Disclaimer: If I really owned any of these franchises, then these series' endings would change.

IV. Pessimism

"Are we done now?" Alice whined in exhaustion. Can you blame her if you were in her position? She was tired, hungry, and at the end of her rope. "Hey, Seaweed Head, don't you dare ignore me?! Answer me!" Gilbert just ignored her and continued interviewing an old man.

The day after they found out about Oz, he suddenly announced during breakfast that he wanted to go find the lost son of Xai Vessalius. He wanted closure and to find out what had happened to the abandoned child. While Pandora can't help without tipping off Xai or expose Oz's existence, Oscar was more than happy to hand over what information he found over to his nephew. Of all the various documentations, it was a copy of an excerpt from Xai's journal that was most helpful. While it was the only mention of the day Oz was "born," Oz found out that the boy they are looking for was a stillborn, but Xai still named him. That was all there is. There were no other mentions in the later entries, according to Oscar. Call it a gut feeling, but Oz felt that there was more to it than just what Xai had written. Now it was up to them to look for clues on what went on that night.

Of course, that was five days ago and still no results or progress. They have already checked out practically every church, residence, and orphanage within ten kilometers of Vessalius property. Gil and Oz were going around asking if anyone had seen Xai going somewhere late at night. They have no new leads to follow and it seemed the situation was hopeless.

"I know we've been at this for a while now, but it's too early to give up now." Oz said as he thanked the old man for his time. He would be the tenth person they've spoken to today, and it was already past noon. "Sorry about this, Alice. Can we ask one more person before we get something to eat? I'm feeling pretty hungry myself."

"Sure, sounds good. After all, as my manservant, you're not supposed to leave me out of things." Alice quipped with a cocky smirk.

"…Hey, I've been thinking. What if we can't find anything? What will we do then, Oz?" As much as he wants to stay optimistic, Gilbert can't help but feel like they're sent on a wild goose chase. After all, Xai wasn't a stupid man. For all they know, he could have already erased his son's existence long before Pandora started digging.

Oz looked down at the ground, deep in thought. He knew this was a big gamble, but this could be a chance to figure out the "sin of his existence". Although it may be a hopeless endeavor, this was the closest he could get to getting answers on what happened during his Coming of Age Ceremony.

"…Um…excuse me… you people are the ones asking for someone…am I right?"

V. Light at the End

"…Are you looking for a Miss Clara Hopkins?" The speaker was a young woman. She was a timid looking thing and looked she could belong in a library by her appearance. "…That is…um… I could tell you about her… if you want… You see… I'm her niece… Aunt Clara left me a few things before she died… I can bring them over so you can take a look…" She trailed off and began fidgeting nervously. The trio were looking at her with wide eyes like they've never seen anyone like her. And were those tears or is it just the light of the sun?

"A GODDESS! I'M IN THE PRESENCE OF A GODDESS!"

"Miss, if you could please follow us to this café? We'd love to hear what you say."

"Why didn't say so earlier?! Tell us everything you know, right now!"

"KYYYYYAAAA!"

U(•ㅅ•)U

This was the best news they've heard since they've started. After so long, they never thought they would be as fortunate as having a new lead practically dropped on their laps at a time like this. The small group was currently seated in a restaurant a block from where they were. The woman introduced herself as Maybelle. Niece of a deceased nun who Xerxes was able to narrow down to one of the last people to see the missing Vessalius child. The problem was the woman seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth after the old church she had worked and resided in was torn down and was later renovated into a park. Hence why the past two days they've been asking the people living around where the church used to be.

Maybelle later explained that her aunt died shortly before her church was destroyed. In her will, she gave Maybelle what little the church had. But Oz and his friends weren't interested in the religious keepsakes. Turns out, Maybelle had the sense to not throw away all the documents the former church once held.

"Some of them just seemed so important. Marriages, christenings, confessions, adoptions. I figured I'd keep these records around in case anyone who's interested comes for them. I was already planning on turning them over to city hall until you showed up. I'm so glad I was able to be of use to you." Maybelle said to them the next evening when they met up again to collect the aging box of documents from her.

It took another three days for them to go over them even with Xerxes, Riem, and Sharon joining in. Eventually, it was Alice found who found something. An old photograph of a white haired foreigner with odd clothing and red tracks down his face holding an infant with bright blond hair. And with it, an adoption paper with the name "Jiraiya" as the new thirty-year-old father to an unnamed baby boy.

VI. Preparation

"Are our clothes packed?"

"Yes."

"Documents and papers?"

"Yes."

"All our passports?"

"Same compartment as the paperwork."

"Camping equipment?"

"Separate bag."

"Extra rations?"

"Enough to feed Alice ten times over."

"Money?"

"You have it."

"The rabbit?"

"Of cou-"

"HEY, I'M NOT LUGGAGE, DAMMIT!"

AN: I AM FEELING GREAT! IT'S SPRING BREAK FOR ME, SO IMMA WORK AT THIS FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG! And before I forget, I would like to thank the people who've subscribed to this story. Also, shout out to The Rupture for taking the comment virginity. I really appreciate your review! It made my heart soar~

But anyways, thanks for reading this, and please leave behind constructive criticism. (┛✧Д✧))┛彡┻━┻