Summary: A bruised and beaten Catherine brings an unconscious Lizzie to the Phantomhive Manor after an unexpected shinigami attack during their mission. Sebastian tends to Catherine's wounds while undertaker avenges his consort. Ciel and Lizzie share a deep moment about their brand marks and contract seals.

'It would seem those shinigami have taken up my offer for attack.' Catherine mused but inside she was dead serious. Oh, she wasn't kidding when she said she could take them on… But she was currently in a dark dome of a place, expecting attacks from all sides and her lady was already exhausted from completing the Queen's work.

'Your senses are sharp for a half-demon.' One of them sneered but it was cold and professional.

'Actually, it's the witch part of me that bears excellent senses. Where's your beloved William T. Spears. Correct me if I'm wrong but your superior is not with you.' The demon witch grinned in the dark, her black eyes now an active demon red. A taunting tone entered her voice as she thought of a quick plan to victory. 'Don't tell me you came unauthorised. Kids like you guys shouldn't be out after dark. You never know what's waiting in the shadows…'

'Don't mock us, demon witch.' Another one ordered in disgust. 'Do you really think you can take out thirty shinigami?'

Thirty. He had just given her a number. Thirty shinigami to defeat. It was valuable information when she could hardly see. Half demon also meant no full demon sight. Damn! 'My lady, your order.' She asked in a hard voice.

Lizzie ripped of her ribbon proudly, displaying her contract mark in the dark. 'Catherine, defeat these shinigami!'

'As my lady wishes.' Catherine growled, transforming into her demonic form. Thirty shinigami was a lot to deal with after an entire day of the bloody Queen's work. What kind of goddamn Queen had explosives planted below a town?!

Catherine attacked. And she certainly scared most of the shinigami. The powers of a demon witch should be feared. But she was nothing like what they expected. After all, she is the only one of her kind. She was ripping through them, maiming most but not killing any. The goal was to defeat them, they took too long to kill. Then Lizzie screamed.

'Move and I'll kill your apprentice.' A young man's voice said coldly, it turned to irritation when Lizzie tried to burn his arm off of her, using all her strength. But Lizzie had insisted on overdoing herself this mission. Which is why she now fainted... Catherine did not like this. Her apprentices were very important to her and now when her demon instincts were at an all-time high…

'You have two seconds to release her.' The demon witch snarled. But she only gave him one. Her magic exploded and she pounced forward, slashing through advancing shinigami haphazardly, snatching Lizzie. Such a risky move cost her. Death scythes had cut into her in various areas, her blood was spilling all over the place but she wouldn't stop while her enemies stood. Not after trying to harm her apprentice.

She took precautions, holding Lizzie in one arm while she fought with only one. She couldn't allow Lizzie to fight, inexperienced as she was, against a shinigami. It had consequences though, more and more death scythes cut into her but she was a demon witch. Immortal in more ways than one. Still, she didn't particularly want to 'die' by a death scythe. She would just have to persevere. If her count was correct. Only five more shinigami to go.

'Miss Sutcliffe.' Catherine grinned thankfully, hearing the revving of a chainsaw. The shinigami paused in their attacks. He might not look it but he was the most talented reaper. That demanded caution and perhaps a little bit of fear.

'Catherine! I see you've been bullied by these brutes! We girls have to stick together, you know. Though I can't allow you to kill them.' Grell said femininely in the dark, smiling sweetly with his shark teeth. His tone changed to a dangerous deep one then but the smile remained. 'Will isn't pleased with this either and Undertaker's on his way.'

'I owe you one, Grell. Tell Undertaker I'll see him later. Now if you'll excuse me, my lady needs medical attention.' Catherine smiled calmly, pecking Grell on the cheek, making the cross-dresser blush slightly. 'By the way, let William know, his shinigami are weaklings if I managed to take out so many even in my weakened state.'

'Sure!' Grell laughed, punching a shinigami in the face when he tried to pursue her. The rest of the shinigami stayed quiet after that, watching as Catherine took her charge away from the bloody scene.

