Hey there my darling little people -w- How was last chapter? Pretty hectic huh? xD But as requested, and to torture you guys a little bit, I'll be posting the next chapter! :D

As per usual, let's give thanks to the wonderful people that make me so happy by telling me what they think about what I love doing! :D

-Tris PhantomEvans: As requested I will post the last update of the week today :D And it is a good thing you're prepared for this my friend. You will need that.

-LightandDarkHeart: Yes, cliffhangers are stupid cx And it is interesting, isn't it ;3 Well, I'll wove that little detail in more detail later :D

Well, now that that is out of the way, let's start with where we left off last time, shall we? ;D


Chapter Twenty-Nine

Heartache


The pain that pierced my chest took all the breath from me. I gasped but nothing would come. This pain...I've never felt it before. It was as if something inside me was being tugged endlessly and when I held on to it, I would lose my breath. Just then a big earthquake hit the whole place. This...the sealing stone!

A sudden scream took my attention and brought my glance up. Then Leo's when he was about to get up. "Elliot!"

"Stay back, Leo!" At Elliot's sudden shout the Chain reacted and pounced Leo back. He must have hit his head hard. He only slid down, already fainted.

"Leo!" But my concerned cry reached no one. At feeling the same pain once more, I turned to face Elliot and saw that Humpty Dumpty was distorting and going rampant. The energy released from the breaking of the sealing stone must be doing this. All that stored energy must be having a negative effect on contractors and Chains alike.

Then I heard it say something. "The wish of the...Will of Abyss. Eat the—Black Rabbit!"

Black rabbit...? "Alice!?"

Not having time for anymore distractions, I stood up and went at Humpty head first with Radiant Dawn at hand. "Don't, Claire!" Elliot's shout didn't reach me in time for me to notice that Humpty had slashed away towards me. It hit me hard and threw me against another wall. Slumping down, I began coughing out blood. What in the— I looked up from that to see Elliot being swallowed up.

"E-Elliot!" But a pain in my head shut me up instantly. And when I heard the distinctive clicking I cursed the timing of this damn thing.


"I need you to put this on."

Lottie one-sama.

I remember that night. It was the last night I was ever in that mansion. Chronos had led me there but disappeared afterwards. My broche still gone. Lottie had found me shortly after and told me those words.

A red cloak was laid on my bed. "Why?"

"Just do as I say and follow me." I nodded and did as I was told. Soon we were heading down the hall and stood before the master's audience chambers. We turned when we heard more hurried footsteps coming our way. It was the others...and Cloude.

Lottie hurried them inside and turned before going in herself. She grabbed me by the shoulders and pursed her lips before saying. "Stay here. I'll be back for you in a bit."

Not really understanding, I only nodded before she went in and closed the doors behind herself. Soon they all came out with grim expressions but left quickly except for Lottie.

She grimaced and held me tightly to her before taking me out through the servant quarters. She brushed my hair away and smiled grimly. "Claire. Listen to me, and listen well. I want you to run."

"What...?"

"Even if you are an emissary, for you to do this—" She shook her head vigorously. "It's wrong. I can't allow you to stain your hands. So please." Lottie placed my hands inside hers and gripped tightly. "Run. Run away and don't look back."

Those words. They struck a string on me. They were the same words Matisera told me before...

Leaving me with that last request, Lottie left to do her duty. But I never left. I hadn't been there long before a monkey jumped on my shoulders and wrapped its tail around my neck for leverage.

I turned to face him and gasped when he gave me back my broche. "Oh, thanks. I really treasure this so I would've been very sad had you taken it." Suddenly, he disappeared in a burst of light before entering my broche.

Then I heard a voice in my head. One I now knew as Chronos'.

"I await here in slumber until we meet again, mia Dominia."

His dominion? How did he know my language?

The sudden screams of people took my attention. "W-What's going on down there?"

"The orders have been given. Everybody in this manor, in this city, must be killed."

"What?!" Then I saw what he meant. The section where the ballroom would be was beginning to be swallowed up in flames. The party. The people where still in there. And they were being killed.

"Cloude..." Before even thinking it through I ran inside and avoided all the servants that screamed and ran of in terror towards the opposite way. Once inside the manor itself, the strong odor of burning flesh and smoke overwhelmed my senses. Ignoring it the best I could, I headed down the halls screaming at the top of my lungs and searching for my brother—


And she knew how that memory ended. Claire found Cloude but he had already began killing the people that had gone farther than the ballroom and hallways. They fought and clashed opening a hole to the Abyss that swallowed them whole.

Getting up to a stance, she went on towards Humpty Dumpty. The Chain lashed its tongue away but Claire guarded herself from the hit.

