Warning: mentions of blood, the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, medical practices, murders committed by Jack the Ripper, knives, guns, and chainsaws (and their original purpose)!
Y/N had hidden herself amongst the junk, boxes and filth that lined the entrance to the alcove that housed the doorways leading into three apartments. one of which housed Mary Jane Kelly. Y/N knew she was being torn to pieces but there was nothing she could do to stop the murderers. Y/N had begun experimenting with how large of an injury she could sustain before her newly developed healing would be of no use. So far she had been able to cut any area of her body and have the wound heal almost instantly, no scab or scar tissue left behind. The cuts had been of varying size and depth and while they all had hurt, they all healed within seconds. Y/N didn't know if that applied to her organs or bones but she had faith and a demon on her side. Y/N hadn't alerted Ciel or Sebastian of her presence but she was sure the demon already knew she was there. Y/N heard Ciel whispering to his butler: they were discussing the case and how Mary Jane Kelly would be the final piece to the puzzle. "But... what makes killing them a necessity for him?" Ciel wondered. Y/N knew what was coming next, and she peaked out from between the boxes so she could get a good view. "Moreover, I-HEY ARE YOU LISTENING TO A WORD I'M SAYING, SEBASTIAN!?" Ciel shouted at his butler, who was now crouched down on the ground clutching a stray cat. It was just as adorable as she imagined. Y/N couldn't help but smile.
"Ah, excuse me," he apologized, "As she is a rare beauty I-I could not resist."
"We're not keeping it!" Ciel kept shouting at his butler, "So put it back!"
"Very well..." Sebastian reluctantly let the cat go, "But she is so lovely..." Y/N smiled even wider, "Someone get this man a damn cat!" Y/N snickered to herself as she sat back down amidst the crates. The stone pathway and wall behind her were slick with grime, the air smelled like rain, and the cat was still rubbing up on Sebastian's legs. Ciel sighed, leaned back on the wall and began to speak again about the case.
A loud shriek cut through the air like a thunderclap. Ciel, Sebastian and Y/N abandoned their posts outside the alley and dashed to the door. Ciel and Sebastian beat her to the door, and Ciel threw it open. Y/N stopped running, "You must not look!" Sebastian shouted and threw a hand over his master's eyes. Y/N could see the splatter of Mary Jane Kelly's blood run down the boy's face. She knew he had already seen the body. Ciel's body shook. All he could manage were rapid, shallow breaths. Y/N tried her best not to look at the scene inside the apartment. Blood was beginning to seep into the door steps and Mary's limbs were thrown across the room. Y/N gripped Ciel's shoulder with one hand as she covered her mouth with the other. While Ciel threw up and Y/N gagged, only Sebastian was able to keep his eyes open. Ciel either knew who Y/N was and wasn't afraid of her or he was just too shaken up to care about her grip on him. Sebastian noticed, however, and he shot Y/N a side glance. He ultimately decided she wasn't a threat and moved so Y/N's hand replaced his own over Ciel's eyes. Sebastian walked to stand in front of them both. Y/N leaned down to Ciel, shaking and wriggling in her hands. "Hello Ciel, it's me from the Undertaker's Parlor," Y/N whispered to him in the most calm and comforting voice she could manage, "I was the woman hiding in the coffin, Y/N L/N. Do you remember me? Sebastian is gonna let me take you and we're just gonna walk a few steps backwards, okay? We're not gonna leave the scene. We're just gonna get away from the door and the damned creatures behind it." Y/N was trying not to patronize him too much, but also not send him into a panic. He nodded before they began to walk backwards. He shook but didn't stumble. Y/N hadn't even noticed that it had begun to rain until drops fell onto her face and dripped down her neck. She used her hand to collect a few drops and began to wipe the blood off Ciel's cheek.
"You have made quite a mess of things," Sebastian addressed the people still inside the apartment. One was slowly making their way towards the door, "'Jack the Ripper'," their footsteps splashed in the pools of blood, "Or should I say..." The light caught the rim of her glasses, blood dripping down her face and splattered all over her face, hair and clothes, "Grelle Sutcliff."
"N-no, this is... I rushed in because I heard the screams, but she was already..." Grelle's voice was shaking and she was almost as white as the moon. Her acting was very good, amazing even. Too bad it was all just an act.
"Already... what?"
