Happy weekend my dear amigos :D Hope you had a wonderful week, I sure didn't cx But now that I'm going to update some more for you guys, I'm happy as can be :D

I have a dilemma though -w- Should I update one chapter or update two and leave you guys with the biggest cliff hanger ever? x3 I'll think about it, but if you see nothing past Sunday well the rest will be for next week.

Let's give thanks, shall we:

-Tris PhantomEvans: All your questions shall have an answer soon, young grasshopper -w- So be patient and you shall be rewarded.

-Marronn: thanks a lot for the follow of the story :D Love you for that!

-Jesse M.E Gerrits: Thanks for the follow and the favorite! That's double hugs for you :D

So for now I'm gonna update this one c:


Chapter Twenty-Eight

Nightmare


"...no..."

My voice seemed to be lacking strength. My throat felt dry and parched. My heart felt like it would jump out of my chest any second now. My eyes were so wide that they could pop out of their sockets. My extremities were blistering cold. My whole body shaking.

But then how else was I supposed to react? What happened just now, in a span of seconds, would be shocking to anyone. I was just so numb to it that it didn't bother me anymore. Until now.

Now it rendered me speechless and immobile on my back. He had pushed me back. Then again he had done what's before me now.

"...sorry..." At hearing Leo's voice, I face him to see that he had woken up. He was sitting against the pedestal he had been laid upon. "I'm really sorry...Elliot!"

Why... Why was he apologizing? Why him when the one that had rampaged on Madame Nightray—god damn it! This can't be happening!?

"Mother...?" Elliot's voice broke through Leo's crying and my incessant train wreck. He stumbled backwards and only stared, dumbfounded, at his sword that had been plunged down on his mother.

When she spoke her words were barely audible to any of us. "El—li—ot." But all he did was gawk at her. How the hell could he just stare like that!? Had he no idea what he just did!

"It wasn't him. He was being controlled," Chronos spoke at hearing my unvoiced thoughts.

"Controlled?" I shook my head a couple of times. "By who?!"

"Not who. What." Lacrimosa's words only confused me that much more. "Humpty Dumpty."

That thing again? A sudden headache began on the left side of my head the more this conversation went on. "B-But that can't be! I saw it with my own eyes. Elliot, he—" The pain suddenly hit hard and pierced a single point, leaving me breathless before vanishing with a small click. It sounded...like a key opening a lock.

That instant from a few minutes ago...it surfaced from its captivity just then.

"On his chest—" I whispered while simply staring at the floor. "There was...an illegal's contractor." Rage suddenly took over me when I put the pieces back together. "Why? Why didn't you tell me any of this!?"

"We couldn't! Our everything was being oppressed by that box. It was stronger than us. Even if we knew—" He suddenly stopped and I only heard him groan and curse under his breath.

"We couldn't say anything to you." Lacrimosa's voice sounded sincere but that didn't calm the qualm inside me. "We're sorry."

"Was it me!?" Elliot's raised voice made me turn up to stare at him. He was standing up and wasn't far from me. While Leo sat straight ahead from the door, leaning on the pedestal, I was just to the right wall. His gaze turned over to Leo and only stared blankly at him. "Shut—"

But before he could finish his sentence something happened that widened my eyes in shock. Something had cleanly cut through and beheaded her as she agonized and ended her life in a flash.

And when I glanced up the horror of it finally struck me. And a flash of a memory came to me.

"You saw it— Celia's Chain."

The memory hit me like a ton of bricks when I saw the picture of the Chain I had caught a glimpse of when young. "Humpty Dumpty."

I won't let you do as you please. Vowing this to myself, I used every ounce of strength I had in me to lift myself and stand. Summoning Radiant Dawn back to my hand, I stood as well in a stance as I could to face the demonic egg. I had to stand strong for both of them. To save them I would do anything.

