sirenspull_logs | Heaven did decree that in your arms sweet death should dwell.

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Heaven did decree that in your arms sweet death should dwell.

Who: Gilbert and Vincent Nightray, Ahiru, and later on Ciel Phantomhive. Jack Vessalius only post-mortem. Kyubey will be around solely to be a creepy jerk. Maybe others-?!
When: January 29th
Where: Phancyhive, Jack’s bedroom
Summary: Collapsing into despair, Jack becomes a witch at the end of his contract as a puella magi. Vincent takes it upon himself to slay him at the end of the labyrinth.
Warnings: CHARACTER DEATH BY BEHEADING, death of a parental figure and resulting psychotic breakdowns, stabbing, blood. It’s a mess of blood and angst basically. And oh yeah Vincent may finally stab out Kyubey's eyes with some scissors. Lovely all around.

A witch’s labyrinth.

Oh how Vincent hated witches. He hated a great deal of things. Fakes. Selfish people. Misfortune bearers. Liars. Anything that could reflect in a mirror he loathed. Witches however were beyond even that petty hatred. Witches were the creatures who had stolen away the light of the world. In their grip everything turned fetid and rotted away until there was only darkness.

So how could he, how could it have happened-?!

Leo was gone too. That realization had hurried him back to this place; this place he had banished himself from but where he had known protection and even comfort. It was where his master and brother dwelt but he could not return to them. This place should not exist! He should not be allowed to return to such a warm and golden time. So he had stayed away and stayed by that boy’s side. He had woken up alone however and a useless search had drawn him back to here.

Perhaps he would have to return to that place too, in time, and confront his memories there too.

Perhaps, also, he had already had the intention to kill him even then. In his rage and hurt at that being, the Core. Like that woman, it should not exist to make the world however it wished! He had carried that dagger on his breast ever since Jack had given it to him a few months ago. Perhaps he had taken it for permission, acquiescence, a request.

Yet when he had come to the door he had not received a touch of the golden light. It was only the darkness again, the yawning maw of the Abyss waiting to swallow the entire world whole. A ruptured world crafted by a witch’s hands. A world where there was only despair. A world that should be erased.

And he had found the witch in the middle of the labyrinth, waiting to be slain.

Perhaps he had only understood because of everyone he had ever met, Jack and he were the most alike. They were even more alike than his precious brother who could forget all of his sorrow. Jack could never forget, like Vincent, yet in the end he had given in to his despair.

So the knight had slain the witch at his request. Using the last gift the man had given him with a note that warned of the five minute effect of the poison, and a reassurance he still loved him. He told him then too he still loved him, and had given him one final gift.

It had been disgustingly easy to kill him. Even if it had broken Vincent’s body into a thousand pieces it still would have been too easy. He had killed him as easily he had so many others, here and at home. A single thought and it was done. Only the Chain’s shriek of delight reminded him of the contract he had made long ago for this power.

The power to execute whoever he wished.

So the black knight was left with a headless corpse in his arms, dagger still within the poisoned heart. Reality warped about him but he ignored the storm over head. With a single blood stained hand he removed the earrings and replaced them with a single one. As the blood dried on his cheek, Vincent noticed how lucky he was that he could not see Jack’s final expression of judgment from where his head had rolled a few feet away.

I really have lost everything.

Gilbert would not forgive this.

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[This isn't the first time that he's walked through someone's nightmare.

It isn't the first time that he's been forced incapacitated during someone's nightmare, either. Nor is it the first time that he's found himself useless to interfere and protect his master.

Except...Jack had already forgiven him his duties, even after Oz had gone for the second time. It wasn't his responsibility any longer, he'd said. But Gilbert had still done his best for the man that he was still able to think back on so fondly, even if the memories were few and far between, and always tainted in blood. His blood. The reminder of his first failure, the only thing that he's been allowed to remember yet.

