Hi everyone. This took a long time to finish, but I finally got down to it. I really wish I could manage to live up to the expectation of everyone who's been waiting all this time - and, of course, I also hope to satisfy those who have only started reading. Thank you, everyone, for your support, your concern and for your patience. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) and I do not hold any rights to Sebastian, Ciel , Lizzy or any of the characters I use in this story. I do not make money out of this

+++ Grabbing the Last Straw+++

Ciel knew that he had fallen asleep, when he found himself in the court room. It did not seem changed much, but for one thing: Sebastian was not in the stall, but lounging casually in a spectators' seat. He got quickly to his feet, however, to greet his master. That was sort of reassuring, given the red eyes and the sharp teeth that indicated the demonic side was presently in charge over the butler.

'Young master. Thank you for answering my calling.' Even Sebastian's voice had that resonant sound to it.

'You called me?' Ciel asked, perplexed.

The demon bowed to him, 'I thought you might wish to witness as the sentence was passed.'

'You called me? How?'

'The contract works both ways,' said the Lord High Judge. 'Didn't you ever wonder?'

Behind him, the other members of the court filed in. Their seating plan had changed a little, but they still wore the hoods and gave their best to look mysterious and gloomy.

'Well then,' said the Lord High Judge, voice dripping sarcasm. 'Can the culprit be bothered to kindly take his traditional place?'

Sebastian pretended to think about the suggestion. Then he gave a nod and walked over to the stall. He seemed, Ciel thought, to have decided that some things needed to be done properly or dropped altogether.

Ciel stood beside the demon. It seemed, in turn, the proper thing for him to do.

'What happened here, since last time?' he asked softly.

'Not much. Exchanges of insults and sarcasm, mostly' said the demon. 'Little bouts of violence.'

'What's going to happen now?'

'Exchanges of yet more insults and sarcasm?' hazarded the demon. 'And, eventually, the passing of my sentence - '

'You're not just going to let that happen, are you?'

' - hopefully, bouts of more violence afterwards,' continued Sebastian who was back in his best demon-mode. 'If you were but to speak the words, young master?'

'The human will keep his silence,' barked the Lord High Judge, banging his hammer on the table. 'I declare this High Court ope - '

'The human will order his butler whenever and whatever he likes' shouted Ciel, his vague anger at having been summoned congealing and turning full-force against the strange figure. 'Maybe I'll order him to burn down this entire room, kill everyone inside it and take us home. And if I do, then that's - ' He looked in turn at each of the four figures at the desks, 'because I can. Because he is and I still want him to be my servant. I consented to his conditions. There is no case, no breach of rules. There's only this butler, and I am his master, and I order you, Sebastian - '

Something absolutely new and unprecedented happened: The demon raised his hand, asking Ciel to wait, before airing the full command. The bond between these two was at it stongest in those moments of Ciel's claiming the contract, and he could feel the demon's desire to charge as clearly as the existence of a very good reason not to. He fell silent, delaying the fateful words.

Sebastian stepped out of the stall and approached the court clerk.

'No smoking allowed in the court room,' he told the man. 'Please have the courtesy to let me do the fireworks and explosions. This time, at least.'

From the shadows of his hood, the man produced a cigarette and stubbed it on the table. 'Okay.'

The Lord High Judge gave a nasty hiss, as he produced a long whip. He lashed out, hitting the hood and revealing the court clerk's face.

'Uh, that could've hurt,' said Bard, rather unimpressed. 'I guess I'm lucky it's not my dying day, don't you think?'

'How dare you?' spat the Lord High Judge. 'How did you get here?'

'I followed a snake, and it wasn't even remotely white and rabbit-like. But how did she get here?' asked Bard, pointing at the air beside Ciel.

Ciel felt the movement at the same moment and spun round, 'Lizzy?'

'Ciel?' She rubbed her eye, 'You fell asleep and now I must've, too. I'm having that dream again...'

'We all do.' Ciel quickly took her hand, 'Lizzy, do you think you could put an end to this? Tell this crazy angel that you rest your case?'

'You will do no such thing,' the Lord High Judge shouted. 'I forbid it!'

'I, on the other hand, would appreciate your intervention,' said Sebastian without turning around. Even if the young lady thought this a dream, it was no good letting her see the red eyes. 'I do not assume the young master wants these people killed?'

'Silence!' spat the angel and attacked Sebastian with the whip. The demon caught the lash easily, winding it around his hand a couple of times.