"Emissary of Time..." At hearing the same denotation others had given me, I faced it with all the courage I had. "I am forbidden to harm another soldier of the master. But if you stand in our way..." Its silence gave the rest of that threat away. When I glanced over at Elliot he seemed stupefied.

"What have you done to him!?" I called through gritted teeth while brandishing my sword his way.

"Me?" It spoke, swishing it's tongue back and forth. "I have done nothing. If what you seek is someone to blame..." His eyes travelled to across the room towards were Leo sat heavily panting.

"Leo...?"

"It was him who dealt this to the boy." He lashed his tongue out a couple of times before continuing. "You and I are much alike. Both guided to our master. Both just accomplishing our task."

"Am I nothing like you!" I spat in anger.

"But you are. You found our master not long after I did. Then again, I was created to protect the head of the Baskervilles."

"Master Glen? But he's already—" Just then I heard another clicking that made that piercing pain go through my head.

"But you and I are aware that this wouldn't have been the case had the ceremony been completed. I wouldn't be anchored to the Nightray's body. And I wouldn't be protecting this boy."


That's right. That was sometime after Jack had created that box. I was in a stupor of my own. Always smiles and nothing ever harmed me. I was happy but lifeless.

That day something had happened that rattled that box.

"Jack? Where's Gilbert? I haven't seen him recently. And Vincent's just been cooped up in his room. Is something wrong?"

Jack then turned to look at me with an expression I had never seen on him before. Disappointment. At what, I never knew. But back then I didn't understand the situation that was unfurling. Not until it had already happened.

He picked me up onto his lap and brushed my hair with his hand as he explained. "Gil, has...been summoned by Glen."

"By master?"

"Yes. Apparently, Glen has something in mind that concerns Gilbert."

"What do you mean that it concerns him?"

He smiled half-heartedly. "I'll explain later. I need to speak to Glen first. Would you do me a favor, though? Search for Vincent. I'm sure he's somewhere in the manor."

"Sure," I answered fully and with a wholesome smile. "I'll go look for Vincent and I'll see what's happening with Gil." Jumping off from his lap, I ran out of the room and searched. First thing was to find Vince. But no matter who I asked, nobody seemed to know where he was.

Never would I have suspected that that would be the day when the Devil ruined our lives.

"Are you looking for something?"

I had ended up at the inner garden's and not far from the tower that could sometimes be seen in the distance. That day the girl I had seen once and never again had leaned outside her window and spoken to me.

Alice. I didn't know her back then but now I recognized her. But she wasn't like the Alice I know now.

"I'm looking for Vincent. Have you seen him?"

"I did see him, actually," she answered with a wicked smile. "He was crying all alone. Something about Gilbert."

"Gilbert?"

"Yep~" she called twining the fingers of her hands. "Apparently, Glen's planning to use Gilbert as his new vessel!"

My heart stopped. "Vessel?"

"Didn't you know?" she said perplexed. "Glen Baskerville isn't a human being. At least not in the technical sense."

"What do you mean?"

"Every certain amount of years the soul of the Head of the Baskervilles must change bodies. This has to be done by transferring the Chains Glen holds into his new vessel. And I know which one's being given to him first."

"Which one?"

"Raven..."

It took me seconds after her last sentence to dash after Vincent's trail.

"You better hurry~" she cooed in a frigid voice. "Vincent sounded pretty down when I told him this. Knowing him, he'll do anything to get his big brother back."

It wasn't long before I found him curled up into a ball and leaning against an archway in one of the outside halls. "Vince—" but before I could voice my whole warning, something flashed past me, startling me and making me stumble back. At turning onto my back, a small monkey traipsed out of the bushes and sat before me. "W-Was that you?" It took me a second to realize that it was pointing away with its tail towards where I had intended to go. "W-What's up with you?" At following his line of vision, I saw that from afar there was a woman approaching him. A woman with long, curling red hair.

Who was that woman?

