Two more chapters, you guys. This one and the next will be the last rewrites before I start adding new material for this story! xD

Hope you're all as excited as I am~ -w-

For now let me give some thank yous:

-LightandDarkHeart: Yes, necromancy is a huge pain in the butt -w- Btw, thanks so much for continuing to review chapter after chapter. It really helps me continue wanting to writing! :D So thanks a bunch!
Now let's get to the story~


Chapter Thirty-Nine

Where True Power Lies


The city of Reveille was full and bustling with life. Every person around was just as excited as I was and that made my nerves unravel that much more. So much weight was being drawn out of my shoulders with this breather we got today.

My arms stretch out over my head before I bellow out in the middle of the street, "It's full!" Letting my hands fall to my sides, I slightly brushed the two sheaths that I held on my belt: Oz's and mine. But not even that weight was enough to bring me down.

"Yes, you're right." Oz's somewhat dwindling voice made me turn over. His face was sort of sullen but he still held that small smile on his face.

My brow furrowed before I asked, "Something the matter?"

Yet he simply shook his head once and smiled brighter. Alice's sudden call out for meat drew his attention out to her and he simply returned to his usual demeanor. It was hard not to be carried away by their carelessness and got dragged around myself. We ate some meat and bought some little poppers that surprised Alice when we blew them. During our little break from walking about we bought some crepes and sat around to enjoy them. It wasn't long after we sat down that Oz told Gil about his incuse moving again. It became kind of routine now that every time after he used B-Rabbit's powers the incuse would move a little further. And because of that I started to zone out a bit until Alice called my attention.

"Yes?"

"I was meaning to ask you, do you remember me in your past?" Her question caught me a bit off guard but she continued nonetheless. "Oz told me about the stuff he saw in Cheshire's lair. I just wanted to make sure if you didn't know of anything else."

I was kind of hesitant to answer that question but she was asking so earnestly that I couldn't say no. So I told her what I knew. It was mostly what I had read out from Cloude's journal. How her sister deceived him into serving her. How he actually had had contact with her when she was human. She merely nodded to everything I said, not really understanding. Hell, even I didn't understand that well but I told her regardless.

Suddenly we began hearing how Oz and Gilbert began bickering. When they turned to Alice for a tie breaker, she gave them an answer. And frankly I couldn't have given a better one had I tried. They made each other worry so it was useless moping around. I understood that plenty.

"She's right," I agree and finish my treat before coming off the wall that Alice and I were using as seats to come to stand beside Gil. "Loosen up, kiddo. We've got much ahead of us. No time to be gloomy~"

Oz simply broke out laughing once he sat down in one of the free tables. "Both of you've got a point." Then he caught Gil and I off when he asked his next question. "Gil...Claire. Are you two sad...about Elliot?"

That question really pluck a heart's string but I maintained my small smile. "Of course I am, dummy."

Gil simply answered with a quiet, "Yeah."

"Mm." He childishly buried his face in his arms and I only heard a muffled, "Me too." He explained how he felt and how he didn't completely understand how he was feeling. But that we had to continue moving forth nonetheless. I understood that completely. I was still mourning myself but right now wasn't the time to stand around moping and doing nothing. Many things have fallen on my plate since it happened. I've got to keep up with the things I must do as well. So we'll take it one step at a time. I heard Oz's light laughter before Gil headed towards Alice.

Just then the wind blew and with it brought a voice I hadn't heard in days that felt like years. "Hi, Oz-kun." Leo...

The three of us stood still while they spoke. It was odd. They spoke as if they were chatting to each other but the fact that they were with their backs to one another was eerie. Just then we saw three more figures coming towards Leo's table. One was Vincent, the other Echo, and the last the girl that I had seen attacking Oz. The one he referred to as Kein. When I locked gazes with her, she simply showed me a small grin. Her hands were wrapped around the round object that she held in her hands.

"I've come for you." Leo's voice suddenly caught me off guard turning to us. His hair...it'd been cut. Now I could clearly see those beautiful dark eyes. Silence ensued but not long before Leo let out a laugh. One I recognized very well. "Oz-kun, you have a petal on your face!"