'You are not allowed to resist the Lord High Judge's disciplinary measures!' boomed the hooded figure.

'Watch me,' said Sebastian airily. 'My, my. This feels way less disturbing when you're not stuck with a body.'

'How dare you! There are RULES - '

'Rules are for playing,' said Ciel. 'If you mean to win, sometimes it's necessary to be creative.'

'I condemn the culprit to living hell, hell, hell!' panted the Lord High Judge, driving his hammer on the silver inlay in his desk. Silently, the Lady Assessor produced a handgun and used the muzzle to slide back his hood. When the cloth came off, it revealed silver hair and blazing violet eyes.

The Bailiff jumped and squeaked, 'Angela!'

'Let me guess,' said Ciel, feeling very, very tired. 'Finny? Wasn't Lau supposed to be the Bailiff? What happened to him? And to Ran-Mao?'

'They left for the waking world, young master,' said May-Rin, removing her own hood. 'But Lady Ran-Mao has entrusted me with a special bullet to use on the Lord High Judge, if he should become a threat.' She tightened her grip on the handgun, aiming it at where her opponent's heart would be. With her other hand, she pushed her glasses back until they sat on top of her head.

'Your gun doesn't scare me,' said Angela coldly.

'It should,' said Ciel, gazing at the red-haired maid. 'Considering it's May-Rin holding it...'

The angel sneered, 'So your maid's a sniper. But this bullet must be fired with a true and loving heart for the magic to unfold.'

May-Rin cocked the gun. There was something in her green eyes. A revelation and a truth that was more disturbing to the angel than the deadly black eye of the weapon staring at her sternum.

'N-no,' said Angela, 'Wait a - '

May-Rin fired.

Then she whirled round and made for the door, still clutching the smoking gun. She didn't know where she was going, only that she didn't want to look Sebastian in the face. She felt her heart hammering in her throat, and her cheeks burned, and she would surely drop dead, if she were to look him in the face now...

She nearly bumped into a figure that entered the room just then. Her feet got caught in her long robe, and she stumbled, cursing herself for being such a clumsy. Now, she would surely die of embarrassment...

A red-gloved hand caught her by the elbow.

'There you are, you wicked little - ' a familiar voice spat next to her ear, and 'Stop it, Sutcliffe. She's not on today's list,' said another.

'But William - '

'Cut it out, reaper,' commanded Spears. 'Help me with the beast and the Lord High Judge.'

May-Rin's short-sighted eyes made out a blotch of garish purple. She was looking at a hair dresser's nightmare come true, the color explosion of a hair dye gone horribly wrong.

I'm in trouble, she thought.

And then she heard the young lady's clear voice, 'I, Lady Elizabeth Midford, abandon my case.'

The next instant, May-Rin was swallowed by the sensation of tumbling, spinning, whirling into a bottomless pit.

Lizzy's voice reached them all somewhere in the mists between sleep and waking. Finny, May-Rin, Bard - they all came back to life, each at their own pace and in the places where they had collapsed. Clothes rustled, joints cracked. Bard, his eyes still closed, patted his shirt pocket for a cigarette. Finny yawned.

Ciel lifted his head: He was sprawled halfway over Sebastian's body, his hands clasping Lizzy's firmly. Seated opposite him, she was stirring, too.

'Oh, Ciel, thank goodness, you're alive.'

Ciel listened with half an ear at best. Lying on the demon's ribs, he could feel the undisturbed heaving and sinking, the imperturbable in-and-out Sebastian's breathing. 'I am fine, but Sebastian is not waking up.'

'Perhaps, if you get off him...' Lizzy suggested in a tiny voice.

My weight is not the point. Fighting an onrush of panic, Ciel scanned the demon's pale face.

What if the shinigami are somehow holding him back in that place?

Ciel raised his hand. Perhaps, if I hit him real hard...?

'Do not hurt his body,' said Snake.

Ciel spun round. So did everyone else. The former circus boy sat with his back against the wall, crumpled. His eyes were open, but since his head was cocked to the side, he stared at the floor to the left. Like a broken puppet. Ciel felt the skin on the back of his neck prickle.

Snake said, 'Repossessing the physical is a bit trickier than the simple regaining of consciousness as performed by your kind. After all, you are sort of committed. Mens sana in corpore sano, eh?' And, with his head still tilted, he flashed a smile that looked likewise bizarre and terrible.

