SUMMARY: The Reaper Realm is a place of peace and neutrality. Everything is as well as it should be. William's dull, predictable life has changed for better with his new relationship with Grell, Eric and Alan have settled down together, and Ron is the happiest he has been in awhile.
But then everything changes. An unknown force threatens the Shinigami's peaceful lifestyle. Reapers and students begin disappearing and a feeling of dread sets over their realm. With no formal police force to investigate, the dispatch is forced to take action. And they soon find themselves wrapped up in a web of lies, dark secrets, violence, blood, corruption, deception, and horrors of the dark past that surrounds the reaper realm. And William is forced into facing the ugly truths he had never, ever wanted to relive again. And what of Grell? As he witnesses her already fleeting sanity slowly fading away, William realizes that there is far more to her...and to the haunted past plaguing the realm than he could ever imagine. Which leaves two questions: Just how long will it take before the imminent disaster? And how long will it take before he witnesses his lover break completely?
NOTES: Hey, hey, hey! Welcome to my new Black Butler fic! I recently got a case of nostalgia, and found myself down in this trash pit again lol. The reapers are definitely my favorite part of the Manga/Anime, so this story is about them specifically. Therefore, I'm probably not going to include Sebastian and Ciel (sorry.)
Oh, and a couple more things to note: I am not up to date with the manga, I apologize for that. Luckily though, this story does not follow the manga as closely, since it focuses on the reapers, so I don't think it will be an issue. Although, from what I understand there is a new grim reaper character? If any of you know anything about them can you give me the name so I can look them up? Thank you in advance! And, I am using female pronouns for Grell, because Yana Toboso confirmed them. Deal with it.
Anyway! I hope you all enjoy this story! Onwards!
Prologue: The Beginning where it Ends
The pounding rain against the slippery ground was merciless. The monstrous drops slapped hard against the cracked pavement, and against the buildings. It sounded like drummers drumming their wooden sticks against drum heads. Thunder rumbled up above, and the sky was so dark, thickly covered with black clouds and with fog. One could barely see. Every once in awhile, white lighting bolts ripped through the sky. The wind was howling, it was so strong it seemed it would blow someone off the face of the earth. Off in the distance, a clock tower struck midnight, reverberating through the air, and adding to the chaos. It smelled of blood and soot. There had been a fire earlier, that had been killed by the buckets of rain. The flickering signs and lights from the theatres, shops, and buildings shown brightly against the darkness created by the rain, illuminating the gruesome scene.
Chaos. Amidst the storm. Cries of pain. Shouts of alarm. Screams. On the roofs, all over the streets, figures fought one another. Equipped with scythes, and a numerous plethora of abstract weapons. Puddles of crimson blood, and bodies. Broken glass from the infamous reaper spectacles. Glasses stained with blood. Everywhere. An unearthly light of cinematic records filled the dark sky as the reapers fell to their dooms.
This was one of the bloodiest reaper-against-reaper battles that there had ever been. The once-peaceful city had been transformed into a battlefield.
-xXx-
Someone's feet splashed through the muddy puddles as he sped through the battlefield, veering and dodging using the stealth he had been trained in.
His sharp eyes darted about, as he dodged attacks, and veered through fights, leapt up onto the buildings, cutting down any of the enemies in his path. He was soaked to the skin, and his once-neatly combed black hair fell in stiff strands, and plastered against his face.
He was looking for someone. And he hoped to whatever higher power there was that she was okay.
He heard it then, the whir of a chain-saw. The manic laugh. He saw her, covered in more red than usual. He knew it was from her kill count. He had seen her in action. He had seen her hacking enemies to bits, in her tattered coat, her heeled boots and torn black trousers, the linens wrapped tightly around her chest, the gorgeous red hair pulled taught in a ponytail, covered with blood that wasn't hers. He had seen her crazed expression, empty green eyes, he heard her sadistic laughter. He felt her bloodlust, her fury, and witnessed her invincibility, created by her insanity. She was splattering the blood of those that dared cross her. And laughing. Slashing through those foes that had hurt her. Tortured her. Violated her. Anger burned in his chest. They were getting from her what they deserved. But...at the same time, it was so painful for him to watch her in this state she was in. This manic, sadistic, broken state. He knew how broken she was, and it hurt him so much.