"It's such a shame," Y/N interjected, "You feel the need to bathe yourself in the blood of your victims just to be coated in the color red. There are so many other beautiful ways to cover yourself in the color, and yet you chose the blood of women." Y/N had to use all of her strength to not allow her voice to shake. Even though she knew about what was waiting inside the apartment it had still shaken her down to her bones.
"We have been keeping an eye on the sole path here all night,"Sebastian told her, "How in the world did you manage to enter that room at the end of this blind alley and evade us? There were three of us awaiting your arrival at the entrance and even the young master wasn't aware of Miss Y/N's presence. Do you really plan to feign innocence, looking as you do?" Grelle was glistening in the light, Kelly's blood covering her body and reflecting the moonlight. "Enough of this, Mister Grelle," Sebastian urged her while also misgendering her, "No. Even 'Grelle Sutcliff' is just an assumed identity so... what say you cease your silly act, Mister 'Grelle'."
"Madam Sutcliff, please, there's no one else on your list to rip, no more prostitutes to kill," Y/N told her, "They're all gone, this charade is over. You've lost."
"I believe this is our first time meeting 'someone of your ilk' in the human world," Sebastian looked back at Y/N and his young master before he continued, "You did a superb job of acting like one of them."
Grelle halted in her tracks. Her teeth suddenly resembled that of a hungry shark's, her eyes filled with deranged madness. Pure psychotic rage filled her pupils. Her giggle was purely terrifying. "You think soooo?" Grelle pulled the ribbon from her long, brunette hair, "Hit the nail on the head, you did." She removed her bloody glasses with a toothy grin, "I am an actress." Grelle pulled a red comb from her pocket and ran it through her long, brown locks. Slowly, from the roots did her hair turn from brunette to vibrant, blood red. "And a first-rate one at that." She layered false eyelashes over her own, "While I can't say much in regards to the authenticity of Miss Y/N, I can, with confidence say that neither are you 'Sebastian', yes?" Grelle slipped on a elegant pair of sleek, black gloves.
"The young master gave me that name... So yes, I am 'Sebastian'..." the demon's smirk was audible in his voice, "For now."
"Oh my, his faithful dog, are you?" asked Grelle as she pulled out a red pair of Reaper's spectacles and began to wipe the glass with a bloodstained rag, "That type makes me weak in the knees too, he does! And what of you, Miss Y/N?
"Y/N L/N isn't an alias, it is the real identity of the Lion and is the name I go by," Y/N admitted, "Just like the young earl, I'm at the service of the queen."
"Well then, once again, Y/N, Sebastian... No... Sebastian Darling! I am the butler of the Burnett House," she positioned her glasses on her nose and flipped her hair off her shoulder, "Grelle Sutcliff, at your service! My dearest fellow butler and vigilante, I am in your hands!" Grelle blew Sebastian a kiss, causing the demon to shudder.
Y/N chuckled, "If that was aimed at me, I certainly would've accepted it. A fine lady such as yourself, even when covered in blood, is hard to come by." Y/N had long wanted to flirt with and complement Grelle, even since she began to watch the show.
"Oooh! So you're the fun one!" Grelle pointed to and giggled at Y/N, "I finally get to show you my true colors! My hair color was dreadfully dull too!" Grelle giggled once more and blushed, "It was utterly mortifying to be seen in front of stud such as yourself with no makeup on! Little old me's never run into a devil posing as a butler before," she mused, thinking back, "So at first, I was just shocked as shocked can be! And for a human to piece together what I am, well! Color me not only red but impressed!"
Y/N just smiled and nodded to Grelle, her cheeks the tiniest bit pink. "Allow me to echo those sentiments, hm?" asked Sebastian, "For I too have been living for quite some time, but I have never heard of 'someone of your ilk' being a 'butler'. One who is supposed to stand neutral between God and humans-"
"A Grim Reaper!" injected Y/N with a smirk, "And a lovely one at that!"
"So why would you, a 'God' of sorts, become a butler?"
"Don't be such a stuffed shirt, sweetie," Grelle ridiculed, "But, very well... I suppose you could say I fell head over heels for a woman." For the first time since Y/N had taken him, Ciel breathed out. It wasn't a relaxed breath; it was a stifled one.
