The mansion was deathly quiet. This wretched silence antagonized the bluenette to the point of severe agitation. It was also, however, one of the ways he was able to determine that this was indeed not his house in actuality. Outside the windows, it was pitch black, almost as though the building were floating in space. This was not home. This was just strange.
Ciel wandered aimlessly in this limbo-like prison, wondering how on earth he could get out. It seemed hopeless, as portals seemed to appear in locations that were completely random, and even if he found them, there was no telling if he would be send closer to the exit or even further away. The Watchdog was not amused.
Sighing, he dragged his feet down the hallway, starting to feel a bit heavy. It was as though the hopelessness of the situation was actually starting to get to him. This was so unlike him. Why did he feel the need to simply stop and forfeit.
Fruitlessly, he walked on, squinting a bit as he stared ahead at the end of the hallway. The door at the end never seemed to get any closer. It was like he was moving in place as the hallway became longer and longer. In his mind, Ciel knew that he needed to run, but for some reason, he didn't have the strength.
His eye began playing tricks on him, he was certain. Up ahead, the air seemed to condense and thicken, warping the picture of the door at the end of the hall. With a flicker, a human-like shape appeared for just a moment, forcing the confused Watchdog to a stop. It happened again, and again, faster now, until the picture finally appeared with clarity.
"You…!" declared the Phantomhive, gazing upon his own visage in the grey suit with the umbrella and grotesque grin plastered across his face. The figure loomed for a few moments before straightening its back and raising a hand, holding it out to the other man. It was an invitation to the Watchdog, but the Watchdog took it as a challenge.
Snorting, the Phantomhive caught his second wind and charged his smiling counterpart. He had had enough of this world, and wasn't at all keen on the presence of this impostor. That grin of his seemed mocking, and the gesture only made him seem like he wanted Ciel to fight. Thus, the Phantomhive did just that. Despite the ever expanding hallway, the demon was able to outrun it as he charged headfirst like a wild beast.
Cocking back his fist, he caused the other's eyes to widen before the other man raised his umbrella. Holding it steady on both ends, the smiling man blocked the Watchdog's blow, but his feet didn't stay firm on the ground and thus both of them kept moving. The men crashed through the door behind the smiling man, ending up in the ballroom despite the house's true blueprints. That was the least of their concerns, however.
Tumbling, the men rolled before the smiling man kicked Ciel in the stomach, separating the both of them before returning to his feet. Ciel stayed low to the ground, ready to strike once more. He couldn't even tell what his counterpart was thinking. His expression made him look deranged. His smile combined with his furrowed brow gave off the intent to kill, so the Watchdog drew his gun.
"What are you?!" demanded Ciel, training the barrel on his counterpart. He snarled, trying to stare the other man down. His foe, however, was unperturbed, and merely paused to dust off his jacket. The smiling man looked back at the Watchdog before rolling his eyes at the man's antics.
Putting his arm out again so that it was parallel to the floor, he snapped his fingers before pointing of to the side like he were directing an animal. At that moment, Ciel might as well been, as his faulty mirror image instilled an almost irrational degree of anger within him. It came out again as the Phantomhive fired his weapon. Bullets pierced through the air as they propelled forward, directly at the other man's face and chest. Just as quickly, however, the smiling man pointed his umbrella at the Watchdog with one hand. It opened and he hid behind it. Ciel was forced to simply stand there in shock as he saw the bullets bounce off what was supposed to be thin surface of flimsy fabric.
Furrowing his brow and gritting his teeth, Ciel put away his gun although that wasn't the end of his rampage. From his hand emerged black fire, roaring and groaning as the blade that was woven into the fabric of his demonic garb appeared from his palm. Thread snapped as the Watchdog's sword materialized, and with a swift movement, the handle was free and in its owner's grasp. Pointing it at the other, Ciel noticed that the eyes of his mirror image widened again, and he frowned deeper as the smiling man raised his umbrella as a weapon.
Ordinarily, this blade of the Watchdog's could cut through steel, but since the other's umbrella blocked anti-freak bullets with no effort, he wasn't entirely sure how he would fare. His opponent was refusing to make the first move, making it impossible to have the upperhand in that regard. If Ciel knew where to go, he would consider making a run for it, but then again, he hated the way his mirror self was looking at him.