From his view on the rooftop, though, he could see her now, fighting a particularly strong foe. She wasn't as swift and skilled as she usually was. She had been wounded, he could see the gash across her arm. The gash across her shoulder blade. She was getting winded, but she continued to fight. Her breathing was heavy and rapid, and she was fighting to keep her coordination and balance.
And she was taunting her foe, "Is that the best you can do!? Come on!" She laughed, through heavy breathing, "I'm not afraid of you! Taste the passionate fury of my death scythe!" Her eyes burned, her shark-toothed manic smile didn't leave her face. She clumsily swung. And missed, barely stumbling out of the way of the other reaper's swing.
Idiot! What are you DOING!? He wanted to scream, but he didn't want to distract her. She was wearing herself out.
The other reaper slashed her dominant arm. She continued to laugh with blazing eyes, and jumped up to attack him. It was terribly aimed and terribly timed. With a powerful swing he disarmed her. Caught off guard, she hit the ground sharply, disoriented. She barely noticed him coming head on at her.
NO! He pushed a button on his death scythe, and the shears extended, impaling the enemy reaper in the back. He froze and buckled to the ground. He retracted his death scythe and leapt down beside her.
She was blinking away what had just happened, scarcely fazed at all. The moment he helped her up, she gazed at him for a moment, conflicted, confused, eyes blazing, before she pushed him off and picked up her scythe again, she raised it above her head and tried to attack him, she did not seem to process that it was him. He veered quickly out of the way, in surprise, and called out to her.
She moved to strike him again. Her eyes were still blazing, and her crazed expression still stayed on her face.
"Grell!" he finally called out, "Snap out of this! What are you doing!?"
His call fell on deaf ears. He continued to dodge her clumsy, predictable attacks. Eventually, she would tire herself out.
He continued to call out to her, hoping to snap her out of whatever frenzy she was in. Though, he should have expected this from her. He knew how broken she was, he knew how manic she had the tendency to be. And he knew, above all, that recent events had broken her, possibly beyond repair…
Amidst her attacks and his cognitive distraction, her weapon slashed his arm. He hissed in pain, and then took a few steps backward. He extended his shears, seizing the blade of her chainsaw with them, and ripping it out of her grasp. He tossed it aside, and it landed in a puddle and slowly whirred to a stop. In a fluid motion, he retracted his scythe, slammed it on the ground so it was sticking straight up like a spear, and then moved forward, pulling her roughly to him and smacking their mouths together. She stiffened. And then slowly and painfully, she came to her senses, and returned the action. He felt her heart rate slow as she calmed down, and he broke away to breathe. He locked his gaze on hers and watched as her gaze softened and tears began streaming down her face.
"W-Will?" it seemed to him that she was both confused and conflicted.
"You're done fighting." he spoke sternly.
"What!? What do you mean I'm "done fighting"?" Her eyes began blazing with manic insanity again.
"I can't have you getting hurt, and this is far too much for to handle in your current state."
"My "current state"!?" She was angry.
"I'm watching your sanity slip from you and I cannot handle it anymore."
She tried to break from his grasp, but in her weakened state and with his firm hold, she could not.
"Let go of me! There's a battle to be fought! This isn't the time for this!"
"You are not fighting anymore! You're too injured, exhausted, and weak to fight now! They're after you and you know it! In this state, they'll capture you and torture you to death! And I cannot allow that!" For once, there was emotion cracking in his voice.
"Let go!" Her eyes blazed with anger and confusion.
"You are not yourself! Snap out of this now!"
"No! I have to-" He tried to silence her with another kiss. She pushed him away.
