I do not own Pandora Hearts in any way!

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speaking

'The' – Thoughts

'The' - Telepathic Speech

AN: Sorry for not updating in a very long time, but so much has been going on, and I've been really tired form lack of sleep sometimes, that I never really have the time to write or update!

Enjoy the chapter!

The Altered Rotation

oO~An Alliance~Oo

"WHAT?" Gilbert shouted at his master as everyone else looked on at the gold-haired male in shock.

"Are you crazy?" Gilbert shouted hysterically, shaking his best friend by the shoulders. "You haven't forgotten just how he'd treated you, have you? You haven't forgotten that you HATED him?"

"Gilbert-sama," Break said, breaking into Gilbert's rant, "If you want your Master to live, you might want to let him go."

Gilbert looked down at said man only to see dizzy-swirls in Oz's eyes and sweat-dropped before letting him go.

"Sorry about that," Gilbert said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head before resuming his original seat.

"N-No problem," Oz said, slightly dizzy and dazed still.

"Now, so as not to have a repeat of what just happened," Break looked pointedly at Gilbert, who gave a sheepish grin, "Why don't you tell us why you suddenly trust your father after all this time."

When Oz's head stopped spinning, he began explaining why he suggested what he did.

"Do you remember how Griffyn came to give me information at the chapel?" Oz asked.

Nods form everyone in the room were received.

"It seems that Griffyn had offered me his services no matter what his Contractor had commanded of him," Oz said, "But at Reveille, it seems that Griffyn had arrived at my father's orders."

"How do you know that?" Gilbert asked quietly, after a moment's silence.

"Griffyn came to me and told me many things," Jack answered, "Some of which that actually answered a few questions connecting to a few puzzles I had. He told me that my father had ordered him to help and protect me at all costs as well as the fact that his loyalty to the Baskervilles is wavering."

There was silence.

"What do you think you should do then?" Sharon finally asked. "You have avoided your father, and yet now you need him. Will he be loyal and help our cause? Or will he deceive us in the end?"

"You have good points, Sharon-san," Jack said, "But I know no one else that can pose as a spy for us. And I have already cast a bit of a 'limiter' on him, you might say."

"Limiter?" Gilbert asked.

"A suppressor of sorts," the gold-haired man explained, "He cannot reveal any information we tell him or he hears from us unless he has been given my permission."

"Can you call him over and see if he'll sincerely, really do it?" Alice asked, speaking up for the first time in quite a while.

Everyone turned to look at the chocolate-haired female.

"That might work," Jack answered, "But we all will need to be on our guard."

Everyone agreed to let Zai come, but under no circumstances would they trust him.

Jack closed his eyes in concentration as the feather braided into the small section of his hair began glowing violet.

'Griffyn?' Oz asked, making sure it really was Griffyn.

'Young Master,' the Chain acknowledged.

'Will you bring Zai to us?' the twenty-five-year-old asked. 'We believe that he may be of use to us.'

'…As you wish, Young Master,' the Chain said after a moment's hesitation.

It was only moments later that a black vortex opened up and Zai Vessalius spilled out of it and into a heap on the floor.

Pandora~Hearts

Zai stood up (still in Baskerville uniform; maroon cloak and all, but the hood is down) and looked around the room, when his eyes finally rested upon his son and his comrades.

"If you will sit, the reason for your being here will be explained," Oz said in a monotone voice.

Zai said nothing and sat down upon the couch across from his son, face impassive.

"I believe you were going to explain the reason why I was unceremoniously taken by my own Chain and brought here," Zai said after no one spoke.

Oz turned his eyes to Break, signaling him to speak.

"Duke Vessalius," the white-haired man began, "You were brought here because of your allegiance to the Baskerville."

"If you know," Zai said, "Then what was your purpose of bringing me here?"

"Our purpose," Gilbert continued, "was to know just how sincere you were about helping Oz."

Zai froze; that was one question he'd never expected to hear.

'Just what can I say?' the elder Vessalius thought. 'It isn't as though I can go around saying that I feel sorry after all these years for what I'd done to…my…s-son…'

'Tell them the truth,' came Griffyn's voice, 'They already know of your dwindling loyalty to the Baskerville. There is no need to hide any longer.'

'What? But—' Zai said, almost frantically.

'No 'buts',' the Chain said sternly, 'They know everything, but to confirm it, they must hear it from your own mouth.'

"I am truly and completely sincere about helping…my son," Zai answered.

"How can we trust that?" Oz deadpanned.

Zai's eyes became hooded over. "I may not have acted like the father anyone would expect me to have been. But it wasn't by choice; at least most of it wasn't."

Oz looked at the man he knew to be his father and knew immediately that what he was stating wasn't a lie.

"Then you're going for an attempt at redemption in Oz-nii's eyes, then?" Alice asked seriously, face emotionless.

Zai looked at the girl in surprise, but answered nonetheless. "Yes, I hope to gain forgiveness from both my children as well as my entire family for the crimes and things I've done in the past. But even I know that forgiveness isn't an easy thing to earn. But I will do whatever it takes to gain just that!"

Oz looked on at his father, not believing the words spilling out from the older man's lips.

"Then instead of dallying, I shall get straight to the point," Oz said in his cold, monotone voice, "We need a spy; someone to pass us information from and about the Baskervilles, so that we may prevent the massacre that occurred a hundred years before from happening once more."

Zai's eyes widened at the offer.

'What can I do?' he thought. 'If I accept, then I will be one step closer to earning my forgiveness. But on the other hand, I will also be at risk for being killed by the other Baskervilles for betrayal to the House I'd sworn to.'

After a few more minutes of pondering the offer, Zai finally gave his answer. He looked his son straight in the eyes and said, "I'll do it."

Oz gave a curt nod. "But now, I need to know something," the gold-haired man said, looking at the Duke Vessalius.

"What is it?" Zai asked cautiously.

"What happened the night you abandoned us and left mother to die?" Oz asked.

Everyone including Zai looked at the male in shock. Gilbert and the others because this wasn't part of the plan. And Zai because he hoped his son wouldn't ask thatspecific question.

'Tell him,' were the only two words that echoed throughout the elder Duke's head.

A bientôt,

TsukiyoTenshi