One minute we were there and the next he had gone out to talk to Leo alone. We were watching them from afar but Gilbert was still acting like his damn babysitter. Just like him I had been greatly against it but Oz made me stay behind with the others, and I had to oblige to my master's wishes. So I stayed behind and oddly enough the girl, Kein, was seemingly quiet and only stood about with Echo and Alice. Apparently Vincent noticed me gawking for he took my attention from it.

"Curious about Miss Kein, Claire?" he asked imprudently.

I ignored him with a scowl and simply scolded Gilbert. "Calm the hell down, Gilbert! You're making me more nervous than I already am!"

Vincent chuckled beside me. "That aggressive side of you never changes. Glad it hasn't too. It's what I like most about you, Claire."

"Stop saying my name," I instantly snap when he finishes that sentence. "It makes me want to hurl when you say it."

He chuckled again. Seriously, I wanted to stab the guy but I kept my distance. Doing bodily harm to him was something I couldn't do. He was Gilbert's younger brother and, as much as I hated to admit it, he used to be my friend.

A sudden ringing began to hit my head so much that it hurt me. I had to cover my left ear to lessen the pain yet it still came. Something wasn't right.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son... The jaws that bite, the claws that catch..."

That voice... The curator?

Jabberwock.

A sudden surge of power rupture in space and made me face up to see Leo summoning a Chain that I hadn't seen...in a very long time. "Jabberwock!" The mighty beast spread itself out while perching on the bridge. People screamed and many ran away. Oz called out to Leo in all the mayhem.

I thought I heard Leo murmur something but I couldn't hear it above Jabberwock's growls. Gritting my teeth, I summon Legion and attack the Chain. But with a flap of its wings, it pulverized the spears into nothing. Just then I saw a dark circle underneath Oz. Shit.

"Oz!" But before I could reach, Gilbert won me. Not having to concern myself with him anymore, I turned and summoned Radiant Dawn to at least try and draw Jabberwock back.

"You're faster than the others, Claire." Leo motioned his hand out towards me and the beast's claw went my way. It caught me and threw me against a building while holding me there with its claws. "But not fast enough." It suddenly let go leaving my body on the dented wall. I tried to get a hold of myself and once I did I saw Pandora agents around Gilbert and Oz. They must've followed us. Then I saw Leo ordering Jabberwock to attack. It can't be. Does he seriously intend to kill them!?

"No!" And to my shock, something actually diverted Jabberwock's attack while Raven had drawn back the beast itself from the citizens. Finally getting ahold of my body's movements again, I jumped off stumbling a bit before coming to stand beside Oz. At seeing his face I couldn't help but snap, "It's not the time to be gawking, idiot!"

But before I could go help Gilbert and Raven fight I felt the presence of someone approaching. Jumping back I barely avoided the sword that was directed at me. It was the boy that had been with Kein last night. Was he here the whole time? He charged at me again and I took out Radiant Dawn to bloke his attacks. Finally, I got tired of playing around and slashed at him. He jumped back but I caught his cloak taking it off.

That face... "It...can't be."

"No, Claire!" Oz's yells barely reached my now ringing ears. "He's not Cloude! It's just a puppet! Kein's controlling it with that thing in her hands!"

Kein? My face turned to the little devil that grinned maniacally. My eyes gazed at the spherical thing that she held in her hands. Then my eyes went to Cloude. No, that's not Cloude. If it were him, he wouldn't be fighting against me. Not after what happened between us. We loved each other. Brother and sister, forever and always.

"That's it." My voice is low and menacing as I take Radiant Dawn in my left hand and in a reverse grip. Feinting at the puppet, I headed straight for Kein and got right under her hands. Kein jumped back but not before I back flipped. I didn't destroy the sphere but I did get the silk cloth caught in my heel. Kicking it away, I finally got a good look at what she held in her hands. A skull and it had something shinning inside, a very bright ruby shine.

"How mean, Clarice," Kein called out with a large grin and coming close to the doll that stood a few feet before me. "He may not be the real thing but he's damn close, don't you think?"

"You're sick," I growl at her actions.

"I'm a necromancer. I work with corpses. Of course I am!" she cackled at her last statement. Coming closer to the body, she caressed his cheek slightly with her fingers. "Still close, right?"

A scoff escaped my lips and my brow furrowed. "Not even. That pile of dirt and clay doesn't compare to the real thing."

"You're right. He's much better than the real thing. He's a perfected body of a powerful man. A tool at my disposition. A weapon I can use how I please."

