I'm very sorry for keeping you guys in suspense! This chapter is quite late, I know, and I'll dive into my reasons after this; I won't keep you guys waiting any longer.

Warning: A slightly gruesome scene is coming up, near the very beginning of this chapter.

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

Gilbert's mind was racing, already planning ahead before Ernest's Abyss could finish materialising.

"From the looks of it, not even his uncle and brother knew that he was the one behind those murders... Could it be that the Abyss simply wanted to hide that fact? And I never expected it to be him since nobles are particular about hierarchy, so it's usually an underling that carries out hands-on tasks like murder... This is bad. We're confined in a small room and there are two clueless idiots with me. But we're in an isolated location and there's no one else in the building since it's late, so at least the situation can be contained."

The Abyss finished solidifying just as Ernest's laughter subsided. At first glance it appeared to be a giant, burgundy scale-plated scorpion big enough to demolish the entire wall behind it and a section of the ceiling above its tail, but it soon became apparent that there were a few things quite off about it.

Rather than having two pincers at the front of its claws, it had two hands and protruding from each finger was a short but dangerous talon. Instead of having eight slim legs it only had four, but they were quite muscular. Finally, in place of where its sting should be at the end of its tail was a crackling ball of fire that was so hot that Gilbert could clearly see the distortion in the air caused by the heat. Its fiery red eyes were directed right at him.

By now Ernest had been completely possessed and the Abyss spoke through his mouth; its own voice added a faint, barely noticeable monstrous undertone to the man's otherwise melodious one.

"I must applaud you, Gilbert. You really are a sharp one, aren't you? But I am curious. Just how exactly did you learn that it was a Nightray responsible for those murders, hmm?" The possessed Ernest gave Gilbert a knowing look. "Could it be that you have... Experience with my kind?"

Gilbert didn't respond.

Ernest sighed, before smiling in that same, sickly sweet way he usually did. "Aah, here I was thinking I could finally have some fun but you just had to go and be Mr. Nice Guy, ruining my cover in the process." He paused for a shrug. "Oh well. Now that you all know my true identity, I'll just have to get rid of the witnesses."

And with that statement, the Abyss's hands suddenly darted out for Claude and his Uncle before they could even gasp in astonishment, squeezing them in its vice like grip. Then, in an instant its hands were ablaze with roaring embers.

Gilbert had witnessed many violent deaths in his time, but death by incineration was personally the worst... It was a gruesome experience, watching as flesh slowly turned into ash before his very eyes and smelling the pungent stench it gave off as it burned. However, the most disturbing part was the howls of terror and screams of agony that seemed to drag on even when the bodies were long gone.

The Abyss was ensuring they died a slow, painful death.

Within minutes, even the very remains of the two Nightray men had been destroyed and Gilbert could do nothing but stand there and watch, helpless.

It was impossible to save them from the start, he realised. The Abyss's reflexes were sharp and Gilbert had yet to fully recover from his injuries which were greatly restricting his movement. But even with this thought in mind, he felt a twinge of unease for not even trying. Indeed, he had wanted to see these men dead, but he at least had enough humanity within him to grant them a quick, nearly painless death.

The Abyss extinguished its burning hands, but kept them raised.

"What exactly is your intention?" questioned Gilbert. "And why did you kill those Nightrays when you've possessed one yourself?"

Ernest looked genuinely impressed. "Most people would usually drop dead from shock after having witnessed that. I was right; you really do have experience with-"

He was cut off by a bullet whizzing past his cheek, grazing the smooth flesh as it went. A single drop of blood slid down his skin but as though it were some exquisite sauce, Ernest simply wiped it off with his index finger before placing the tip in his mouth.

"Answer the question," demanded Gilbert threateningly, doing his best to ignore the blissful face the other made at the taste of his own blood.

"Impatient, are we? Well, since you're going to die anyway, it wouldn't make a difference. This man who I've possessed nearly died when he had a dispute with the owner of this weapons manufacturing factory over some trivial matter. He was shot just below the heart, and that's when I found him."

"A wish to live..." muttered Gilbert.

"But that's strange... You'd either have to be really daring or really stupid to decide to shoot the son of a Duke over any kind of dispute. Just what the hell was that factory owner thinking...?"

"I couldn't have asked for a better vessel," continued the possessed Ernest, as he began to pace left and right slowly. "These people already partake in questionable acts, but naturally no one would be too thrilled to find out that their family member was a bloodthirsty murderer, now would they? That's why I kept it from them, and that's also why I killed them. Anyway, a few murders here and there wouldn't mean much... Or so I thought. People started noticing, and then one night one of the men that the Nightrays sent out on scout duty spotted me. I was going to kill him at first just like all the other scouts, but by then I was starting to get really annoyed with all this unnecessary attention which was when I got an idea."

He halted in between his Abyss form and Gilbert before continuing. "I decided to make a deal with that man. He was to report to his superiors that he had spotted a short blonde boy with green eyes and in exchange I would spare his life. I knew about the grudge that the Nightrays harbour against the Vessaliuses, see, so I knew that my Contractor would put two and two and decide to frame the Vessalius boy for our murders, even though it could've been any ordinary boy with those traits."

Ernest scowled in distaste. "Honestly, all that ever goes on in his miniscule cranium is revenge and I wouldn't be surprised if his uncle and brother were like that too. In fact they probably were; I could tell just from their interactions. And it was his idea, you know. He's the one that recommended his uncle to select you for the job because of your expertise. But because of your ridiculously unusual soft spot, they decided to trick you into killing the boy by declaring him to be a Contractor after hearing the information I told that scout to feed them. They were even certain that you wouldn't question it since you never bother investigating the background of your targets anymore. That's how desperate they were to make up for their blunder eleven years ago."

Gilbert frowned. "Eleven years ago...? What happened eleven years ago?"

Ernest paused to sigh before continuing his little rant. "Anyway, I thought it would all work out. But then you went and decided to be a hero for once and ruin everything."

"...Why did you help make your Contractor's dream into a reality? You could have told that man to say it was anyone else, or even no one."

Ernest shrugged. "Isn't it more fun that way? Besides, it was the least I could do after he gave up his body to me. Also, that way I wouldn't have to put up with hearing the Nightrays' petty vows and plots of revenge anymore. Do you know how annoying it gets after a while?"

Gilbert clenched his gun tighter. "Your Contractor... He didn't know it was you behind those murders?"

"Contractors aren't aware of their surroundings while they're possessed since they aren't in control of their senses. We Abysses can choose whether or not we want to share our memories with them. Obviously that would've been unadvisable in my case. Also, some weak-willed Contractors have been known for taking their own lives once they learn of the atrocities we committed with their bodies, even the ones with strong minds."

"And I suppose you sick bastards find that amusing?" spat Gilbert, before raising his gun.

The Abyss's hands began to glow. Ernest smiled sweetly. "What if I told you that we did?

The sound of Gilbert's gun going off was all the answer he got, and Ernest didn't even bother dodging since a blazing fist caught the bullet meters before it hit its target.

Then the Abyss was on the move. Gilbert immediately dashed out the door and sprinted down the hall, going just fast enough to doge the falling blocks of concrete from the collapsing ceiling as the Abyss gave chase, shielding its Contractor with its body from the rain of debris as it went. However, Gilbert had barely made it halfway when his entire chest throbbed in pain, restricting his breathing.

"I was out cold for three days, dammit! How much more rest do I need?!"

The Abyss was catching up, and along with it the entire administration area of the warehouse was breaking down. But now they neared the actual warehouse which would be large enough to accommodate the Abyss's size, meaning that Gilbert had room to fight back and that he didn't have to worry about some giant random concrete boulder smashing his skull open.

Just as he neared the door, Gilbert leaped and connected it with a forward roll past it before getting up and immediately firing two shots towards Ernest. The first was caught by the Abyss again but his second was horribly off target for Gilbert doubled over in pain while futilely clutching his chest at the last second. The way his entire back and limbs felt sore from its collision against the hard, cold floor or the way his sprained arm throbbed painfully simply worsened his overall condition even more.

The Abyss saw this as its chance to strike and lunged forward; its fiery hands were open and ready to grab Gilbert who darted to the side just in time. The Abyss's hand crashed into the concrete floor and broke right through reaching the layer of earth beneath, and since it came at Gilbert with such great force, its hand was now stuck there.

Gilbert used the opportunity to fire his last three rounds at Ernest while running back towards a sea of stacked barrels. When he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes immediately met Ernest's, who was smiling as though without a care in the world. In front of him was the Abyss's tail, and Gilbert could see his bullets bounce off the metallic-like scales, barely leaving a scratch.

Gilbert swore audibly and once he had ducked behind one of the tall stack of barrels, he had about twenty seconds to reload his gun and come up with a strategy before the Abyss managed to free its hand. Normally that would've been more than enough time to do both, but he was severely lacking strategies since his injuries ruled out most options.

"I don't even think I have enough energy to use my last resort... Dammit."

Suddenly he heard a loud crash and realised that the Abyss was now free. Gilbert immediately zigzagged from one stack to the next, aiming to move deeper into the dense sea of barrels where he could conceal himself and buy some more time.

"What's wrong, Gilbert~?" called out Ernest. "Running away already?"

"In a situation like this, I just need to take out the Contractor. But for that I need to catch him off guard first."

Accomplishing such a feat wouldn't be too difficult if he put aside his injury handicap. Since none of the lights were on in the warehouse, the only source of illumination was the Abyss' flaming tail but even that could not permeate the darkness near the vast warehouse's walls. It would have to move closer to see better, assuming that it didn't have night vision. And even if it did, it certainly couldn't have the ability to see through objects. Therefore, Gilbert would be safe as long as he stayed among the barrels stacked against the walls of the warehouse. He'd have to move quickly though, in case the Abyss got impatient and simply tore through them.

It seemed that the Abyss was able to guess Gilbert's motives, for Ernest then said, "Aah, that's a smart idea! But, Gilbert? I honestly wouldn't want to hide in there if I was you."

Gilbert halted in his tracks, momentarily caught off guard.

"What the hell does he mean by that...?"

Though he knew Gilbert wouldn't be able to see it, Ernest smirked.

"This is the warehouse for a weapons manufacturing factory, isn't it? And if I recall correctly, I believe it includes complimentary products for guns and cannons too."

Gilbert's eyes widened. Ernest's smirk evolved into a gleeful grin, and together with his Abyss, they approached the nearest stack of barrels.

"Hey, Gilbert? I wonder what's in all these barrels over here. They've all got this strange symbol on them that I believe you humans call 'skull and crossbones.'

Gilbert wasted no time and made a run for it, doing his best to ignore all the 'GUNPOWDER' signs printed in thick white capital letters across every single barrel as they flashed by his vision.

The Abyss raised its fiery tail slowly, aiming it for the sea of barrels.

"Whoever designed these must've been an idiot. After all, people are more likely to meddle with something when you specifically tell them not to, don't they?"

With a sinking feeling of dread, Gilbert realised he wouldn't make it. He couldn't go back they way he came and although he made for the exit, the shutters were down, effectively trapping him inside the warehouse. Also, he still had more than halfway to go.

With a wicked cackle from Ernest, the Abyss lunged with its tail. Gilbert still pushed himself to the very limit despite the overwhelming pain, but in a way it was in vain because another force intervened instead, right before the embers of its tail could come too close to the barrels.

It was a force that stopped time.

Gilbert would've groaned if he could, but all his motor functions had currently been frozen so he had to improvise by doing it in his mind. He could guess what was coming next, and for once in his life he wasn't sure if he wanted to be right.

"That stupid rabbit... She must've told him everything."

Suddenly the shutters began to lift up at an excruciatingly slow pace, indicating that someone must've activated the switch from outside. Once they were half-open, Gilbert could see Oz, as expected, with a smug little smile on his face, waltzing through the gapingly wide entrance as if he owned the place.

But to call him Oz would be incorrect, realised Gilbert, when he noticed the crimson eyes and tattoo, so he was about to mentally correct himself when he spotted a figure slowly materialising behind Oz, taking the shape of a giant humanoid figure with a rabbit's head and claw-like hands. It wore a red and white overcoat and had a large white bow tied around its neck. Thick, heavy looking chains encircled its lower body from a distance as though they were just waiting to latch onto the figure's limbs and drag it out of existence, just like where the beginning and ends of the chains had faded to.

"That's B-Rabbit?!"

The possessed Oz and B-Rabbit continued forward towards Ernest and his Abyss at a leisurely pace until at one point Gilbert's peripheral vision could see them no more. All he had now was his ears.

'How?!' cried Ernest's Abyss, which led Gilbert to wonder how exactly it was able to speak if it was technically frozen in time. Perhaps it was a form of telepathy? Or maybe B-Rabbit had simply allowed it the luxury to speak, just like how she spared his mind from the time-stop.

'I would've noticed if there was another Abyss nearby!'

B-Rabbit scoffed; the sound came out disconnected, like it was being projected from everywhere, similar to how Ernest's Abyss sounded like when it spoke just now. 'Unlike you weaklings, I actually know how to conceal my presence as well. Though I'm sure you idiots never bothered exploring the extent of your powers, did you? Bloodlust tends to have that effect on shallow-minded fools like you.'

Gilbert wasn't sure what to expect before B-Rabbit started speaking. He was aware that she was a female, which was just plain weird because he didn't expect Abysses to have genders, and since it was his first time encountering a female one, he would admit that he was curious as to what she'd sound like. So when he heard an ordinary young girl's voice – ordinary apart from the very obvious monstrous undertone that he had anticipated – from B-Rabbit, strangely, he was quite surprised.