He doesn't see the dimension begin to crumble, he'd been thrown out into the beginning of labyrinth in the middle of the fight, staggering back to the end of it again towards his former master. But the fight is over before he can arrive, and when he finds his feet again, he's lying face down on the ground just inches away from where his brother is cradling Jack.

No. Jack's body. It doesn't take more than a single glance at his face to know that the life has left him. That expression that always felt as calm as a clear pond was empty now. Why? Why? Why had it happened? Where had that dimension come from? Had it really been the end of his contract? Was this the price...]

Vincent...Jack? [He chokes out as he sits up and reaches for Jack's hand, trying to feel for his pulse. It's only then that he notices the dagger still stuck in his chest.

What have you done?!]

[The moment her Gem had begun to shine, she'd rushed towards Jack's room. There was panic, definitely; why here? Why now? What could have happened? Why in Jack's bedroom, and what had caused that shattering sound? She'd meant to call Joe, but the moment she entered the dimension, she'd found her NV had lost function. By that point, she'd been distracted by trying to navigate through the extensive labyrinth.

Before she can reach the end, though, the dimension began to fade away, leaving her in the bedroom. There's relief at the witch she doesn't have to defeat, of course, but then she takes in the sight in front of her. There's a beat, a small gasp of realization. He's dead. He's dead, oh God, he's really...

Could that witch really have been him? Softly, fearfully:]

Gilbert? J-Jack...?

[Vincent recognizes one voice, and does not the other. He looks towards the girl however with a blind eye, not really seeing her beyond knowing he is not alone with his older brother or Jack.

Jack... His blood soaked hand reaches up to push away a few strands of hair from his face. For a few seconds he wondered if perhaps he has been hallucinating, caught in an infinite loop of memory like at the Mansion but--

He knows this man is dead, he's heavy and too stiff for sleep. The hope of life is extinguished before it can even fully take form. Even if the body is now intact the dagger is evidence of Vincent's own handiwork.

And Gilbert is right over his shoulder.]

He's dead. He cannot hear you.

[And that is all he says, and perhaps only to confirm it for himself.]

Edited (NEEDS MORE ANGST!FACES) 2012-01-31 15:55 (UTC)

[Ahiru's voice knocks him out of his daze for the briefest of seconds, enough for him to rip his eyes from Jack's unmoving body. He knows he should be more concerned about taking her out of the room and away from Jack, but his body refuses to move at first, no matter how much he wills it to. He can only stare at that once-peaceful face and beg silently in his mind for Jack to forgive him for messing up again.

But finally his knees and hands move enough for him crawl over to where Ahiru is and wrap an arm around her, the other hand moving up to cover her eyes. Even though he can't close his, she shouldn't have to see this.]

How...what - what was all that? Vincent, it wasn't...

[That couldn't have been the Abyss.]

[Still staring, still holding onto the belief that this had to have been a mistake somehow, she doesn't move initially as Gilbert puts his hands on her. After a moment or two, though, she starts to panic and struggle. This couldn't have happened, not to someone like Jack...]

Let go, it... It was a witch, Gilbert, let go!

Witch? [Vincent looks up for the first time. He sees the flash of Ahiru's red hair and flinches. He contains himself however and gently sets Jack down, and he slowly rises to stand.]

Jack...did something he should have not I think.

[He trusted Vincent to stop him. Whatever this was, he had used Vincent to be the fail-safe. Vincent can't even find it within himself to feel bitter at being used. Did he even have a right to feel that way, when he had desired to kill Jack all along? If anything the man had granted his request.

He gives a small wry chuckle, raising a hand to cover his red eye.]

[He removes his hand from her eyes, but remains holding tight to her, even though his own grip falters as his shoulders tremble.]

A witch?

[Briefly he glances up at his brother, but he makes no moves to leave Ahiru just yet. He can't even fathom what must be going on inside of his head, let alone what could possibly be going through Vincent's.]

Vincent! What do you mean? What did he do?!

That's what I said, a witch, just - let me go! [She continues struggling, though she really has no hope of escaping from Gilbert's grasp. She's shaking, and she feels weak. Despite herself, she's finding it hard to keep in the tears. This couldn't be happening.