The servants merely stared. Ciel felt it was his duty to respond. He made it sound deliberately nonchalant, 'And what reptile's message is it this time? You forgot to quote.'

'It is no one's message but mine,' said Snake. 'I am Hoffmann.'

'Hoffmann is dead,' said Ciel with finalty. 'He was crushed underfoot. His remains are over there, in case you need proof.'

'I noticed,' said the unblinking, distorted shell of a boy with a distinctive air of irony. 'I, too, tried to repossess my physical body, you know...'

'Please,' said Lizzy. 'Can you do something - about Sebastian?'

She had moved to sit beside Sebastian's head, her little hand on the black hair. Ciel felt a stirring of emotion in his own chest at the sight. No time for an attack of asthma now! He forced himself to breathe calmly.

'Your case has been rested, according to your request,' said Hoffmann to Lizzy. 'The file will be closed, if you, the human answering to the name "Ciel Phantomhive", do not wish to call upon a new board of judges.'

'I certainly don't wish to start this farce all over again,' Ciel hurried to confirm. The human answering to the name... He wondered, what the emissary knew. He wondered, if he had just been secretly threatened not to stir up things, not for Sebastian, and not for himself.

'If you wish to take insight into the files,' continued Hoffmann, 'I understand that the shinigami Spears is just now working on a detailled report...'

'I'm sure he is,' mumbled Bard, but he was cut off by a loud voice that had more than just an edge of impatience to it:

'What. In. Blazes. Is going on down there?'

Ciel started, 'Aunt Frances!'

'Mother!' Lizzy's face lost all colour.

'Marquise!' Sebastian sat bolt upright, as if someone had just pushed the right button and switched him on.

'Huh? Sebastian!' Ciel was just as startled as anybody by the sudden revival.

'Young master', confirmed his butler.

'Are you - are you alright?' asked Lizzy timidly.

Sebastian regarded her with a thoughtful glance, wondering what the appropriate mortal answer might be. He was fine, on a medical basis. But he felt so restricted. Returning his mind and essence into this body was like confining himself to a shell. And yet, his was a good, faithful shell. They had come a long way together, and it had fought bravely once again, keeping on breathing, healing and basically living, as it waited for him to repossess it.

Steps came down from the secret door to the kitchen, 'Who is it? Who is speaking? Sebastian?'

'She's coming,' mumbled Bard, 'What are we gonna do; she's coming...'

'Quick, young master,' said Sebastian. 'Up those stairs over there. They'll take you and the lady to the servants' quarters, and from there - '

'Not a surroundings, I'm supposed to set my foot into.' Ciel hesitated.

'But preferable to your aunt finding you and Miss Lizzy down here...'

You should know. Ciel felt tempted to say. It was her voice that scared you awake, after all. Was it not so? Even you.

'The marquise is - a woman of strong principles,' said Sebastian. ' And I doubt that she will like what she sees here.'

Lizzy was already on her way, beckoning frantically to Ciel to come with her. He had not paid attention to it before. But now he saw that she looked a mess, with her dress soiled and her hands and arms stained with Sebastian's blood. A bizarre thought struck Ciel at her sight: My intent was to spare you this, Lizzy. The horror, the gore, the death. This is one shadow I never wanted to fall on you. But now it seems all my best effort did for you was to bring you into it with me, right up to your elbows...

He joined her on the stairs, running the first steps to get them out of sight. Then, they stopped to listen: Behind them, the marquise was irritated to find the servants in the makeshift sickroom. No one had ordered, or allowed them to come here, and she made herself very clear on her opinion of such behaviour. Everyone seemed duly contrite, so she sighed and continued in a somewhat reconciled tone. Well, so they were all assembled to hear the news: There would be no doctor coming, not tonight. It seemed the horse of his cart had misstepped in the dark and continued to halt, so Tanaka had been forced to turn around.

The horse, however, seemed recovered by the time he reached the manor (and luckily, the old servant was too venerable to be met with suspicion). So the marquise had come to decide whether Sebastian was in a critical condition that called for a new attempt.

Bard spoke up readily, 'He's fine, given the circumstances. Really. We've been here all evening - ,' everyone nodded their heads, 'and he's been asleep most of the time, and quite coherent when he was awake. Believe me, lady. I have seen many wounded men, and he seems not about to peg out.'

'There is blood all over the place,' said the marquise, sounding doubtful. 'And a dead snake. Looks like there's been a fight.'

'Se- Sebastian tried to get up,' Finny said.

