Chapter five... -w- As you can see progress is smooth and is going well. All I can say is that not many things have changed so far. Okay maybe some details here and there but besides that the plotline has been quite the same c: Hope that's good :)

-Microtoa: thanks for the lots of story fav and following! It really is brings my spirits up to see those xD

-ScarlettNoir: for the story alert of the other EoT c:

So now let's continue this :D


Chapter Five

The Time Has Come


"This is it, Miss." The maid motioned me inside the vacant room in the Rainsworth's mansion. I gave her a curt nod and she took it as thanks and dismissed herself from the room. I closed the door and gave the room a once over. The moment I spotted the bed, I headed to it and plunged myself onto it. Grabbing the pillow, I cuddled it close to me and finally let the tears I had been holding flow out of me. That night had been the one and only time that I've ever known myself to cry so damn hard. I couldn't believe it.

I felt so horrible...I swore I would die.


After Claude and Ernest were gone, I finally felt safe to let go of Elliot. But apparently, he wasn't done with me. On the contrary, by the way he roughly grabbed me by the neck of my shirt and pinned me hard against the wall, he was barely getting started.

"Why!?" His rage was clear to me but the tears that were streaming uncontrollably down his face betrayed any and all semblance of anger from his expression. His sky blue eyes glazed over, I didn't see the short-tempered boy anymore. All I saw was a hurt boy who couldn't keep in his tears of utter agony. "Why did you do that?!" he bellowed right in my face, his grip tightening on my shirt.

I couldn't bring myself to answer and that only infuriated him more. His grip tightened further almost constricting me in my shirt. I placed my hand on his fists trying futilely to get him to let go. He'd never laid a hand on me. Ever.

And the Elliot now...he scared me.

The instant he let go of my shirt I thought I could finally breath an air of relief but was met instead with a heavy punch that was so near my left ear that it made me flinch and shut my eyes close.

"Why..." he groaned while his gaze stooped to the floor. "They're gone."

"Don't do this to yourself," I murmured quietly trying to soothe his pain as much as I could.

"Don't do what?" he growled his head snapping up to meet mine. "What do you expect me to do now?! Do what they told me?!

"It's not your fault. It was their decision," I assured him, surprised that my voice was even mildly as calm as I wanted it to be. Yet inside I had a qualm that wasn't ending but instead rising uncontrollably. "They wouldn't have changed their mind had we asked."

"You say it like they couldn't have," he growled deep in his throat like some kind of hurt animal. Wounded, scared, and more than likely to strike were he probed the wrong way. "They would have had I asked. If you'd only let me."

I didn't want him to delude himself into thinking that but I couldn't let those harsh words leave me. And instead all I could say was a pathetic apology. "I'm sorry." It was hard to speak now that the pain and sorrow was piling up in my throat. "I know what I did has no forgiveness. I don't expect yours in the least." Just then I noticed just how hard I was keeping my breath in. When had I stopped breathing? Maybe that's why my chest hurt so badly. At least partially why. My head was a terrible mess and hurt like hell too. And yet, I knew that no matter how bad I was hurting, his suffering was much worse. It made mine seem like a mere bruise.

He punched the wall again, this time brushing against my ear making me jump, terrified. And it wasn't until then that I noticed just how badly I had been shivering.

"Elliot!" Leo's shout came to my numb ears like a muffled noise. My head felt like it would burst. He yanked Elliot away from me and my body, having no other support, simply fell limp under my weight, driving me to my knees.

Vanessa's voice called my name but I barely heard it as her arms wrapped around me. She cooed to me assuring words, 'it's okay' and 'don't cry'. But by her sniffling and sobbing, I knew that those words were more directed to herself than to me. For one, because I wasn't even crying even when I wanted to. I couldn't help but feel her sorrow and pain with her mumbled words and cries. That only added to the grief I felt myself and the burden I carried only grew alongside it.

Resounding steps came closer to us and I heard Gilbert's deep voice call to me, "We need to leave." I pulled my face away from Vanessa's grip, loosening it.

"No, you can't taker her!" Elliot shouted getting away from Leo's hold. "I take back what I said!"

"You can't anymore," Gilbert replied keeping his calm and pulling me by my forearm away from Vanessa's grip. That was when I actually saw her crying face and that only made my stomach turn. How much more pain could my one, sole action cause the people that mattered most to me? "She's part of Pandora now."

I couldn't make myself glance at Elliot. He was still infuriated and it scared me. Vanessa's small voice came to be heard above the ruckus, "You're leaving?"