Witches... There's no way they could have come from people. Kyubey definitely would have told her something that important, wouldn't he?]

He let me kill him. [There. Bald. Let the words stand for what they are. He turns away from the body but avoids his brother's eyes as he steps forward. He instead turns to the girl. He's not sure how she found her way here but--]

And I killed the witch. [He informs the girl with a small smile, tugged from his lips by his very finger tips as they fall from his red eye.]

Edited 2012-02-10 04:26 (UTC)

[That damned contract...this damned world! It's taken another precious person from him, in one of the most horrible ways possible. Jack wouldn't have let himself become such a hideous creature if it hadn't been for that contract. He was too goodhearted, too kind, too gentle. And just like before, Gil couldn't protect him.

His heart aches, and his grip loosens a tiny bit on Ahiru as he continues staring upwards at his brother.]

What do you mean 'let you'?! You--

[He chokes on his words before he has a chance to finish his thought.]

[She doesn't move as Vincent speaks; though Gilbert is still preventing her from seeing, she can tell somehow that the words are directed at her. Normally she'd be directing her anger and sorrow at him, but... Hadn't he only done what she'd watched Joe do several times without protest? She'd promised to help him, even. Even if they had become witches by that point... There still had to be a way to turn them back if they used to be human.

How many people had died because she hadn't asked Kyubey the right questions?

As soon as Gilbert loosens his grip, she takes the opportunity to struggle harder, hoping that she can break free.]

Let me go!

That dagger, it was a gift from his own hand! [Vincent gives a choking sort of chortle. He begins to walk away, clearly meaning to just leave the room.]

[It's difficult to do, but he does let go of her in order to stagger upwards and run after his brother. He grabs him by the arm to force him to stop, hard enough to bruise his skin.]

Where are you going?! You can't just--he can't - he isn't really-!

[Your brother might just need a good punch to the face to knock him out of this right now, Vincent.]

[She blinks, startled by the sudden ability to see, but doesn't move just yet. Instead, she glances over at where Jack's body lies. For a moment, it doesn't occur to her to listen what the two men are saying. How could this have happened? It seems like nothing more than a bad dream.

After this passes, though, she turns towards Gilbert and Vincent without standing quite yet.]

Stop it.

He's dead. [Vincent delivers the line softly but harshly. He doesn't even move to twist out of Gilbert's arm however if anything he looked perfectly inclined to let Gilbert hit him.]

I killed him.

[I killed him.

The master is threatened--

You'll sacrifice everything for the master's sake. You'll kill all of his enemies!

A THREAT TO THE MASTER MUST BE KILLED!

He can't stop his hands from moving, from withdrawing the pistol from his thigh, from stepping forward to slam Vincent against the wall, or from raising the gun to his temple and pressing in hard. He doesn't even see his brother's mismatched eyes, though he's staring directly into them, doesn't register Ahiru's voice. All he can hear is the constant drone of reminders inside of his broken head, urging him to kill.

The finger cradling the trigger twitches.]

[The moment Gilbert slams his brother into the wall, her eyes widen, and she's already in motion. She stands, a little shakily, but by the time the gun is pressed to Vincent's temple, she's making her way quickly across the room. Adrenaline forces all the thoughts and worries she'd had a moment ago from her mind.

Once she reaches Gilbert, she reaches out, placing a hand on his arm. She squeezes, nervous and insistent, and her voice is small and frightened when she speaks.]

Gilbert, stop it! You need to stop!

[It’s good for Ahiru to plead for Vincent’s life as he has no intention to do so. He goes limp against the wall and has a certain dangerous look of being resigned. He rolls his head as he struggles against a despairing inclination.

I can’t let it end like this. As much as he perhaps like to. To at last give up this lonely battle she cursed him with. He will never stop fighting fort Gilbert’s happiness however.

