Chapter 2

"Kill him. Along with with Oz Vessalius," Glen commanded.

"As you wish, Glen-sama," Lotti and the others replied. With that, they headed out along with their chains.

"Gilbert couldn't have gotten too far. We know this area a lot better than he does," Lotti commented as they ran through the hallways.

"True, but how do we plan to fight against Raven?" Dug replied.

"I don't know, but one thing is for sure, we can't violate Glen-sama's order. Gilbert has betrayed us, and for protecting the body of that man who ruined everything, we have to kill him. No, both of them."

"This way!" Gil cried, pulling Oz's arm as they made another quick, sharp turn. Perhaps because he was a Baskerville that he just seemed to know where to go despite the myriad of winding hallways that led to a good number of dead ends. His mind was in circles, and the only thing that kept him aware of his outside world was the desperate need to get Oz to safety.

Oz, on the other hand, was still half-numb. He didn't know whether he was trying to process the situation or preventing everything from sinking in lest he break down completely. The rational side of his mind was trying to tell him to stay calm and focused so they could get out alive, but eventually this side fell prey to his emotions and all he knew was that his rational side was now telling him he shouldn't even be alive at all.

"Gil, I—"

"There they are! Get them!"

Gil spun around to the sound of the voice, finding it to be Lotti's. With a flick of his wrist, he fired a bullet in her direction, buying him some time to summon Raven.

"Stay back!" he cried, as he unleashed Raven's blue flames.

As the Baskervilles struggled to avoid the flames from engulfing them, Gil clutched Oz by the waist with his one good arm and said, "Hold on tight" as he invoked Raven's teleportation powers.

And with that, they had gotten away.

"Gil!" Vincent cried, upon seeing Raven's flames.

"Vincent, we need to take shelter, please let us—"

"Shush, it's okay. I know. They're after you, aren't they? And now you need to get away, which is why I have prepared a carriage. As much as I want you here by my side, you can't stay. This is the first place they would think to look."

"Vincent…"

"Gil, I know I can't be by your side, but you're still my brother. I still don't like the fact that you remembered everything, but, I will help you, so go."

Stunned but still resolute, Gil nodded his head and replied "Thank you, Vincent."

And with one last, bittersweet smile from Vincent, Gil and Oz headed towards the carriage. Gil opened the carriage door and allowed Oz to enter. "I'll man the carriage," he said.

Oz nodded his head, and just before Gil was about to close the door, he grabbed Gil's arm and asked softly "Where are we going?"

"To Reveille," Gil replied with a soft smile after seeing the uncertainty in Oz's face. "It's still a fairly predictable place for them to find us, but it won't be the first place for them to look. At least we can rest there tonight and go somewhere farther away from here by sea."

"I…see. Okay," Oz finally said.

As much as Gil was glad that Oz wasn't dismissing his emotions as much anymore, he was also very heartbroken at the sight. Never before had Oz been in such despair, and honestly, Gil couldn't blame him. Everything was quickly being taken away from him, to the point that Oz couldn't even grasp the things he had lost and the things he still had anymore.

"We'll be fine. I promise." And with that, Gil finally closed the door.

By the time they arrived in Gil's small house in Reveille they realized it was already 3:00am. After Oz's capture by the Baskervilles it was the first time they had even thought about time itself.

Gil flicked on the light switch while Oz made his way to the couch. Gil, knowing he wouldn't get a word from Oz at this point, set about to light the fireplace, along with making some tea.

Once Gil had finished his chores, he set the two tea cups down along with the kettle on the small coffee table across the couch and found Oz staring blankly into the fireplace.

"Oz—"

"How much do you know about me?"

"What?" Gil asked, perplexed.

"You know I'm the real B-rabbit, and that I was contracted to Jack, and that together we caused the Tragedy of Sablier. Most of all, you know that this is his body, and that my soul just came to reside here. What else do you know about me?"

Gil, not used to Oz's intensely serious gaze, replied "That's about it."

"Just as I thought," Oz sighed, grabbing one of the tea cups on the table. Taking this as his cue, Gil grabbed the other tea cup and sat down next to Oz.

"Do you know how I came to be B-rabbit?" Oz continued. When Gil slowly shook his head, Oz made a soft smile and tightened his grip on the tea cup, all of which did not escape Gil's notice.

