~Here it is! Another chapter for your reading pleasure! I really enjoyed writing this one. I need to do more fluff but I will in due time. I am going to write a little warning if those of you are squeamish by graphic writing. It gets a little dark here so I had to make it a little gruesome. I personally think it is tame but I wanted to give the heads up anyway. I will try and post as much as I can as I have stated before! I hope you enjoy and your comments/reviews are what keep me writing!

~Ciel

Stranded on the Other Side chapter 6: The Mirror

Phantomhive Manor 5:15PM

In all his time serving under Ciel, Sebastian suddenly collapsed to his knees in weakness. Only to earn a disapproving glare by the silver haired shinigami that seemed to be slightly concerned himself. Why would Undertaker care about his Young Master's whereabouts? Sure the blue-eyed Earl had employed the less then savory shinigami but surely he could find someone else that needed eyes in the Underworld. He seemed to have his lithe fingers tightly wrapped around the rosary chain that adorned his black robes. The demon squinted his eyes in curiosity, however, now was not the time panic. In a mater of moments the Head Butler of the Phantomhive Estate, now completely composed as he was trained to do, walked over to the mirror. He now saw it for its true self…

Alternate Universe: Time Unknown

Ciel had quickly fallen asleep in the demon king's arms. It was warm and safe, a feeling that he so rarely attained. He supposed the other Sebastian would still be in a panic to find him, but he didn't care "serves the bastard right." He felt warm breath on the back of his neck as he said the words sleepily.

The demon chucked again the pale skin of Ciel's neck "I do hope you are not referring to me." He noticed the almost horrified expression of the little Earl when he spun around. He chuckled again "not to worry Ciel I know you were not talking about me, after all you seem quite comfortable enough to just fall asleep in the arms of the King of Hell. Most would have one eye open." He smiled gently and patted the boy on the head. This Ciel was clearly more cautious and calculating unlike the other, however, if you earned his trust it seemed he would open up more and more." That is something I will have to take note of.

In his entire existence he had never felt so embarrassed "y…. your just warm is all think nothing of it." His now rosy cheeks clearly contradicted his words. Normally Ciel would have smirked and made some sort of smart retort, showing his prowess from not only verbal games but also intellectual ones. This was different. Though he felt more comfortable around this new Sebastian that treated him with kindness and affection, Ciel still felt uneasy. In fact he felt exhausted, as if his very life force and will were being sucked out of him. His sleepless nights were a walk in the park compared to this maelstrom of conflicting emotions and desires he was currently facing "You still look like him, you know, so I suppose I naturally trust you." He received a grin from the king above him.

The King removed himself from their shared bed and straightened his collar "I see, tell me Ciel do you like it here? Do you like living with me?" Perhaps he was posing the question too soon; humans were known to regard affection-based forwardness as a turn off. He was sure Ciel was happier here just from their talk the previous night "I do apologize if I am being too forward in asking such a question."

Ciel heard the words but took a moment to register them. Did he just ask me if I wanted to stay here? Stay with him? The young Earl felt his heart ready to pound out of his chest. What was he supposed to say? If he said yes then maybe he could attain happiness with this new Sebastian. If he said no then he would have to return to the blood and darkness only to have his soul ripped out by the person he not only trusted the most, but even… loved? He felt his eyes begin to water. NO I will not cry! I am Ciel Phantomhive! I… I… can't…

The demon noticed the boy's glassy eyes. He was about to cry, but why? Even though he understood human emotion better then any of his kind he still was perplexed by the human heart and how it caused such a reaction. He got on his knees and placed his own hands over small trembling ones "Ciel don't cry, I beg of you. I did not mean to make you upset or hurt you, I only asked because I feel that my life would be empty without you in it. I can understand why you would want to return to your world, you feel like you are an outcast here. Its not natural to you."

Ciel felt warmth embrace him. Sebastian, no the king, was hugging him tightly. He was trying his best to comfort Ciel in his struggles, something the other Sebastian would not even attempt "I don't know what to do. I want to find happiness in my life and yet I would abandon Sebastian if I did. I am a man of my word, I owe him my soul for his service I cannot just abandon him but I also…. I don't want to die." He felt his own body betray his strength and before long he was burning his face gently against the demon's clean white shirt "you're a dream come true for me."

