Well, this is going rather nice. Six chapters in and I'm half way writing the outline of the story. I'm on chapter 24 on the outline and on chapter six on this one -w- First time I'm doing an actual outline and following it tit by tat. Hopefully it helps some c:

-itachilover17: Thanks for the story follow and fav and all the rest of the favs :3 I really appreacite them.

Now let's get to this once again


Chapter Six

My First Clue: A Boy Named Oz


I quickly ran through the empty city streets trying hard to find the group that I had been sent to. The streets were already damped with the pouring rain that had started just a few minutes ago and it wasn't helping me track the group.

"Have you any idea where they could be?" I yell out to Chronos from above the pounding drops.

"Not a clue, kid. But the supervisor did say they were near the-"

A sudden explosion took my attention from the conversation and made me turn towards the eastern part of the town. That way was where...

"The cemetery..."

"That's it. That's where they should be."

Not taking any time to think about it, I head over and reach just in time to see the grand crocodile that kept snapping it's jaw at the Pandora agents that were present at the scene. They weren't many either, maybe that croc took some of them out.

"We won't be able to hold him much longer!" one cried just as I was approaching the group.

"Where's the damn back up!?" this one cursed under his breath after speaking. Well, how rude.

"Present!" I call out raising my hand and appearing amongst the group.

"M-Miss Chronos!?" the one that had cursed earlier exclaimed surprised. "It was you they sent?"

"What can I say, I was close by and accepted," I shrug with a grin on my face. Turning around, I take a good look at the Chain that was a croc look-alike. "Is it that one?"

"Y-Yes, it's the Chain that's been rampaging this town."

"Got it," I reply and extend out my hands. In my mind I call out Excelion's name and like always the medallions fall fittingly in my palms and I hear the swishing of the sash behind me. "Come on, lil' croc. Let's play."

Out of nowhere it charged at me but I avoided it by jumping out of its way. Before I can though, its claws get tangled into my hair, which I forgot to put up. It throws me quite a distance into a tree. I can't believe it caught me off guard like that. Before it can head towards me again, I jump out of its way and quickly wrap the sash around its neck before landing on its back. As hard as I could, I pulled the medallions reining the Chain back. Once I had it up as tall as it would go, I muttered a faint name under my breath.

"Legion." At my beck, a single boar spear appeared on my hand. It was of red-colored bamboo and the blade was made of the same Orichalcum as Excelion. I could even feel the etched number on the neck connecting the blade and pole; the letters VII. Lunging it beneath the crocodile made a hoard of spears spring from underneath it. Letting Excelion disappear, I let it fall onto his doom. In mere seconds, he writhed in pain as the spears lodge into its body. Soon, a dark hole appeared beneath it as it sunk back into the Abyss.

Sighing, I wave my hand to make the spears disappear. I spin a bit as my wet hair comes into view. That asshole! He took a good chunk of my hair! I grab the longer length and see how dismantled it got from that clawing. I'm going to cry!

"Miss Chronos?"

I groan knowing I'll have to cut my hair before turning to face the agent that called to me. "Is everybody all right here?"

"Yes, there were only some injured but that's about it. We'll inform Pandora about what happened."

"As always, keep me out of it. As far as you know, you guys get commemorated for the work," I reply with a grin on my face and turn to leave.

The carriage that brought me here wasn't far, thank goodness for that. Just as I get there, I call to the coachman, "To Reveille, please." He nods my way and lets me in before leaving back. It didn't take much and by then the rain had stopped too.

Once we began approaching the market place, I called for the coachman to halt the carriage.

"Miss?" his voiced sounded confused. Of course he was, we were heading straight home.

"I'll take it from here. Thanks again for giving me a ride," I thank him and he answers with a curt nod before leaving me behind and heading back to the Rainsworth's. I stretched myself out and glance around at the crowd that still goes around midday. Without a moment's delay, I begin heading towards the hairdresser's.


"Thanks." I hand the money for the groceries to the tender of the stand and start heading home.

On my way there, Theodore, the owner of the local bakery, comes out of his shop and greets me.

"Ah, Claire, home from work already?" he asked as he cleans the outside windows of his shop.

"Yeah, pretty much," I reply while carrying the bag of food.

"You're such a good girl," he complimented. Sure, feed my ego why not. It feels nice. "Tell Belle I can fix that oven of hers now. It'd be good to have another gathering at Gina's and have ourselves some of those famous apple turnovers huh?"

Laughing, I nod at his comment. "Sure would, Mr. Theodore. I'll be sure to remind her about that." I give him a quick wave before heading home again.

Once before the door, I slowly and quietly opened the door and close it behind me. I'm sure that Mrs. Belle is taking her afternoon nap or something.