That again. Leo's changed to think the same way too. Power. That's all they desire. But how can they choose something so trivial over what really matters? I can't understand them.

"It is their free will."

"Curator...?"

"It's their choice how they wish to fight. Kein, Leo, Vincent, Echo, Alice, Gilbert, and Oz. They all fight for what they believe but they do so in different ways. What young Oz said is true. Where humans are concerned there is no right or wrong, justice or outlaws, good or evil. There is only a person's will. And yours is a choice only you can make. Strength or weakness. Love or hate. Hope or fear. Tell me, Clarice, have you your answer...?"

This question, it's one I have asked myself so many times before. But I've never really had an answer...not until today.


"It's sad—" Claire murmured under her breath. "How much you're willing to sacrifice for a power you already have."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kein hissed.

Claire raised her head and locked eyes with her. "What you're doing and everything you ever did to obtain this kind of power, it was all useless."

"What the hell would you know about me!"

"Nothing. But just because I know nothing about you does it mean that I cannot understand where you're coming from. I know what it's like to feel hatred. What it's like to be hated by so many others. I've caused so many people pain and suffering that sometimes I can't even live with myself. In me I've found that there's so much more hatred than I've come to admit..."

"Embrace it, child. Whichever answer you give must be what you choose."

"I hate those who killed my parents. I hate Siva who killed my brother. I hate the one who caused the Tragedy of Sablier..." Embrace it all. "And I hate Leo for lying to me. I hate my big brother for trying to be someone he's not. I hate them all. And most of all...I hate myself. But—" The feeling that something was lumping in her throat disappear. Even though it was hard to say those things, they were what she really thought deep inside. That hatred was her own and something she had a hard time admitting. But it was there nonetheless. And now that she had embraced it...it was time to let it go.

"But I love them all so much more! I loved my parents. I loved Cloude. I cherished my Master and my family, the Baskervilles. And...I'll love my big brother Leo, forever and always!" Her hands traveled to the zircon medallion that dangled gently upon her bosom and held onto it so tightly. "Life can make me hate and hate all it wants but it won't change a thing. I will always, always choose love over it!"

Suddenly a blinding light took her eyesight and when the light ebbed to let her see, what she saw in front of her was shocking. The presence she felt was overwhelming and she recognized it. It was the curator. But this being that stood before her wasn't that menacing phantom from before.

"What?" Gil called shocked at noticing the blinding flash leave.

"What is that...?" Vincent hissed without noticing.

"It's an..." Oz whispered under his breath.

Leo's eyes stared in shock. "An angel...?"

The being that stood before her was of a young woman. Or at least what she thought was a woman. The pristine white dress that she wore seemed archaic but sublime at the same time. The skirts pooled about her gracefully while the top was a sweetheart shape that barely covered her chest. The front was held back by thin strings as straps that came back to connect to the middle of her back were the corset was. The rest of her back was exposed letting the pure white wings furled behind her. Her shoulders and arms were bared and showed her slightly tanned skin that gleam in the daylight. A white neck choker was on her that was thick enough to cover half of it while a necklace of silver and opals rested on her empty bosom. Her auburn curls swept under a white veil along with her face. In actuality, all that Claire could see from her features was the small smile that warmed her deep inside. All else was hidden behind the veil that ended pointed just upon her nose.

No matter how human she seemed, Claire could still feel the ethereal powers that emanated from her. This was a projection to speak to her just like the one Astrovylia had had.

"W-Who..."

"I go by many names child." Claire's eyes widened at hearing the woman speak. She sounded nothing like that voice that made her tremble in fear. This voice was calm and loving, like a mother's soft touch. "I am the keeper of the Writings and the one whom safeguards the past, present, and future of all."

"Don't—" Claire turned at suddenly hearing Kein's voice boom through the city. She was livid and she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Don't ignore me!" Cerberus launched at them and Claire was about to jump before the woman to protect her. That was until she saw something pierce Cerberus, making him vanish. "Cerberus!" Turning to face the curator, Claire stared in awe at seeing one of the large wings unfurled and pointing towards were the Chain had once been. She glared daggers at the woman before spatting out, "After all I gave up and all I did trying to summon you, you show up in front of a worthless brat!?"

"Your attempts to locate me where all in vain. You were never worthy. What you are would only have crippled my powers. I am not a weapon of hatred and vengeance. I'm a being of hope and love."