"I'm sorry. Really, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, " I cried out, shaking my head and having no explanation for her.

Elliot yanked his arm away from Leo and I swore I shrunk back frightened that he would come at me again like he did before. However, this time, he resorted to tongue lashing me.

"Of course you're sorry," he called furious. "That's all you ever do. Apologize and break promises." He jeered almost cynically, "No wonder you were left alone."

That felt like a heavy blow to my gut. It hurt so much, I caught my breath before yelling back. "That's not true!"

"Elliot, that's too far!" Leo bellowed.

"Elliot, compose yourself!" Gilbert reproached harshly.

"Don't you dare give into the big-brother act now! And you-" he spat out the word facing me. I swear, the venom in his words was tangible and it burned me deep, leaving a wound that would scar and remain there for longer than I knew. "Don't you ever dare show your face before me again."


Those words...they simply tore what was left of my heart and left me as I was now. Wounded, defeated, and utterly alone.

He broke his promise. He swore he wouldn't let that happen. He said he would never let me be alone again. And I believed him like the fool I was. No, maybe it wasn't the believing him that made me a fool. Probably what did was believing that I would be able to keep them by my side. Believing that I wouldn't somehow ruin this just like I ruined everything else.

How could he have said those words? How could I have caused them so much suffering? Maybe it was for the best...never going back there, just like he told me to.

A couple of soft knocks on the door and a curt 'May I?' made me snap up and wipe my tears hurriedly away from my face. Once I answered, Sharon came in strolling with her nightgown on.

That's right, we were supposed to have a meeting at ten to discuss about the mission. I glanced at the clock in the room; it was twelve already.

"The meeting's about to start," she simply said with a small smile. "Would you accompany to my room?" I nodded without a word and followed her to her room a few doors away. Once inside, she proceeded to close the door after I came in.

She motioned to her bed and made me sit down on the edge with her. I averted my eyes to anywhere but meeting hers, my hands carefully placed on my lap. Her small hands found mind and gripped them tightly, concerned. I had failed to notice till then that her room was empty.

"They'll be here shortly." Her sudden outburst made me jump a bit. Her tight-lipped smile came as he grip tighten reassuringly, "First, would you mind telling me what happened at the Nightray household? I understand if you don't but I've come to find that talking about our problems helps much more than keeping them hidden and out of sight."

I couldn't help but peek a glance at Sharon's face and I sure couldn't ignore the concern that was clearly visible in her face. I sighed and lowered my head while fidgeting around with my hair. It was a few minutes but I started talking in a hushed voice, "I did...something horrible to Elliot and Vanessa."

She gently placed a hand on my head and brought it down to her lap. I didn't complain much; I wasn't in the mood to anyway. I laid on her lap while she stroke my head with her hand. "Now, now," she whispered soothingly as she did so. "It'll be alright."

"No, it won't. They probably hate me now," I couldn't keep myself from muttering those words and having to bite my tongue to keep the tears from falling from my eyes. Crying by myself was one thing but I wouldn't degrade myself in front of others. "What I did to them...it's unforgivable."

"That's not true." Slightly raising my head, I glanced over towards the door and was surprised to see Gilbert and Break inside the room. Strange how neither of us heard them come in. "Elliot might be very pigheaded but I'm sure he didn't mean what he said and I'm sure he doesn't hate you either. Neither he nor Vanessa. As for Claude and Ernest, well, you couldn't have stopped them had you wanted to. They made up their mind and made a choice."

Break simply placed a sleeve-covered hand over his grin before speaking. "From what I've heard about the short-fused Nightray boy, I'm positive he must've lashed at you out of anger." He came over to us and sat on the edge of the bed. I slowly rose from my position on Sharon's lap and peeked up at Gilbert who stood along the wall.

"But taking his anger considering what I did, wasn't that the least I could have done for him?"

"A valet's purpose isn't to mindlessly follow their master, it's to teach them right from wrong. You're suppose to be taking care of him, not spoiling him," Gilbert corrected me. "He needs to learn not to take everything for granted. Otherwise, he'll miss it all the more once it's gone. What happened there tonight wasn't your fault. Not yours, not his, nor anybody else's."

"And talking about taking the fault, Gilbert-kun took a great risk going back to the Nightray Mansion for you," Break replied giving his side of the conversation.

"Because you left..." Just then I remembered what Vanessa had told me. "Are you alright? You barely escaped being poisoned."

He waved my concern away with his hand and a small smile, "I'm fine. The damage wasn't all that bad."

