Ache
Sometime pre-Party, perhaps in the ten years Oz was gone. I'm not too sure myself. AU reveal of Break as Kevin. Both characters are OOC.
It was raining. This in itself wasn't surprising; without rain the crops wouldn't grow and they'd die of starvation. No, what was surprising this rainy day was that Pandora headquarters was oddly and eerily quiet. There was none of the usual hustle and bustle of the various servants that tended to the place, nor the clack of shoes on wood floor that symbolized the arrival of some contractor. No, today the Pandora headquarters was utterly silent.
In a room on the second floor, Liam Lunettes was fixing up yet another mission report turned in by someone who didn't know a fragment from a run-on. Sometimes he wondered about the intelligence of the field agents… a side effect of too many blows to the head? He sighed, rubbed his temples, and kept going.
It was nearing teatime when Liam realized he had completely skipped lunch. He'd get something to munch on before returning to his office and the stacks of paperwork waiting there, he decided, and set his pen down.
He ambled down the hallway, his steps muffled by the thick red carpet. He paused as he saw a figure standing by a window.
"Xerxes?"
The man didn't answer, but Liam would know that head of white hair anywhere it went. He strode up to his slightly-shorter friend and made to tap on his shoulder before he noticed what Break was doing.
Break's one eye was gazing out onto the rain-drenched courtyard of Pandora. His right hand, seemingly of its own accord, hovered over his empty eye socket.
His fingers were bloody, and they were still digging deeper into the empty socket.
"Xerxes Break! What are you doing?" Liam shouted, horrified. The last time Break had done this, he was lying in a room in the Rainsworth mansion, sitting in a rain-drenched window, staring out at nothing as he tried to understand the time that had passed him by while he was in the Abyss.
Break turned his gaze onto Liam. The malice and hatred hidden in its ruby depths caused Liam to shudder.
"Ah, Liam."
The ugly anger disappeared, replaced by a flat stare. The other hand kept digging.
Liam pulled at the arm and forced it down.
"Whoops," Break said softly. "So I did it again?"
"Yes."
Break smiled, a small, broken smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Does it hurt?" Liam asked, gesturing at the empty socket.
"Not much anymore… only when it rains."
Break had more to say. That much Liam could tell, from the gently shaking hand to the sense of pain and loss that Break was radiating.
After a long pause, Break finally opened his mouth.
"Have you heard of Kevin Legnard?"
Liam nodded. Being a member of Duke Barma's staff meant that he knew much more than the average Pandora agent.
"Kevin was… a acquaintance. We were both vassals of the Sinclair house, and I mentored him for a while."
Liam nodded again, unsure of the direction the conversation was taking.
"He and I were both taken into the Sinclair house when we were young. He had been living on the streets, since the Children of Ill Omen were shunned then as much as they are now. We had a happy childhood, and we both became knights of Sinclair once the moment came.
"Then, the Tragedy struck. It was a rainy day. That I remember clearly. He should have stayed behind to accompany Lady Emily. He should have. But he didn't." Break's voice was quiet but anguished. "He took off after the ones who had killed his master after contracting with Albus the White Knight. It, like its master, thirsted for the blood of those who killed the lord and his family. He told me that he remembered nothing afterwards.
"When he came to, he was standing over a dead child whom he had killed to get more power. Later, he learned that he killed one hundred and sixteen people. One hundred and sixteen."
They stood by the window as the rain pattered down outside.
"And that's not the worst part…"
Liam raised one eyebrow at that. Didn't the story end there? Kevin Legnard was pulled into the Abyss, the Sinclair family went extinct, and the massacre (because it really couldn't be anything but a massacre) was recorded as one of the great tragedies in Pandora's history (besides The Tragedy). He started to question it, but Break placed a finger over his lips and continued.
"He didn't want this. He never wanted any of it, so he used Albus to turn back time. Only this time Emily died as well."
This was all nice and soppy, but what did it have to do with…
Oh.
Oh.
There was that doll named Emily. And the Red-Eyed Spectre, and everyone knew that children of ill omen had red eyes, and Break had one red eye. Kevin Legnard was an Illegal Contractor who used Albus to turn back time, and afterwards was cast into the Abyss, emerging years later as Xerxes Break.
Break nodded after seeing Liam's expression.
"Did… did it take your eye?" Liam asked.
"Yes. Although it was a she."
"Ah."
Suddenly, one hundred and sixteen people seemed much more frightening. And so did the Abyss.
"Why tell me this now?"
"The end is coming. Hatter told me so. When the end comes, I want someone to remember me as who I really am."
"You're going to die?"
As soon as the question left his lips, he mentally slapped himself. Of course Break was going to die. Hatter put so much strain on him, and his eyesight had deteriorated to the point where he only saw in muted, blurry shades of grey.
Break snorted.
"Of course I'm going to die. It's just a matter of time... and if she'll let me die."
There was a long silence.
Then Liam spoke. "Whatever you're planning to do, tell me."
Break started to protest, but Liam cut him off. "Tell me, so I can worry about you even if you don't. Promise me, Xerc."
Liam's brown eyes were resolute.
Break sighed and nodded.
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go get tea for two."
As Liam traipsed down the stairs, he didn't notice the expression of relief that crossed Break's face.
Perhaps it was time to let go of the nightmare.
Okay, so they were really OOC, Break especially. Sue me.