"And that woman is-"
"Whether you hear him out or not, I think you already know..." Her footsteps echoed through the alleyway, sounding purely empty, as if there was no one really walking in her shoes. Her heels clicked against the concrete and stone in the most haunting, empty way. As she stepped into the moonlight her scarlet jacket and skirt glistened with the blood of Mary Jane Kelly. Y/N felt Ciel twitch under her touch. He was going to confront her whether she tried to stop him or not. He needed this and Y/N wouldn't stand in the young Earl's way. Y/N would only intervene to protect him. "Sebastian... Miss Y/N." She never addressed her nephew as she bathed in the moonlight. Madam Red stood before them, not a trace of sorrow, regret or even recognition of her actions registered on her face. Y/N felt Ciel lift her hand away from his eyes. He looked straight at her with the same emotionless glare.
"Madam," was all the young boy said. It was said in such a stone cold voice you could hardly tell that the young Earl who said it was only twelve.
"I miscalculated. I never imagined there would be someone by Ciel's side who could see through Grelle's disguise." She was smiling, her red lips curled up, and yet the smile somehow resembled a black hole, void of anything. "Nor did I ever think a normal human being would be able to see through his facade. After only one meeting no less. You must be something otherworldly as well, or just stupidly lucky."
"Well, I suppose you could call me something of the sort." Y/N returned Madam Red's glare with equal intensity. "Though you'll come to find I'm just as human as your nephew, unlike the butlers. I'm not even a fragment as monstrous as either of their kinds."
"Madam was, of course, on our initial list of suspects. But..." Ciel held a hand up to his face and wiped the corners of his mouth, "Your alibi was flawless."
"How could you, Ciel?" Though she clenched her arms and raised her brows, Madam Red's voice was completely void of any sort of emotion. "You went as far as to doubt me, your dear aunt?"
"A common mistake of police officers and detectives is excluding people of blood relation to themselves or their peers from the suspect list. Ciel was smart enough not to make that mistake with you, Madam." Y/N injected herself once more. She was still there, even if she really wasn't supposed to be.
"The Lion is right. If the possibility of one being Jack exists-kin or acquaintance-it matters not." Y/N didn't fail to notice how Ciel addressed her as 'the Lion' rather than Y/N. She hadn't expected him to completely trust her just yet, or get friendly anytime soon. "No human on the list of suspects could have committed all the murders. Of course, that includes you, Madam. But it is a different story with a reaper as your accomplice." Grelle grinned wide when she was addressed. "If he can enter Mary's room in an instant without us noticing..." Ciel stepped away from Y/N to stand next to his black clad butler. "He would also be capable of instantly transporting himself over the lengthy distance between the west end and the east end."
"And should a servant disappear from a crowded party, no one would think twice about it." Y/N pointed out what she had observed at the Viscount's party. "Grelle was gone for the majority of the Viscount of Druitt's party. I watched her duck out the front door only moments after you arrived with my own eyes. Only after she returned did you leave, though Ciel had long been taken by the Viscount."
"Therefore, only the two of you... Can be Jack the Ripper." If it hurt Ciel to declare it, he certainly didn't show it. He had just discovered that his own aunt was half of the most prolific serial killer of all time, and he didn't falter once. "Madam Red, and Grelle Sutcliff! The victims in the Jack the Ripper case had something else in common, on top of 'being prostitutes' and 'missing their wombs'. All of them underwent a 'certain procedure' at the Royal London Hospital, where Madam Red is employed."
"You gave them all a hysterectomy so none could conceive a child as a result of their profession. You seem to have taken their decision quite personally." Y/N knew just how personally Madam Red had taken, so to say she thought of those murdered women as trash was an understatement.
"This lists those patients," Ciel held up a piece of parchment with names scrawled on it, "In the order of their surgery dates. The order in which the victims were killed corresponds perfectly to the order in which they went under the knife."
"Mary Jane Kelly was the only woman you operated on that was still alive. It was no mystery where you would strike next." Y/N discreetly reached into her cloak to brush her fingers against her gun and knives. While she was sure that she couldn't die, Y/N wasn't going to be caught defenseless.
"I thought you two would show up if we kept watch here. But still..." Ciel wore a somber expression as he looked over to Y/N. "Even with the Lion's help... I was unable to save her..." He was just a young boy, and yet he stood here, facing Jack the Ripper. To call his resilience remarkable was an understatement.