"Ah!" I withdraw my hand quickly when Mrs. Belle's cane hit my hand on the doorknob. "Mrs. Belle!"

"You're late!" she exclaims as she takes the groceries from me while I tend to my throbbing hand. How did she even hear me come in?! She's deaf from one ear!

"Mrs. Belle, I told you I had work to do today. Besides, my hair got ruined so I had to get it cut." At reminding myself of that, I reach out for my hair that now barely reaches my shoulder blades. It had grown so much too, I hadn't cut it since the House of Fianna. Oh well, I suppose it was meant to happen sooner or later. My style of clothing had changed much too since a year ago. Back then I used to wear skirts and nice blouses of pretty colors. Now, I think Gil's dress code stuck to me. At least the color palette. My casual attire now mostly consisted of dark, fitted pants tucked into heeled-boots. Besides that I wore any type of whites shirts with a vest or corset over it. What can I say, Sharon's girly tendencies sort of stuck to me more than I like to admit as well. Not much but just enough. Over all, I usually wore a cloak that helped hide me well.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot," Mrs. Belle sudden outburst took my attention from putting the groceries away. "This arrived for you in the morning, ma belle."

She handed me a sealed letter. I turned it about and saw the seal of the Rainsworth's on the wax seal. "Thanks, Mrs. Belle."

"Is it from work, dearie?"

"Um...yes, but do you know from which one?" The reason I still ask this after the six months we've lived together is because she has this ailment that depletes her memory, long and short sometimes. About a third of the time she thinks I work in a flower shop, the other third she thinks I work with Mr. Theodore at his bakery. It's that rare one third left that she actually remembers that I work for Pandora. However I wouldn't expect her to want to remember where I do work at. Her husband used to be an agent of Pandora as well. Quite the irony that I'm living here too. Sadly, he passed away during a mission which caused Mrs. Belle to break down. She has depressive mood swings that happen sometimes but now that she takes medicine she doesn't get them so often. She's becoming happier and happier by the day. That was good. Today, actually, she was going to have a tea party with her friends. And I'm helping too, so I actually planned on finishing my work early for that.

"Then go ahead and open it!" she chirped right up. "It could be from that nice young man. What was his name again? Ah, yes, Xerxes."

Yeah, right. Nice is the last thing I would ever describe him as. Obnoxious and creepy would fall under much more appropriately in my opinion. Letting those thoughts leave my mind, I opened the letter.

Dear Claire,
How have you been? It has been awfully quiet here without you and Gilbert. Even Break tends to go into boredom, or so he says. But that's a discussion for when we see each other. The time has finally come. Us three, Break, Gilbert, and I will be retrieving Oz-sama tomorrow in an old abandoned church.
The post you will have to fill will be to be in the Rainsworth mansion while we come back. Pandora has been on a very tight coil since some time and it'll be hard to go without being noticed. You will be there to inform any agent that presents themselves that we are on task. I'll send a carriage for you early tomorrow, before five. After tomorrow our real mission will begin.

I thank you again for the amazing job you have done for the past year. However, it will only get harder from here on out. Be prepared.

Sincerely,
Sharon Rainsworth

I'm a decoy then? Okay, I can deal with that but waking up before freaking five is insane. I heave a sigh letting out my frustration before tearing up the letter.

"What was it, dearie?" Mrs. Belle inquired.

Giving her a calm smile, I answer her question. "Work, Mrs. Belle. They want me to show up tomorrow before five."

"In the morn? Well aren't they pushy," she huffed in anger. Mrs. Belle is a great lady, specially because she gets mad about simply stuff. "Well, in that case. You should go to sleep early tonight."

"But Mrs. Belle—"

"Don't argue with me cher!" she raised her voice all the same raising her cane menacingly towards me, instinctively making me raise both my hands in surrender. She lowered it and gave me a big smile. "You're doing your job, ma petite. I'm proud of you for keeping us safe. I'm sure Thomas would have been proud too."

Thomas...her husband. I couldn't help but return her smile. She actually remembered.

"I'll make tea then," I remarked with a purse of my lips. "Then I'll go to sleep for tomorrow." She gave me a curt nod before I left for the kitchen. After making tea for them, I went to my room, changed into something more comfortable, and plunged into my bed.

Tomorrow, huh? After all these long years, I'll finally have something interesting to do. Something that might actually guide me to where I need to go to get my memories back.

Tomorrow...


"Have you been having those...dreams again?"

"Not dreams...Premonitions." The Baskerville boy sat once again against the broken pillar, lifting his head a bit from its place after she had spoken in his head. He was trying to rest his eyes, he hadn't slept for over a week. At least not fully. Not like he intended to in the least, either. "The paths keep showing themselves. Do you think she has been able to see them too?"

