I own nothing but my OC.


That Butler, Commendable 2


'thoughts'

"speech"

[speech heard over telephone]

{setting/stage directions?}

SOUND EFFECTS

An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration for dreams or stuff like written letters.

=†=†=†=†= scene shift/time shift


Previously:

"Crap, it's the fuzz!" Chêne said with a comically serious face.

"..." Ciel said, sweat dropping. There goes Chêne with her ridiculous modern slang again.

"In any case, it would appear that the yard has arrived." Sebastian deadpanned.

"Fuah!" Ciel and Chêne said in surprise as Sebastian grabbed both of them, and held each of them in one of his arms. Chêne blushed. He was almost holding her like you would a bride... almost.

"Let us be off." Sebastian said, grinning devilishly.


THUMP.

Sebastian landed gracefully on the roof as he held Chêne and Ciel in his arms. Chêne blinked.

'Eh...? When did we get on the roof!?' Chêne thought. It felt like hey had just instantly appeared there since Sebastian was so fast. 'Though, I guess I really shouldn't be so surprised by something like this after everything else I've seen...'

"?" Lizzie said, turning around from where she had been standing on the balcony in the ballroom. Lizzie stared at the bare roof, where the escaping trio had been just a moment ago. "Just now, I thought I felt something there... was it only my imagination?' Lizzie wondered as she rubbed her eyes.

=†=†=†=†=

{The next day, the Study in Ciel's townhouse}

Jack the Ripper appears once more!
The victim is Annie Chapman. A prostitute is sacrificed again!
!

BAM!

Ciel slammed the daily paper down on the table after reading its headline.

"How could this be!? The viscount didn't go anywhere last night!" Ciel yelled, frustrated.

"If it becomes seemingly impossible for our lone suspect to have committed the murder... then it does beg the question of a possible copycat... No, or even of there having been multiple culprits from the very start." Lau said.

"In other words, we were off the mark in suspecting the viscount?" Madam Red said.

"We're back to square one..." Ciel said, sighing.

"Well, at least we managed to get one creep off the streets..." Chêne said, sweat dropping. "We just need to readjust the search parameters. We'll catch him."

"I'll narrow down the suspects again. Sebastian, the list." Ciel said. He wasn't going to lose this time.

"Yes, Sir." Sebastian said, ever the faithful servant.

=†=†=†=†=

{Later that day...}

"Umm... I know this is kind of late, but I didn't want to look suspicious in front of the others, and this is the first time we've actually been alone... but..." Chêne said hesitantly. She, Ciel, and Sebastian had been working for a while now, and Madam Red and Lau had finally gotten bored, and went off to find something more interesting to do.

"... But?" Ciel asked, giving her a look that said 'spit it out.'

"But there was also a serial killer called 'Jack the Ripper' in the Victorian era of my world. He was never caught, though, so I can't really give you any clues there, and I doubt it's the same person either. The cases are similar, but there are distinct differences." Chêne explained.

"How so?" Sebastian asked, intrigued. It was rather interesting that while they were two different and separate worlds, Chêne's more futuristic world seemed to mirror theirs very closely.

"Well... there were two types of wounds on some of the victims. Some of the cuts were smooth, and controlled, like they were probably made by a medical professional, and some were rough, like the perpetrator was just butchering the victim. The victims were also prostitutes, and they all had organs removed as well, but what the killer took wasn't limited to their wombs... The missing organ varied from victim to victim. Some victims had their wombs taken, and others had parts of their livers, and even their heart taken." Chêne explained. "I can't remember all of the victim's names, but there were five known victims that could be directly related to the M.O. of Jack the Ripper. I remembered Mary Ann Nichols, because she was thought to be the first victim in my world. And, while there is no evidence of any sexual activity with any of the victims, psychologists suppose that the penetration of the victims with a knife and leaving them on display in sexually degrading positions with the wounds exposed could indicate that the perpetrator derived sexual pleasure from the attacks. However, this view is challenged by others who dismiss such hypotheses as insupportable supposition. It's been assumed that the suspect was a man, because that's statistically more likely, but I think it could also be a woman... men aren't the only ones capable of murder."

"Interesting... there's no denying the similarities." Sebastian said. "However... you said there were only five victims. Why would the killer stop at five?" He asked curiously. Chêne furrowed her brow slightly in thought.

"About that... as Undertaker said, the type of person committing these murders wasn't one that would be able to stop unless they were made to." Chêne said. "But the killings just suddenly stopped after the fifth victim. I think the reason they stopped might be because Jack the Ripper himself died somehow, or he was arrested for some other, more minor crime, so he couldn't commit any murders because he was locked up."

"That's a good theory, but it doesn't do me any good." Ciel said bluntly as he continued to read through Sebastian's notes on the case. "The two Jack the Rippers are similar, but they are not the same, and I don't intend to just sit back and wait for the killer to stop on their own." Chêne smiled.

"Of course, not! Let's catch this psycho so we can throw his ass in jail!" Chêne said. "Here, you've managed to get your hands on the crime scene photos, right? The photos of this time are still black and white and a little grainy, but I'll see what I can do." She said, holding her hand out to Ciel. Ciel stared at her, slightly taken aback.

"You want to see them?" Ciel asked, shocked.

"To be honest, I'd rather not, but I used to watch crime shows all the time, and Mr. Rick, my next door neighbor was a cop, so while I might not be an expert, but I know a little about how to use the 'powers of observation' on crime scenes." Chêne said, wrinkling her nose at the thought of the gruesome crimes she was about to see.

"I see... I have only seen the images in the paper, myself. If you are that set on seeing them, ask Sebastian." Ciel said, sweat dropping. Chêne turned to Sebastian.

"Gimme." Chêne said, smiling sweetly, as she held out her hand.

"And to think, you had finally started to act like a lady." Sebastian said, sighing wistfully, as he smirked at her. "I believe you can do better than that, Chêne." Chêne furrowed her brow and pouted at him, not amused.

"May I please see the photos of the grizzly and mentally scarring serial killings, oh 'Demonic One'?" Chêne deadpanned. Sebastian smirked.

"Now was that so hard?" He asked her patronizingly.

"No, but... Ciel, have you seen my spine? I used to have one, and I think I dropped it somewhere around here..." Chêne said jokingly as she mimed glancing around the room.

"Just give them to her, Sebastian." Ciel said, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He wasn't in the mood for Chêne's distracting shenanigans. He had a murderer to catch.

"Yes, Sir." Sebastian said as he retrieved the file of photographs from one of the desk's drawers, and handed them to Chêne. She took a deep breath and braced herself as she opened the file.

"!" Chêne said as she suddenly slammed the file down on a nearby table. "This is—!?" She shouted as she stared at the photos spread out on the table.

"What!?" Ciel asked, startled by her sudden movement. He thought looking at the photos might disturb her, but... Sebastian stepped up beside her, leaning over to see what she was staring at.

"... This wound..." Chêne said, pointing to one of the jagged wounds that the police had concluded had been made by some unknown 'specialized cutting instrument.' "...This wound was definitely made by a chainsaw...!" Chêne said seriously.

"A what?" Ciel asked. He'd never heard of a 'chain saw' before.

"I do not believe that device has been 'invented' here yet." Sebastian said. Chêne gave them a blank stare.

"So, you're telling me... you guys have the technology to make a steam punk version of a Nintendo DS... but not a chainsaw!? You guys have your industrial revolution all backwards." Chêne said, sweat dropping. "A chainsaw is a power tool—I've mentioned those before, right? Anyway, it's a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, and by tree surgeons to fell trees and remove branches and foliage, to fell snags and assist in cutting firebreaks in wildfire suppression, and to harvest firewood." Chêne explained. "The way it works, is that there is a 'guide bar,' a long rounded piece of metal. This 'guide bar' is what you attach the 'cutting chain' to, and the cutting chain is a segmented chain that has little sharp blades, called teeth, embedded into it. The chainsaw's motor makes the cutting chain revolve around the guide bar, and that's where the tool's cutting force comes from. That way, you don't have to manually move the saw back and forth on what you want to cut. You just aim, and apply pressure."

"How is it that you know so much about this? Didn't you say before that power tools and the like were used by men?" Sebastian asked.

"I said they were usually used by men—big difference. My dad used to get me to help him remove the higher branches in the big tree in our yard. I could climb higher than he or the ladder could reach, so he made sure I knew everything about the tool's safety and proper uses." Chêne said, shrugging. Ciel sweat dropped. Most parents would discourage that kind of dangerous behavior.

"Well, it can't be a chainsaw if it doesn't exist." Ciel said dismissively.

"Hmm... that does throw a kink in my deduction, huh? I was so sure, too. Lacey's made me watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre so many times, that I'd be able to recognize that kind of cut anywhere... Lacey would probably 'Gibbs slap' me if she were here." Chêne said, sighing. Ciel sweat dropped again.

"Texas chainsaw—what?" Ciel asked, hoping he had misheard.

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's Lacey's favorite horror movie." Chêne said, grimacing. "I like horror movies too, but I prefer the ones without so much... gore. The title says it all. The whole movie was basically watching a group of people be terrified while they were chased and ripped to pieces by a chainsaw wielding psycho—who was called 'leather face' because he sometimes wore the skin of his victims."

"..." Ciel and Sebastian said, staring at her.

"My, the things you plebeians come up with for entertainment..." Sebastian said, not sure whether he was more amused or shocked that humans actually paid to watch such things. Would it be inappropriate for him to laugh? Chêne sweat dropped.

"Hey, I didn't want to watch it! Lacey insisted that she didn't want to see it alone, so she duck-taped me to a chair and held my eyes open while she played it." Chêne said, shuddering at the memory.

"And that's your friend...?" Ciel asked, sweat dropping. With friends like that, who needs enemies?

"Yeah, well, she bought me ten fudge sundaes to make up for it... Besides, they say a good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you, saying... 'Damn that was fun!' Lacey's that kind of friend." Chêne said, smiling fondly.

"... You're both idiots." Ciel said, frowning slightly in disapproval, as he reshuffled his papers.

"Weeell... we've never actually been in that situation before. We're fast runners." Chêne said, grinning cheekily.

"Oh, and just what did you do that was so naughty?" Sebastian asked suggestively, smirking.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know? I promised Lacey I'd never tell anyone else that particular misadventure, so you're just going to have to be disappointed." Chêne said, smirking back at him. Chêne knew Sebastian was probably just acting like that to mess with her... She must be finally starting to develop some kind of an immunity to his harassment...

"Stop flirting and get back to work!" Ciel grumbled, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"We're not flirting!!" Chêne said defensively, blushing out of embarrassment.

"We're not?" Sebastian asked, smiling 'innocently.'

"!?" Chêne said, blushing an even deeper shade of red. "—Shut up!?" She yelled, too caught off guard to manage anything better. Correction—she hadn't improved at all!! Sebastian snickered softly as he went back to work.