"Gentlemen," Sharon called our attention although she completely dismissed my presence at calling us. "We can talk about this matter some other day. But us, ladies, need our rest so the sooner this meeting is over with, the better." She placed her hand gently on my arm making me turn to face her directly. With a kind smile she whispered to me, "And if you ever need to talk about anything, not just this, you can come to me anytime." I smiled in gratitude and nodded.

Break chuckled and jumped off the bed, heading for the table in the room. Gilbert hung his head low, attentive. That's right, the meeting.

Break, getting a cake and some tea from goodness knows where, began the conversation. "The time is approaching. We must be ready for when it comes," he explained as he pour himself a cup. "Once everything is set, we'll rescue Oz-kun from his abominable state of affairs."

"What do I have to do in this?" I immediately ask him making him turn to me.

He grinned and pointed at me with his fork that he'd manifested out of his sleeve. "You, dearie, will be useless when we try getting our way in there. Your Chain does have some nice power that could allow us to maintain a steady, frozen connection to the Abyss while Milady and Gilbert-kun retrieve Oz-kun. And since it requires less stamina, it could be quite useful for some of our purposes. Unfortunately, Chronos isn't that strong of a Chain. At least not in your hands as you are now. So for the time being, while I train you, you'll remain hidden away in the margins. Meaning no showcasing~."

"I'm not you, you dumbass clown!" I grunt and blow him a raspberry. He simply chuckles some more. I walk over to where he is and sit across from him. I pout and ask him, "But why can't I though?" Has he any idea how handy time stopping would be for me?

"Despite what Break said-" Gilbert intervened while lighting a cigarette and blowing out a cloud. "Chronos has some power to it. It's one strong Chain compared to many of the ones in Pandora. The more you learn to use it and the more developed its power gets, the more powerful it will become. The more powerful it is, the more targetable you'll be. Chains seek power and killing a Chain like Chronos could give them a lot of that. All you'll be is an easy bait for them to catch if you don't watch yourself."

"In other words," Break interrupted, clapping his hands together. Something that pops from his sleeve catches my attention and before I can ask what it was, he popped the lollipop into my mouth. I was about to rage out at him but tasted the candy better. Mm, strawberry. "You need to lay low and keep your mouth shut while we tell you the plan. We'll have enough time for any question you may have later. According to our calculations, we have more or less a year to fully prepare," he explained and got another lollipop from his bag. Blue...blueberry? Or possibly grape, it did have a purplish hue to it too. "We have to arrange out assets before that. So far it is only us four. Milady has Eques. Gilbert-kun has Raven. You have Chronos. I have my Mad Hatter. However, brawn alone won't get us anywhere."

"Of course it won't," I put in while taking out the lollipop, half eaten. "Power means nothing if you can't strategize with it."

"Exactly," he punctuated, biting and breaking the lollipop in his mouth. He quickly ate it as he continued to speak, "What I had in mind was to separate into two different groups to approach two different targets. Both you and Gilbert-kun will go around parading on missions. Milady and I will do the work on the inside of the Four Dukedoms. That would be the first set. The second would consist of Gilbert-kun and I maneuvering through Pandora itself and, technically speaking, we would also have Reim-san for that work. You and Milady, on the other hand, will be great for infiltration that needs to be done off the radar."

"That sounds fantastic," Sharon complimented with a smile. "It should cover all the basis."

"Not all," Gilbert intervened catching my attention. He glanced my way and motioned to me with his cigarette between his fingers. "There's still the matter of Duke Nightray using Claire as his informant."

"I won't do it." Instantly, I saw a flash of surprise on both Sharon's and Gilbert's faces. I simply smiled their way. "I won't answer to him. He's a cold bastard; no amount of status as one of the four Dukes changes that fact." He let his sons walk right out to their death. I never appreciated him as a person but I still kept some respect towards him for being Elliot's father. But after what happened, even that smidgen was wiped away.

I'll keep my promise though. I'll protect them, Elliot, Leo, Vanessa, and Madame. Cost be damned.

"Well now that is that," Break called with a sigh as he raised from his sit.

"Are you aware of what that means?" Gilbert asked me, and quite frankly surprised me since his voice sounded concerned. "Because of this...you'll be betraying the Nightrays'."

"I wouldn't do that," I answer him with utter confidence. "I will never betray them. Not even if they believe I did, I could never betray them. They've come to mean too much for me to ever do such a thing."

Come to mean way too much... With that swaying thought, I remembered something. "Raven-"

"Gil." His sudden burst made me glance up in surprise. "When it's just the four of us, it's just Gil."

