Hey guys! Sorry for the huge delay on this one. I've had it completed for a while now but honestly just never had the time to post it. But now I figured I'd get it up for Halloween time :3 This is just a theory that came into my mind one day and lo and behold it became this 3-shot! I'm not up-to-date on the manga, so don't kill me if I'm off on some things. This is a completely original theory. I do hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts.

Conviction

Chapter 1. Premonition

"Another hotel?" Alice groaned as she entered the building before her.

Accompanied by Oz and Gilbert, the three of them were, once again, on the pursuit of one of her lost memories. They had heard that strange things had been occurring in this town recently, and the possibility that a being from the Abyss could be involved just kept rising.

"Yes, another hotel." Gilbert snapped back in exchange of her complaint. "You're so impatient and judgmental. Just take what you get, Baka Usagi."

"Humph!" Alice crossed her arms and stomped up the stairs to their designated room. Gilbert snorted and Oz chuckled helplessly as they followed her lead.

"Oh, great." Gil mumbled as he entered the dark room, flicking the lights on. "Only two beds again. Alright, guess I'll take the floor again." He sighed.

"Don't bother." Alice spoke up as she sat down on the floor in front of the window. "I'll take the floor. I don't need a bed." She said slowly.

"Right. You're just a Chain." Gil commented thoughtlessly. The silence that ensued was frigid and Oz nearly felt the electricity sparking between them. He pretended he had not heard Gil's comment and that Alice had not either, but it was too obvious to ignore. "Well we're only staying a few nights until the weather clears up, and I've got to meet up with an acquaintance tomorrow so it should only be for tonight."

"That's good, right Alice?" Oz sighed in a bit of relief, hoping that what Gilbert had added on to his prior statement had taken away some of the malice of the words. But still, it seemed more like an unwilling add-on rather than compensation.

"Yeah." Alice responded to the boy as though she were in another world. Her voice was low and monotone as she stared out the window at the gray sky. Oz could not see her face, but he assumed that it was distant and confused.

Gilbert walked past her, ignoring her and taking a seat on his bed, removing his hat and tossing it onto the blankets.

"Well, I'm going to sleep for now." He told Oz who had taken his seat on the opposite bed, near the wall. "I'll be up early tomorrow so I can leave, meet up with that person and get back early. Hopefully we'll only have to stay two nights at the most."

"Okay." Oz replied, only half listening; one eye was on Alice who was still gazing off into the darkening sky.

"Oz." The blonde boy blinked as Gilbert spoke again, leaning in closer to his master. "Listen, if anything happens when I'm gone, just run. If you have to, let her handle it and get away." He ordered, flicking his glance over his shoulder to the window.

"Are you telling me to use Alice as a sacrifice?" the boy hissed, disbelievingly, his eyes hardening.

"Not necessarily." Gilbert defended. "I'm your valet and you're my top priority."

"Fine." Oz said, not meaning it; he was only agreeing to make Gil happy and get him off this topic. "If something happens, I'll do that." He kicked off his boots and threw himself down on his bed, turning away to face the wall. "Good night." He mumbled.

He heard Gilbert sigh as his bed creaked and he lay down as well, shutting off the lamp. After waiting only a few moments, Oz heard snoring from the other side of the room and he sat up again. "Geez, Gil, what's getting on your nerves recently?" he sighed, sliding off his bed.

Quietly, he skirted the other bed and sat down on the floor beside Alice who had not budged an inch since she had sat down. "Hey, are you okay?" Oz whispered. "You know Gil's been in a bad mood recently but you never take offense to him so don't start now."

The girl sighed and replied without turning her head.

"No it's not really him…Okay maybe it is a little bit." She admitted and Oz chuckled. "But there's something more to it. I can't explain it though. There's just…something wrong about this town. I don't like it." She blinked once before slowly turning her head to face him. Oz was shocked when he saw her indigo irises flickering with fear. "I'm getting this feeling I sometimes got in certain parts of Abyss." She took a deep breath before voicing her fears. "I feel like…I'm being hunted."

