The patter of rain against a window in the dusk of the night, calling out that dreary emotions that hung thickly on the air. Everything else held a nerving calm that couldn't be missed. A scary aura of a beating mind telling one to run. Run as far as one's feet could carry them, as fast as they possibly can. Get out. Get away. Don't look back. Don't return. Do not think about anything else. Just go. Get out. Get away. If one stepped foot into the eerie mansion, surely they wouldn't be able to hold on long enough to get a look around, explore. The dreaded emotion continued to arise the longer it went on, the longer one tried to hold foot.

GO AS FAR AS YOU CAN—! DON'T LOOK BACK—!

A shattering of glass broke the silence suddenly as if the whole area had been shaken down to the very core and erupting into a mess of splintering wood and shards of the sharp edges of the glass around. Fire to engulf the whole place into a bright light only brought forth by the clash and soon to meet its own demise as the rain fell in a strong downpour bringing everything to ash. To die a devastating death and never to be known about by the distant town until one finally stumbled upon ruins. A place once erected by the work of so many to be brought down to the level of the brittle ground.

A pair of boots clacked against the hard wood floor in a hurry with the ends of his coat trailing out behind him as his arm swung with his motion. He panted, breathing in and out through his mouth as if he had been running a marathon. Losing his breath quickly, he already felt light-headed as it was. Though he had to hurry, he couldn't slow down any more than how fast he was running. The carpet beneath his feet couldn't even muffle the sounds of the adult. Determined look steadied upon those worn features. Loss of blood associated with this loss of insight. He knew what he must do. Wet wavy locks clung to his features and in his face, golden irises just visible between those strands of hair.

I can make it—! Come on—!

He couldn't even out his breathing while on the move. It wouldn't come to any use. If he were to keep on traveling, he'd need to just deal with this overwhelming feeling that pulled him downward. The noirette had to hold strong. He had to keep himself moving or who knew what could happen. He just couldn't stop. He couldn't stop no matter how tired he became.

Keep pushing. Keep moving. The same words didn't leave his mind with each step that only caused the hysteria to grow even more within his very form.

Where are you going? What are your intentions?

Gilbert shook his head quickly as his arm continued to swing, the straps of his coat whipping out behind him as he entered into another room. Swiftly turning his head in all directions of the room. Nothing. He had to hold back a hiss from escaping past his lips. Oz— where could the boy be?! This wouldn't be healthy in any way if he couldn't the blonde. Glen and the Baskervilles were in this mansion also, but he couldn't lose Oz at a time like this—! He finally halted in his running to take a small breather. Hand rose up to his throbbing head as he took in deep breaths.

Golden irises held a stinging pain within them as instead of his head he clutched at the left side of his chest. He wasn't use to any of this, but one this was for certain. He knew what it was that he had to do. As the servant of Oz and as a strong Baskerville himself, he knew just what it was he needed to do. The very choices he's made up until now tore him down and held him one spot, but now he chose to move forward, to a place that he wished to be. Everything came at a price, but surely he could change his own life path.

"Damn…" He growled out between pants. "Oz!" He cried out finally. The two of them had gotten separated at some point, and it didn't help him in the least. Where could the blonde have gone? Gilbert tried retracing his steps, but came out fruitless. At a time like this, losing each other wasn't exactly the best ideal. Not very fitting at all.

Turn around, Gilbert. Turn around.

Eyelids gradually closed inward as pivoted around on his heels and ran back in the direction that he had just come from. "Oz!" The boy's name once more fell from his lips. The pain he felt was unending, but he lived with it. It wasn't himself that was to be worried about, but Oz.

"Oz!"

Blonde stands of hair covered his eyes as he staggered, the feeling of the cold wall against his body. His chest was in agony, he didn't think things could get much worse.

Just give up. Give up…

His eye-lids hanged. The dark emerald eyes concentrating on the floor, showing no light reflected. Why did anything matter anymore..? His Hand raised up to his throbbing chest as he took in deep breaths. He had stopped calling Gilbert's name in the distance but it was to late, the raven haired man kept running and running. Why did Gilbert care so much to get him out…? He should've just stood by and watched as Glen would cut off his head, and finally maybe…things would turn back to normal.

No! No no! Gilbert's not like that!

A small cry called out in his head.

Gilbert's too sweet and innocent just to stand by, i mean, he even cut his own arm off for me!

Oz sighed and closed his eyes, his feet, surely but slowly, staggering across the floor. It was the first time ones chest burned for Gilbert's touch, or for his words to give him a warm happy feeling inside.

The pounding of the rain against the windows and the darkness of the halls calmed the blondes nerves. Suddenly he felt a wet and cold feeling on his cheeks. Tiny droplets were falling from his face like rain. His cheeks were flustered.

It's scary…. Oz kept telling himself.

