Hello, it's me again! That was a quick update, wow. Well, I told you, this is just for fun. ^^ I hope you are enjoying this story. If you find it at all to your liking, or disliking, don't hesitate to leave a comment!

"I don't understand why you want to drag me along." Ciel said as Sebastian tied his shoes and straightened his clothes the morning of their departure. "It's not my name on the summons. And I doubt they'd like having a mortal in Hell." The only reason he didn't object outright was pure curiosity to see what Hell looked like, but that didn't mean he couldn't question Sebastian's judgement.

"They will expect a full explanation of why I have not fulfilled the terms of the contract, which means they will expect you to be there. I'd really rather you stay here, but if I don't bring you with me, they will bring you by force and then I will be unable to help you." Sebastian rose to his feet. "And it isn't the first time a mortal has entered Hell, nor the first time that one comes out alive."

"And I will come out alive, of course."

"I will do everything in my power to assure that you do." In truth, the words meant nothing, as Sebastian knew full well. If The Adversary wanted Ciel dead, there would be absolutely nothing the butler could do about it.

Ciel ate his breakfast slowly, pondering the whole thing. He'd never imagined that Sebastian's decision would become such an issue as to land him in court, and in Hell of all places. "If this is such a big deal, why don't you just swallow my soul and get it over with? It's not like I have any right to deny you."

Sebastian inhaled and then exhaled slowly, considering his answer. "While it is generous of you to offer the option and save me the trouble of a lawsuit, it is not something I want to do."

"It's not generous," Ciel scoffed. "It's your soul anyway, by rights. You can do whatever you want with it."

"It is not what I choose to do." Sebastian repeated.

Ciel narrowed his eyes. "Why not? You seemed eager enough until the time actually came. Are you a coward?"

Sebastian smiled slightly. "Perhaps I am. I've become rather fond of you, and Hell is awfully boring."

Ciel made a derisive noise. "You're a lunatic. A demon being fond of a human is just ridiculous."

Sebastian only smiled.

The East End was a place that Ciel made a habit of avoiding, but according to Sebastian it also was the location of one of the more lax gateways into Hell. The young Earl was not surprised.

He expected something quiet and inconspicuous as the gate, and so was shocked when the butler led him straight to one of the biggest, flashiest, busiest brothels in the district. Sebastian walked right up to a revealingly-dressed woman smoking a cigarette and watching everyone enter and leave the building. He greeted her politely and asked to see Lily.

"We 'aven't got anyone 'ere named Lily," the woman replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

Sebastian smiled placidly. "Perhaps 'Lilim' rings a bell, then?"

The woman made a raspy snarling noise and pulled him into the building, Ciel trailing behind. "All ye bloody fiends 're the same. Ye 'aven't got any r'spect, ye just throw 'round the Lady's name like nothin'."

She dragged them down a dark corridor to an old wooden door and pushed Sebastian at it. "There. Talk to some yer own bloody kind." She turned with a huff and Sebastian opened the door. Beyond was a seemingly bottomless flight of dank stone steps. He started down, and Ciel followed.

"Sebastian," Ciel said after about five minutes. "Who is Lilim?"

"The daughter of Lilith. She has a hand in just about every brothel there is, so the most successful ones always have a backdoor somewhere that goes down."

"Down?"

"Down."

They were quiet for another ten minutes, descending deeper into the darkness, until Ciel saw a light ahead. "Is that it?"

"Hell? Of course not, Young Master. We're barely under the surface. That's a Gatekeeper."

Sure enough, as they approached the light, Ciel saw that it was a mossy little cottage tucked into the wall, a lantern hanging just outside the door. Upon seeing the lantern, Ciel realized they had been walking in pitch dark, yet he had been able to see perfectly well. It was quite an odd thing.

Outside the little house stood a little man, as mossy as his home. He grinned at them, but it seemed unnatural. "Well look, Whiskers. Travelers." Near his feet, a creature that looked like an oversized rat-lizard hybrid hissed at them, its eyes beady and intelligent.

Sebastian bowed respectfully. "We have business in the below, Gatekeeper. Let us pass."