I nod in response and put on a smile. It's going to be hard to get used to this. In one day he went from being a Master to Raven to Gilbert and now definitively to Gil. Yeah, it's going to need some time to get used to. "Gil, if it's not too intrusive of me, may I know what your connection to Oz Vessalius is? Break mentioned something about it but never answered anything. He said better to ask you."

"Oh that..." he sullenly replied and heaved out a long, tired sigh. "Well..." And he told me everything, or at least a condensed version as he called it. Of how he came to be the valet of Oz Vessalius. Of how on the night of the coming-of-age ceremony, the boy was thrown into the Abyss. And of how he came to be the adoptive son of the Nightray's. No wonder he left the Nightray household. All he's been fighting for is for the sake of one boy whom his adoptive family couldn't care less for.

"Quite a story," I muttered once he was done.

"What about you?" I raised my head at his sudden question. "Do you...have any story to tell?"

I chuckled at how ironic that sounded. A story? Yeah, I have one but not the one I'd prefer to have. "If you want to call it that. Like you, I have no recollection of the first eight years of my life. I've lived in the House of Fiana since I know of and well, you know the story of how I came to be Elliot's valet. Nothing knew there for you. I'm looking though, my memories are out there, somewhere, and with someone. Luckily, I have this broche and the picture in it to guide me. It's not much but..."

"It's something," Gilbert said understandingly and put his cigarette out. "We should wrap it up for now. It's getting late and I still need to go home."

"Yeah," I agreed getting up and turning to Sharon. "You must be exhausted since we've kept you up for so long." She rebuffs my statement with a smile and wave of her hand.

Break grabs me by the shoulders and starts walking me out of the room. "Well then, we'll take our leave. Have a good night, Milady."

"Oh, goodnight Sharon!" I call before he pushes me out.

"Goodnight everyone," she mutters tiredly and goes on to rest while Break closes the door behind us. I turn to Gilbert as he starts to leave, "Have a safe trip, Gil. And goodnight."

He turned to me and smiled, "Thanks and 'night."

Yeah, I could tell that he's friendship was something I'll gladly take. I sighed tired with the events of the day and start heading for me room.

"Remember-" Break's words take me by surprise as I glanced over my shoulder to look at him. "You're training with me starts tomorrow. Better prepare yourself, kid."

"Those are my lines," I quirk with a grin on my face.

He grinned mischievously making a chill run down my spine. "We'll see about that. I bid you adieu and bonsoir."

And so began my year in this whole mess I got myself into. Back then, I was fourteen and had a lot to take in.

Now...a whole year has passed since then.

In that year, my training with Break was...well nothing short from barbaric. I have to admit, though, despite his sadistic training sessions, he was quite the teacher. I learned so much under his tutelage and in six short months I had assimilated all that he knew and had researched about Chronos and his powers. By then end of that, I was completely a master at what Chronos had to offer to me as my Chain.

In that year, I also cut off all contact with the Nightray Family. Thanks to Break and his hook ups I managed to erase my existence from the face of the earth. And from what Break and Gilbert told me, Duke Nightray was royally pissed that I refused to answer his beck and call. In a few months, he assumed I had bailed on him. Funny how I thought he'd catch the drift much sooner.

As for the rest of the family, well, Vanessa somehow knew about my stay at the Rainsworth's and would send letters addressed to me. And although Sharon would pass them to me and I did read them, I never answered any of them. Soon after though I moved out and got a place of my own like Gil and the letters soon came to a stop.

Elliot and Leo...well, I haven't heard anything from them since the day I left. I wasn't that surprised either after what I was told. Elliot surely wouldn't allow Leo to search for me either. When the Young Master got mad, he got royally pissed off. Guess he is his father's son, huh. But then again, he's not my Young Master anymore, at least he hasn't been for a long time.

And yet here I am. Still lurking in the shadows and looking after them from where I am. I've kept my promise. I've taken care of them. It hurts a bit to have to do it so far away from them but I know that it's for the best. The more I keep them away from this the better. I had to do what I had to.

Besides, I have the reprieve of knowing that once I finish with this mission, I'll finally be able to come out in the open again and find them. Until then I had to wait till we started the mission to retrieve Oz Vessalius from the Abyss. Until then I had to hide in the shadows and watch.

And then...the day finally came.


Really not that much to say as an after note but that I'm sorry this took so long -w- I've been catching up with my DH Series reading. I just finished Styxx and no lie, I wept like a baby ;w; that book was beautiful, and dare I say better than Acheron.And even though I'm still reading cuz I want to catch up with Chronicles of Nick, I'll still be writing for this one c: