grell Sutcliff completed their transition, officially able to alter her identity to her preferred female pronouns. She continued her work at the Dispatch alongside her lifetime partner William, grateful of his acceptance and understanding.

Alan Humphries and Eric Slingby both retired from the Dispatch shortly after Ciel's disappearance. Once the case was officially closed after the evidence found in Edinburgh, Alan suffered a great bout of depression, and Eric retired from his position to care for his partner.

Elizabeth Midford recovered, to some degree. She would never be the same brilliant and talented girl she once was, but she was no longer a danger to herself or those around her. It took her years, but slowly, she began to forgive and accept her reality, and she blossomed into a radiant advocate for change regarding many social issues by the time she was twenty-five – her leading topics in environmental and ecological awareness. Her parents remained vigilante, however, as her trauma often returned in the form of night terrors and sleep paralysis.

Sieglinde Sullivan returned with her family to Germany, her mind addled to the point of little recognition of the real world. Her parents, not knowing what more to do, indulged her in her fantasies of witches of wolves. It became easier than to insist on the truth.

Lastly, there was Alois Trancy. The teenager took a while to come to grips with his abandonment by his only friend and confidante, however soon his cancer began to taken over him completely. Within a month of Ciel's disappearance, Alois was almost completely bedridden. Chemotherapy worked to suppress the growths but nothing could destroy the tumours already there. He spent many long nights with his parents by his side, until finally he had their blessing. Nearly three months after Ciel's disappearance, Alois Trancy was on his way to Switzerland – all consultations and paperwork completed, his case bumped ahead purely because of his situation and his fathers money. By the time he was boarding the plane out of the international airport in Heathrow, he was wheelchair bound and in need of an oxygen mask – his case worsening as every scan and x-ray showed his whole body lighting up with aggressive tumours.

When he arrived in Zurich and was escorted to the Dignitas centre, Alois almost believed he saw the reflections of Ciel and Sebastian greeting him in the large, swinging glass doors. It didn't last long.

His parents were with him the whole time. His body was to be transported home and he would be cremated, he requested. Some of his ashes would be kept by his parents, the rest had been agreed to be scattered at the oceans edge. Despite his death, Alois still wished to see the world, be a part of it.

And what of Ciel himself?

In truth, Ciel did not board a ship headed out from Edinburgh. He did, in fact, hitchhike and thumb his way through Scotland – everyone was happy to take a poor child in out of the bitter winter weather. Only once was he recognized.

It took Ciel a few long, disheartening days to locate the exact place of the last set of co-ordinates that had been left with the final message. From there, there was only one long, winding road to follow. At it's end, he came to a large, seemingly abandoned estate. A river ran through it and the highlands bordered the whole place away from the rest of the world. His fingertips were blue from the cold and his teeth were chattering as he approached the house and courtyard. On one side, there was a stable. On the other, the large house rose up like that of a dollhouse – picture perfect, silent as a grave. The only sign of life was the smoke coming from the chimney.

Ciel had tried the doorbell, and then he'd tried knocking. Both times he was greeted with silence. He'd circled the house one way, then back the other when he'd ended up met with a stone wall. It was around the other side he found the woodshed, the snow in the area trampled into the dirt from recent use. The back door of the house swung open, and he nearly ran.

He nearly cried.

Instead he just stared. And Sebastian Michaelis stared back.

-:-

Oldshore Beg, Scotland. Now.

"I wasn't sure what to mark the headstone with," Sebastian said quietly as they reached the shoreline. "So I've left it blank."

Ciel let him dismount their horse first, and then followed suit. There, just as he'd pictured it in his head when Sebastian had first informed him that his request had been granted, was a headstone set into a snow-covered dune overlooking the frozen shore.

"That's all right," he murmured, huffing breath into his hands to try and warm them. "I don't know what I want it to say yet anyway."

He reached into his shoulder bag – it really had become his now, even despite the fact that Sebastian was its rightful owner – and pulled out a small box. It had been crafted carefully, and within in were a few things he'd compiled the night before. He was finally going to say the goodbye he should have over a year ago.

"Do you want a moment on your own?" Sebastian's voice was soft, but Ciel knew that even if he did say yes, that his companion would be close by, watching. Always watching.

He didn't reply, he just shook his head, and spoke instead to the gravestone.

"Alois. Alois Trancy. I remember you were such a pain. Even in this stupid messed up world, you were a pest. Always wanting in on everything, so determined to not be left out." Ciel paused. He wasn't sure he'd really wanted to start this way. "Erm. I don't normally do this. Sorry. But you grew on me. Without you and without that crazy idea to hijack the car that day, I wouldn't have figured out what we were missing. What was right in front of us. And I'm sorry I never paused to tell you. I wish I could have told you. But I think maybe you knew. I hope you forgave me. Maybe you didn't."

He shuffled the box back and forth in his hands.

"Look, Alois. I brought you some stuff. Just to say goodbye. I saw in the news, Karnstein Subject Reveals Assisted Suicide Plan – it could have only been you. I'm sorry I wasn't there to see you off. You were...a friend. A good friend."

With that, Ciel knelt in front of the headstone and pulled away the snow at its base, revealing the soft dirt beneath. A minute later, he'd scooped out a small hole, and wiped his dirty hands on his thick jacket before reaching for the little box he'd set aside.

"I brought you...I brought you the map you got us that day. And the page from my notebook. Spiders were always more your thing than mine, you deserve to keep the page. I put in a water bottles cap, since Sebastian said it'd do less harm that a proper bottle. And there's also a couple of interesting shaped stamps I got at the post office. The colours and designs made me think of you, describing your weird trips when you'd have those hallucinogenic meds." Ciel set the box into the hole, before scraping the soil and snow back over the top, patting it down gently.

Sebastian was at his back, a hand resting on his shoulder as he stood slowly.

"Thanks to you, Alois. I found Sebastian. And because of that, we've got the rest of our lives together ahead of us," he said, before glancing up at Sebastian. "Right?"

"Yes," Sebastian's smiled betrayed his refrain from finishing the statement, and even Ciel found the word hanging incomplete in the air. He turned back to the headstone one more time.

"I know this isn't really where you're buried." he said. "But I wanted to do something to commemorate you a bit. Make sure you felt like you really were a part of something great. I'll visit you again soon. Maybe once the snow starts to thaw."

Finally, Ciel turned away and back to Sebastian.

"Shall we?" The tall dark haired doctor asked, his smiled warm. It no longer scared Ciel, that smile. It almost felt just like before – they were bound together, and that was how it should have always been.

"Must you really be so dramatic?" Ciel caught the grin creeping across Sebastian's face. For once in a long time, Sebastian looked free and unafraid. Unburdened by the paranoia that constantly plagued him for fear of being found. When Sebastian bowed dramatically, Ciel rolled his eyes. "Oh fine, go on."

And Ciel couldn't help but laugh, his breath catching as Sebastian suddenly scooped him up into his arms. The Devil Doctor had certainly developed a warped sense of humour in the time between Vincent attempting to kill him and now – he too seemed to see the ironic symbolism between them.

"Where shall we go now?" Sebastian really poured the honey into his words as he carried Ciel back towards their horse.

Ciel simply shrugged.

"I don't really care," he found the words coming easily, like he'd said them a hundred times. "I feel good. Like I've been released from a spell I was under for a long time."

"And together we're bound in our own eternal spell," Sebastian continued.

"You are my demon, my butler. My doctor, my friend. Mine." Ciel stated firmly.

"And I am yours for an eternity," Sebastian Michaelis nodded in affirmation.

"Shall we go onwards to the rest of our lives?" Ciel knew that tell-tale smile growing across Sebastian's face before he'd even finished. But of course, his terrible, strange, twisted yet kind and loving doctor paused only for a moment before he replied,

"Yes, My Lord."

-:-

.:The End:.

AfterNote:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-ok anyway so HOORAY! We finally made it! I'm definitely not highly emotional at all about this! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S OVER?

!WARNING REALLY LONG AUTHORS NOTE AHEAD!

(but also pls read it and stay tuned)

God. It feels so unreal. Like I remember when I first began writing this story so many years ago, busting out chapter after chapter as these poor characters got sent on a rollercoaster ride from HELL. Good gravy. It has certainly been one hell of a ride.

(also mwahahah didya see there what I did at the very end didya didya huh huh huh)

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS CHAPTER. And firstly, I gotta be honest. I had so many possible endings, whittled down to about three, and I still didn't know how I was going to end it. It ended up being a bit of a mix between all of them, honestly.

GRELL! I know I've always kept Grell as male throughout the story, and her ending with her transitioning felt a little bit rushed but honestly it's been a story element for the character that I've wanted to introduce time and again and simply run out of time and space to include – hence why Grell is only stated to have come out as trans as an after-fact; there's been so much going on, the poor girls' not had the time for herself! But I wanted to do Grell justice, just as I wanted all of the characters to find some kind of peace in their worlds.

ALSO – Alois' ending had been planned almost from the time at which I'd decided that he'd have the glioblastoma. Initially it was meant to be written as a short one-shot of his own, but I realized I didn't really have enough to go on to make it interesting enough. Dignitas is also a real place, it's part of an actual organization that deals with the whole assisted suicide thing. Alois, too, found peace.

ANOTHER THING – I had a few people message me asking if I was going to include Real!Ciel somehow into the story and honestly no, for a few reasons. One, it would be like shoehorning in an unnecessary character so late in the story (since the manga is for now ongoing there's still plenty of time for THAT to develop) – whereas Subject 13's Butler had already reached its final leg of the story by the time I'd personally caught up with the manga to know where the hell it was going. I briefly considered how it might work, but once again, it felt unnecessary and would take away from everything else I wanted to put into the story. And two, Ciel already had the character of the Other!Ciel to be constrasted with, and whilst Other!Ciel is merely his own perception of himself and is nothing like that dastardly Real!Ciel, it'd just be waaaaaaay too complicated to be like OH WAIT THERES ANOTHER CIEL so no I came to the conclusion preeeetty quick that I wouldn't be including Real!Ciel in this story lmao.

ALSO ANOTHER THING – Wanna know something (not very) interesting? Madame Red wasn't originally meant to die waaaaaaaay back in Chapter 54; in two of the possible other endings, she was meant to survive and headline the Dispatch rehabilitation operations (instead of Bard), or in another possible story line, she was going to be killed accidentally by Grell. Turns out I planned that second one so long ago I completely forgot about it until my facebook memories came up and said HEY remember when you said that? And I was like oohhhh no waaaayyy all my old ideas!

CHRIST ON A CRACKER – there was just so many characters to try and wrap up, I didn't want to leave any ending left hanging but at the same time I know I couldn't get to all of them. I think I completely missed adding Drocell's ending – for those of you who are curious, Drocell remained in Dispatch care and is the one to undo the worst of the damage to Elizabeth's mental state.

OKAY SO NOW THAT'S OUT OF THE WAY, IT'S TIME TO THANK ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE.

You guys are the reason that this fanfiction ever got written, and even got completed. I never imagined that I'd create something so long, so stupidly detailed (and, now I look back on it, so full of plot holes). It's all you – you guys got me through so much, you were always there to listen when I had to rant my way through my authors notes about whatever stupid drama was happening in my life. You were the ones who came back time and again to review. Your words always brightened my day. I loved seeing you all try to theorise who was the bad guy or what was going to happen next. I hope the ending I found for Subject 13's Butler is one that resonates with you the way it does for me. I was so unsure of how to conclude this story, I didn't even know if I could do it in one last chapter. And then I decided, I don't care. If people wanted to read it, they will. If they're still here and still willing to review and say nice things and enjoy the story I have to tell, they'll be here. You all mean to much to me – your support has been incredible. Your understanding at my terribly long absences...really, you're all much to understanding and kind.

And I love you all. Even those of you who aren't following this story anymore. I still love you. And for those of you that made it this far down this stupidly long and dumb wordy authors note?

I love you too.

Thank you.

- Mercy