The atmosphere of Club Sanctuary was extremely dismal. Yesterday, the master had been alerted of a memory modifying array that had caused them to forget George, the head of night security at the club. This had angered the Master to the extent that the security personnel were tasked with the job of doing another search. During this new search, young master Ciel had disappeared. Bei and Fionn, who were the last to see him reported that young master Ciel had called out to them while he was pursuing someone. They tried to follow but he had disappeared down a corridor which had magically restricted them. They had waited for an hour before they reluctantly went back to report to Master Gin and Scarlet the bad news.

To their surprise, Master Gin and Scarlet were not as worried but told them to continue their search for George. They did not find him but they found a separate space that had been piggybacking power from the 49^th barrier array. Bei was the one who had detected the space and his face was inscrutable when he made the discovery. They again reported this to the Master and this time, he took action. The space was taken down and the array was studied by Master Gin, who gave Bei a sharp look. Fionn had been curious but Bei had been poker faced as usual. Master Gin had returned to his office to interrogate Iktomi but this time, he did not allow anyone else to witness the conversation.

Two hours after finding the space, Scarlet had returned from who knows where but with a decidedly worried look in her eyes. She paused to ask if her son had returned before she went straight to her husband’s office where they had a private counsel. After the private discussion, Master Gin had exited his office and also disappeared to who knows where.

Undertown

“Talk”

“Is that how you speak to me?”

“You lured my son here and he still has not returned. I have a right to be grumpy.”

“How long are you going to coddle your children? Aside from your eldest, the others have been swaddled in cotton wool for far too long. You’ve had plenty of adventures and misconducts when you were their age. In fact you were married by the time you reached Ciel’s age.”

“I am me and my children are themselves. As long as they wish to stay with me and Scarlet, I will not push them away.”

“And you will be the one who will suffer the most when they leave.”

“It’s what every parent goes through.”

“But your children are not made of glass, remember that.”

“I know that better than you. Now talk. Where is Ciel?”

“I sent him back more than three hours ago. Tór was his guide.”

“Then let me speak to Tór.”

“That is the other worrying thing. Tór has not returned.”

There was silence as the Liath nervously watched the silent Gin. Gin could take almost anything good-naturedly; but his family was the reverse scale you should never touch. If Ciel had returned safe and sound, the most the watcher would get was an earful about knocking the younger man out. But if something worse happened… the whole family pampered this young master. Especially after he lost his powers. Ciel was stronger than most people but he was incomparably weak against the magical and mythical society. It was only because he mostly stayed in the club under the protection of his father that he was fine. It was now that he had disappeared and Liath was not able to detect him that he became unsettled.

The labyrinths under the club were endless. If Ciel and Tór were just lost then it was fine. But neither Liath nor Gin had been able to trace them. The best case scenario meant that they had gone through the doors of one of the many worlds that littered this world. The worst was that they were dead. If they were not in this world, Liath could only hope that they were in one of the living worlds; those with broken skies meant no magic and usually poisonous air. The delicate Ciel would not last long there. Then he remembered.

“By the way, someone from your club was sent to a broken sky world. Should be your son’s knight.”

“George? Which world?”

“The one that was sealed by no interference from us.”

They both remembered that world; about a hundred years ago, that world had been in danger when the rift had reopened. But the prince had stepped in and saved the day. If he had just sealed the rift, it would have been fine; he had foolishly sealed every entrance to that world instead. Isolating it from the flow of magic and life, dooming it a slow, suffocating death. They had to punish him; he had no right to meddle with the laws of the worlds, even if he had done it out of the goodness of his heart. Things done in ignorance or half measures were the most dangerous of all and only the foolish, ignorant or arrogant would think that they had done a good deed.

“I’ll have to trouble you to retrieve him for me. I can’t leave until I find my son. And I don’t know what that madman might do if he returns and can’t find him.”

