A/N: SOOOO. I decided to update this first chapter, because after months of re-reading it I decided that I absolutely hated how I started this story. I began working at a school last year, so thanks to that I'm currently on summer vacation, meaning tons of free time. One of the promises I made to myself was that I would get this story back on track. I have so many places I want it to go, and none of those can ever happen if I don't get the beginning right. I'm not even sure this new one is right, but it's a hell of a lot better than where I started with it. So I hope you all enjoy. PLEASE leave a review if you have the time. Feedback helps me get better and deliver higher quality chapters.

Enjoy!

The air was fragrant and alive as the roses swished about in the wind, releasing their petals and sweet smell into the warm air. Ciel closed his eyes for a moment… he certainly didn't feel like a demon. His head spun nauseatingly, pondering the events of the last few days. He looked up into the eyes of his butler, who he wasn't surprised looked anything but amused.

" Where shall we go, young master?" He asked with a dead voice, and even more lifeless eyes.

" To tell you the truth, I don't much care. Someplace where humans and demons are equal." Sebastian almost smirked. Such a place didn't exist. The closest humans would ever get to being on the same level as demons was right there on earth, on the mortal plane jammed between heaven and hell. There was nothing better beyond that. Only to exist as a soul to be judged and then sent to an eternal dwelling place… Sebastian knew this well, but he decided to let Ciel figure it out in his own time.

" Into the depths of Hell then, young lord. Are you ready to leave this place?"

" I have been for longer than you know. Take me to Hell, Sebastian."

" As you wish." With a fluidity that could only belong to Sebastian, he leapt from the ledge into the unfathomable darkness… Ciel gasped and clung to Sebastian as a biting cold ripped though his body. Even Sebastian shivered, but he did not utter a sound.

" Are you alright?" Sebastian asked with mock concern.

" S-s-so c-cold."

" It will pass. You will find, young master, that traversing the planes only gets easier with experience."

" H-how long will th-this take?"

" It depends. Souls making their way through often create traffic that makes it difficult to pass. I can get through the rift in about two mortal days when the flow is running smoothly."

" That sounds so…. Human."

" It's not surprising that it would. Up until now I've never had to put it into words. You're the first little bit of baggage I've ever had to bring back with me." Ciel's breath caught in his throat… that hurt more than it should have.

For a while, Ciel was simply at a loss for words. He knew that he had wronged Sebastian, he could not deny that. Thought he thought his reasons were justified at the time, he could not deny the overwhelming guilt that he felt. He had never wanted Sebastian to think of himself as a slave…. Did he?

" I must admit, I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined we'd end up like this…" Ciel finally spoke. It was a while before Sebastian answered.

" How exactly do you mean?" He muttered, unmoved.

" At such odds with each other… We did make quite a team, you and I."

" Are you quite aware, young master, that any friction between us is entirely your doing?" He could finally hear the anger in Sebastian's voice… it was subtle and seething. So characteristic of the elegant creature that he was currently being held by.

" MY doing?" Ciel shouted unexpectedly. "How are you able to pin every last bit of what happened on me alone?"

" You had little to do with the series of events that transpired. However, you had everything to do with the outcome."

" You're not being serious right now, Sebastian. How can you possibly know that when you weren't even there?" Ciel was furious now.

" I believe I must commend you, young master. In all of my years of life I have never been played for a fool quite as I have with you."

" A fool? How do you believe I played you for a fool?"

" I was a fool to think you were any different from the rest. I was a fool to think that maybe, just maybe, at the end of it all, you saw me as something more than a tool to use and abuse to meet your own needs…" Sebastian's cynical chuckle put a bad taste in Ciel's mouth. " I was so very wrong. I'm not used to being wrong. Quite frankly, it stings a bit. I'm not sure that I have words for it. I suppose I owe you for the new experience."

" Sebastian… How are you so bitter about this?"

" Bitter. Bitter? Is that what you might call it?" Sebastian's hold momentarily tightened on the young boy. Ciel felt a surge of pain under Sebastian's mighty grip, but it dissipated as soon as it had begun. " You would know nothing of struggle. Have you any idea what it's like to end up a slave after having to spend your whole life struggling against the world in the first place? Coming from a little brat who spent his entire life wrapped in silken blankets, protected from the outside world and all its ills, I suspect that you wouldn't." Sebastian's voice was rising. " You, singlehandedly, turned my entire world upside down and robbed me of the only thing I ever had to call my own. You took away my freedom without so much as a backward glance!" Sebastian roared.

" I took away nothing from you!" Ciel spat back. " You miserable creature. You have NO idea what I've been through! I made a contract with Hannah to turn me into a demon because I would not stand back and entertain the idea of Claude winning the fight and getting what so rightfully belonged to YOU. Bastard. The only reason I did what I did was because I would not give my soul to anyone but you…" Ciel's voice was the first to break. " You were the only one who deserved it. It was indisputably promised to you." Ciel drew in a shaky breath. " And how dare you assume that at the end of it all I cared nothing for you…"

Sebastian felt as though his guts were being ripped out of his body. He had no words to describe what he was feeling, not in his own language, nor any language he had ever learned. It infuriated him, and in an instant he considered casting the small fledgling in his arms into the void and being rid of him forever… At least then he would have some peace, and these emotions would stop surfacing and causing him distress. He had no idea… all this time his young master had made the ultimate sacrifice all in order to protect his soul from those who were undeserving of it. How typical of him.

