Author's Notes

*drum roll* Ehh- I'm going to go ahead and say this story will be complete in the next two chapters. (If I can fit it all together). I warn you now; this chapter ends on yet another cliffhanger) OTL

Nonetheless, enjoy and R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pandora Hearts.

Silence had grown since Leo had spoken up, declaring his so-called secret. The air was a mixture of tension, disbelief and confusion. Wide eyes were plastered on everyone's faces, especially Oz's. The blonde stared towards the one-eyed raven, and after a small moment, he managed to struggle from Charlotte's hold and hop to the floor. It seemed he and Leo were the only two within the room who knew more than anyone else as to what was going on, and there was something playing on Oz's mind. A question that desperately needed answering.

"Leo..." Oz spoke up quietly, managing to summon the courage to be the one to break the uneasy silence.

The noir's single gaze flickered towards the blonde in response and he gave a small tilt to his head, awaiting the child's next words.

Swallowing dryly, Oz dropped his own gaze to the floor, too set on edge to really look the older in the eye. He took one, steady breath, then spoke once again, "If you summoned him before...why did you do it? What did you wish for?"

Leo's lips twitched at the inquiry, and for a small second, he found his eye glance towards Elliot. The Carer himself managed to miss the small side-glance and huffed irritably, rubbing his wounded shoulder as he thought over how to word himself without sounding too frustrated.

"There is no legend," The beige-man finally grunted, earning everyone's attention, "It's just some stupid story to keep kids in their beds at night. We've been over this."

Clearing his throat, Leo pointed to the window to his right. The curtains were drawn to keep anyone from peering inside to find them and the dark fabrics of said curtains gently swayed every so often. "If you don't believe me, open them." The raven shrugged idly, acting way too calm, given the circumstances.

"Huh? What would that prove?" Elliot scoffed, refusing to budge from his spot.

"Draw the curtains and find out." Leo dared, narrowing his single eye at the older man.

But Elliot continued to resist moving. In fact, from Oz's perspective, it was as if the man was only refusing because he knew he'd find the truth and be proved wrong. And the truth is something he really didn't want to find out. Especially if it meant the likeliness of the whole town being in danger.

So, Oz moved instead. He climbed up onto the bed, cut in between Elliot and Leo, clutched ahold of the thick curtains, and pried them apart. The sight on the other side was enough to have him shriek and stumble back in fright, causing him to misplace his footing and fall off of the bed.

Charlotte began to move towards the fallen blonde, however, the moment her pink eyes caught a glimpse of the now-exposed window, she froze. The rest of the room's occupants began to tense up and step back from the window, as well. Albeit Elliot and Leo.

The former man simply stared at the dark figure standing on the other side of the window, trying to think of a way to label it with a reasonable explanation. But alas, he couldn't deny it's existence now, especially when he had seen it before, during the night Oz had gathered up all the cats in town. The Carer had been cleaning windows at the time...

Elliot watched the three go with a raised eyebrow and shook his head slightly. He then turned back to the window he had been cleaning and yelped when he saw a figure standing on the other side. But when he blinked, the stranger was gone.

"It's real and the legend does exist." Leo spoke up, continuing to keep his gaze locked on to his Master. He hadn't even sent a glance to the shadowed figure looming outside since the curtains were moved.

"Are we safe..?" Elliot whispered, forcing himself to look away from the dark being and focus on something else instead. His blue eyes glared down towards the bed sheets he sat upon and his hands balled into fists as he dropped his arms to his sides.

"We're safe," Oz spoke up, awkwardly shifting to raise himself from the floor and rub the back of his head, feeling a small forming bump from where he'd fallen off the bed, "He can only get in if we invite him inside, or if there're no adults around." He explained quietly.

Elliot pursed his lips into a thin line, trying to take everything in without freaking out or attempting to climb out of the window to kick the crap out of the shadow inches away from him. "...What else? How does the legend...go, exactly?" He asked in a long exhale of breath.

"There's a book!" Oz cut in, eagerly reaching out to grab Leo's sleeve, "Leo took it to Levi's bookstore!" He exclaimed, hoping he was at least helping now instead of making things so much worse.

"Actually," Leo began, looking back down at the blonde clinging to his sleeve, "I never took it to Levi."

Oz frowned and looked from Leo to Elliot, "B-But, that's why you were at the bookstore that morning, right?" He blurted, beginning to tug at the sleeve in his hands.