"Even if she could, she is not conscious of the writings themselves; she wouldn't understand their meaning. And even if she was conscious of them, I doubt that Chronos has taught her how to read them. It would be too cruel to tell her that when she doesn't remember in the first place."

"I suppose ignorance is bliss," he commented laying his head back.

"Was it...the same path that you saw?"

He let out a heavy sigh before answering, "It was the same date and time but...it wasn't the same path. It's always the same time but never the same way or place."

"Your connection to the writings still holds strong, even after so long. Are you certain about continuing this route? You already know the ultimate outcome. Why try changing it?"

"I have to," he deadpanned surprising her. "I won't let it happen. Any of them. Each and every one of them, I'll find a way around all. I'll change the writings."

"I've told you before...that's impossible. No one has—"

"They haven't tried hard enough."

He heard her heave a sigh in his head. She surely was frustrated with his stubbornness now. "If that is what you wish...then I will follow and guide you the best I can, mio Dominio."

"That's all I wanted to hear."


"…"

I couldn't shake the buzzing in my ear. Damn, I want to sleep.

"...elle..."

"Five more minutes."

"Wake up, ma belle!" I jumped back with the yell and heard my head hit the headrest.

"Mrs. Belle! Really?!" I hissed trying to control my anger that sprouted out of being woken up so damn early.

"Yes, really," she answered with her cane dangerously close to my face. "You need to get ready, ma petite. Or else you'll be late for work."

Sitting on my bed, I listened before I started to drift away to sleep again. This caught her attention making her snap her cane on my feet. "Ow!"

"Shower, dearie. Now or I'll come back with this." And with that she left me to wager whether her threat was good enough for me to go shower. Truthfully, sleep sounded worth the cane beat up. I sighed and rubbed my face before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, I was ready with my pants, boots, a long sleeve white shirt and a dark blue underbust corset that accentuated my breasts, or the lack there of. I swear, I must have skipped some serious meals in my childhood to be so damn underdeveloped now. Picking up my hair into a small, messy bun, I trotted downstairs and met up with Mrs. Belle in the kitchen. After eating the breakfast she had made for me, I stood up ready to leave.

She stood at the entrance before I got there and held my cloak. It was something she always did to send me away. It was what she would do with Thomas or so she told me. It assured her that I would come back.

She placed the cloak around my shoulders and brushed away a couple of stray strands from my face. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I could possibly not be coming back as often as usual after this. But I had to, after all she'd done for me, I owed her that much.

"Mrs. Belle, I have something to tell," I mutter under my breath.

"What is it?"

"I'm not really sure how long this job will last. And I don't think it'll be like all the others when I come home very early some other day."

"Don't worry, I'll be here waiting. Your room will be spotless for when you return." It was almost like she wasn't listening to me.

"No, Mrs. Belle. That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you. I might no—"

"Don't you worry," she reassured patting my cheek affectionately. "You'll be back. And when you do, we'll all be waiting for you here. I'll even have some of my apple turnovers you love you so much."

Such hope... It brought a smile to my face. Her words didn't allow me to think so negatively of the future. So instead, I gave her a smile back.

"Well, I'll be leaving now," I announce to her just as I was about to leave but I'm stopped by her. Turning towards her, I fine it odd that she stands there with a thin smile on her face and her hands behind her back. "Mrs. Belle?"

"There's something I've been meaning to give you, ma belle," she confessed and brought her hands out from behind herself. In her tiny, wrinkled hands she held a sheathed dagger. "Take it."

Gulping away the lump on my throat, I shook my head slightly. "Mrs. Belle I couldn't—"

She clicked her tongue at me and took my hand forcefully and placed the dagger onto it. "It's my gift for you and you won't blow it off." I stare at her for a bit before glancing down at the dagger in my hands. I unsheathed it and examined the blade that was but a quarter shorter than my forearm. It was a nice blade and dagger overall. It seemed that it had been taken care of greatly. "It was Thomas'." At this, my eyes widened and I was left speechless. "He would have wanted for you to have it. It always protected him and I'm sure it will keep you safe as well."

I gave her an earnest smile before strapping the sheath onto my belt. "Thanks, Mrs. Belle. I'll keep it with me always." This seemed to calm her and with that she waited with me outside for the carriage.

It wasn't until some good twenty minutes later that the carriage arrived and took me away. The sun wasn't even out by the time I arrived at the Rainsworth's mansion. At getting out, I yawned and stretched out. No one was outside to meet me, not a big surprise there, except for a maid that greeted me at the front doors.

She guided me through the darkened halls of the grand manor. The place was still quite grand since the last time I saw it and that was a good six months ago. Ever since I finished my training with Break and moved out, I hadn't set foot on this mansion. Even now the sight of these sort of places was overwhelming.