"How sad, Ciel. My lovely nephew... My..." For the first time that night did something resembling sadness crossed her eyes. "Elder sister's son..." Y/N wanted to believe that the Madam was truly sorry for what she had done. But Y/N knew all too well what was about to happen. She readied herself to jump in front of Ciel. "If you hadn't insisted on getting to the bottom of this, we might've played chess again." Y/N gripped her blades tightly. She believed Madam Red wasn't on the 'to die list' so killing her with a gunshot could be more than problematic. All Y/N would have to do was hold her back until Grelle struck her with her Death Scythe. "However..."
"I WILL NOT YIELD THIS TIME!!" Y/N dove in front of Ciel alongside Sebastian. The end of a chainsaw almost grazed her face, she had overshot the distance. Fortunately Sebastian caught the guide bar of the scythe. Sebastian evaded another attempted blow from Grelle and her Death Scythe after pushing them away.
"Wh-what is that!?" Unlike Y/N, Ciel and Sebastian had never seen such an advanced version of a chainsaw before. Y/N secretly prayed Ciel had never seen any version of a chainsaw before. She knew why they were originally invented.
"All Reapers possess a tool for hunting souls. It is known as the 'Death Scythe'." Sebastian explained to his master, wiping his bangs away from his eyes. "Though this is my first time seeing one that looks like that. The 'Death Scythe' is rather troublesome."
"Especially one modeled like a motor-powered chainsaw." Y/N knew how easily that thing could tear through even Sebastian's demon flesh.
"A chainsaw?" So Ciel didn't know what one was. Y/N sighed in relief.
"Ask your butler. I'm in no position to explain something like that to you. I'm neither your aunt nor your mother." Y/N wasn't completely sure how well a topic like childbirth would be discussed in the Victorian Era, but the thought of Sebastian having to explain what a chainsaw was used for did bring a small smirk to Y/N's lips. He seemed to grasp a hint of what Y/N meant because he didn't ask again.
"Something as unbecoming as a scythe wouldn't suit me in the least, don't you agree?" Grelle taunted as the blade whipped around in circles over the metal guide bar. "So I customized it to my specifications! A 'Death Scythe' juuust for me which plays the grandest harmony with the death throes of a soul! Of course, its sharpness is guaranteed." The chainsaw wined and growled as Grelle revved it. "A tool that only a God like me can wield to chop anyone and anything into itty bitty pieces!" Grelle began to stretch and wiggle her hips. Y/N tried not to laugh. "My body's gotten all stiff 'cos I've been a good little Grelle this whole time! Now I sooo want to work up a sweat with y-o-u t-w-o!"
Y/N giggled and her cheeks flushed pink while Sebastian bluntly asked Grelle "Would you mind refraining from such sickening displays? Furthermore, I am on duty at present."
"Ahhhhn, you're so stoic and you're such a cutie! I can't get enough of these sides of you either, Sebastian and Y/N darlings!" Grelle teased them, ditzily swinging her scythe up and down. Quickly she regained her composure and flashed them all a shark-toothed grin. "Let me tell you a little something, dearests-the color red makes me swoon. I just love red for my hair, clothes, and lipstick. That's why I adore making over ugly women with the red of their blood." She said it with such a calm demeanor, as if it wasn't pure insanity. "The more glamorous the woman, the more alluring she becomes, just like a beautiful, poisonous flower, right? And I'll bet a fine stud and dame like you two fitted up in rose colors will be the absolute best! I'll cut you open deep, splatter you with all the many shades of crimson..." It was a truly poetic threat, that was undeniable. "And Mess you up most glamorously, my Darlings!"
"I think you'll find that my blood is more difficult to bathe me in than you'd think, Miss Grelle." Y/N twirled her blades between her fingers as Grelle chuckled menacingly.
"A Reaper is one who quietly hunts the souls of the dying. A butler is one who accompanies his master like a shadow. Your poor taste goes against the aesthetics of both," Sebastian insulted Grelle, "And fair raises my bile."
"I worked hard as a butler for my master!" Grelle whined, "I didn't wear makeup or dress pretty or anything when I was at work!"
"I am appalled," the demon butler tilted his head with an expression of disgust, "How can you call yourself a butler?"
"Even so," Grelle smirked, "I am still a butler... For Death!" She stuck her signature pose, tongue out and all.
"In the name of the Queen and mine own evil title..." Ciel slowly peeled his eyepatch away, uncovering his contract seal. "I command you!" Grelle smirked and readied herself for battle. Y/N held up her blades to defend the Earl Phantomhive. "Hunt them down!" Sebastian began to remove his white glove with his teeth.
"Yes, my lord."