Leo hardly reacted to his arm being pulled around and gave a hefty sigh, "I was there to hand in books, yes. But The Tale of the Abyss was not one of them."

A small whine came from the back of Oz's throat and he sent a timid glance to the shadow outside, "Then...where is the book?" He asked slowly, loosening his hold on the soft fabric in his hands.

Leo responded with a short sum of silence before parting his lips to speak: "I burnt it."

Elliot shook his head, cursing under his breath. Oz could only look to the floor in silence, unable to stop blaming himself for letting things even get this far in the first place. Then Gilbert stepped up, finally.

"Do you remember anything the book said? Anything at all?" There was a lingering tone of doubt flooding his voice, clearly stating he had no true clue as to what he was saying in the first place. Nonetheless, anyone could tell this book was an important part in this twisted mystery.

"Of course," Leo nodded, letting his eye close when the air was filled with the sounds of small tapping at the window. The shadow seemed impatient and had raised its hand to idly hit the glass between them with a sharp fingernail. It hardly seemed to faze Leo, almost as if this type of thing was normal for him.

Oz wondered if it was. Just how long ago had Leo summoned him? And what did he wish for in return?

"The legend is simple," Leo spoke up once more, his voice easily blocking out the irritable tapping made by the shadow outside, "It goes: There's an old saying around here; they say that if you stay out past midnight, HE will find you. But he'll only show up if all the cats in the village had been locked indoors. No one really knew why. HE'S most likely to show up when the moon is out, for his form can only be viewed in moonlight. Fortunately, HE cannot enter a house unless he has been invited inside. However, he can enter a house when there are no adults, without an invitation. Once he is summoned, he will not leave until HE devours a fitting sacrifice."

The room grew quiet once again, save for the continuous tapping. It was always hard to tell when a moon was out for them since the walls surrounding the town stretched up so high, not to mention, there was always mist and fog once the sun went down. Clearly there was a moon out tonight, otherwise no-one would have been able to witness the shadow right this minute.

"Sacrifice...?" Charlotte spoke, her tone dry and shaky. Swallowing back whatever fear she had, the pinkette crossed her arms and took a confident step forward, "What kind of sacrifice? We just give it to him and he goes away, right?" She raised her chin, awaiting an answer.

"...That's true." Leo murmured, scratching his cheek sheepishly, "...The sacrifice is just... not so easy to give up."

Elliot frowned, glancing up to meet Leo's single, abysmal eye. Then he understood. "Your eye- that was part of the sacrifice?!" The Carer exclaimed, feeling his face flush in frustration.

Leo sighed halfheartedly and nodded, "The legend fails to mention that the sacrifice itself is the eyes of the man or woman who summoned him." The raven uttered.

Oz swallowed harshly and looked over his shoulder to Charlotte and Reim, who were surprisingly holding hands. The blonde couldn't really blame them. After all, there was a monster inches away from where they stood. It was only right to feel frightened.

"So... He's going to take my eyes, too?" Oz whispered, setting his gaze back to Leo.

The raven blinked simply and sent a weary glance to Elliot, then back to the blonde boy. "Yes. But not this shadow. This shadow is my shadow since I summoned him. You'll have a different one after you, I'm afraid." He explained slowly, noticing the obvious tension growing in everyone else as he spoke.

"So, there's two of these things out there?!" Gilbert blurted, eyes widening in fear.

"No." Levi cut in, being the first time he's spoken since the curtains were drawn back. Everyone looked towards the ivorette, faces that of confusion and wonder.

Clearing his throat, Reim approached the elder first. "What do you mean 'no'?"

Levi idly leant back against the nearest wall and hummed, somehow finding this whole ordeal rather amusing. "I think you're all forgetting someone else in this little mystery of ours~" He lilted, hiding a smug smile behind a balled fist.

Charlotte frowned and tilted her head in an innocent motion, "Who..?" She asked slowly, unsure if she truly wished to know the answer or not.

Licking his lips, Levi pushed off of the wall and stepped across the room, looking straight towards the shadow outside. "The sacrifice is the summoner's eyes, correct?" He mused, receiving unsure nods from almost everyone in the room, "Then, there's a high chance there is another shadow out there. Am I the only one who can recall the only other one-eyed man in town?" He challenged.

The room fell silent once again. Not from confusion. Not from fear. Just...surprise. Then all at once, everyone murmured the same name under their breath;

"Xerxes Break."