"I was actually two stuffed toys, both of which were owned by Lacie. In her childhood she had given one of me to the Abyss so that it would be less lonely. I didn't even have a consciousness then. But I continued to grow there, keeping the Abyss company. A few years later, Lacie gave my second half to the Abyss, saying that that would be her last visit. I think that was the first time I ever felt anything, because then I could have sworn my chest got unbearably tighter when she said that. I fell into a deep sleep after that and the next thing I knew I heard the sound of crying. There were two infants, the two Alices, one of which stayed in the Abyss while the Alice that we know took one of me with her as she left the Abyss. As you know, she ended up living with the Baskervilles, and I was her favorite toy. That was also when she named me. I realized I felt happy then and that I wanted to protect her. Meanwhile, the other Alice, who became the Will of the Abyss, crossed her consciousness over to our world in order to meet Jack, and for that she wanted to hand Jack the last fragment of Lacie's memories and give it to him. I absorbed that fragment at the cost of my body deteriorating in the human world. When Jack noticed my body crumbling, he was able to see the memory in the fragment, and that was what motivated him to cause the Tragedy of Sablier. "

Gil continued to sit, stunned, his tea forgotten.

Oz continued. "And because the Will of the Abyss loved Jack, he ended up fooling her to give him a chain that could destroy the chains holding this world. And through fooling Vincent, Jack was able to open a Door to the Abyss so that my other body from the Abyss could cross over and form a contract with him. He made me kill people, and because of his desires, Alice killed herself to prevent things from getting worse, and…and…"

Gil, seeing Oz shaking violently with tears, set his tea cup quickly on the table and hugged Oz. "It's not your fault, okay? You didn't want any of this to happen."

"How…could…you say that! If I…if I…if I..!" Oz choked. He forced himself to continue "If I hadn't shown him that fragment, then none of this could have ever happened!"

"Oz, you had the best intentions. You couldn't have predicted that all that would have happened! Besides, the rest of that was Jack's doing and all he kept doing was forcing you to do things against your will. It's not your fault. Please believe that. I'm sure Alice feels the same way."

Wait, where was Alice?

Oz, sensing Gil's wonder, answered "I sent her away. Because of our contract, she can't stay in this world unless I acknowledge her."

"Oz…"

"I don't want her to suffer anymore. She's safe with the Will of the Abyss now," Oz said quietly, his voice muffled by Gil's shirt.

Gil could only hug Oz to the best of his ability. This was the first time that he had actually wanted his left arm back, if only to be able to hug Oz completely and try to make his problems go away, even for just a while.

At 6:00am, the sun had risen, and the first streaks of sunlight pervaded through Gil's eyelids. After god-knows-how long, Oz had cried himself to sleep, and Gil had fallen asleep shortly afterward, with the exhaustion of the new contract and of using his powers finally sinking in. If it weren't for the sense of urgency, he would have preferred to rest a bit more, more so for Oz. After adjusting his eyes to the morning sun, Gil looked down to see Oz's calm sleeping face, with tear tracks still very much apparent. He really wanted Oz to be able to enjoy this brief moment of calm just a little bit longer, but they really couldn't afford to stay. The sooner they got away from their pursuers, the better.

Gil nudged Oz's shoulder gently. "Oz. Oz. Time to wake up."

With a mild groan, Oz's eyes soon welcomed the morning light as well. Gil had to cringe in his mind just a bit when he saw how red and puffy Oz's eyes still were.

"Gil? What time is it?" Oz asked, still a bit disoriented.

"6:15," Gil replied, as he stared at the wall clock hanging just across them. He was surprised it still worked. "Come on Oz, go and clean yourself up. We'll eat a little along the way then buy some things we need. It's going to be a long trip."

Gil's last sentence finally brought Oz to full awareness. "Gil," he began. "Where exactly are we going?"

At this, Gil looked bashfully at the floor. "I have to admit that I haven't fully planned this out. But maybe we can go to a country somewhere in the East? It will be less likely that they would look for us there."

"I swear I will protect you, Oz" Gil continued, this time firmly with his eyes looking straight into Oz's.

"Gil, I get it. But…we can't run away from this. I can't run away from this. Either way, Jack is still inside me, and since he's been getting more desperate lately, he's also been increasing his control over me. I can't say I'll be able to fight him off very well."

"Then why can't we just wait for his soul to disintegrate completely? This is his last cycle already. His soul will be devoured by the Abyss eventually," Gil countered.

"That may be so, but you and I both know how persistent he is. He will definitely try to do something before his end truly comes. He's not giving up without a fight."

Gil sighed. Oz was obviously right, but this was still unsettling him. "So, what do you propose we do?"

Oz finally released himself from Gil's hold, stood up, and, with his mischievous smirk, said, "We're going back to where it all began; to the clock at the coming-of-age ceremony."

A/N: Yes, finished Chapter 2 at last! I really hope I keep this up. And no, Chapter 3 will most certainly NOT be the last chapter. :)

To my anonymous guest reviewer, thank you for reviewing! It means a lot to me. Actually, I know exactly how I want this to go, but I am very open to the brilliant ideas of other readers because there's a chance I could incorporate them into my original plans.

Please do review. It makes my day. XD