This chapter practically doubled in length because I was hit with the inspiration to write more, which is why it's a tiny bit late. But hey, I'm satisfied with it and at least it's now a decent length worth the time it took me to post it (I hope!) :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or it's One-Shot.

When Oz woke up the next morning, he found himself feeling... Strangely refreshed. It was strange because over the past three days, sleep came to him rarely and thus, exhaustion weighed heavy upon him even when he did somehow get some rest. So feeling like anything other than a train wreck was the last thing he expected to feel when it occurred to him that he had fallen asleep again, once his bleary eyes noticed his dimly lit surroundings.

As soon as they had arrived at the hospital, Oz had been whisked away from Gilbert's side by a young, blue-eyed nurse, after which he then became a patient himself and was attended to by several pretty but well-trained nurses, as well as the second-most experienced doctor after the one that was currently treating Gilbert. It was unnecessary really, since miraculously he had nothing more than a minor sprain, several cuts and bruises, but he was far too distracted to protest.

Then, during the rest of the day, his patience was heavily tested while he unconsciously paced back and forth in front of the operation theatre where Gilbert was in, waiting for the final verdict on his condition. At that time, the only though his mind could conceive was, "What if I was too late?" The thought made him turn cold and heavy, as though the implications of such a thought had already settled itself upon his conscience.

Eventually his mind's unusually frantic restlessness combined with his relentless pacing as well as lack of rest and nourishment had an adverse effect on him, though he didn't realise it until the view of his feet suddenly turned black for a moment, and when his vision cleared he found himself staring up at the blue-eyed nurse from earlier, who was asking if he was alright.

The nurse had helped him up off the floor and led him towards the wards where he was given his own room and requested to stay put and rest, before being told that it won't be long before they learned of Gilbert's condition. Realising that he was probably being a bother, Oz did as he was told and indeed, some time later, another nurse came to inform him that Gilbert's condition was stable but he would be monitored overnight, and if all was well then he would be moved into the room next to Oz's in the morning.

The relief he felt after hearing those words had been so great that it literally felt as though a weight had been lifted from his chest. And that weight was the possibility of him having become a murderer.

On the second day, Gilbert had been moved into the room next door at noon – a good sign. But then some time later, a man claiming to have been sent by the authorities as their representative arrived and he brought with him grave news that confirmed Oz's fears. Apart from him and the guest pianist invited from another town – which Oz eventually realised was Gilbert's false identity – no other survivors had been found at the site of the accident, and not a single family of any of the guests were able to report that their family member had arrived home at all. And as though that hadn't been bad enough, the man also brought the shocking revelation that the body of his sister was the only one that could not be found, implying the possibility that she had been kidnapped.

When he was met with nothing but Oz's silence, the man reassured Oz that their investigation was far from over and that his sister would surely be found, before taking his leave while promising to return when a new development occurred.

He didn't return after that.

After learning about the true extent of the damage caused by those mysterious intruders, it was as though Oz's mind had completely shut down from shock. Unable – or rather, unwilling – to fully comprehend the gravity of the situation, Oz spent the rest of the second and third day in Gilbert's room, doing nothing but watch the man sleep while his mind mostly remained blank. Sometimes a nurse or doctor would try to coax him into going back to the ward they had designated to him to rest and eat something. However, Oz politely declined each time with a plastic smile.

It was silly, he knew, but... He just didn't want to be alone. That's why he'd prefer to be in the presence of an unconscious man that tried to kill him rather than be by himself in a large, lonely hospital ward. He was probably going to be on his own from now on anyway, so even if it was Gilbert, he wanted to enjoy somewhat familiar human company for a little longer. With that thought, Oz temporarily made up his mind to see Gilbert recover with his own eyes while using the time to sort out his thoughts.

Just the other night he had been ready to give up on life, convinced that he was the flesh-and-blood equivalent of uselessness. But then Gilbert had saved him. Why? Why did he save him? Oz couldn't understand even now because only two possibilities came to mind. Either the man wasn't in his right senses at the time, or... Perhaps he had simply done out of reflex.

But... In that situation, and for someone like him, wasn't 'reflex' supposed to be 'save yourself'?

And that's why he didn't understand, because neither explanation really made any sense.

So Oz thought about it some more, until he reached another conclusion that seemed more plausible than the other two. What if he did it so that he could see Oz die with his own eyes? Perhaps Gilbert had assumed that Oz would've survived somehow even if he left him there in the burning building and saved himself? Maybe the people who sent him to kill Oz made a strict condition that Gilbert was to bring back proof of his death? In that case it would probably be a body... But if Gilbert had left him, since he would have to treat his wounds first before he was in any condition of carrying a dead weight, the authorities would've arrived, preventing him to return to the scene of the crime and thus, collecting any evidence of his kill.

Which was why, Gilbert probably saved Oz out of duty. He must've assumed that by saving himself and Oz, he could personally kill the boy after kidnapping him. However, his plan must've failed because he lost consciousness...

No. Wrong. Completely wrong. That made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Oz would definitely have died because of the roof. Gilbert wasn't an idiot, he was probably aware of it. And something like proof wouldn't have been an issue, because what are the odds that Oz survived when no one else did?

That was when Oz simply stopped thinking about it altogether, because he had failed to see the logic behind Gilbert's actions.

After that, the question was what now?

It was such a simple question. So simple. Too simple to fully encompass the scope of its answer. But his mind provided him nothing for an answer. No matter how he looked at it, Oz couldn't see any way out of this mess. He couldn't see the logic in the situation. He couldn't think straight. He didn't know what to do.

Those were the kind of frustrating thoughts that had plagued him when his mind wasn't blank, so by night, Oz would be mentally exhausted. His mind screamed for him to sleep but whenever he tried, nightmares would haunt him. He saw faces of those who he would never see again, as well as nauseating images of the destruction caused by those people and horrible visions of his sister being tortured by faceless figures. Eventually he gave up on sleeping altogether and spent the nights by Gilbert's side as well, where he could at least busy himself by focusing his attention on the elder, or more specifically, for any sign that he was in pain or if he was going to wake up.

And then, the third night came. Gilbert had woken up, hadn't he? That's right, after that he was angry at Oz for some reason. Something to do with Contractors and Abysses. Then he pulled out a gun, and then...

...Then what?

Oz sat up, noticing that he was on a bed. At first he thought an attendant or even Gilbert might've carried him back to his own ward room, but then he spotted subtle differences, like how this room seemed to have more medical tools and medicine crammed in it, or how the window had been left wide open, and even the very faint blood stains on the sheets.

...Was he on Gilbert's bed? Where was the man, if that was the case?

He heard B-Rabbit's voice in his head at that point.

'Oz, you're finally awake. How're you feeling?'

"B-Rabbit!" gasped Oz. His mild surprise was due to the fact that she had barely spoken a word to him over the past three days, so he had actually forgotten about her presence. "Where's Gilbert? What happened last night?"

There was a long pause, before she quietly said, '...Glad to see you've recovered enough energy to speak again.'

And at that point, realisation and guilt both hit Oz like a brick.

Oh... He was truly and idiot wasn't he?

The reason why he hadn't heard much from B-Rabbit was probably because she had sensed his grief and exhaustion, both physical and mental. In fact, it was highly possible that Oz's condition had affected her equally, if not more than him as well, since she was now practically a part of him. Knowing his pain, she had been concerned about him all this time and politely remained quiet. But what did Oz do just now?

"...I'm very sorry," mumbled Oz, before pausing to take a deep breath. "Thank you for asking, really. I'm... I'm a bit better," he said with a faint smile, even though she probably couldn't see it.

'...I-it's not like I was asking because I was concerned, you fool. I was merely trying to verify that my vessel was in usable condition again. That's all.'

Before Oz could comment on the fact that what they said was pretty much the same thing, B-Rabbit added, 'Anyway, you wanted to know about what happened last night, didn't you?'

"A-ah, yes, I did. I remember everything up until the point when he took out his gun..."

A thought suddenly occurred to Oz. "...Wait... Why am I not dead...?"

'You don't remember anything after that because I took over your body at that point...'

Then B-Rabbit retold the events of the previous night, while sharing some of her memories for further clarity (and although she mentioned proving her existence to Gilbert by stopping time, she omitted the part where she had practically straddled him and whispered death threats into his ear; the boy didn't need to know any of that).

She told him how she had argued with Gilbert over Oz's innocence, telling him that she hadn't made a contract with him until recently, but when the man remained stubborn, she stopped time to prove her point. Then he questioned her on why she was so keen about Oz, after which he went back to square one and said that he had to kill Oz out of duty. B-Rabbit pointed out how his 'duty' was technically invalid, before putting an end to the argument once and for all.

"Besides, you didn't even want to kill him in the first place, did you?"

It was at that point when Oz froze from shock. And his astonishment simply grew when he saw Gilbert's expressions in his mind's eye, heard B-Rabbit pointing out each and every one of the flaws in his behaviour, and witnessed the man's accepting silence afterwards which was when B-Rabbit halted her account, sensing her Contractor's sudden change of mood and burst of mental activity.

This whole time...

He didn't want to...?

But... But that meant...!

"He... Wanted to save me...?"

No! That... That didn't make sense! He was a killer! Where was the logic in-?

Oz's eyes widened.

'...Oz...? What-'

But she was interrupted by a hesitant knock on the door, followed by a young, timid looking brunette nurse entering the room. Oz hadn't registered the knocking but he did notice the sound of the door closing behind her, which was when he snapped out of whatever daze he was in and abruptly looked up.

"O-oh, you're awake. Um, you wouldn't happen to know where the patient of this room has gone... Would you?"

Oz shook his head, before the tone of worry in her voice registered to him. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

The nurse bit her lip. "...Well, the doctor came in earlier this morning to do his rounds but instead of the patient, we found you. We thought he might have gone out to wander around, but none of the day staff saw him at all and we can't seem to find him anywhere."

Oz took a moment to process the implications of this information, before he gasped in realisation. "Wait... Then, that means..."

The nurse nodded. "He must've left in the middle of the night, though strangely, none of the night staff reported him leaving either. Since you were in his bed, we thought he might've told you something but it seems that we were wrong... I have to report this to the doctor immediately. Please excuse me."

After she left, Oz immediately called out to B-Rabbit.

"Do you know where he went?"

'I... Only have a rough idea,' she admitted.

The Abyss resumed with her account and as soon as she began, a bad feeling within Oz started to develop and grow when Gilbert had asked B-Rabbit whether or not she was able to detect other Abysses. It was as though he knew exactly what Gilbert intended to do without having reached the end of B-Rabbit's account. And when she did finish, his suspicions were confirmed.

"The hospital staff didn't see him because he must've sneaked out from that open window. And now he plans on taking revenge... But he's still badly injured! He'll be killed at this rate... I have to do something."

"B-Rabbit!"

She sighed. 'Don't say it. You want to save him, don't you?'

Oz was already making his way towards the door with a look of solid determination. "We're really starting to understand one another, aren't we?" he muttered.

"I know it's not really my place to get involved anymore, but as a human being I can't just feign ignorance when I know he's going to get killed. How can I possibly live with myself knowing that I let my saviour die when I could've prevented it? And I know for a fact that I can prevent it... Because I am no longer as useless as I once was. I have power now. I have B-Rabbit."

'Stop!'

Oz halted in his footsteps when he felt a sharp pain next to his heart, causing him to lean heavily against the wall for support while clutching his chest with one hand as his face contorted in a grimace of pain.

"B-Rabbit... What are you... Doing?!" he rasped.

His eyes began to fade from green, to red, then back to green and the cycle repeated itself as B-Rabbit tried to take over Oz's body. However, Oz was stubbornly resisting. But at last B-Rabbit won the battle for control and screamed in frustration as soon as she did so.

"Why do you go so far for that man?! He tried to kill you, idiot! I can't risk having you involved with him any further, do you understand? He's dangerous!"

That was all she had time to say because she felt Oz's presence overwhelm hers, and unbelievably he managed to resurface while sending her back to the depths of his mind. Oz took a moment to steady himself, after which he spoke calmly to B-Rabbit.

"Next time, I don't want you possessing me without permission," he said, but although his voice was low, the anger in it was unmistakable and the danger behind ignoring his warning did not go unheeded by B-Rabbit. "Don't forget that you require my body for your own needs, whatever they may be. And you said it yourself, didn't you? That no one else could form a Contract with you before in the past. That's why, since this is still my body at the end of the day, I decide what I want to do with it."

"...All this time I've restricted myself by trying to find the logic in everything I don't understand. But I've forgotten one important thing... Take one step back, and you realise that there's nothing logical about this situation. It was Gilbert who made me realise this, by defying the logical course set out for him and choosing to save me. Now he's going to kill the people who betrayed him. And he's doing all this because he's a human being. A human being who does what he wants, because that is the nature of humans. I was wrong for trying to judge his actions as a killer..."

'...Is that a threat, boy?'

B-Rabbit was more than a little surprised at Oz's outburst, but what was more surprising was the fact that she quietly let it slide. The boy was right, after all. She needed him more than he probably needed her now that his initial wish had been granted; therefore making him angry wasn't exactly advisable especially since he had already devalued his own life before. With no crystal clear reason to live anymore, the last thing she wanted to do was let him recklessly exploit that fact.

"You can think of it as whatever you want. But I will save Gilbert, with or without your help. Besides, we didn't save him that time just so he could go and get himself killed, did we?"

"That's right... I can't sit around moping here forever. Nothing's stopping him from doing what he really wants to do. So why can't I be the same? He gave me a second chance at life. And I don't have any idea what the future holds for me, but I'm not going to throw away this chance again. First I want to save him, and then I'll need to think of how to find my sister somehow..."

'...I swear I'll rip those strips of seaweed right off his head if he wasted all my effort. I didn't even bless him with the honour of bowing down at my feet as thanks for saving his life!'

Oz did his best not to chuckle at the mental image that abruptly came to mind, but he still couldn't stop his lips from curving up to form a small smile.

"Well, now's your chance."

~In another place and time~

Gilbert was currently being led down a narrow corridor in the old warehouse where the Nightrays had set up a secret office for consorting with people like him. He had sent them word of his arrival beforehand, after which they had instructed him to meet them at the usual place.

When Gilbert received his first job from the Nightrays, he found it strange. Why could he not meet with them in their mansion, like how he did with his other clients? But very soon he learned the answer to his question, and that was the fact that there was division amongst the higher-ups.

Duke Bernard Nightray had a brother, a beautiful wife and was blessed with five children at first. He, his wife and his two youngest children, a daughter and a son, were all noble-spirited people. Well, Gilbert actually had his doubts about the Duke himself but the rest of them, though they too had a deep-rooted hatred for the Vessalius House, believed that they would one day settle the score using methods that would not de-honour their name any further, and that went for any other dealings as well.

However, Bernard's brother Richard, and his three sons had a different ideal. Why be fair with the enemy? Why abide by the law when things were done faster and better once you crossed the line? And so, they started mingling with those that worked on the other side of that line that separated lawful and unlawful; with those people like Gilbert, in the shadows.

Had the Duke and the rest of the family known of their plans, surely he would've put an end to it. After all, the Duke's eldest son, unbeknown to him, was murdered during one of these dealings for trying to cheat the person he was consorting with. But his uncle and younger brothers didn't learn their lesson and continued their illegal ventures after covering up for the eldest son's death. Gilbert had been the one to make most of those ventures a success, but today those days came to an end.

Today they would suffer the same fate as the eldest Nightray son.

How many other innocent lives had he taken by mistake? How many times had the Nightrays, or any other one of his clients for that matter, smirked in the shadows as he blindly carried out their unjustified bidding? Gilbert would never know, and he might've continued to be in the dark had not B-Rabbit been there to point out Oz's innocence and open his eyes again.

He knew it was unorthodox. What kind of killer had a moral code? You were supposed to kill indiscriminately in this field, all for the sake of a handsome reward at the end of the day.

But Gilbert was different. He would discriminate. He would kill only those that deserved to die in his eyes, and he would not lay a finger on anyone else unless absolutely necessary.

That was because he didn't kill for money. Money was just a bonus.

He killed for revenge.

Revenge against the scum of this planet that looked down on others less fortunate than them and treated them like toys. They played games with people, used them for their own entertainment, and when they were bored of their toys they would discard them.

Those were the kind of people that had taken him away from Gilbert, all those years ago...

Ironically he was forced to work under that same kind of people many times, but it was only temporary. One should be close to his friends (not that he had any), but one must be even closer to his enemies. That's why he would work for the people he hated the most, because it was convenient for him. They couldn't stand people like themselves, see, and often sought skilled people like Gilbert to take out their own kind. So Gilbert would participate in this twisted battle royal and work for them, earn their trust by taking out their enemies until one day, they or another party finally gave him an excuse to erase them from the face of the planet, before the vicious cycle repeated.

"We have arrived."

The voice brought Gilbert out of his thoughts as he entered the same gloomy office room where this entire ordeal began. Like last time, he took a seat opposite Richard while his nephews, Claude and Ernest, chose to stand on either side.

"That was quite a spectacular show you put on, Mr. Gilbert," started Richard, smirking shamelessly. "The rumours state that apparently, not a single soul survived and the Estate is beyond repair. Even the current Duke has been eradicated. Certainly it's never been your style to be so flashy or grand in your actions, but rest assured that your extra efforts will be rewarded this time around because it never hurts to cause-"

"That wasn't me," deadpanned Gilbert. "There just happened to be an attack by another party that day."

"...Now that I think about it... Just what was their purpose? Assuming that they really did kidnap that boy's sister, what was the point if her father's dead? And it's awfully strange how just the two of us survived... It's far too coincidental."

The man before him blinked in astonishment, before scowling when Ernest began to chuckle lightly. "What? Then say so at the start!" he barked as his face turned red with fury and humiliation.

Gilbert remained silent in the face of the man's badly concealed temper. "I would have if you hadn't started blabbering away."

After regaining his composure, Richard sighed. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Either way I can rest in peace knowing that the Vessalius lineage has finally come to an end."

Gilbert glared right into the eyes of the despicable man before him. Things were going to go downhill from his next sentence, so no point in being civil any longer.

"You were mistaken. The boy wasn't the Contractor."

All three Nightrays stiffened. A heavy silence descended upon the occupants in the room and the air slowly thickened with tension.

"What makes you say that?" asked Claude slowly, who, as usual, wore a stern expression.

"The boy could've easily fought back had he been a Contractor. His Abyss would've intervened once it realised its vessel was in danger of being killed. However, no Abyss appeared even though the boy was a trigger finger away from death."

"But did you kill him?" urged Claude.

"No", he replied simply. "He's still alive."

Gilbert could say no more even if he wanted to for he was abruptly silenced when the man before him slammed his clenched fist onto the table.

"FOOL!" roared the Nightray Uncle. "YOU SHOULD'VE KILLED HIM WHILE YOU-"

Now it was his turn to be silenced when the barrel of Gilbert's revolver was suddenly pressed to his forehead, immediately after which two sleek obsidian rapiers were brandished by his nephews and trained at Gilbert, who now stood towering over Richard.

"Why don't I kill you while I've got the chance?" he mused calmly.

"Hoh~? Why don't you try?" challenged Ernest with a confident smile.

"You may be highly skilled, but even you will never get away with spilling Nightray blood," added Claude coolly.

"Oh, I don't know about that," said Gilbert in a mock-lilt tone, before smirking down at Richard. "After all, if I'm apparently good enough to get away with spilling Vessalius blood then yours is absolutely nothing in comparison."

Richard's complexion quickly turned from angry red to furious purple and, grinding his teeth he growled, "Why you insolent-"

"You knew it very well," interrupted Gilbert, his voice now taking on a more dangerous edge. "I don't kill without reason, or in cold blood. And yet you still dared to trick me?"

The Nightray Uncle did his best to smirk as confidently as one could when there was a gun pressed against their wrinkly forehead. "Oh please, what's this? A code of honour? Within a criminal?"

Gilbert's eyes narrowed. "The only criminal around here is you."

"I do not want to hear that from a man that murders for a living," countered Richard.

"I may have my reasons, but at the very least I don't drag innocent people into my personal affairs."

At this, Claude raised an eyebrow. "And you are implying that we do?"

Gilbert glared at Claude from the corner of his eye, automatically making the latter tighten his grip on his sword. "If you Nightrays have some silly, ancient, unreasonable score to settle, then don't drag the rest of the world into it. That goes for any other jobs you may've carried out without me."

"...Just what on earth are you talking about?"

Gilbert directed his gaze to Ernest once more. "I'm talking about those murders. There are other ways of settling the score. You didn't have to orchestrate such an elaborate ruse all to eradicate a mere boy."

The Nightray Uncle abruptly stood up, momentarily forgetting the cold metal pressed to his skin. "Have you lost your mind?!" he barked angrily. "The only outsider involved in this was you! And why the hell would we sacrifice our own men just to trick you into murdering the boy?"

"Indeed, those murders could not have been our doing," started Claude. "Clearly, you are the one making false accusations-"

"SILENCE!" thundered Gilbert, firing a warning shot at the ceiling.

Enough was enough.

"I won't tolerate anymore bullshit," he growled. "One of your men is the real Contractor. He's the one behind all the recent murders that you shamelessly blamed on that kid. Where is he?! I'll make him pay with his life!"

When his outburst subsided, the room plunged into silence so heavy that Gilbert's deep intakes of breath as he tried to compose himself could just be made out while his frame trembled slightly in the effort to control his anger.

"Not good... I must suppress that urge because if I lose it now, then I-!"

The sound of amused laughter suddenly filled the room and all eyes were on Ernest, whose laughter grew louder and louder by the second, much to everyone else's surprise.

Gilbert felt his chest grow cold.

Alarm bells started going off in his head.

His heart began to drum faster in tense anticipation.

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

He glanced at Claude and Richard. They were still staring at Ernest in astonishment...

And then it hit him.

As if on cue, something slowly started materialise behind Ernest and the more hysterical the man's laugh grew, the more tangible its form became.

"An Abyss!"

Hoho~ We're finally heading towards the conclusion of this little story. Only two chapters left, plus an epilogue (which I really need to get working on – oh procrastination, why are you so irresistible?).