He suddenly thrusts his arms out to push Gilbert away from him. He draws his pistol and manifests Demios over his head. The Chain snaps her jaws and looms over the battleground.]

So will you kill your master’s murderer Gilbert? With this contract, [He raises his free hand towards Demios.] I did it!

[Nothing make Gilbert happier than the chance to confront his master’s killer.]

[At home, he hadn't been at such a disadvantage. He and Vincent had pointed their weapons at each other and threatened to let their argument spiral out of control as they both fought to protect their respective masters. But here, he doesn't have the additional help of a Chain. He also knows Vincent's trigger finger to be faster and more accurate than his.

He stumbles back, hard enough that if Ahiru chooses to hold on, she'll be thrown aside along with him, but he still keeps his eyes hard and fixed onto Vincent's.]

You idiot! Don't involve other people like this! Your Chain will destroy half the house! Ahiru - run out of here!"

[She does hold on; when they both move backwards, she grips his arm even harder to stop herself from losing her balance and falling to the ground. She closes her eyes for a moment, surprised by the motion; when she opens them again, she looks up at Vincent's chain, drawing in a breath. Slowly, she releases her hold on Gilbert's arm.]

What is that?

The Chain, Demios. The Head-Hunter. With her I execute all my enemies. [Vincent raises his hand to lovingly stroke the side of the monster's skeletal face. He keeps his eyes on Gilbert's however.]

Well Big Brother you have no masters left to protect-- will you defend the life of that girl?

[Vincent's words make him freeze, his shoulders tense and his expression harden past fear into rage. He raises his arm to shelter Ahiru, steps in front of her as a way to answer Vincent's question. Yes, he's willing to act as the shield that would protect her life.]

Vincent - stop this now! Don't you dare make me--!

[His finger presses a little tighter against the trigger.]

[Executioner... Defend her life? She finds it hard to stop staring at the monster above, and it takes her a moment to process the meaning behind the words. Once she realizes the threat, she looks from the chain towards the man caressing it. As Gilbert move in front of her, she freezes, suddenly gripped by terror. Vaguely, she wonders what she's done to have deserved something like that. It takes the sight of him squeezing the gun to stun her into speaking.]

Don't! [Of course, it's not immediately clear who she's speaking to.]

Ah, so you do care. [Vincent moves the weapon of of Gilbert and to Ahiru. He narrows his eyes.]

Gilbert is always such a gentle and kind person. He always keeps people close to him, even when he shouldn't.

[He cocks the gun.]

Does Brother still have something, even now?

[In this moment, he wants to shoot him. He wants to fire the gun and stop him. This man who once ran towards him with his arms open wide, the smile that was so familiar and yet completely foreign. The brother that he'd promised to use and finally remembered that he'd once loved.

I can only hold my brother's fragile body and push away my ugly feeling.

I'm nothing but a lowly person...

He doesn't pull the trigger in the end. Instead, he lunges forward in the path of the gun, ignoring the huge Chain hovering over Vincent's head as he attempts to tackle him to the ground, only inches from his fallen master's body.]

[Normally, even she would have the sense to realize that as long as he wasn't aiming for her Soul Gem, she would be safe. In the moment that he raises the gun, however, adrenaline chases every such thought from her mind. All that trails through her consciousness is the frightened awareness that he's going to shoot her, that she's going to die. In the short seconds before Gilbert rushes forward, she urges herself to move, but her feet seem planted to the spot by fear. After he lunges for the other man, she sinks to her knees without a word, too shaky to stand.]

[Vincent doesn't attack, he doesn't even try to defend himself, he never had any intention of doing so after all. He lets Gilbert drag him down and unleash whatever punishment he would like to.

Gilbert won't kill him, he can't.

Vincent begins to giggle, and it turns into a clattering and hysterical laughter. My weak and cruel brother-- you love too much to be merciful! Oh but he won't give in, he won't give in! He reaches up to ran his hand through that dark hair. His brother is so strong, he is bolstered by his every infirmity!]