PART TWO

The doorbell rang. It happened just as Sebastian was putting Ciel to bed. But the demon knew immediately something was wrong. His sister's blood was wafting to him far too strongly. 'Sister.' He said harshly, carrying Ciel down to the door at amazing speeds. The servants came out from the east wing, already in their pyjamas. Sebastian wrenched the door open, his eyes wide and demonic.

Catherine stood there in her ruined demon attire, bloodied entirely. A tired but proud smile on her face was destroyed by the blood splashed there. Lizzie had some blood on her and was unconscious and Ciel started forward. Catherine collapsed to her knees. 'Not a scratch on her, just exhaustion.' Catherine promised, handing her charge to Sebastian who gave her to Maylene. 'Death scythes are strong stuff.' The demon witch gasped, clutching the major wound at her side.

Sebastian caught her before she could fall flat on her face, worry and rage evident on his face… 'Maylene, clean up and dress Lady Elizabeth for bed and bring her to the young master's room, he will watch her.' Sebastian ordered the maid, knowing Ciel would want to personally make sure Lizzie was alright. His next orders were interrupted when his sister started to cough up blood.

Ciel took charge instead, recovering from the shock of receiving an injured Catherine and knocked-out Lizzie in the middle of the night. 'Finny, Bard, go get bandages and medical supplies and put them in Sebastian's room. Tanaka, write a letter to the Middleford household informing them Lizzie and Catherine will be staying here until they recover. Snake, you need to deliver this letter tonight.' The young earl ordered. The servants muttered a chorus of affirmative answers before scurrying away.

Sebastian carried his sister in his arms carefully, turning to face his master, opening his mouth to excuse himself but Catherine beat him to it. 'Sorry about this, Master Ciel but I require my brother for life-sustaining purposes.' She laughed lightly, blood on her mouth.

Ciel's face softened considerably. 'Thank you for protecting Lizzie.' In the next moment, he was Earl Phantomhive again, and his order came along with a glowing purple contract seal. 'Go, Sebastian.'

The demon was gone in just a blink of an eye. 'I hate this. This is only fun if I'm six years old.' She complained but her voice was strained. Sebastian was too occupied to care for her small talk. He set her on his rarely used bed, staining the sheets red, which reminded her… 'I'd probably be in worse condition without Grell…'

'And pray tell, what was Miss Sutcliffe doing there?' Sebastian asked nonchalantly but his hands were already working with the medical supplies Bard and Finny dropped off quickly.

'He found out somehow and came to help me. But by then I'd already beaten the crap out of twenty five shinigami…' she grinned, rather proud of herself. Sebastian allowed a small smile but he continued his work, never stopping.

'Did one of them have a bomb for a death scythe perhaps?'

She chuckled at his joke. 'No, I had to block my lady from explosives made to destroy an entire town. I wasn't my best fighting those shinigami, you know. One of them grabbed her so I had to take… drastic measures.'

'I don't doubt it by your wounds. These medical supplies won't help you much. I'll have to get the Undertaker.' Sebastian said calmly but she knew he was frustrated by the look in his eyes. She felt rather bad. He always looked out for her despite her growing strength, he always worried. Big brother syndrome. It made him so different from other demons.

'Don't. He's kicking their asses now.' She grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving.

'Language, sister.' He chastised in return.

'I can't help it. Picked it up from Akane.' She smiled, touching her piercing though it hurt to move her arm.

'You require divine blood to heal. Consuming…' He tried to reason with her but she cut him off quickly.

'Yeah but he's far away. He'll come soon. If you go now and separate our demon essence, I'll die in an hour. I'll stay alive… as long as you're beside me, brother.' And it was those words that made Sebastian sigh, seating himself on the edge of the bed, though he wasn't happy to. He wanted to do something about his wounded sibling.

Catherine smiled and hummed to herself. The lullaby she made for him so long ago. She sang it very softly, staring up at the white ceiling. Sebastian didn't move and didn't look at her. There was only so much caring emotions he was willing to display at a time before his demon's pride choked him. But when she finished the song, he replied the same thing he always did to her lullaby. 'I am glad for you who sunk me into this hell.'

