Hey Everyone. Guess what? The Super Bowl is about to start, which means...FUNNY COMERCIAL TIME! Just kidding, but they are funny. Let's just hope this won't be a repeat of 42 (super bowl 42). Also, this chapter will be entierly in Mark's point of veiw.
peppermint twertle: Yup. He's 'Aaron' now. We'll get back to that later. And yes, Alice was soooo cute in the lastest chapter.
I do not own Pandora Hearts in any way.
Chapter 7: Soul Rift
(Dream)
"No...go away...! I don't want to see this!"
My own voice seemed to be drowned out by the sound of buildings crumbling down. I heard an unearthly screech and I had to press my hands to my ears to block out the sound. People could be heard in the distance, but only two voices stood out.
Chains clash and feathers rain down.
"Make it stop!"
A person runs by, not noticing me as they skid to a stop, just as I don't notice them.
Something happens behind me, but I pretend not to hear. I don't even turn around to look.
Then, the scene flashes, and all I see is fire.
"No..."
"Why?" A voice screams. "Why did you do this?"
"No!" I collapse and hold my head in my hands, wanting all of this to just disappear.
"Answer me!"
Suddenly, all the fire is gone and I'm back to the same scene as before.
"Leave me alone." I grit through clenched teeth. "I told you I don't want to see these things!"
"But they resurface." The voice whispers. "Only because of what lies inside."
"Shut up! Stop tainting my dreams with this madness!"
A flash of red, and I look up to see a gruesome sight. Words can't really comprehend it.
"W-wha-?"
"W-why...why...?" That trembling voice sounds vaguely like the one that was screaming in that scene of fire. "Why? Why did you do that-!"
I never get to hear the name.
(End dream)
"Stop it!"
My voice screamed this as whiteness hit my eyes, just at the same time I bolted forward, something pulling on my arm. I clenched my teeth together at this pain, slapping a hand to a spot on my arm where I had felt this.
"Hey, careful there!" A familiar voice called out. "You're gonna end up yanking that right out of your arm."
Whipping my head around to face that voice, I was greeted with a girl looking at me with bright green eyes, blond hair framed around her face. She blinked once and smiled gently.
"Um, how long have you been standing there?" I started, not having anything else to say to the girl.
She shrugged. "Ever since I got here about an hour ago."
"An hour ago?"
"Yeah. Carrie told me you've been out since yesterday after she came to see you."
That suddenly made me more alert. "Huh? Since yesterday?"
"Yup, you slept quite a bit, but don't worry about it." A single wink from her, and I felt a blush creeping onto my face, catching me off guard.
"What is there to worry about?"
"For starters, looks like you were having a rough dream, huh?"
I tried to shrug it off, like it was no big deal. "It was only a dream, nothing more."
Her response... "Hmph! Why are you denying? It must have been a very bad one, seeing as how it got your heart going. You were moving around so much you got my attention right away. No one else seemed to notice."
"Right..." I muttered in a sarcastic tone.
'What's up with this girl?' I then thought. 'She's so darn happy. On top of that, she gets all worked up over a stupid dream.'
"You're okay now though, aren't you?" She smiled again. Hmm, something about that smile was just... warm.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good." Her face brightened into a cheerful expression, holding out her hand. "My name is Tracy Wood."
Oh, yes, I remember! Carrie said that this girl was the one who had made that delicious tea, and, that time, she was the one singing most of that song.
"I'm sure Carrie has already spoke of my name, but, I am Mark." I said, taking her hand.
"The Baskerville, correct?" She let go and drew her hand back to her side.
"Technically." That's right, I had abandoned my title as a Baskerville when I had left.
"That doesn't mater to me, it's alright."
I leaned back into my bed. "You're a strange one."
Tracy raised an eyebrow in response. "Huh? I don't understand."
"You seem so happy and bright. How can you manage to be like that all the time?"
She laughed. "I must of got it from my ancestor, the famed Oz Vessalius!"
My eyes widened. "O-Oz...?"
"Exactly! You see, Mark, I am his proud descendent!"
'I've heard that name. But she...there's no way she could be connected.' Jumbles of thoughts and questions were running through my tiered mind at the speed of light. 'I mean, look at her. She's only a descendent, but still, what if she knows about...that?'
"Are you really his descendent?" I need to test her, see what she knows.
"Why must you doubt me?" Tracy seemed to be annoyed at this point. "Oz Vesalius is truly my ancestor, and I am happy to have such a heritage. It is also said he was the reincarnation of 'that' hero."
That immediately got my attention. "Wait, you don't mean-"
"That's right," She answered, twirling around. "Jack Vessalius, the hero of the Tragedy of Sablier!"
'Hero? No...you don't know anything!'
"Tracy-!" I was suddenly interrupted when a shock of pain ran through me in an instant. "Ugh...!"
Tracy caught sight of my hands twitching ever so slightly. "Hey, you alright? You look pale."
"It's nothing." I assured her. Damn side effects.
"I beg to differ. Carrie told me you were in some pretty bad shape when you got here."
"She told me the same thing." I shook my head and tried to get back on the current subject. "But, what do you know of Jack Vessalius?"
"Oh~, you seem eager to know."
"Please, just tell me."
She sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "There's nothing much to explain though."
"Just what do you know?" I continued to insist.
"Fine." Tracy sat down beside me on my bed, and I was kind of uncomfortable with her being so close. I am not used to that sort of thing. "He was a son of the Vessalius household. He made music boxes and clocks. His best friend was Glen Baskerville. He knew a young girl named Alice. He is recognized as the hero of the Tragedy of Sablier."