"What?" Oz could not keep himself from sounding astonished. How could anything hunt Alice? Isn't the B-Rabbit one of the most powerful Chains in all of the Abyss? "Is it another Chain?" he wondered.

Alice just shook her head, troubled.

"I don't know." She confessed, pulling her knees in closer to her chest and burying her face in them with an exhausted sigh.

"Well don't worry about it. We'll be out of here soon enough." Gently, Oz reached over and stroked her long, black hair.

Then, thunder crashed overhead, making both of them jump. Alice lifted her head and gazed out the window as rain began pouring mercilessly down from the gray sky, clogged with black clouds. Oz continued stroking her hair comfortingly; he knew that she hated thunder. Even if she was the omnipotent B-Rabbit, she was still just a rabbit, and even if she was a powerful Chain, she was still just a girl.

A flash of lightning lit up the entire room and made Oz squint his eyes against the unsuspected brightness. He heard Alice gasp beside him and quickly glanced over to find her trembling as she stared out the window, her eyes wide. "Alice? What's wrong?" he asked urgently. He followed the path her eyes took, but saw nothing but darkness outside the glass.

"S…Something white…" she stammered. Her sudden change in character told Oz that something was definitely wrong. He could count on one hand how many times he had seen Alice scared, and each time it just got more and more unbelievable.

"Calm down," he patted her shoulder. "It was just lightning."

"Y…You're right." She finally managed to choke out.

A moment passed by and the thunder rumbled again, making her shake from the inside out.

"Alice." Oz murmured and she slowly turned her face toward him. "Do you remember when we first met and you tricked me into making the contract?" He hated to use the word 'trick' since it made it sound like she was playing him; that may have been the case at the time, but he knew that deep down all that she truly wanted was to retrieve her lost memories and gain the companionship she had lost, and he would never blame her. "When you contracted with me, you said that you were just following the conviction inside of you. And when I was asked why I contracted with you, I said that I was following my own conviction." He recalled. Her eyes portrayed her comprehension but she said nothing as he went on. "What does your conviction say now?" he wondered.

She did not reply for a moment, but instead closed her eyes slowly.

A moment later she reopened them as another flash of lightning lit the room.

"It's saying that I should get out of here as fast as I can." She answered.

Oz was speechless, the only comfort he could offer her was the warm hand that rested on her back.

"Well then," he spoke up. "My conviction is telling me not to let you out of my sight until we get out of this place. And I won't." He promised seriously before his lips gradually turned up into a smile. "Come on, let's go to bed. I'll take the floor."

"No it's fine." She declined. "You keep the bed. You know Seaweed Head will have a hissy fit if he finds out that I made you sleep on the floor."

"But I'll tell him I did it willingly!" Oz protested. "Or we could share the bed if we had to."

"But we don't have to. It's fine." She repeated, giving him a tiny smile.

"Alright, alright." Oz sighed in defeat. "But I won't be able to sleep tonight in knowing I'm letting a girl sleep on the cold hard floor."

"Then I'll take your blanket in compensation." She bargained.

"Deal." He agreed, standing slowly.

He closed the curtains before offering her his hand and pulling her up. The boy returned to his bed to strip it of one of its blankets and laid it out on the floor between his and Gil's beds. He climbed onto the mattress as Alice lay down on top of the blanket on the floor, wrapping herself up slightly. "Good night, Alice." He said softly, resting his head on his pillow and gazing down at her.

"Yeah." She mumbled, curling herself up into a ball.

Oz closed his eyes briefly before reopening them to find the girl looking back over her shoulder toward the window.

"Alice." He whispered her name and she jumped, turning back to him quickly before realizing it was only him who had spoken and calming down. "How about I stand guard until you fall asleep?" he offered gently.