PART THREE

Undertaker paced slowly before the thirty shinigami, all but five were injured. Unless you counted the black eye on one, courtesy of Grell Sutcliffe. Then there were only four that were alright. The rest were bleeding and nursing large wounds. But this was not the cause of their fear and quiet panic. No, the true cause was the deceptively calm retired shinigami that walked slowly amongst them, his death scythe leaning over his shoulder. Without warning, he swung that scythe down, a centimetre away from the throat of one shinigami whose eyes widened dramatically.

'You planned the attack.' Undertaker stated, looking down at the man. 'I can judge the most conflicted souls, any shinigami become easy after that. I… am very disappointed…' He trailed, lifting the scythe and swinging it over their head, just missing the target. 'That I cannot kill anyone of you.'

'Undertaker…' Grell murmured nervously, fidgeting. Undertaker was fearsome, so much that even the loudest shinigami was anxious. William was tense but he was furious at his subordinates' actions.

'Young Miss Sutcliffe, thank you for alerting me to this rebellion and protecting Catherine in my place, don't worry, I won't understaff the Dispatch Society on purpose.' He chuckled but there was only dark humour in his voice. There was a lot of blood on the floor and he was wondering how much of it belonged to his demon witch. He wanted to hurry.

'I-It's no problem.' Grell stuttered, slightly intimidated by this powerful shinigami. 'She's a friend.' And he meant it.

'I'm glad you think so. Those who disobey my orders will be severely punished, I did say that, did I not, ?' he asked not taking his eyes off the offenders.

'Indeed.' William said, glaring at them. Grell's subordinates caused trouble and never finished paperwork on time yet when it mattered they obeyed him. Perhaps he should change training tactics…

'A week in Purgatory. And when you return, William will have his own punishment to give out, I believe. Your time starts now.' Undertaker said with authority, tapping his scythe on the ground twice. Without another sound, thirty shinigami were damned into Purgatory. Yes, they were injured. But that was the meaning of severe punishment, right? 'I'm going to tend to Catherine.'

'If you'll allow, sir, I will accompany you. I owe her a personal apology.' William asked, bowing towards the legend. Undertaker smiled at him.

'It's no fault of yours but if you want, you should wait. I doubt you would want to see my bloodletting, which will be the cost of her recovery.' The silver-haired man murmured, leaving the place quickly. William sighed and readjusted his glasses.

'He's right. It's not your fault, Will.' Grell said in his usual feminine voice, putting an arm over the man's shoulder, practically hanging off his neck. For once, Will didn't push him away which was confusing for the red headed reaper.

'Perhaps. Maybe when they get back I will send them to learn off of your subordinates, Grell.' Will said but there was a certain tone in his voice that Grell recognized immediately along with the fact that Will rarely used his first name on its own. After all, he had gone to the academy with Will and worked alongside the uptight man for more than ninety years.

'Don't! The paperwork would never get done and the records would be in a mess!' Grell laughed, using his more masculine voice. He didn't like to but this was the voice he used when he was in the academy and Will was less of an ass.

It did make him feel better, especially hearing the voice that used to constantly encourage him when he struggled as a young shinigami, it was the voice at that time that let William know Grell was actually male. 'We'll be seriously short-staffed. Thirty shinigami gone for a week. The reapings… not to mention the paperwork...'

Grell frowned. Workaholic mode was setting in. 'No worries, Will! The two of us can scare my subordinates into doing extra paperwork while we go on rampage! I bet I'll still reap more than you!' he dared, coming up with a plan. Of course, even then, they'd still have to do paperwork.

Will smiled now though, something he doesn't do often. 'Am I seeing the competitive tomboy from our academy days?' He asked with just a hint of teasing. Grell at that point had been mostly mistaken for a badass female… who then turned into a wild woman.

'Don't dream, Will darling!' The red haired reaper grinned, showing of his shark teeth as his voice reverted to its feminine charm. And William chuckled as they bantered all the way back to the shinigami realm. It was this relationship between them that made Will, Grell's best friend and once lover. It was this relationship that made ice-hearted Will fall in love… and then not say a word about it in the name of protecting their friendship.

PART FOUR

Maylene did her job flawlessly for once. She never let herself do any mistake when it concerned her master or his fiancée. Besides, Lizzie has always treated the servants kindly. Lizzie didn't stay unconscious for long. A warm cleansing bath managed to rouse her and to her credit, she calmed down when she saw Maylene's face but she did fire some questions.