'That's right.' Bard took the word again. 'He said he needed to tend to the young master. Bid him good night, all that stuff. It took all of us to restrain him, didn't it, guys?'

More nodding on the servants' part. Bard felt sort of proud of his crew. One could have thought they had practiced this performance, just in case there would come a day when they needed to convince the sharp-witted marquise.

'This butler has devoted himself to serving my nephew with a rare abandon,' agreed the marquise. 'He seems asleep now.'

'He has things to set straight, a plate to clear,' said Snake in that eerie, flat voice. 'I shall join him shortly.'

'No one is going to do any tidying up tonight,' said the marquise, and there was no telling whether she understood the figure of speech and met it with irony or replied in earnest. 'The butler least of all. - Bardroy and Finnian, you two are going to take turns sitting with Sebastian. I want someone within earshot at all times. The others - let's get some rest.'

Her eyes were on a blood-smeared footprint leading to the other exit.

But she felt the gaze of amber eyes in her back, peering out from under dark eyelashes.

She knew what Sebastian was trying to communicate, and she silently agreed with the butler that taking public note of the evidence would not only embarrass her nephew, but compromise her daughter in front of the servants.

And she did not ask.

The next evening, Ciel and Lizzy spent sitting on the balcony and watching night fall. Ciel had a lot to think about, and his fiancée seemed content just to be near him.

As the light waned, he asked, 'Are you cold? I'll get you a blanket.'

Lizzy smiled with her eyes closed, 'No, it's not necessary. I'm fine.'

'But you're shivering. You're cold.'

'Please, Ciel. It's no big deal. We know that Bard did not really take Sebastian to London this morning, as he would have my mother believe. But let Sebastian get his rest. He was so sick and exhausted after - after what needed to be done.' Her fingers curled in her lap, as she tried to push the memory from her mind.

And he has things to do, over there, in the realm of demonic dreams, Ciel mused, watching dusk claim the brightness of her dress, her face, her hair. Things to find and talk to. Forces to re-ally with and clean his good demonic name. Hoffmann was gone, too. Snake was badly shaken up from the experience that to him must have felt even more horrifying than it had been for the others to watch. For the time's being he even refused to interpret for any of his pet snakes, refused with a vengeance. As a result, they had snakes crawling all over the house, trying to befriend a human who would lend them his voice and tongue. They sort of succeeded with Finny, at least as far as the gardener's willingness to listen was concerned. But all he ever seemed to catch from their silent communication was an appetite for yet more raw eggs and bowls of milk...

'We don't need Sebastian,' decided Ciel and got up. 'I can get my fiancée a blanket without the help of a butler. Wait here.'

He went indoors, in search for a blanket. He had no idea where the servants kept their supplies. But he remembered having seen one folded on the armchair in the library, so he decided to go and get that one.

He opened the door to the corridor and ran into his butler. He could tell that Sebastian had not come looking for him. Back on duty. Ciel felt relief, but he hid it well.

'So, you're awake?' he asked, as if he was not really interested.

'I couldn't help it, young master,' said Sebastian, equally distracted. His gaze actually flickered away from Ciel and down the darkening corridor. 'The stench became unbearable.'

'The stench?' Ciel was instantly on alert. 'You mean - ?'

'The angel is in the house.' The demon tried to gaze right through the ceiling, eyes not yet reddish, but gleaming. 'In May-Rin's room, I'd surmise.'

'Wait here.' Ciel rushed back to the balcony and poked his head outside. 'Lizzy, just a moment. I – there's something, May-Rin, a household chore, that requires my attention.'

'But Ciel - ' Lizzy was already halfway out of her chair, but Ciel was gone. He hurried after Sebastian as the demon ascended the stairs to the maid's room taking two steps at once. They stopped in front of the wooden door. Sebastian could tell the maid was not in - his fine-tuned hearing located her in the kitchen, chatting with Bard. But Angela's presence was unmistakable. The demon sensed his adversary and former tormentor, her aura seemed to emanate from the chamber in thick, syrupy waves. He kicked the door open, while at the same instant letting silver knives drop from his sleeve into his fist.

But no assault came.

Cautiously, Sebastian peered into the room. He gave a sigh.

'What is it?' asked Ciel from behind him.

'I think it's safe to see for yourself, master.' Sebastian moved aside. Ciel pushed past and stopped.

Angela perched on May-Rin's bed, hollow-eyed, with her knees drawn up under her chin. She was clutching her bloody, mangled chest with both fists.