"Hope...and love?" Claire whispered regaining the woman's attention and with it her smile.

"Yes, child. I was created as such. To embody that which she yearned most: hope and love. And it is only those emotions that can empower me and put me to use."

She... "You mean...the Will of the Abyss?"

The woman nodded and unfurled her wings to encase both of them in a tight nest of warmth as the feathers that fell from her wings scattered. But before hitting anything in the world they would disintegrated into specks of light that returned from whence they came. "The reason why I am here now is because of your answer."

"Answer...?"

"You chose love over hate. You made the decision to let those painful emotions go to give way to healing ones. That is the basis of my powers. I was not created to destroy or to kill but to protect and nurture."

"Like a mother..."

"I have heard your answer, Clarice. And now I am prepared to give you my offer." Claire gazed perplexed at what she said but didn't have to wait long before she continued. "I am willing to form a contract with you."

"What?!"

"But..." she interrupted quickly before she could answer. "You have to decide on something first. When you first called upon me you wished to read the Writings. I will tell you right now that that is impossible. Without my kin you will never be able to do that. In order to do that you would have to give up Chronos and Lacrimosa to form her. My final question is: would you be willing to sacrifice them to obtain what you desire?"

"Never."

There was no hesitancy. No pause. She didn't even give herself time to think. And that was because frankly she didn't need it.

"Claire!"

She could hear their protests in her head. This was what she was searching for all this time: answers. And they were willing to do what it took to let her obtain them. But she—

"No, you guys. You're my family. You've been there with me for everything. I don't want to lose you." Claire gazed up at the curator with a grin across her face. "Alice was right. I don't need those old memories because the ones that I have made so far are more than enough. And there're still more to come. Good or bad, it doesn't matter. I'll take them." Claire then flashed her a grand smile before answering. "So, if you're willing to join us then you're more than welcomed!"

A smile spread across the woman's lips. She reached up to one of her wings and plucked off one of the feathers. She drew it down as it quickly started to liquefy into a dark crimson substance. Instinctively, Claire cupped her hands and saw the liquid fall and fill her hands. Blood.

"Then drink my blood and call my name."

Her name...?

Before Claire had a chance to question about it she took her hands up to her lips and drank the liquid and felt its warmth as it traveled down her throat. Her mind was empty of voices for a second before a name came to her mind. Without missing a beat, she spoke it.

"Lachesis!"

Suddenly a strange energy pulsed through her and focused on the left side of her chest. Clutching it, she felt as the energy traveled all around her. It was so overwhelming but at the same time so caring and loving.

The woman smiled one last time. "That is correct, mia Dominia." Yet their celebration had been cut short when suddenly Jabberwock attacked. Lachesis' wings unfurled creating a gust the diverged the attack away from Claire. Quicker than she could see, the wings came furled in front of Lachesis and fused at the tips to form some kind of bow. Pulling on an invisible string she shot a thin ray of light that caught the Jabberwock on its arm. It didn't disappear like Cerberus had but in the very least it had injured it.

Claire gasped for breath while the Chain attacked. It was very exhausting. She not only had just formed an Illegal Contract but it had been with a very ancient Chain. Those two factors made it all the more hard on her stamina.

"For now it is best that you refrain from using me. My powers draw too much out of you. And despite me being what I am, I was never created with the intention to fight. What little attacks I have can only injure other Chains to a certain extent."

"Hey—" Claire panted with a smirk on her face. "For what it's worth—you're decent." Suddenly Claire noticed that Jabberwock disappeared and caught the glimpse of Leo running away. Oz didn't take long to follow after him.

She cursed under her breath before she started heading out towards his direction when she was suddenly startled by Raven's appearance at protecting her from the Queen of Hearts.

"Watch out!" Claire heard Gilbert's call at the same time she heard the loud bang of a gun going off. Luckily, Lachesis was still there to divert the trajectory of the bullet, protecting her from it. She turned to the gunslinger to find Vincent with a gun in his hand and a wicked grin on his face.

"You're not going anywhere, Claire," Vincent confessed with a tight lipped smile. "Not you nor your angel woman."


This was one of those big changes that I was intending to do. So how was it? Psyched that you finally got to meet who the curator really was! Me too x3 Hopefully you liked it.

So stayed tuned for the next chapter.