Note: Almost 100 reviews? Seriously? OMG I love you guys /glomps readers and demands group hug

To NatalieEspada: Everyone can come to our wedding, right? xD /picks you up and prances away into sunset

Remember to vote on ch. 30!

He hit the ground with a grunt, but the pain wasn't as bad as he would have expected. He was on a boat, now. He was thirteen again. Living dead were advancing toward him in slow motion.

He tried to pull himself to his feet but was frozen. He couldn't move at all, and was stuck sitting there, watching as death closed in on him. It was taking forever, though, and he paused to think.

This was the Cambria. Was this really the last trip he'd gone on? The last time he'd been so close to death? What had he done for five years since then? Where had the time gone?

Almost as soon as he thought crossed his mind there was a familiar mechanical buzzing.

"Smash their heads in!"

"On it, Sempai!"

Ciel could move again. He turned his head toward the noise and Grell and Ronald nearly rammed right into him, their death scythes ready.

"It's Sebby's little brat," Grell said.

"Hey, Phantomhive," Ronald said cheerily. Of everything that had been gone the past few years, the reapers were not something he missed.

Nonetheless Ronald scooped Ciel up and continued plowing through the legions, Grell just ahead. They were headed toward the ship's cabins, and Grell broke down the door, which opened to a staircase.

Ronald dropped Ciel into the darkness, he and Grell's farewells muffled by the sound of Ciel's abused body tumbling down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom he simply laid there for a second. What was going on?

He sat up, rubbing his head.

"Hey, how'd he get out?" someone said gruffly.

Ciel felt hands grabbing his arms and pulling him up. Looking around he immediately recognized the setting, and his heart stopped for a moment.

He was back in that place. The alter was covered in fresh blood, the limp body of a sacrifice laid across the stone. Ciel winced as he was thrown into a cage. It stunk badly of feces and blood and vomit in there, a smell Ciel didn't want to remember. His side burned badly as he remembered the brand.

Taking another glance around, he spotted something odd in the corner. Mey Rin, Finny, and Bard were all huddled, talking softly amongst themselves. Despite the noise of the room and the distance between them, Ciel could hear every word perfectly.

"You know what, I think I know what you're talking about, Mey Rin!" Bard said. "I think that Ciel was abducted by an occult as a child. That's where he found Mr. Sebastian, and since he was a past occult member that's why he's so good at everything. They must be cursed!"

Finny gasped and Mey Rin made an excited squeaking sound. "Oh… I think that's about right... Oh, my! Why hasn't the master told us of such a thing, eh?"

"I'm sure it's difficult to talk about," Finny said. "Things like that leave you with scars."

There was a moment of silence before Bard spoke. "But Mr. Sebastian would have told us, wouldn't he?"

"Oh, but he's so secretive… and elusive… and dark… and…" Mey Rin trailed off. Bard and Finny both turned to look directly at Ciel, and Ciel was allowed to see their faces for the first time. Their eyes were the same as Elizabeth's had been, and Ciel felt sick again.

Fear only added to the feeling when the cage door rattled. It was pulled open and a darkly cloaked figure coaxed Ciel out.

The image was flickering, changing between standing in an open field and in the room, surrounded by occult members.

The man who had taken Ciel out of the cage removed his mask and drew back his hood. It was Sebastian.

In the field, Ciel stood facing Sebastian, the butler's crimson eyes shining. When the image was back in the occult room, however, those eyes were dull black.

Two voices echoed at the same time. "You're out of the cage now, my lord. Come. Call my name."

"Sebastian…"

.

"Sebastian!" Ciel patted his thigh with one hand to call the dog over, the other held tightly in his mother's. "Come, boy!"

"Ciel, don't think that dog can sleep with us tonight," his father said.

"But… It's my birthday! And Sebastian wants to come with me. He loves me!" Ciel pulled his hand from his mother's and went to pet the dog. "Right, Sebastian? I love you too, you know." He frowned. "Mother… since when are Sebastian's eyes red?"

"Don't be silly, Ciel," she said as his father lifted him up into his arms. His mother reached for the bedroom door, but when she opened it instead of the bedroom Ciel only saw flames.

"M-Mother…?"

She turned back to him. Her eyes… "What's wrong, dear? Are you feeling alright?" Those blue flames flickered in empty sockets. He glanced at his father to see the same.

He screamed, but they both ignored it. His father carried him into the bedroom, as if the flames had no effect. When they passed the mirror Ciel saw his reflection. His eyes, too, had been replaced, though the flames were far brighter and unwavering.

His father laid him down in the bed, his mother curling up beside him. Everything was tinted orange and red by flames, but they didn't seem to notice.

Ciel gripped each of their hands, staring up at the ceiling. "Goodnight, Mother. Goodnight, Father." When he spoke it was the voice of his eighteen-year-old self. The fire died slowly, bathing them in blackness.

.

The next thing Ciel was aware of he was standing in front of the door to Sebastian's room in his manor. It was present day, he was sure.

A softly lulling song was barely muffled by the door. Ciel was sure it was Sebastian, or the demon that he was, behind that door.

He raised a hand to open in it, and he was surprised to find that the room was just as it should be. Sebastian sat on his bed with Rose in his lap, singing her a lullaby. He looked normal. No wings or horns or graying flesh. His eyes were the lovely crimson they were meant to be, not the dull black from the occult.

Ciel dared to take a step forward. "Sebastian?"

Sebastian looked up, smiling. "The contract has been completed. It's all finished now, my lord. There's nothing to worry about."

There was an odd glint in his eyes, something between ecstasy and rage. "We're all that's left, now. Just you, Miss Rose, and me."

Note [IMPORTANT]: Eight more chapters left! I have everything written through chapter 29. Chapter thirty will be reader's choice! Feel free to send in suggestions, and those that I like will be added to this list:

Current Options:

Alternate Ending (6)

Ten Years Later (4)

Ciel Visits Lizzie's Grave (am I the only one who loves Lizzie? xD)

This list will keep growing, so send me suggestions or just tell me which you'd like to read!