"Well look at that, it's almost time!" Ronald exclaimed as he dodged a fist from coming in contact with his face.
Since the start of the living corpses' riots, Ronald had found him caught in a battle with a demon butler and his little master that had made their way onto the ship. At first glance, he knew that the butler was infamous Sebastian darling that Grell kept talking about, as every time he had an assignment in the London area, Grell would talk nonstop of maybe seeing him. Ronald knew that he would have to do something about the demon, as there was a good chance he would try to devour the souls that would be left for him and Grell to collect. And perhaps even Lucinda, but nevertheless, he had to be dealt with. But he had no idea that it would be that time consuming, as the height of human deaths was about to reach its peak. With Grell nowhere in sight, Ronald had no choice but to abandon his duel with Sebastian. Besides, he still had to search for Undertaker, the root cause for all of this.
Or at least...the only lead I have.
As Ronald rode away on his death scythe, Sebastian watched with a puzzled expression on his face. Ronald glanced back at him.
"I'm afraid we will have to settle this another day," he called out. "After all I don't want to get more overtime!"
He saluted him.
"Goodbye, 'Sebastian darling!'"
With that, he rode out of the parlor. Immediately, Ronald could see many dead humans lying around in the hall, their clothes and skin torn and bitten, like someone was feasting upon them. As quickly as he could, he took each of their souls, automatically admitting them fit for death without even bothering to watch their cinematic record. He didn't have the time for a proper judging, too much was happening at once and the stakes were too high.
But I can only do so much by myself. Where the hell is Sutcliff at?!
"This is sure a luxury cruise to die for!"
As he finally arrived from the shinigami realm to the Campania, Grell fell from the night sky and sliced a couple of corpses to pieces. His sharp teeth could be seen from his large grin, excitement glowing from his eyes has he wildly killed each corpse that he came across on the front deck. Twirling, running, spinning, and dashing, it didn't take long for him to kill them all, red stains covering the wooden flooring and himself.
"Grell Sutcliff?"
Grell blinked at the sound of his name, turning around to see Lucinda.
"Well...fancy meeting you here," he remarked.
They slowly approached each other, both having their death scythes in hand. Grell smiled.
"You know, I'm not surprised to see you here, Lucinda. When I heard this job had walking corpses involved, something told me I would see you here."
Lucinda narrowed her eyes.
"So, I'm assuming you just got here?"
Grell nodded. "Yes, and just how long has this been going on?"
"Hours now," Lucinda answered. "It started late this afternoon, and I've been killing corpses and collecting as many souls as I can. I haven't seen Ronald, but I'm sure he is doing the same."
Or going after Undertaker.
"Ah, I see," Grell replied. "So you two have reunited?"
"...In a matter of speaking."
"Glad to hear! He has been worried about you, you know."
He then set his death scythe's blade into one of the corpses, leaning his weight against it.
"So, what do you know about the corpses?"
As quickly and simply as she could, Lucinda explained the situation to Grell and what she had seen and noticed about the corpses. However, she left out any parts of Undertaker's involvement, as a part of her felt...the need to protect his link to them as long as possible. Once she finished, Grell gave a small nod.
"Alright. Since the situation is dire, it would seem that we have no choice but the three of us to work together."
He took out a book from his giant red coat's pocket and flipped through its pages.
"According to the To Die List," Grell said, skimming the pages, "this ship is set to sink in less than an hour because of a collision with an iceberg. What we need to do is find Ronald and get to bottom of this case as fast as we can. If we lose a couple of souls, it won't matter compare to the disaster these corpses could cause. Do you understand?"
Lucinda nodded, her grip tightening on her scythe.
"Yes."
"Good. Now follow me, for we don't have much time. And the sooner we end this walking corpse problem, the more souls we get to collect and the less yelling I will receive."
Picking up his scythe and putting his To Die List away, Grell started to make his way towards the inside of the ship, Lucinda following him closely.
With their combined skills and strengths, the two of them were able to take down many of the corpses at a lightning like pace. Grell rushed through the hallway filled with walking corpses mixed in with the terrified humans, slicing down any who were in his path regardless who they were. Behind him, Lucinda collected souls and kept her eyes out for any signs of stalking corpses, Ronald, or Undertaker. From room to room, hallway to hallway and corner to corner, Grell and Lucinda swept through the middle class section of the ship.
"I must say, I'm very impressed with your skills," Grell commented when he and Lucinda had a moment of peace. "If I hadn't known better, I would say you were in the same profession as Ronald and I."