'Basic facts, of course.'
"That's about all there is too it." Tracy finished. "No one really knows much more than those facts."
"So, even if you call him a 'hero', not everything is known, is that not so?"
"I..." That caught her off guard. "I guess you're right."
She was still smiling, ever so lightly. Something about her was like a calm aura too, radiating from her essence. I've seen many faces, many people, but this was my first time meeting someone like her.
In short, I think she actually notices that I'm...alive. I have been, but I was always a ghost to others unless they choose to acknowledge my presence. See, because of what has been slowly happening to me, a setting like this is all too familiar, and then this girl appears to me, and all that seems different. She is also like the ones who have noticed, but, unlike how I felt towards the Baskervilles in the past few days, I feel something different about her.
Tracy is different.
"You work alongside Carrie, right?" I ask her, switching the subject.
"Of course. In fact, we've been here, oh...three months."
"Considering you two are missionaries of Pandora, a long investigation must have been keeping you two here."
She suddenly poked me in the forehead, which had been unexpected. "You're a sharp one! I'm surprised Carrie knew your name when we meet back at the karaoke club. Pray tell, how much of that do you remember?"
The look in her eyes clearly reads 'I'm curious to know'. I've never meet a girl with that kind of eagerness before.
"I remember all that." I reply, rubbing the back of my head. "I remember finding you two, and I remember falling to the floor, muffled noises of people's voices all around. I also remember the moment when I fell unconscious, and even then my throat still burned with the desire to drink something."
"And then?"
"I remember waking up here, dizzy and disoriented. Carrie was here too, and she gave me some kind of beverage, saying that you were the creator of that thing."
"Because that's our family's special herbal tea!" She answers cheerfully.
"A family recipe, eh? That would explain it."
"It's famous for being known to help the sick."
'Of course.' That tea was really amazing though, no wonder it's a family recipe. If she says it's famous for that sole purpose, then that too is also a truth. Maybe she make more of that tea later.
"Anyways." Tracy continued. "Things are winding down, so we'll be able to return home soon. Carrie would be especially happy about that, to return home."
Home. To return home.
"And why is that?"
Tracy's face turned from a cheerful one, to a clam one in and instant. "Her boyfriend, who is also a co-worker of mine, is in a coma."
She must have known about it too, since the two girls work alongside each other. I don't blame Carrie for wanting to head back to her hometown though, she must be worried about the boy. It's only understandable, and, knowing her, I get that.
And now, what I'm about to ask, I already know it to hold truth, but, there's no harm in getting a confirmation from someone who works closely with Carrie.
"Has he been like that for as long as you've been in this town, that boy, Leo?"
"Actually, four months, but-" It took her all of a second for her to realize what name I had just said. "Huh? You know Leo?"
"Yeah, we've met."
I recalled the last time me and the boy crossed paths, although, at that time, Leo wasn't the messy haired, clam person I had seen before, he had been someone entirely different. At that time, Glen Baskerville had taken over the young boy, using him. His voice sounded the same, but it was just being used. Glen was playing host to the former Baskerville heir, and that was not the same person.
And to think, he almost died. To think...I nearly assisted in that. Carrie would have killed us all, because she holds a power unlike anything before.
Speaking of Carrie, I hadn't seen her that night, but I'm sure, that when that purple flash had knocked me out, it was her. It could only have meant that she separated Glen from Leo, removed the Baskerville from the boy's body, only before the stroke of midnight.
Anyways, when I had last seen her, it was when Glen had first took control of Leo, back when he had no idea what was going on or how to fight back. Carrie, in response, had called out her Chain, the legendary Raven, in order to try and break through to Leo by using it's power. In a way, she had done so, with a kiss. I fled the scene after Leo collapsed into her arms. It would now seem, think back to yesterday, we had crossed paths once more.
Wait! Oh no, I almost forgot about that! The reason I had sought her out was to...
"I need to see Carrie." I said as I struggled to sit up.
Tracy saw this and rose from the bed. "You're not going anywhere, mister."
The result of my attempt was her suddenly pushing on my shoulders, forcing me to lay back down. I couldn't fight back however, since I'm still in a very weak state.
"You have to let me go!" I hissed at her, but she chose to ignore me.
"There's no way you're going anywhere like this." Tracy insists, myself laying helpless against the pillows and sheets as she removed her hands. "The doctor said you have to stay here until you've recovered; a few days if not a week."
Why? Why doesn't she understand? She doesn't know what's at stake, the life of her best friend's boyfriend. She should just let me go right now, that's the reason I came here, to warn Carrie of the danger. Yet, Tracy doesn't really matter in this equation, only Carrie needs to hear me out.
"Just let me-"
"I said no." She was clearly intent on this.
I closed my eyes, defeated and tired in my efforts to escape this room. I'm familiar with the setting, but I don't like the smells that come with being here, they make my head spin.
"Hey, I've got a brilliant idea." I open my eyes to see that she holds a pack of cards in her hand. "How 'bout a round of this? Carrie will be here later and you can talk to her then."
I blink, but then nod my head slowly. Looking at Tracy though, I wonder if all the things she said about that man, Jack Vessalius, is all she knows.
What if it's all anyone knows?
'It's a lie, all of it.' I think as she names the game we play.
That time will come though, when I have to tell them. The first priority is to make sure Carrie gets the message I came to deliver. Then, after that, it will be the right time, because they don't know everything.
'Even your ancestor knew it, Tracy.'