Liath nodded. Few people knew or even understood how George had managed to keep his dragon madness in check. It was not surprising; centuries of mindless killing had left him with the reputation of a dangerous madman. Many had been hesitant to go to the club when they heard that Master Gin had employed him. A few had of course gone to look at the novelty freak but they had done so from a distance and all had been very cautious about it. It was only after so many years that everyone had been comfortable around him but those who remembered never forgot his bloodthirsty reputation. And a dangerous madman without a leash was a frightening thought. So they agreed that Liath would go fetch George while Gin would watch over everything else and try to locate his missing son. Gin still threw him a dirty look when he left though. Liath sighed; the sooner that family-con found his son the better. It still wasn’t confirmed exactly who would throw the club in chaos if Ciel wasn’t found soon.

Zander’s world

It was several days after Ciel’s arrival in the world that the stranger appeared. By then, George had already gotten used to the world that did had neither day nor night. The inability to tell the time was disorienting at first but he was an immortal; what use was it to count the seconds when even the decades flew by? But he got used to doing things at a fixed time and that reduced his restlessness by a little. Ciel would wake up from time to time but would then slip back into the sea of unconsciousness after that.

This made George extremely worried and he wondered how to make Ciel better. He understood the root of the problem when he left the barrier to go hunting with Zander; the magic here was poisoned. He hadn’t realized it when he absorbed the magic at first. It was only when he noticed that his fingernails had turned black did he stop. Sometimes being an undying being will be the death of others. Ciel had probably been absorbing far too much of the poisoned magic that it made it impossible to detoxify all of it at once. George would spend some time each day circulating his inner qi through Ciel, hoping to expel the poison out.

When the stranger appeared, Zander had stood rooted to the spot as he stared at the stooping figure in the silver grey cloak. He had never seen the face of the man that had turned his world into a desert of one. All he remembered was the shimmering cloak; was he the one? George was a little calmer as he assessed the mysterious man that had come to visit an abandoned world. He could only guess that he had been sent by Master Gin.

“George? My name is Liath. Gin sent me.” Liath pulled back the hood of his cloak to reveal his snow white hair and beard and weathered face.

“Greetings elder. I’m so glad to see you.” The relief was evident. Now he can get proper treatment for Ciel.

“You’ve been missing for a while. Everyone has been worried about you” Especially the one who claims you’re not his man.

“Thank you for the concern. Before that, could you please look at Ciel? He won’t wake up.” polite but anxious.

“Ciel is here?” shock and worry

“Yes, he appeared nearly a week ago. I know the air and magic is poisoned and I’ve done my best but I can’t get him to wake up no matter what I do.”

“Since you know it’s poisoned, you should know why he’s not waking up. Let me see him.”

“Yes.” George led Liath to the hut, leaving Zander to ponder in silence. Was this the one who had punished them? He couldn’t tell. It had been a long time ago and he had not had the chance to speak much to the stranger. All he remembered were the contents of the conversation, not the voice who spoke it. The words “this is your punishment” ringing over and over in his mind. It was a testament of his patience that he had waited until George and the old man had returned, Ciel in George’s arms, still asleep; snug in a cloak that Liath had provided.

“We need to go soon, the air here will kill him if we don’t. And it’s rather hard to leave this world because all the exits out have been sealed. Keep him safe or his father will have our heads.” Liath was talking nonstop and George was patiently complying with all of the instructions given.

“Please lord…”

Liath and George stopped to look at Zander, who had a frantic, desperate look in his eyes.

“My son… can you not let me remember my son?”

“No. This is not just your punishment but your son’s. When he realizes how he has torn his family apart like this, only then will he understand that what he did was extremely foolish.”

“No…” George looked away when he saw Zander slide to the ground, tears falling freely down his face. It would have been kinder to not let him remember at all but then that would not be a punishment.

“We were always watching the world, ready to step in if it was too much. But your wife and son decided to take things into their own hands. What had been good intentions have led all of you down a road of no return.” Liath adjusted his hood, ready to leave. But he paused, offering the man a glimmer of hope. “Your other son is working very hard. If he manages to dispel the miasma, we will open the worlds again. Pray that he succeeds.” With those final words, Liath walked away.

George looked at the broken man sitting before him. He bowed, managing to keep Ciel secure in his arms. “Thank you for your help and hospitality. May the light keep you safe."there was an awkward pause before he continued "Your sons will be fine, they have a strong father so they too will be strong.”

With that, George quickened his steps and followed the old man home.

A/N: Sorry about the delay, I wasn't happy with what I wrote last night so I decided to redo the whole chapter.