"Lacrimosa!" At her command, she created a cage that locked up Humpty. But the Chain quickly broke through it, sending shards of it flying away. That instant when Claire protected herself of the shards Humpty saw the opportunity to slashed away, cutting at her legs and shredding part of the skirts of her dress.

In his eyes, Elliot saw how exhausted she looked. Even through the tough exterior, Claire was really starting to wear out. Not only her but Gilbert and Echo outside as well. Humpty Dumpty's other contractors were rampaging against everybody.

How could he let this go so far...?


The sound of steel against the cobblestone took my attention. More when I saw that Elliot had stabbed his own hand through with this sword. "Elliot!" Then I caught a glimpse of his face. He was clearly in pain, his eyes tearing up, but the determination on his face was unmistakable.

"Forget...what I did?" The image of the Chain began distorting once more. "Turn my eyes away! My memories, my mistakes, all of my suffering! The past, the future! I have no intention of giving any of them up to you!" He looked down and exclaimed with all his might. "I am Elliot Nightray and I won't let you take that away from me!"

Just then I saw the prickling blood that came down his head. At noticing this I ran over and knelt down beside him, dropping my blade.

"Oh god." My voice was trembling as were my hands as I looked at the wound that had sprouted out of nowhere.

"C-Claire?" his voice sounded lost and his eyes a bit glazed over.

"Don't talk, sweetie. Let me take care of this."

"It's such a bad thing coming from you to lie." That voice. Glaring up, I saw Vincent entering the room with a small smile on his face. The anger in me only grew tenfold. "Tell him the truth, Claire. After all, contractors shouldn't reject their own Chain."

"Vin...cent..." Elliot's voice was barely an audible murmur.

"Who would have thought..." he spoke. "That you, of all people, were the core of Humpty Dumpty. I also surmise that both of your Chains are going out of control. It is the same with mine. It kept repeating 'the Will of Abyss, the Will of Abyss'."

"That...thing..."

"Shh, calm down," I whispered soothingly to him still trying to find out the source of his wounds.

"I said don't Elliot." I glared more daggers at him when he spoke up again. "Without its contractor, rejection for a Chain means death. Of course, such a drastic measure results in the death of both Chain and contractor."

"You bastard!" I spat out in rage. "You mean to tell us you only came here to say that he'll die!?"

With the most straight face I ever saw on him, he said. "Of course. And that being the case, I can, right here and now—" Elliot's suddenly jerked away in pain catching my attention and making me turn back to him. "Too bad. Seems like Oz-kun has finally come to."

"You! How can you do this!? To your own brother!?"

"The only brother I have is Gil. Although, Elliot does have his goodness." He nodded my way with a smirk.

"And yet you betrayed both by helping the Baskervilles. You're the lowest."

"Now, Claire. Is that something you can really say? After all, you and I aren't as different as we seem." He chuckled and covered his mouth. "You do remember, right?"

"More than I would like to." Glaring dagger at him, I started voicing the things I had seen that day. "I should have stopped you. That day, with that redhead woman—"

"What? You...saw?" His eyes widened a bit and if I didn't know better I'd say he was scared.

"Of course I did!" I yelled in response. "Only an idiot would have listened to that woman!"

"You wouldn't know!" he shouted back startling me. "You were never cornered like I was. You had a choice! I didn't!"

"You're wrong! We all have a choice! And you...yours damned us all."

Elliot suddenly grabbed onto my shoulder and making me face him. That's when I saw that the wound on his chest was bleeding more profusely and seeping through his clothes. "Elliot!"

"That wound—" Vincent spoke again, returning to his more modest demeanor. "If a wound inflicted to the Chain affects the contractor then that means that the seal has almost completed its revolution. At this point, even if you managed to defeat your Chain...there would be no way to save you. So, Elliot—would you rather be killed by me...or Oz-kun?"

That can't be true. There has to be another way. But the way Elliot began to chuckle made me turn towards him. What surprised me most, though, was his answer.

"Neither." A pain made him cringe again and groan in pain.

"Elliot!" But he simply tightened the grip on my shoulder before letting go.

"Killed...by the likes of you? Don't make me laugh..." He was panting heavily and it was really scaring me, the way he was talking. "This is something...I have to take care of myself. I won't...allow this. Of a Chain like you! How could I..."

"Elliot, what are you—" But my words ended short when I felt his palm against my cheek and felt the warmth of the blood on his hands as it slipped down my neck. His eyes were staring right at mine. And for the first time in my life I was so frightened I felt that I would die. He didn't speak. He didn't move.

His sky blue eyes just stared into my cobalt ones. And all I saw in them was one thing...love. And in them I saw the last words I would know of him.

I love you

...goodbye...

"I...Humpty Dumpty, I reject you."


Yes...what you've all been dreading...has happened. I will leave you with that note and see you till next chapter :D Stayed tuned and don't hate me so much x3