Lucinda narrowed her eyes, ripping her scythe out of the human whose soul she just collected.
"That's very kind of you," she said. "But you have no idea how much I wish that was true."
Grell gave a small smile.
"I would admit, you would be quite an addition to the dispatch."
He paused.
"...Perhaps, maybe when this is all over, I could put in good word of your work here. Since I know the right people...there could be a chance that I can get you back to the shinigami realm."
Lucinda's eyes widened. She stared at Grell for a long moment, as if she couldn't believe what he had just said.
"...Y-you mean it? Can you truly...?"
Grell nodded.
"Dear, I am the mistress of persuasion! And trust me when I say your assistance in this little deed will not go unnoticed. Besides..."
He gave a large grin.
"It allows me to have you in my debt so that I have less worked to do and more time to go after my darling Will and Bassy! Doesn't that sound like a good deal to you?"
Lucinda gave a small laugh.
"...Maybe. Though you should take your job a little more seriously..."
She laughed again, though her eyes, which were full of so much emotion, never left Grell's. Grell smirked.
"You're welcome. Though don't get used to me being so nice."
He walked passed her.
"Come on. My offer has little use if we don't solve this mystery before it sinks to the bottom of the ocean."
Panting heavily, Ronald dragged his death scythe through the first class hall of the ship, standing at the center of the room. He was exhausted, from running all across the ship taking souls, killing the walking corpses who now have full control of the ship, while searching for Undertaker, Lucinda, and Grell at the same time. So far, he had yet to see any signs of them, and with a crowded ship this giant, it was almost impossible if he could ever find them.
This is the most insane overtime I have ever had...
"And there you are, my little grim reaper!"
Ronald's eyes widened to the sing-song voice that rang in his ears. He quickly looked up at the stairs to see Undertaker, smiling down at him.
"How ironic that I spent the past few hours searching for you all over the ship," Undertaker said as he came down the stairs, "just to find you right back where I started! He he he! It would seem that God, if there is one, has quite the sense of humor!"
Ronald smiled slightly.
"Ha! Indeed if you were searching for me while I was searching for you at the same time."
He watched Undertaker carefully as he came down the stairs, to where soon they were at the same eye level. Ronald's grip on his death scythe tightened.
"If you were looking for me, then I was right to say you are the cause of the risen corpses, and that you know what is to happen next."
Undertaker gave a crooked smile.
"That you will turn me in to the shinigami or even kill me."
He laughed.
"You are a very amusing fellow. Too bad I cannot convince you the good that can come from these dolls..."
"Nothing good can come from trying to mess with death," Ronald replied with slight disgust. "As a grim reaper, you should know that."
"Should I?" Undertaker questioned, his voice rising in pitch slightly. "Just because I was born a death god automatically means I must submit myself to endless death, decay, and destruction? To replace emotion with sole cold logic and not try any attempt to understand more than the suffocating, never changing, fact that is death?"
He chuckled softly.
"You ignorant child. You have yet to truly see how repetitive and meaningless your life is. Perhaps once you've reached the point to where enough is enough, you will understand the science and appreciation of my work."
There was a long silence between the two, only the sounds of the crying corpses could be heard in the distance. Slowly, a small smile appeared on Ronald's lips.
"...No wonder Lucinda took a fancy to you," he said softly. "You are just like her in almost every way!"
He glared at Undertaker.
"You are mad to think a shinigami's life, no matter how repetitive, is meaningless. And even madder to think that upsetting the balance of life and death is an accomplishment. And you know what? Lucinda, the woman who you claim to care so much for, would be saying the same thing as me."
Undertaker frowned but said nothing in reply. Ronald continued.
"If you want to make things less painful for Lucinda, I suggest that you surrender and make things easy for all of us. If not...then I'm afraid I will have to force you to give up."
He readied his death scythe.
"Which would you prefer?"
It took a moment for Undertaker to reply, as his smile soon returned. He clutched onto his hidden scythe.
"I'm very sad it has come to this, but I must do whatever I can to protect what I've worked on for so long," Undertaker said softly, "and to protect my dear Lucy..."
Taking off his scythe's disguise, it grew in his hands as Undertaker prepared himself for battle. Ronald's eyes grew wide at the sight of the changing scythe, to which its true form was revealed.
"T-that scythe...!" he exclaimed. "It's..."
Undertaker laughed.
"Show me your skills, little grim reaper, as I want a full challenging fight if I am to truly enjoy it!"