Suddenly, I felt him tuck away at something in my pocket. When I saw him holding my broche, I panicked and ran after him. I had completely dismissed Vincent and his talk with the woman.

But then I shouldn't have turned my back on him. I shouldn't have followed Chronos when he made me chase him. By doing so I lost the opportunity to stop Vincent from doing what he did...


"You see now..." When Humpty's voice hit me again, I blinked to find myself back in the current situation. "It wasn't this boy that was entitled to my protection."

"It was supposed to be Gil..."

"Now I linger in this scattered form."

"Why—" I murmured with a perplexed tone. "Why are you telling me this."

"It's obvious. Who lies within you was what attracted you to our Master."

"Who lies within...me?" Then it hit me. That girl...the one that had spoken to me. Was this what she was warning me about? I took a step forth but stumbled to my knees. My mind was too jumbled up to think straight. I should have listened to her. Then I remembered something. That girl...we saw her tombstone, Cloude and I.

"La-ce."

"It say's—"

"Lacie..." A sudden anger came to me. "This...because of you!?"

"I'm sorry. Truly and deeply sorry."

Suddenly, Elliot hit the wall and slumped down to a sit. Going over to him, I tried seeing what was wrong but he shocked me when he shouted out of the blue.

"That's not true!" He began grabbing at his head and bellowing at the top of his lungs. "Not true! Not true!" At hearing him fighting against his own demons, I knew that I had to fight against mine.

Standing up and strong, I glared around before calling it out. "Show yourself!" The wind roared to life almost blowing me off my feet as it appeared before us. Elliot was still in his stupor. But Leo...

"Don't do it!" he yelled trying to convince me.

"Shut it!" I bellowed trying to get my point across. I wasn't backing down. Not now. I held out for Radiant Dawn once more before speaking again. "You're not going to live through this Humpty."

"Do you really believe that?"His mocking only angered me more. "The contract with this boy is already too far in. You cannot defeat me without harming him!"

"There's always a way." Brandishing the blade its way, I glared with all I had. "What happened with Celia won't happen again."

"True. You have long lost that innocence. But the outcome won't change!" At the last word he lashed his tongue out at me but I managed to jumped away and avoid it.

The second I saw it raising its tongue again for a second round, I was prepared. "Chronos!" I felt the blade vibrate with the power it was emanating and saw it when Humpty's tongue stopped dead in its tracks.

Lunging forward, I raised my blade ready to strike at it. But just when the impact would have hit, I felt strings holding my wrists and arms still, above my head.

"Why are you stopping me!" I yelled when I felt Lacrimosa's strings fighting against me.

"You can't harm Humpty Dumpty!" she warned me with a grave tone to her voice. "The hand has advanced too far. If you hurt it, you'll cause Elliot the same pain!"

"But it isn't the boy doing this," Chronos countered with a click of his tongue. "This is all Humpty's doing. He's only dragging the boy along."

"You slimy, fucking bastard!" I cursed breaking away from their hold but in turn leaving myself unguarded. Taking the opportunity, Humpty swung his tongue to unarm me before grabbing me by my throat, lifting me up in the air and quickly began to strangle me.

"Claire!" I could barely see Leo anymore at this point. The suffocation was already causing my vision to blur.

"You're a pain to all of us. Even if you're one of master's emissaries, you should have never existed."

A sick grin came over my face while the air quickly left my lungs. "Tough. Luck."

"You will shut that mouth of yours. Better yet, I'll shut it for you. For good!"

"STOP!"

At Elliot's call the tongue disappeared leaving me to fall to the floor wheezing and coughing. Elliot... I gazed up to meet him but was floored when I saw how profusely he was bleeding. It was a wound...from his chest. This...can't be right. Please, somebody—anybody!

Tell me this isn't happening?!


Well then -w- It's a little bit short but it's an update :3 'gasp' what will happen now!?

Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out! ;D And if you want me to upload the next one then tell me and I'll have it posted tomorrow :3 CIao~