"Stop it, Will! There's a battle going on, and I'm going to end it whether you like it or not! I haven't spilled near enough blood for my satisfaction."
"You're covered in it! You have the highest kill count out of all of us and it is having major repercussions on your mental state."
"Don't psychoanalyze me, William! I need to spill more blood and if it's not their blood, it will end up being yours! Let go of me!"
At the threat, he released his grip and stepped back. She turned abruptly and staggered towards her death scythe lying in the puddle. She lost her balance and fell forward. Luckily, he was quickly at her side in time to catch her.
"You see now." he said, "You are in no state to fight. It is okay to stop. You've done an exemplary job."
She looked up at him, shocked by the praise he so seldom gave. Her eyes were still conflicted, but they no longer showed anger. The anger had faded, leaving behind a dirty, pale mess, with fatigued eyes and splattered blood. There were tear-stains on her cheeks, and dark circles beneath her green orbs.
William's heart burned with pain. He had grown used to seeing her like this, and it hurt. It hurt so much. She had long since passed the point of no return. And her bouts of psychotic behavior were unpredictable now. She was far too dangerous. No matter what they tried...nothing...nothing seemed to be able to fix her state of mind anymore. And Will knew that she was being torn apart from the inside. He could not take seeing her like this anymore. It pained him knowing how much pain she was in.
Keeping their gazes locked, he helped her up, and guided her stumbling, disoriented body to the wall, where she could lean comfortably. He knelt in front of her, and brushed a stray red lock behind her ear. She was smiling at him now. He offered the ghost of a small smile in return, but his heart was aching, and emotions were surging inside him.
"I love you." he said, "I love you more than you could ever know, Grell Sutcliff."
He leaned in to kiss her. She returned the gesture, and everything fell silent around them as their kiss deepened. Emotions bounced off of them, and electricity surged between them.
Will reached inside his pocket, and pulled out the sickle he always kept on his person at all times. He drove the blade of the sickle into her heart.
She gasped, and he pulled away. Tears stung in his eyes and he did not stop them from coming. Her eyes were wide in shock and her expression was full of hurt and betrayal.
"W-Will...wh-why….why did you..." Her dirty face, framed by her matted red hair, was streaked with the tears that leaked from her wide, green eyes as she spoke. They were dyed black from the make-up she wore, and she was fighting for her breath as blood dribbled down the corner of her mouth.
He shook his head. "This is the only way, don't you see? I can't bear to see you in so much pain...I'm sorry...just know that I did it because I love you...and I don't want to see you suffer anymore."
Tears streamed down his face and he hung his head, tears falling onto his knees. "I'm so sorry…" He was met by shaky hands on his cheeks, hands that were losing heat and strength fast, but even so, they lifted his face, and she smiled at him as consciousness began fading from her.
"It's okay. You-you d-did the right thing...I-I know I'm...I'm dangerous...so thank you...I...I...forgive you...and I...I'll-" she was too weak to finish the sentence in English, so she said, softly, with her voice in a rasp, "Je t'aime toujours...Will..." And her entire body fell still, and she drew in her final breath. Her cinematic record began to flow from her, and tears blinded his gaze as he watched her entire life flash before his eyes. He heard her voice echo in his ears. And her soul gave up without a fight.
Once the entire record had flowed into the sickle, a breeze picked up. The wind surrounded the two of them, whisping, through both his and her hair and clothes. She began to fade into tiny fragments. And like snow, the wind carried the pieces of her as she became dust. A few of them touched warmly against Will's face, and her last words echoed in his mind.
Je t'aime toujours...Je t'aime toujours….Je t'aime toujours...
He stood up, turning his back, his tears began to dry, and he watched the particles disappear into the air as the clouds cleared, and the first rays of sun began to break through them, rising on the horizon.
NOTES: I'm just going to throw out the fact that first chapters can be deceiving...and from here, well...we're going back to the start. Before the chapter's events happened.