The demon King wanted to growl slightly. This other version of him was down right cruel even by demon standards. To take advantage of such a broken boy and use him as some kind of pawn was low even for his standards. Perhaps it's because of Ciel's appearance but it seemed that his personality was rubbing off on him as well. He did not want to see Ciel cry, nor did he want see him suffer. This Sebastian the boy talked so much of was a fool to waste such a precious life "Ciel why don't you rest? You don't have to make a decision and I understand your sense of loyalty, however, isn't your own happiness more important? Isn't that what you want?" He ran his fingers through soft grey locks, playing with a kitten ear while he was at it.

All the tired Earl could do was nod his head gently and look up. His eyes were red and puffy from having cried and tear marks stained his cheeks. They looked like painted lines in the face of an expertly crafted porcelain doll. A doll that could easily shatter into a thousand pieces all over the tile if accidently dropped. No matter how hard the boy tried this was an inevitable fact. He thought his heart had been hardened but in truth it was the exact opposite. A broken doll, a fitting analogy for a boy that looked as effeminate as he did. He slowly laid his head against the soft pillows. It felt like his head was resting on a gentle cloud as his eyes slowly closed. He noticed the demon King had left to take care of business, not that the boy was surprised. He assumed that running a realm of supernatural beings could not be an easy task. Did he want to stay with the king? Or return to where he belonged? Where do I belong? As before he felt his body stiffen as if being constricted before being forcefully pulled under into darkness of sleep.

Phantomhive Manor 5:30PM

Ciel was a tough boy as Sebastian had encountered on numerous occasions, but this was a situation that he had never been faced with before. Ciel's tortured past would cause complications and even might break the boy. The mirror before him was one of legend, though he knew of its existence that still did not explain why it was given to Ciel in the first place. Sebastian had known that the boy was troubled and yet put up a mile high wall in order to confine himself to his own subconscious. It is a dangerous notion for any human or creature alike. To be trapped in ones mind with no way to exit was just another form of insanity. You cannot run from yourself and you certainly cannot reason with yourself either. What stood before the odd pair was at first what appeared to be an antique mirror, perhaps from the Rococo period of fine art. Ciel always had a taste for the lavish so it was no surprise he asked to have it hung in the study. What gave way, however, caused the entire visage of the mirror to twist and change. It was truly apiece worthy of its legendary namesake. It's rim, one decorated with ornate gold flowers of various sizes twisted into carved skulls of different kinds. Some of the inlays were human, some animal, some even of his own kind. Their black sockets stared vacantly into the distance as if they were petrified for all eternity, twisted black briars and thorns made there way to decorate the rest of the mirror only the stains of blood could be seen against its pearly white depths. Two skeletal wings rose over the center surrounding a skull unknown to human kind. Only had it been mentioned in legend and here the skull stood. It's different colored gem eyes stared menacingly downward to warn any who approached. To the humans of this world it was the skull of Cerberus. A three headed hellhound that guarded the gates to the Underworld in Greek mythos. It's first set of eyes, closest to the left, shown with fiery garnets, the second, closest to the right, burned with tanzanite eyes that sparkled and seemed to crackle with terrifying energy, and the third, the center skulls eyes bore yellow tourmaline that seemed to glow with an eerie yellow light.

Undertaker examined the mirror as well taking his time to stare at the various depictions of skulls that inlay the entire length of the full size mirror "Mr. Butler do you know what this mirror is?" He had assumed the demon would know about it to some degree. Even he did not know too much about it other then the fact the last time it was seen it was within the gates of Hell behind the vault of the ever-elusive demon king.

Sebastian knew this mirror and knew it well. He turned to Undertaker and nodded "Speculum Damni Cordis." He returned his attention back to the ominous mirror before speaking again " loosely translated it is the Mirror of Lost Souls. The same mirror that the King of Hell himself used to banish the greater demon Azaroth because of his insubordination and blood lust. He was a demon of greed and lust. A demon that could not be held in the normal confines of the deepest prisons in Hell. Sebastian felt his fist tighten enough to draw blood in his palms "Azaroth preys on those that feel they have lost meaning in life, lost everything they hold dear with a feeling of deepest despair." He stepped up to the mirror and felt his blood run cold. There in the reflection was Ciel, chained to a horrifying pillar of Azaroth's past victims, their skulls screaming eternally from their eternal torment. The boy looked gaunt, tired, and worst of all broken. He was about to touch the glass before Undertaker forcefully grabbed his hand.

