I do not own Pandora Hearts in any way!

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speaking

'The' – Thoughts

'The' - Telepathic Speech

AN: Gomenasai for not updating in so long! But my bloody laptop charger decided to take a permanent vacation on CHRISTMAS NIGHT! And it was only the day before yesterday that I'd gotten a new one thanks to my daddy.

Enjoy the chapter!

…sorry if it may seem a bit short, though…

The Altered Rotation

oO~An Explanation~Oo

"Very well," Zai sighed, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, hands folded and his forehead leaning on them, eyes closed.

"When I first joined the Baskerville," Zai began, "It happened just a few months after Contracting with Griffyn, I was young and as many know, most young people can be quite greedy when it came to power. But even I knew that one day the Baskervilles would test my loyalty to them, and unfortunately it happened a few months after I'd gotten word that Rachel had given birth to Ada; you would have been about ten or eleven at the time…"

-Flashback-

Zai walked up to the Baskerville Manor, in full Baskerville regalia, maroon cloak (hood up) and all. He knocked the door thrice and one of the lesser members of the House (dressed in a lighter maroon) opened the door.

"Come," the figure said, "the higher Masters and Mistresses and waiting."

Zai only nodded as he was led into a large room, reminiscent of a ballroom, though not quite.

The light-maroon figure bowed once to Zai before backing out of the room.

The Duke Vessalius turned to look at the three cloaked figures standing before a large door.

"What have I been called for," Zai demanded quietly.

"You know as well as we do that it is time to test your loyalty to the Baskerville House," Lottie said, smiling maliciously.

Although inwardly surprised, Zai made sure not to let it show on his face.

"What will be my challenge?" Zai asked in a monotone voice.

"You will only know after battling Zwei," another male, whose name was Darren.

Said person stepped forward, a twisted grin on her face from underneath her hood.

"Are you up to it then, old boy?" Zwei giggled.

Zai only silently summoned Griffyn as his answer.

(I'm not going to bother describing the battle, as I feel too lazy and tired. Picture the battle in your own heads. But the battle is supposed to go with Griffyn gaining the upper hand the first half before Doldam used a powerful move towards the end and won the battle.)

-Time Skip; After Battle-

"My challenge, then?" Zai demanded, not fazed by his loss of the battle.

"You must go and fulfill a task sent directly from Master Glen," Lottie stated, handing Zai an envelope with the a wax seal of the Baskerville House keeping it from opening.

"Master Glen?" Zai asked. "How?"

"How would we know?" Darren questioned. "All we know is that he has a messenger sending his orders."

"Now while you are off doing what you are told," Lottie continued, "The Nightrays shall be paying a visit to the Vessalius grounds. Zwei will use Doldam and place you under an enchantment. While you will still have control of your body and thoughts, if your turn from your task to try and help your family, to put it simply: you will die; a sure sign of your betrayal."

'I'm sure the guards will take care of Rachel and the children; I don't quite fancy losing my life, ater all,' Zai thought.

A faint sound of displeasure was heard within his mind, but dismissed it as nothing and continued on his way to complete the task he was given.

-End Flashback-

"So I had thought that Rachel and all of you would be safe with the guards," Zai stated, "But it seems that I was wrong."

"You were indeed wrong," Oz stated emotionlessly, "You may not have heard as you were rarely home, but a majority of the guards had been lost in a previous battle with the Nightrays. When the attack you are speaking of came, we only had enough to ward them off for a while before they were overpowered. Mother thrust Ada into my arms and hid the both of us with the servants in the hidden chamber before taking up a sword to go into battle.

"When the battle was over, I ran out with Ada to see bodies, separated limbs, and much blood spilt everywhere. There were many killed and an equal number wounded. Mother was on the floor of one of the corridors amongst a few dead Nightrays she must have slain. She was still breathing but not for long, as her last words were,'Take care of the family, my darling boy.' She died with a gentle smile on her face as she was speaking the words 'I love you' to me. Uncle Oscar, then came and helped with the clean up and funeral arrangements and of course then you came home two years later after finding Gil but leaving soon after you found out what had happened."

"…She died happily?" Zai whispered.

"I believe she did," Oz said quietly, "She was happy Ada and I were safe and died with a smile. And despite the blood spattered all over her, she did look happy."

A bientôt,

TsukiyoTenshi