"She's a goddamn goddess! What do you mean she's not breathing?!" Grell yelled, throwing his hands up in the air with annoyance in his eyes.
"Maybe she's just resting?" Ronald piped up, sounding hopeful. Grell pulled on his hair in frustration.
"What are we suppose to do now?!"
William walked over and slapped him on the back of his head. Without his shears, that was the best he could do. "Calm down. We just have to see what we have to do."
"Why is this place so protected?" Brian asked, leaning onto Austin. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed.
"I think it's because of the inventory. It's suppose to be pretty valuable," Austin hypothesized. Brian nodded in agreement.
"You're smart, love."
"Uh- don't call me that..." he replied, nervously trying to crack his knuckles. Brian smiled at his attempts to look cool.
"Okay you lovebirds, there's a pedestal with writing on it over there. Who wants to try it out?" Ronald asked. Austin looked away while Brian wrapped an arm around him and stuck out his tongue at the reaper.
"Fine, I'll do it," the dirty blonde said as Grell opened his mouth. With a small huff, the redhead closed it once more.
Ronald approached the glowing pedestal. The green reflected softly off his glasses as he read the goal.
"Oh, all we need to do is solve a puzzle that only the gods know. If there is another deity or thing in the room, that god would immediately put to sleep until they exited the room and to the previous one."
"Piece of fucking cake!" Brian called out. "We can solve a puzzle only for the fucking gods."
"This is for (Y/n). I do feel some remorse for interfering with her life," William said, pushing his glasses up and approaching Ronald from behind. "What's the riddle?"
You smiled, finally pulling out your only fancy dress. It was a dark blue sweater dress that exceeded the knees and hugged your figure tenderly. A knock on your open door made you jump as Sebastian entered with a calm smile.
"Is that your dress?" He asked politely. You nodded sheepishly.
"Yeah, it's the best one I have really." He plucked the dress from your hands and inspected it.
"Since it is you, I'm sure you can pull it off quite... elegantly." Your head tilted slightly to the side.
"Why'd you stutter?"
"I couldn't find the words to describe how beautiful you'd be in this," he replied smoothly, raising a hand to his breast and bowed slightly. "I would simply love to help you doll up before the dance."
Free makeover from Sebastian? Sign me up! You thought as you quickly nodded with enthusiasm. Sebastian's face lit up as he handed your dress back to you.
"I'm looking forward to it." He exited the room, leaving you to stare down the hall from the open door. Your mother was home, and her chatter could be heard from the living room. Alois and Ciel were being ratted out for arguing once again, making you sigh. They would never stop, even if they were in a fatal situation.
You hung the dress back up on a hanger and headed downstairs, peering into the living room. Your mom noticed you, and flashed you a smile.
"Hello honey, I was just telling these two not to fight anymore," she mused. Alois and Ciel had spooked expressions on their faces, making you raise an eyebrow.
"You looked like you had just traumatized them," you snickered. She shrugged.
"Maybe I have. Only they know."
You shot a glance at the two earls once more. They looked a little better, but stayed silent as your mom stared daggers into their eyes.
"Oh! No we're perfectly fine!" Alois piped up, grabbing Ciel's smaller hand in his and running away.
"Wow, you did a number on them," you noted. Your mom blushed slightly, touching her cheek.
"I didn't mean to have that much of an impact on them," she giggled. You shook your head and patted her hair.
"It's fine. At least I'm used to it."
"I can tell you ignore me every time, so I don't bother anymore." You sighed, shaking your head slightly before chasing after your friends.
They were in your room just staring off into space. When you entered their ears perked up almost immediately.
"(Y/n)!" Alois wailed, tackling you onto the ground and wrapping his arms around you as tight as he could. "I thought she was gonna kill us! I really did!"
Ciel rolled his eye and stood up, ripping the blonde away from your form and helping you up with a small "tch." You smiled and thanked him.
"Have you chosen what you're going to wear for the dance?" He asked. You nodded and pulled it out. Alois raised an eyebrow at the dress.
"Huh. It's not as revealing as I want it to be."
"I'm not really the person to show a lot of skin," you replied sheepishly. Ciel nodded.
"I like that. It's proper for a lady to cover herself. Of course, it's rare to see around school."
You chuckled. "Ya have quite the point. Oh, what're you both going to wear?"
"Claude went out! Your mom gave him access to your money!" Alois replied merrily, feet swinging back and forth on the bed.
"Huh. Hopefully he doesn't go on a weird spree or something. He doesn't seem like the guy who would do that though."
"He usually sticks to his orders... my marvelous spider!" He cooed. You made a silent gagging symbol at Alois, making Ciel sigh harshly from his nose.
"Alrighty then. So, what do y'all wanna do now?"
"This is BULLSHIT!" Grell screeched, kicking the pedestal and the proceeding to wither in agony from the impact.
"We gave our best guesses," William said, adjusting his glasses. "It's a shame that the goddess isn't awake."
"Wait... why haven't we tried this before?!" Ronald said, snapping his fingers. A smile formed on his lips as he stated his plan. "Someone brings Auna into the other room so she can wake up. They can tell her the riddle and then come back with the answer!"
"Good idea," Brian called out, huddled with Austin and trying to awake the slumbering goddess. "I'll bring her over."
He picked her up, shot a wink at the turtle-neck wearing boy and dragged her out of the room. Grell walked up to Austin.
"He really does love you, doesn't he?" He asked. "Ah, if only it was like that between me and Bassy!"
Austin giggled nervously. "Maybe one day..."
"I hope one day! I have quite a tantalizing body, no?"
"Don't say such vulgar things to him," William said, approaching the two. "I'm sorry about him, he's a moron."
"Oh... no it's okay," Austin replied, toes curling and uncurling in his shoes. "Yeah, Brian's a really good guy. I know that he has feelings for me, but I don't know about myself."
"Well, just look inside and try and understand your feelings. Even if your subconsciously fighting them, just let it all go!" Grell replied with a grin. Austin returned it with one of his own small smiles.
"Thanks Grell."
"That's Mr. Grell to you."
"Oh! Uh, yeah, Mr. Grell!"
The shuffling of feet brought them all back to reality. Brian had a grim look on his face as Auna almost automatically collapsed upon entry.
"The answer is fire," he said. As soon as the words left his lips, the calm, glowing green walls lit up to a heated red, yellow and white. Everyone's eyes widened as the walls caught fire.
"Wha- what do we do?!" Austin yelled, starting to panic. Ronald, who was at the pedestal, read the new words that were carving into the surface. His breath hitched as it added the period.
"It's..." He started as the others rushed towards him. As soon as the caught a glimpse at the words, the colors drained from their faces.
A human sacrifice.
"No... way..." Brian muttered, grabbing Austin's hand. "No way in hell. No way."
Austin looked down at the ground, eyes glossed over with tears. He looked over at the wall, and up at Brian. I have to do something...
He pulled away gently and approached the back wall cautiously. When he was about three meters away, a circle of red appeared underneath his feet. He turned back to face the group as flames started to lick his feet, ready to feast.
"Brian," he called out, "I love you."
And the flames engulfed his body.