"You cannot touch the glass unless you wish to alert Azaroth to your presence Mr. Butler. If you do then Ciel will be held hostage." He noticed the look on the demon's face, it was total and utter rage combined with a drive of possessiveness he had never seen in him before.

Sebastian growled "I can not leave Ciel there! I do not care if he is alerted to my presence or not I am going to save my Young master! I am going to keep him safe and I will never fail him again!" His eyes glowed fiery magenta accompanied by fangs that protruded form his upper lip. Demon form or not he was going to rescue Ciel and that was final.

Undertaker's grip tightened as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. The green and yellow irises narrowed dangerously "this is a prison for demons if you go in you will be trapped there along with Azaroth, only Ciel can come and go from the mirror without any negative repercussions. He has to rescue himself. It is called the mirror of lost souls because those that fall victim to its charms question their lives. The demon king made this prison for a…" A furious Sebastian who was about ready to sacrifice his own arm to jump into the mirror cut him off abruptly.

"I BLOODY WELL KNOW WHY I MADE THE MIRROR, I MADE IT FOR MY DAMN POWER HUNGRY AND MANIPULATIVE BROTHER!" He panted for a moment before realizing his mistake. If Ciel had found out about his true origins it would put a strain on his trust. He knew Undertaker was telling the truth; he had designed the mirror to trap any demon that dare cross its threshold while also keeping his brother trapped for all eternity. He was lucky he had not accidently destroyed Ciel's study as he took a shaky breath. His secret was out now but he would swear Undertaker never to disclose such a secret to anyone, not even Ciel "You must not tell him or I swear I will…"

He was cut off by a chuckle "fear not Mr. Butler I had my suspicions about you, of course who would have guessed that the King of Hell would be masquerading as a lesser demon under the employment of a child. He started to laugh "well it seems I have received my payment after all fufu." He noticed Sebastian's eyebrow twitch in annoyance "not to mention that the all powerful demon has fallen for his human contractor as well, you are a chained dog indeed Mr. Butler."

Sebastian wanted to rip the shinigami to pieces but he could not risk Ciel's demise due to his own violent temper "you have had your laugh now assist me in rescuing Ciel." He stared back into the mirror "Azaroth is trying to escape and in order to do that he is going to have to use a human vessel with a human soul. If he escapes the mirror within Ciel's body then the Young Master only has a short amount of time before his life force is completely drained, leaving Azaroth to take the body as he wishes, trapping Ciel inside the mirror forever." Sebastian felt his rage subside and his fear grow "I can not step into the mirror and yet even though you are a shinigami, not a demon, you are still supernatural you are not a mortal. Only mortals can pass through." He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple slightly "if only I had disposed of my brother so long ago and not locked him in some easily accessible prison." He looked into the depths of the mirror, what was he supposed to do? What was worse is that Ciel had fallen victim to Azaroth in the first place. Why had he done so? He thought that he had given Ciel everything he desired and more. Where did he go wrong that the Young Earl was now considered a lost soul? The boy was not too hard to read, however, he did keep to himself. If Sebastian asked him such a personal question Ciel would have just made some witty retort back. It was a defense mechanism for him, he knew this all too well. Dismayed at how to free his contractee, Sebastian hung his head, "its all my fault."

Undertaker shook his head "As I said before Ciel has to rescue himself, however, you can give him subliminal messages, ways for him to determine his own outcome." He pulled a small vial from his robes and handed it to Sebastian. The vial glowed a shimmering purple when it touched his palm "a rare item that I acquired years ago. Most call it dream mist but it's actually a form of demonic energy materialized into a mist of sorts. It's used by Djiin and other dream eating demons. If you use this you will be able to contact Ciel in his strange reality as well as see what is keeping him chained to that place."