[He can laugh all he likes, Gilbert still holds him down and in place as though he's still a threat. And unless that Chain disappears over their heads, he'll continue to treat him like one. The gun is raised once more and pressed into his brother's ribs, out of the sight of his daughter.]

Ahiru, get out of here! Go find Alois or Ciel and stay with them until I come and find you!

[For all she wants to stay and be able to do something - what more could she do here? Breathing hard, she struggles to stand; she can barely stop her legs from shaking, and it takes her a few moments before she's able to rise from the ground. As she stumbles backwards, there's a second of hesitance once she reaches the doorway. Begging herself to stay and make things better, but begging herself to leave and not get hurt at the same time...

It takes a few additional moments before she moves past the frame of the door, running out into the hallway.]

[The girl gone, the Chain vanishes. Vincent's head falls back but his hand remains curled around Gilbert's nape.]

Brother should remember this.

Edited 2012-03-01 16:20 (UTC)

[He follows her out of the corner of his vision, but mostly continues to stare directly down at his brother. The man who just killed their master; the one who once gave them both purpose.]

Remember what? [He hisses.]

That even when he has lost everything, he still has something. [Vincent’s hand falls away. He tilts his head to give an almost coy smirk.] That even without your power, you must and will still protect.

[His poor brother.]

[His hands mirror his brother's, and he puts a few inches of space between the two of them. Without your power, you must and will still protect. What other choice did he have but to at least try? It was still futile in the end, and the blond haired man lying there unmoving at their feet was proof of it.

He covers his face with his hands and lets out a very long breath. Despite the faith that his brother is trying to remind him that he still has in him, he has absolutely no idea what to do now.]

[Vincent pushes himself to sit up. He watches Gilbert for a few seconds before he moves to stand. A few more moments he looks on this man he loves so much with an impassive expression. He at last turns away with no words.

He only leaves destruction and despair in his wake.]

[The silence is the greatest gift that his brother could leave him in this state. Hands still gripping his head, he turns towards his fallen master and crawls across the floor to him. Head bowed in both pain and forgiveness, he tears himself away from Jack's lifeless eyes and reaches up to the bed to grab a blanket to cover him with. His hands shake so hard that he drops it twice, but eventually he manages to tuck the man in comfortably, respectfully.

This isn't the end here. He might come back. He might...

Or he might go home and wait for me.

Jack...I won't let you down again. I swear I won't! Please...please forgive me...

But before he can call for the police to send an ambulance to pick him up, he bows, lays his head down on the ground near Jack's, and cries weakly. For his fallen master that he couldn't say a first or second time, for his current master who has been taken from him twice, and for his brother who he's once again tossed aside without taking the time to try and understand what he's thinking.

When he's finished, the call to the police will be made, but for now he can do nothing else but cry for his hideous, selfish failures.]

_{[It's only a matter of time that Ciel finds himself awoken by the clamor happening down the hall from his office. There was yelling, the hurried rush of feet down the hall and that was enough to wrench him from his chair and scamper down the corridor himself. Something was wrong - that much Ciel was aware of - and as he neared the room, his voice was made present before he reached the door.]}

Jack? Is something the matter?

_{[A few more steps and he'd be at the closed door, little fingers reaching for the handle, chest tight.]}

[By this point, both Vincent and Ahiru have left, probably through one of the back hallways where Ciel might hear them, but not see them properly. Gilbert remains in the room on his own, down on his knees at his master's side. He'll have to call the morgue, be prepared just in case Jack ends up coming back after his sudden death, as people do sometimes.

...But he can't tear his eyes away from Jack's face long enough to reach for his NV. The sight of his failure is too much to rip away from just yet. But he can't bring himself to touch the body either, no matter how badly he wants to reach out and grab his hand and beg forgiveness--

Ciel's voice snaps him out of it long enough for him to become very aware that others must have heard the trouble upstairs as well. He rips the top blanket off of Jack's bed and covers him quickly, but the man's hand is still sticking out on one side where the blanket hasn't fallen right.]