His heart was telling him to run, but the weakness over powered him in his mind. His knees falling to the ground and his hands covering his face. The blonde didn't realize of all times, why did he have to break down crying now.

He didn't know what to do, he went down the wrong halls and found himself to be nowhere, losing Gilbert, and a bunch of people after him to kill him. Suddenly he found it amusing and chuckled. Everyone making a big fuss, just for him? This was the last thing he wanted and yet he felt sanity slipping away from his fingers like sand.

Tears were clouding his visions as they fell.

"Why jack….?" muttered softly, his eyes were wide and dark. Although he knew exactly why, he couldn't understand that he killed so many people. It meant, he too, was tainted. All from the beginning….nothing, not even Gil, Oz could never call them his own..

Wait…..' Oz asked, and his body began to tremble. 'No…this cant…am I too..Going insane…?'

What was this clawing feeling in his chest..? The pain of the contractor seal had died down, but another feeling arose inside the noirette as he ran down the large corridor. His breathing was off as he began to stagger, losing all means of strength to continue running. How much more could he sustain? He already took a bullet to the chest for Vincent, burned off his arm to break the seal with Glen, lost blood, and then chose right away to come to Oz's side. Now the two of them were separated of all times. Would the Baskervilles get to the blonde first? No. He couldn't think about that. When had he lost Oz? When had the two of them got separated? He couldn't quite remember. The blonde was somewhere, and he planned to find him first. There was no time left to delay.

Left eyelid closed over that golden irises as he took in a sharp air of breath before practically losing his balance. Falling against the wall, he had to stop. Gilbert needed a breather that he still never got. Both eyelids closed as he took in deep breaths. This wasn't good. Even still, the noirette knew he couldn't give up. He didn't have time to give up at this given moment. Break over. He had to keep moving. Gilbert wouldn't allow anything bad to come to Oz. No. He was to be there for the blonde, and protect him. This was something that he had to do. No one else to take his place, and still the Baskervilles were after him. That wouldn't change either. The body Oz's soul resided in was one person that Gilbert still couldn't stop hating, and yet the fact that it was Oz standing before him and not Jack swayed the scales.

Head turned as his hand rested against the left side of his chest where the seal resided. No hands. He wouldn't be dragged away as would be expected. He was a Baskerville. This contract was to happen. He was to be a guardians of the Abyss, and especially the next head as his brother was the child of the misfortune. Yet to Gilbert, that wasn't his brother. No. His brother was his brother, just as Oz was Oz. Nothing changed what the two of them meant to him.

"Oz—" Snapping out of the train of thought, he shook his head clear. He didn't have time to think—! He had to get to Oz. He had to be the first to Oz. Gilbert knew of this, but why had they separated? The raven had been certain he had a hold onto the blonde to keep them close. What had gone wrong..? It wasn't time to worry about that either.

His pants came out heavily as his ears caught sound of the pounding rain drops against the glass windows that hadn't been touched by the powers of Raven when Gilbert summoned his chain during his rescue of Oz. It appeared that rain only seemed to pick up as the sky outside turned a darker shade of gray, only enveloping the world in thicker darkness. How accurate it seemed to have such an amount of rain at such a crucial time frame.

His teeth clenched together as he pushed himself back up to steady on his feet, a slight stagger while regaining himself, ignoring that spinning feeling in his head. No. He withstood so much that it wasn't time to bow down. It wasn't time to give in. He had to find his master — his friend — the person who meant so much to Gilbert — Oz. "I can't give in now…"

Right arm slipped away from his chest as once more he resumed his sprinting through the halls, turn here, turn there. "Oz!" The boy's name called from those lips in a breathy air, yet still loud enough. A few times almost coming face-to-face with members of the Baskervilles, those red cloaks distinct above all else.

"Oz!" The boy had to be somewhere. He slowed down his pace once more as his head glance in different directions quickly. Where…? Where could he be?!

Don't look, don't see.

A clicking sound left him as stopped at a a cross-road. Two different paths in which he could take. So many curves and twists making up the mansion's inner passageways. Boots clicked along the hard floors. "I know he's around here somewhere… I just know it…" Golden irises wouldn't stop searching. "Oz!"

Making a quick turn on his heels, he switched position to look in a different direction, his breathing uneven as he panted from all his running. His ears caught sound of another pair of footsteps. Had some of the given chase..? Surely Glen would have set the others on him also. He had expected it, after all. Gilbert did go against the one person whom he use to stand next to as a young valet. That was what he was younger.

"I got to find him—!" He hissed the words out as his body tensed up. Struggling his way past obstacles had been something Gilbert had always done. It wasn't too light to not know this. But for all he knew, Oz could be breaking down somewhere and he had a feeling Oz was around this part of the mansion.

Your sacrifice…

Sharp glance behind, darkening appearance pulling across his very features, before anyone could even possibly gain sight or sound of where the noirette had gone, he took off in the direction he felt Oz to be. He's down this way— I just know—!