" Master…" Sebastian spoke slowly. " I-"

" Shut up. Do not speak to me. That's an order." Sebastian felt himself urged to fall painfully silent. His left hand burned fiercely, and soon it felt as though his throat closed every time he tried to speak…. He supposed he deserved that… Sebastian's head felt as if it was filled with a million bees.

After a while, The darkness around them began to lift. Ciel felt his eyes ache as his vision readjusted itself. Ever so slowly, the blackness faded away to reveal light once again… The light of a brand new world…. Or so Ciel thought. Instead of being greeted with a dark world filled with raging balefire and the screams of the tormented mortal souls, the world that greeted Ciel was quite…. Tame. It looked not unlike the world he had just left. There was still a sky, and it was what seemed to be a perpetual grey color, the color of the mortal sky just before a thunderstorm. There was still a definite ground, and what even seemed to be dirt and rocks under his feet. In the distance, Ciel thought he could Even see grass….

"Sebastian… What the hell are you playing at." Asked Ciel with a deadly tone in his throat. Sebastian opened his mouth to speak, but the burning in his throat bade him otherwise. Ciel turned around to see his butler looking particularly miserable. He scoffed and rolled his eyes. " You idiot. Speak. That's an order."

" We are in Hell, Young Master." Sebastian took note, thanks to the still present burning in his throat, that Ciel had been so perfectly cruel as to not rescind his previous order…. It still hurt to speak, though now he must force himself through it.

" Master…" He groaned.

" What could you possibly want now?" Ciel spun on his heel.

" You did not rescind your previous order… Forcing myself to speak through it due to a new order is far from pleasant." Ciel smirked, but the smirk was gone as soon as it had appeared.

" Oh. Silly me. Are you in pain? I'll let you know when I give half a damn…" Sebastian's eyes widened. Part of him was aching to speak freely again… His vanity was overpowering all else…. How dare someone put a muzzle on his beautiful silver tongue? There was a small part of him that was slightly aroused by the absolute cruelty and bitterness emanating from this small fledgeling. At least some resemblance of the young master he had become so fond of still remained… Ciel waved his hand dismissively an spun around again, surveying the land around him.

" Is it how you imagined?" Sebastian asked hoarsely.

" N-…. not at all. It looks horrendously similar to the world we just left." Sebastian laughed raspily, stopping after the pain became too great.

" I must admit, young lord, I was eagerly awaiting your reaction." Ciel spun around to face the grinning elder demon.

" Why is it like this? Is this another one of your mind games?"

" I'm afraid not, Master. This is home now."

" Where's the fire, and brimstone, and eternal torture?"

" Ah, yes, the traditional mortal visions of Hell. I am afraid that none of them apply to you."

" What?"

" Well, you see, Hell exis-" Sebastian's breath hitched in his throat, a small amount of blood trickled out from his lips thanks to his tearing, irritated throat. Ciel sighed. When he spoke, his tone was soft, belying the immense guilt he felt in that single, fleeting moment.

" Enough of this. I rescind my order. You may speak free of pain now." Sebastian sighed with relief as he licked the blood off of his lips and back into his mouth.

"You will find, Young Master, that hell exists in layers, as do the creatures you will find here."

" Was Dante right then? Are there rings?" Sebastian perched himself on a nearby rock, and Ciel followed shortly after.

" Not quite. Just different planes. On the topmost plane, exist the demons. We make deals with mortals in exchange for sustenance in the form of souls. Call it wish granting if you will, there's really no more to it than that. Demons also serve as the gatekeepers between the lower planes of hell. Demons, although we have true forms, are also the closest to humanity that you will find here. There is a very specific reason for that, but that is another story for another day."

" Well, what's in the lower planes then?" Ciel had quite an eager look on his face.

" On the middle plane exist the devils. Devils are farther away from humanity, and often have animal or beast like qualities. Oddly enough, the devils are the warmongers out of all of us. When there is need of a legion, you'll find it formed there first."

" Wait. Demons and devils are the same thing."

" Not so, young Master. Mortals often lump them together out of hysteria or ignorance, but I assure you they are not the same thing. When you have met a devil for yourself this will become clear to you."

" Fair enough I suppose…. And what of the lowest plane?"

" The lowest plane is perhaps what you have heard of in your mortal tales… For that is where the judged mortal souls go to live out their eternal damnation... There, you will find the fiends…"

" Fiends? That's yet another word that means the same as demon and devil."

" Again, not so. Fiends are the farthest away from humanity… And they are the masters of torture, and all things eldritch."

" Okay…. That doesn't seem any different to me."

" Well, then I shall put it into perspective for you. Some fiends have even frightened me…" Sebastian almost stopped himself… He had never admitted that to another living thing. For all everyone else knew about Sebastian Michaelis, he had no fear. Yet, here he was admitting it to a mere fledgeling… What had gotten into him?

" You? Afraid?" Ciel seemed unable to process that sentence.

" Yes." Ciel swallowed a lump in his throat….

" Sebastian…"

" Yes?"

" Is there somewhere that you call home…? I-I want to sit down somewhere for a while… I feel ill." Sebastian stood up.

" Why yes. I have a house."

" A house…?"

" Is that not to your liking?"

" I was expecting a lair… or a nest or hive or something…" Sebastian's eyes flashed for an instant.

" For now, I shall choose to ignore such an insult… It is a house."

" Fine… take me there."