'Help me,' she whispered.

They stood in May-Rins room, Ciel, Sebastian, Lizzy and the Phantomhive servants. On the bed lay a shivering mass of feathers, silver hair and blood-stained clothing.

'Why did she come back here?' May-Rin was close to tears. The shame! Oh, the shame! 'Tell her to leave.'

'She could not leave here,' said Sebastian. 'You are her last straw. If you don't show mercy on her, no one will.'

May-Rin regarded the sick angel with disdain. 'But I don't want to help her.'

'You're the only one who can,' repeated Lizzy patiently. She was trying to make May-Rin accept the pair of sugar tongs she had used to do surgery on Sebastian. But the maid just wouldn't open her hand. 'She lied to me about my ancestor. But the part about only the person that fired the bullet being able to remove it is true.'

'I'm short-sighted,' objected May-Rin stubbornly. 'I could kill her.'

'Believe me,' said Sebastian, 'if she could be killed with a pair of sugar tongs, she'd be dead a hundred times over. I would have seen to it.'

'Go for it, girl,' said Bard, drawing on his cigarette. 'We're with you.'

'I'll stay with you, if you want,' said Lizzy.

'You don't have to do that, Lizzy,' said Ciel.

'But I want to do it, Ciel. All of this comes from that one silly dream I put too much trust in. I've had so many dreams since. Bad dreams, Ciel. I want them to stop - '

Ciel caved in, 'We all do,' he said. 'Take the tongs, May-Rin. Put an end to the nightmare.'

'Yes, y- young m- master.' May-Rin clutched the tongs like a knife, ready to stab.

'Sebastian.' Ciel beckoned his butler to follow him into the corridor. Dusk had turned to dark, and he was glad for Sebastian's carrying a lit candle holder. Behind the door, Angela screeched in pain. Why, that angel had not half the bearing of the demon, but twice his volume.

'So May-Rin is Angela's last straw? What did you mean by that talk about "showing mercy"?'

'The use of the magical bullet convokes a new High Court and a new trial,' said Sebastian. 'That is, by the way, how Hoffmann returned to us. His existence is bound to the artefact, and he'll be revived and sent out every time the power is summoned. This time it is Angela who must defend herself and convince the jury of the lawfulness of her actions.'

'She may have a hard time doing that,' said Ciel. 'After all, she manipulated an innocent mortal, turned her into a piece on the chess board.'

Sebastian cleared his throat. 'I,' he said modestly, 'seem to have been bestowed with the honour of being appointed Lord High Judge.'

'You what?'

'Snake's new friend is quite influential in some circles...and I have learned never to underestimate our honorable Mister Lau and his connections on more than just one plane of existence...or so it seems, young master.'

Ciel let the message sink in, before saying, 'Alright. So who's taking the other positions?'

'I do not know of them all yet,' said Sebastian. 'But it seems - '

The door opened, and Lizzy slipped out. 'They manage,' she said as if she had just instructed some maids with mediocre talents how to do an intricate pattern of embroidery. 'Ciel? I'm tired. I'd like to return to my room.'

She walked past, relying on Ciel to follow.

'Sebastian,' Ciel said softly, a sudden sense of doom piling up in his chest as he saw a quick, sharp smile flicker across his butler's face. 'The jury. You were going to say?'

'Well, there seems to be a Lady Assessor, this time again.'

'What?' Ciel started. His butler returned the piercing gaze with a superior smile that screamed for a reprimand. But Ciel could think of nothing but Lizzy, sweet, innocent Lizzy - . Sebastian turned - 'Lady Elizabeth, mind your step!' - and fell in step right behind her. Ciel felt as if a chilling gust of wind had frozen him to the marrow, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

He heard his butler and his fiancé talking as they walked away from him.

'I did not exaggerate. I've had some really bad dreams lately, Sebastian,' Lizzy said in a casual tone of voice.

'Don't worry, my lady,' said Sebastian. 'I know just the recipe for hot milk and honey that will keep the nightmares at bay.'

'Oh, excellent. Prepare some for Ciel, too, will you?'

'Of course, my lady.'

Thus chatting, they moved away.

It probably was coincidence. But Ciel couldn't help noticing that his butler held the candles in such a way that Lady Elisabeth Midford walked in his shadow.

I am your rightful master, Sebastian. You are my butler.

Always to obey my every order, never to lie or betray me.

Why, then, do I feel so cold...

+++ The End+++