In an instant, they both clashed, unsure as to who exactly moved first. Just as Ciel suspected, the umbrella held fast, blocking his blow, but then, his opponent shoved his blade to the side before bashing him in the cheek with the handle of his "weapon". As the bluenette recoiled, the other tried to step back in order to create some distance between them, only to have the demon recover and attack him again. Blocking the Watchdog, the other's eyes widened as Ciel drew his gun, pointing it with the barrel directly against the smiling man's chest before pulling the trigger.
Leaping back, the Phantomhive stood upright and continued to fire at his opponent while the man was open. With each that embedded itself in the chest of the smiling man, he stepped back, but never fell. His smile was still intact. When the barrage finally ended, he opened his eyes, causing the Watchdog's mouth to fall agape with shock. Ciel had shot this thing in the heart. He was sure of it! Yet the smiling man righted himself, standing up completely straight. Not one drop of blood stained his grey suit jacket.
Fear replaced anger as the Watchdog's stomach dropped. This was too unreal. How on earth was he supposed to defeat an invincible monster?
"What do you want?!" he demanded, his voice booming. "What are you?!"
Alas, the smiling man could not speak. Wordlessly, he answered Ciel with a simple gesture. It was the same one he made at the start of this. The man stretched his arm out to his side so that it was parallel to the floor. With a snap of his fingers, he pointed to a door on the other side of the room. Following his finger, Ciel stared at it, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do with that information. Was he supposed to go through the door? Was it a trap? What was beyond that door?
Ciel turned to the smiling man in hopes of receiving some further information, but he was nowhere in sight. For a moment, Ciel thought that the smiling man had disappeared again, but that was before he felt a pair of hands grab him from behind, lifting him into the air. Trash as he might, he couldn't break free. In an instant, the room seemed to distort itself, bringing the door closer to him before he was set down again in front of it with a loud gasp.
Now the Watchdog was sweating bullets. His skin felt cold as his mind tried to wrap itself around what was happening to him, yet no matter how hard he tried, it was no use. Whipping his head around, he saw and empty room. He could even see where he was standing before.
Traveling down to the doorknob, his eye locked onto the object, swallowing hard as he debated the consequences of actually opening it. The uncertainty of what was going to happen next was unbearable to the Phantomhive. He was always in control, or could always see far enough ahead that he had a grasp on what was going to happen. Now, he was sailing blind. There was no way for him to know what was going to happen if he actually did push forward. If he didn't, however, how would he ever find his beau and escape? Hesitantly, he reached out a hand and gripped the doorhandle, taking a deep breath to prepare himself for what was to come.
"Master?" called a familiar voice, causing the man's eye to widen. Immediately, he disregarded his current train of thought before turning to face his guardian.
Sebastian stood in the center of the room before quickly making his way over to the bluenette. His master couldn't believe what he was seeing. This shouldn't be happening. None of it made sense. None of it!
"Master, are you alright?" asked the butler, placing his hands on the younger demon's shoulders and tilting his head in order to inspect the bluenette. "Are you injured? How are you feeling?"
"Sebastian..?" Ciel answered, shaking his head with a furrowed brow. "What..? How are you here?"
"I got a call from H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G." the butler explained. "Come, we musn't stay here. We must find a way out, quickly."
"What about this door?"
"I was there earlier." Sebastian insisted, walking away while the master followed, walking away from the entryway. A sense of unease welled up inside of Ciel as he stared at the man's back as he led him away. It was nauseating. Something was not right, Ciel was certain, but nothing seemed right in this world. What Sebastian had said was the most logical thing in here, and yet the Watchdog still felt hesitant.
Looking over his shoulder, the Phantomhive saw that the door was still there. Now it seemed as though it were calling out to him. Ciel shook away the thought before turning his gaze to his butler's back again.
"This way, sir." Sebastian instructed, putting his hand on a doorknob and gesturing toward it. His master's unrest only grew, however. Come to think of it, Sebastian was acting strange. He was very matter-of-fact and wasn't nearly as playful as usual. He also walked in front of his master, rather than behind him.
"Sebastian…" Ciel began shaking his head. "…I…"
The Watchdog's gaze shifted to looking past the man in the black suit and focused instead on the wall behind him. The picture, in particular, caught his attention. He could see his reflection in the glass with a glint, only, something was "off" there, too. His likeness was standing behind Sebastian instead of in front, being faced by him. His reflection was hiding behind the butler's back, only, it wasn't the bluenette's reflection. Eye widening, Ciel's gaze immediately snapped back to Sebastian as soon as he saw that smile.
"Sebastian, look out!" he shouted, causing the older demon to quickly look over his shoulder. The next thing anyone heard was the shattering of glass and the splattering of blood against the marble floor.