No! Ciel, don't come in here! [He shouts, as loud and forcefully as he can.]

_{[Gilbert's voice, which is usually never raised in such a manner (unless he's yelling at Elliot or Undertaker or, well, cats...) causes Ciel to flinch when he hears it, coming to a complete halt, fingers freezing against the handle. It's obvious then something has gone terribly wrong. Why else would Gilbert yell in such a forceful manner? (And it was different from the usual ways Ciel was used to hearing his 'forceful' voice too...it held an edge of blind panic to it-)

Against better judgement, he opens the door, stepping in with worry etched onto his features. It doesn't take long before he finds himself frozen in place yet again, eyes darting to the lump under a sheet that was torn from the bed. There's a hand sticking out and it takes a moment to process.

Jack...Jack wasn't under there, was he?

He was, wasn't he?]}

[There's no way that he can hope to stand and obscure the entire body, but he still does his best as he stumbles to his feet and raises one arm, palm turned towards Jack in a protective manner.]

Ciel...you can't be in here right now.

_{[Jack was under that sheet. Jack was under there and he was surely dead and that was the end of that. Jack Vessalius was dead and Ciel can feel his mind shutting down and his heartbeat quickening rapidly in his chest. It's hard to breathe then suddenly, as it hits him full force, fingers grabbing onto the side of his head, tugging at strands of hair. He's hyperventilating, panic setting in.

He can't be dead. He can't be the one under the sheet. How did he die in the first place? No, he's not dead. This is a load of bullshite. He can't be dead. He's not.]}

J-Jack?!

_{[He pushes past Gilbert then, tearing off the sheet that covers Jack's body, tiny fingers quivering at the sight of the man's dead body. In an instant he's straddling the dead man, those little fingers gripping the front of his shirt in an attempt to shake him.

He's just sleeping, right?]}

Wake up! Listen to me, stop pretending-! You're not supposed to die! Wake up! That's an order, Jack!

[His reactions are slow, and watching Ciel is like watching a scene occur in slow motion. It can't be happening. It's still too unreal and confusing and nonsensical. But as soon as he climbs on top of Jack and starts to scream, Gilbert finally finds his wits and drops to his knees, grabbing the small boy by his shoulders.]

Ciel! Stop that - he's passed away, there's nothing to be done now!

_{[When his shoulders are grabbed it's enough of a jolt to wrench him out of his fit, leaving the small boy sitting stone still atop the dead man he'd come to see as someone he could trust. Someone he could be himself around. Someone who allowed him to feel as if he were the child he was supposed to be.

All of that was now gone. Again.

Ciel Phantomhive had lost his parents. He'd lost his mother twice. Now, here, he'd lost Jack Vessalius, a man he'd come to see as a father figure, something he certainly would regret.]}

He can't be dead...

_{[It's an awkward mix of disbelief drenched in sorrow that taints Ciel's words as he speaks, not taking his eyes off the body beneath him.]}

Gilbert? He can't be. I won't have it.

[He continues holding tight, but at least eases up enough to make sure that Ciel has enough room to breathe. Just enough to attempt to be comforting or...whatever it is that's appropriate right now. Not exactly comfort, not exactly dismissal.]

You shouldn't be in here. [He says, quietly.]

Go back to your room a while so I can clean things up.

_{[Ciel shakes his head, although it's a weak display of defiance. He's the one in charge. He's the head of the house. And yet he takes Gilbert's orders and obeys, sliding off Jack's corpse to stand weakly on two stick thin legs.]}

I don't want to leave.

[He rises to stand next to him and places a hand on his shoulder for support. He himself had nearly passed out upon seeing the man dead - the last thing that they need is for Ciel to collapse and hurt himself as well.]

Will you sit down on the bed at least?

_{[A weak nod is Ciel's answer as stick thin arms cross over his chest, little feet taking him toward the bed before he sits down on the edge of the bed.]}

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Heaven did decree that in your arms sweet death should dwell.

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