The Gatekeeper scrutinized them both. He finally pointed his crooked finger at Sebastian. "You may go." He pointed to Ciel next. "This one stays." He grinned lecherously at the young boy.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes and stepped protectively in front of the young Earl. "He is to come with me."

"It is a mortal. It cannot pass." The Gatekeeper eyed the pair of them and Whiskers hissed again. "Unless it has a suitable payment prepared. Then I might reconsider."

By now, Ciel had enough experience with otherworldly beings to know that they rarely wanted human currency. He wasn't going to make a fool of himself by offering it. "What would you consider a suitable payment?"

The Gatekeeper hobbled closer, lecherous grin back in place. Ciel took a quick step back and tripped on the stair, stumbling hard onto the cold stone. Sebastian stepped between them, eyes narrowed at the small man.

"This mortal is my property. The second addendum on the Statute of Infernal Imports states that a soul which is property of a demon is free to travel with him between realms without additional taxation. Let us pass."

The Gatekeeper wiped his nose and glared at Sebastian, then grinned wickedly. "Fine, pass now as you wish. But I don't expect that mortal will be yours much longer, Araziel."

Sebastian ignored him, walking past swiftly, Ciel hurrying after him. Whiskers snapped at his ankles.

"The walls are whispering, Araziel!" The Gatekeeper yelled after them. "You're a laughingstock, a fool to make the same mistake twice!" His own laughter followed them long after his light had been swallowed by the darkness.

Ciel struggled to keep up with Sebastian's long strides down the stone steps. "Why does he call you Araziel?"

Sebastian glanced at Ciel with a wry smile. "My name was not Sebastian when you summoned me. Did you think I had no other?"

Ciel blinked. In all honestly, he didn't think much about who Sebastian was before he had become Sebastian, but obviously he must have had a name. It felt odd to think of his butler as anything other than simply Sebastian. Perhaps he had never truly comprehended what it meant to be a demon, or even to have one for a servant. Now that he thought about it, it was likely that Sebastian had many masters before Ciel. Oddly, the thought caused a twinge of jealousy in the pit of his stomach and it gave him a vicious sense of comfort to remind himself that those people were all dead now.

After quite a bit more walking, Ciel broke the silence again. "How deep down are we going, anyway?"

"Lilim's gates usually lead straight to the Second Circle. We'll take the train from there."

"There's a train in Hell?"

"Oh yes. Most of Heaven's best and brightest were those who fell, and sometimes their ideas and inventions leak into the mortal world, if we don't teach them to the humans ourselves. We had trains long before you did."

Ciel thought about this. "I guess I envisioned Hell as being more old-fashioned."

"Not at all. We're more technologically advanced than you are."

"In that case, don't you have some sort of flying machine? Why must we take the train?"

Sebastian chuckled. "Unlike humans, we do not have a fascination with flight, being already capable of it. We much prefer the train. We do have some lovely submarines, though."

Ciel made an annoyed noise, obviously having been hoping for something more impressive than a mere train. "So where will the train take us?"

"It will take us to the Ninth Circle, where the capital city is located and the bureaucracy manages their affairs."

"And that's where the courthouse is?"

"Of course. Though we have some time before the trial. I have to arrange for a lawyer."

Ciel was getting quite tired, but his pride kept him from complaining. The walk hadn't seemed to affect Sebastian at all. "Who is prosecuting?"

"I don't know yet, but if the Gatekeeper knows about what's going on, that's not a good sign."

"Why not?"

"Because that means the news must be all over Hell by now. We're not likely to luck out with an amateur, every prosecutor in the Inferno will be vying for this case."

Ciel thought that didn't sound very good, but he had confidence in Sebastian.

It seemed like they walked for days before the stairway leveled out. Ciel's legs ached, and the flat ground felt surreal after taking so many downward steps.

"My God, I'm not looking forward to the walk back up," he groaned, bending over and rubbing his legs.

Sebastian didn't respond to the comment. There was a worrying thought in his mind that Ciel might never make it back here at all. He put the thought out of his head and gestured to the land around them once the young male had straightened back up.

"Welcome to Hell, Young Master."