"Okay." He would have expected her to decline, but the fact that she had agreed meant that she was truly frightened by this premonition she was feeling. He had to admit that the atmosphere of this town was not exactly welcoming; it had been dark and dreary ever since their arrival. "Close your eyes." He urged quietly.

The girl gazed up at him, almost as though asking for his permission, and so when he gave it, she obediently let her eyelids fall shut. Her head fell onto the blanket beneath her and Oz studied her troubled face as she tried to make herself sleep.

The din of the rainfall in the background was louder than ever, producing an ominous sort of tune that was constant and unsettling. The thunder that continued to rumble was unnerving, and the periodic flashes of lightning washed the room in an eerie light. From time to time, Oz saw the shadows of the room move unnaturally and he tried to force himself into believing that his eyes were merely playing tricks on him.

Alice's breathing was just beginning to slow and deepen when he saw the shadows dancing, as though acting out the scene of a horror story. They shuffled at one second and were completely still the next until at last Oz knew he was no longer hallucinating.

His eyes widened as a long strip of black moved from the wall onto the floor and slowly began creeping toward his bed. The boy blinked several times, alarm flaring up inside of him when he realized this was reality and not a dream. The skinny shadow then split at the end advancing toward him, giving it the appearance of a long arm with clawed fingers like knives; and they were reaching for Alice.

Oz could not remember how to speak.

It was so haunting, so frighteningly terrifying that he could not remember how to function properly.

As the claws advanced, the long fingers reached past her body.

"Alice…" Oz managed to choke out. But nothing changed as the shadow kept nearing his sleeping companion. "Alice." He said again, louder but still nothing happened.

He glanced at Gil who was still asleep and oblivious, his back turned to the scene before Oz.

The boy dared not move a muscle as he watched the knifelike fingers reach Alice's neck and then began to curl around her throat. Suddenly, a flash of lightning and a blast of thunder came in unison at the same moment when Oz cried out, "Alice!"

He sat up immediately and flicked on the lamp at his bedside. The girl's eyes flew open as she thrust the blanket off of her and flew up into a sitting position, gasping for air. Her hands flew to her throat as she panted, her eyes wild as they flicked about the room.

Oz stared down at her as relief came over him to see that she was mainly unharmed. But there was something that had bothered him even more than the moving shadows had. He knew he was not mistaken; when the lighting had flashed, the shadow had turned white before it disappeared. He could not push the image from his mind as he continued to stare down at the floor, his eyes boring into the place it had been only seconds ago.

Alice caught her breath and turned to look up at him, her eyes stretched wide in terror.

"Oz…" she rasped, her voice hitching in her throat. All he could do was shake his head at her; he had no idea what had just happened.

The heavy atmosphere was broken when Gil's snoring stopped momentarily and he asked, "What are you two doing? Turn the light off and get to bed," Before he fell back asleep. Oz and Alice locked eyes, both their gazes wide and fearful.

Then, without a word, he slid off his bed and helped her up. He put the blanket back on his bed and took her hand as he climbed back in and she tentatively followed. The boy spread the blanket out over the both of them before turning off the light again.

He placed his head back on his pillow as Alice moved closer to him, away from the edge. He shifted upwards more so that her head was fitted just beneath his chin. She nestled closer to his chest and he wrapped his arms protectively around her back and shoulders. She was shaking so much he hardly would have expected it to be her if he did not know any better.

An idea surfaced in his mind as he slid one hand into his pocket and removed his watch. Opening it, the gentle melody of Lacie floated into the air and filled the room.

Instantly, Alice's shoulders relaxed and she sighed as Oz pulled her closer, resting his chin on her head.

He waited, listening to the sounds of the rain, the music, and her breathing until the latter had slowed.

Once he was certain she was asleep, he closed his pocket watch and put it away before allowing himself to close his eyes as well.

Yet even though the room was now calmed and quiet, the storm and the thunder continued to crash violently outside.

A/N: Remember, I'm not caught up with the manga at this point so please don't flame me. Chapter 2 will be up soon!

Please review!