Sebastian turned the vial over "rare indeed." He looked up to Undertaker and gave an approving nod of thanks. Facing the mirror he pulled the crystal stopper off the vial and put some in his palm. His heart sank when he stared into the reality of the mirror in front of him. Ciel did not have much time left. He seemed to be asleep so he would try and contact him while he was dreaming. Azaroth was a powerful demon, just like him, but he was not strong enough to read mortal thoughts or even penetrate the human subconscious. It was a skill that Sebastian had perfected over the centuries and now could do it any time he pleased. He tossed the contents in his palm over the mirror and closed his eyes, trying to reach out to Ciel. Their bond was a strong one so it did not take long to locate and boy's subconscious.

Ciel's Innermost subconscious

It was dark at first, most human minds were like this as he started to process their deepest darkest corners of their minds. The mind was an intimate place. He had invaded many before in an attempt to end his boring contracts early but with Ciel he felt uneasy. It was not like him, he was not only a demon, but also the king of Hell himself, why should he care? Of course he shouldn't have any doubts this was for Ciel's own good. Long stretches of darkness slowly dissolved into tiles, black and white tiles to be exact. Some of them were cracked and broken. There he stood in the front of an ancient ruin, a ruin he knew all too well, the demon island. There in the corner was Ciel, chained to the cold stone bench and surrounded by discarded black feathers. Ciel had never seen this place before so why was it so prevalent in his mind. The boy was curled up, his face hidden behind his knees. Only did he see the small puddle of water next to the boy's legs did he hear the sniffling. Ciel was crying? How could that possibly be? His Young Master would never cry or show such weakness. Would he? Almost instinctively he made his way toward the boy only to hear a set of words that nearly made him crash to his knees,

How can I love a demon, the demon that hates me with all his being? Soul this delicious that, that's all I will ever be to him. It's all he wants from me. I am naive to believe that a creature of darkness would have any compassion or affection for me. This Sebastian… the king… he treats me so kindly, I could finally find happiness here. I will never find it back in my world because the person I love and trust the most wants to see me die a horrible death and he will be grinning when the fear I so expertly hide from him will be etched in my face. I don't know what to do!

Ciel loved him? How was that even possible? Did he hear that right? It had to be as he was in the boy's subconscious and yet the idea that the Young Master had any feelings toward him, a cruel demon was unbelievable. Now he understood, this had nothing to do with revenge at all. This had to do with Ciel's own feelings, feelings the Earl thought Sebastian did not share "this is my fault after all."

Ciel looked up to see Sebastian inches away from him; he had been so busy crying that he had not noticed his presence until he heard him speak.

S….S…. Sebastian?

Yes, Ciel, it's me. He looked up into mismatched eyes. He could see the pain carved into the boy's flawless features. His eyes were blood shot, his cheeks showed signs of tear stains, and his hair was mussed over. This was Ciel in his purest form, no walls, no witty comebacks. This was the Ciel that was buried under layers of hardship and turmoil, suffering and pain. He was just a frightened boy, looking for happiness in his short mortal life. A life that now hung in the balance, a life he had put in jeopardy for not considering the possibility that Ciel cared for him "Ciel you must listen to me, I understand how you feel and I will explain myself in due time, however, you are in a dire situation." The boy seemed to look at him in confusion "the world that you are in does not exist, it is an illusion only you can break through. You are strong Ciel." He made his way to Ciel and pulled him against him tightly, closing his eyes and burring his face into blue grey locks of hair "come back to me please, I know it's a hard decision, I know what I have done has made you angry with me but please come back to me. I need you." He did not know how long he would have until he was forcefully kicked out Ciel's mind.

I want you to come back, please believe me

~whoo that was a long one, I think I would have done this chapter a big disservice if I split it up because its such a pivotal chapter within in the story. I hope you enjoyed and big twist! For those that were hoping for an actual parallel universe story not to worry I can always write one that is very similar. I just felt that this made it unpredictable. If you go back I tried my hardest not to refer to the "the demon king" as Sebastian even once in an effort to draw suspicion. I usually only called him the demon or the king, which implies that he, was more then he seemed. Anyway hope you enjoyed and look forward to the next chapter!

~Ciel