She gave a curt nod my way as she motioned the double doors before us. I thanked her and with that she left. At entering the doors, I saw the same scene that I had seen for over six months. Sharon and Break were sitting at a table, drinking tea and eating sweets. Although the sweets part was mostly Break. As for Gilbert, he stood aside near the opened balcony door while having a smoke.

"Good evening, Miss Chronos," Break chirped right up while swaying his legs about. "Or should I say good morning?"

"Very funny," I reply through gritted teeth. Coming up close to the sofa across from the table, I laid lazily there as I stared back at them. "So, what's the plan going to be?"

"You'll be here, in case any agent or servant comes along asking for any of us," Gilbert explained once he put out his cigarette.

"You are simply our decoy while we're gone," Break cooed trying to sound all funny.

"Don't mind him Claire," Sharon added as she sipped her tea. I stared at her languidly and yawned once more out of my tiredness. "But, in essence, you will remain here and warn off unwanted visitors."

"Sure thing, boss." I raise my hand calmly, "But it's not like someone's going to barge in so early in the morning anyway."

She gave a dainty chuckle and nodded my way. "True but, nonetheless, we must be cautious on every angle." I replied with a small nod and affirmation before they began standing up.

Gil stopped a few steps away from me and patted my head. "Be careful. And don't worry about us. We'll be back soon and you will get to meet Oz."

"Can't wait for that," I answer a bit sarcastically but he ignored it and simply gave me a thin smile.

"So with this—" Break interrupted as they began to exit the parlor. He peeked into his magic candy bag and pulled out a box of candies and passed it to me. "We bid you farewell. Until we come back."

I nod and bid them a safe trip and just lie down on the couch. The quietness was overwhelming in this grand manor. It was calming and it was nice.

Before I had the pleasure of dozing off, a few knocks came to the door.

"What the..." I pronounce under my breath turning over to see the door. It took a couple of seconds before another set of knocks came to the door. I came over and opened the door to the parlor just enough to let myself be seen. On the other side stood Reim who simply raised his glasses on his nose.

"Have Xerxes and the others left already?" He knew? Well, if he did, I didn't have a reason to lie to him. Coming out of the parlor, we stood in the hallway while I explained to him that they had left some minutes ago. He nods once and sighs once last time. "Seriously, leaving you to this. I could have simply taken the shift had they asked."

"But..." I hated being mean but, in this case, I was being more blunt than mean. "Reim-san isn't a very good liar." His breath hitched as if insulted but he sighed and started cleaning his glasses.

"O-O-Of course I am!" he countered but his stuttering and uneven voice gave him away. I sighed and gave him a modest nod which only made him sink low. Damn, poor guy. How much stress can one man handle?

"Don't worry, Reim-san. I'm sure if we ever need of your assistance, Break will be on your trail before you can imagine," I assure him with a small smile.

"True," he answered, followed by another sigh. "But they shouldn't have left you here so early. If you want, I could relieve you of your post and take you to your designated room for you to rest. Nobody's here at the moment so who would come asking around?"

I tapped my chin twice with my finger. He had a good point. I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a smile, "Alright. I'll take you up to your offer. If anybody asks, they went out on an excursion for some shopping with Sharon." He agreed with my suggestions and took me along the halls to the empty room that would be mine for the extent of this 'mission'.

I opened the door and took in the surroundings. A nice, canopy bed stood to the right with two night stands while a wardrobe stood blatantly to the left across from it. The bathroom door was right next to the wardrobe to the left and a desk to its right. The balcony door was right across the entrance and with a closed door and covered by drapes. All in all, it wasn't half bad. Better than any room I've had so far, that's for sure.

"So, this is mine?" I inquired one last time, turning to Reim.

"As stated by Lady Sharon, yes. This officially belongs to you from now on," he said with a smile. "So, I'll take my leave now, Miss Claire."

I bowed slightly out of curtsey and watched as he left before closing the door. Taking most of my heavy clothing off, I finally got to a bare minimum before getting my hands on the dagger. It took me a while to unstrap it but when I did, I placed it on the night stand that was to the left of the bed along with my broche before throwing myself upon the bed.

Last time I had slept in something remotely nice was at the Nightrays'. And those days have been long gone too. I heaved out a sigh before I started counting sheep or something. Anything to keep my mind out of that. Soon enough, my mind was filled with nothing and everything making it drift off slowly to sleep.


So, its not that much really but it's a little changed. It's going at a moderate pace so I'm glad about that. The ones that are gonna be much longer chapters will be the ones I actually have to change from top to bottom and that starts sometime soon cx I promise that.

So, how was it? :3 Hope you guys liked it and stay tuned for the next chapter ;D