'Where's Catherine?' She asked, so tired yet too tired to fall back into rest. She climbed out of the bathtub on her own, letting Maylene wrap a towel around her to dry her off.

'Mr. Sebastian is taking care of her as we speak. I'm sure she's fine, Miss Lizzie.' Maylene assured, after all, nothing seemed to stop Sebastian and the woman was his sister.

Lizzie sighed in relief and breathed deep, nodding as Maylene dried her curls expertly. 'I'm sure she is. Is Ciel asleep?' she asked softly, hoping he hadn't seen them both in that state.

'No, Miss. I've been asked to take you to his room so that he can look after you after you've dressed.' Maylene spoke, putting the towel away and grabbing some drawers and a thin night shirt.

'I see.' Lizzie smiled. He was worried about her. 'Who's is this?' she wondered, touching the slightly see through night shirt.

'My apologies, Miss Lizzie. My night gowns are too large for you so the best we have for you is Ciel's night wear.' The maid said, doing the buttons on the shirt before scooping Lizzie into her arms to be carried. 'Best safe your strength, Miss.'

Lizzie wasn't even in a mood to protest. But she insisted to be put down outside Ciel's door. No need to worry him anymore. Maylene knocked on the door before a hasty 'enter' came through. Lizzie walked in and Maylene closed the door taking her leave. She didn't see Ciel rush to ensure Lizzie was alright. 'Catherine said you were attacked by shinigami.' He said, his voice straight, still trying so hard to be the adult.

'She did her job to perfection. I'm completely fine.' The young girl assured him with a smile. But Ciel didn't feel any better. Maybe it was the way she looked. Clad in his night shirt, her loose curls tumbling down and her oh so very tired look on her face.

'You should rest.' Ciel insisted, making her lie down on the bed but she couldn't go to sleep. She knew how he was. He'd just worry himself while watching her sleep. She'd just prove that she was fine. She turned onto her front and burrowed her face into his pillows.

She was about to comment on the fluffy cuteness of his pillows but she jerked when his fingers brushed against her lower back. 'I apologize…' Ciel spluttered, his face reddening when he realized what he did. Lizzie blushed slightly but sat up in bed and looked at him

'It's okay.' She said, her fingers tracing the Phantomhive crest that was carved into her skin. 'You already know I don't mind it. You read that in my journal.' She reminded him and he eased slightly.

'Yes but it must bother you…' He murmured quietly and Lizzie's mind flipped the switch. Now was no time to play cute little fiancée.

'I remember feeling the knife go into my skin. And the pain.' She admitted, giving him honesty. He tried not to flinch. He never wanted any of this for her. 'But I'm proud of it. It makes me a bit like you.' She smiled, glancing at the mark on his side. He covered it with his hand self-consciously.

'I don't see how you can be proud of something terrible and cruel that was done to you and forced into your skin so you would never forget.' Ciel said with a bitter tone. Her smile softened.

'That's just it. I will never forget. And neither will you.' She said and she knew from the look on his face, he didn't understand. 'There's no point covering that mark. I have it memorized. How do you think I even got myself into this mess?' She asked, gesturing to her own branding.

'Lizzie… the whole reason I made a contract was to take revenge on them for what they did. To get power enough to destroy them.' Ciel said slowly, finally speaking to her as an equal, no longer treating her as a child. 'I don't want them to harm you anymore, so please… leave it.'

Lizzie pushed her hair to one side, revealing her own contract seal. 'And why do you think I made the contract, Ciel? For power… to protect you. If I let you handle it on your own, this power is useless.' The young girl got off the bed and came close to him and he closed his eyes instinctively. She leaned down and kissed the closed eye that held the contract seal. 'We're not so different. You want to destroy to protect and I want to protect which means I have to destroy.'

'What's your point, Lizzie?' The earl asked opening his eyes. His voice had no hesitation when he asked.

'My point is our marks prove something. Our drive, our desire, our power… We're the same so don't try to protect me so much.' She smiled at him. 'Trust me like how I trust you.'