Ernest's Abyss (who – now that Gilbert thought about it – had completely failed to introduce itself... It's not that he actually cared, but when one was helplessly frozen in time with his mind being the only exception, idle thoughts were common) was also quite surprised, but not for the same reason as Gilbert. After all, never in it's ('his?' wondered Gilbert) life had it been called a weakling before. Far from it actually.

'Who the hell are you?!' it roared, and it probably wanted to reach out and strangle the newcomer too, but was shocked when it finally realised it could not move. 'And what kind of power is this? I've never come across this type of binding spell before.'

B-Rabbit stretched her left arm out and held open her hand, where something long began to materialise in a cloud of electrical purple smoke. While it did so, she answered her opponent. '"Binding spell?" What an insult! How dare you assume me to be such a weakling! This is no binding spell. I have stopped time itself!'

'Stopped... Time...? Why does that...' The Scorpion-like Abyss gasped. 'Wait... Don't tell me...!'

The long object completed its materialisation. It was a large red scythe, attached to which was a large golden pocket watch.

'Lethal scythe... Eyes like pools of blood, and... The ability to stop time...! Don't tell me that you're the legendary Bloodstained Black Rabbit?!'

B-Rabbit gripped her scythe tight, getting ready to attack. 'Didn't my ears give it away?' she muttered with what sounded like a smirk in her voice.

And before her opponent could respond, she lunged forward at lightning speed and crashed bodily into the Flaming Scorpion Abyss, knocking it right off its feet and together they crashed through the warehouse wall. The Flaming Scorpion landed heavily on its back while B-Rabbit rebounded of it, did a back flip in the air and landed perfectly on her feet. She raised her scythe...

~ Some time earlier... ~

When the two Abysses had began their verbal sparring, Gilbert had started to get a little irritated at not being able to move when he spotted a figure approaching him out of the corner of his eye. Soon it came close enough for him to identify a head of sunny blonde hair.

"The kid...?"

'The kid' was suddenly face-to-face with Gilbert. His crimson eyes bore deep into Gilbert's golden ones and he wore that same irritating smirk from the hospital, when Gilbert had first been subjected to B-Rabbit's time stop. Oz then slowly circled the older man, saying, "Aah, it would've been fun just leaving you like this. In fact, you deserve it. But then the boy wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I did."

At last he stopped when he had made one full round and added, "Lucky you, eh?"

"Die!" he screamed in his head. "Just die already!"

Oz didn't bother concealing his sniggers, but eventually he managed to suppress them before turning to face Gilbert and placed his hands on his shoulders. He closed his eyes and for a while nothing happened, but Gilbert soon noticed the pressure from Oz's hands as his grip tightened as well as the way his brow furrowed in concentration. After that Gilbert became aware of his own breathing, followed by a slight twitch of his fingers until finally his entire body was free to move again. He staggered forward a few paces since he had been frozen in mid-run, but Oz's hands prevented him from falling flat onto his face.

"There. Now you've been excluded from the time-stop. And I know you've probably just been dying to express your gratitude to me ever since we first met, especially since it's the second time I saved you, but now is not the time. Don't worry though, I promise I'll grant you that honour later."

"Actually, I've just been dying to strangle you since I first laid my eyes on you. How about you grant me that honour instead?"

"Ungrateful bastard," murmured Oz with a huff and scowl, crossing his arms across his chest.

"...Shouldn't you be near your own body or something?" asked Gilbert, taking a moment to adjust to the feeling of simply existing again.

"Yeah," answered Oz offhandedly, before his brows furrowed in irritation. "But I don't really have a choice, do I? If you hadn't been an idiot and just waited 'til you were better before running off like that, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble. It's already bad enough that the very act of talking can tire out a Contractor, but at this rate the boy is gonna be out cold for days! I had to stop time in this entire warehouse, you know! And I can't resume it until the enemy has been taken care of in case they try blowing up the barrels again. How much power do you think that takes?!"

"I didn't ask for your help!" rebuked Gilbert. "Why the hell are you even here, anyway?! Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"

"I didn't want to be here and I certainly didn't want to help you, but that's what Oz wanted. I couldn't disobey." Suddenly his voice took on a much happier tone. "He managed to overcome my control, you know? Such strength already... He truly is the perfect vessel."

"'Tiring out the Contractor' my ass." mumbled Gilbert. "You were doing it before, too. Just go straight for the kill like you're supposed to."

"Ever heard of a distraction?" snapped Oz. "How else was I supposed to get to you without them noticing? I thought you were supposed to be a pro-"

He was cut off by the loud crash caused by his true form and Flaming Scorpion colliding against the wall, or rather, going right through it. Oz wasted no time as he jogged towards the gaping hole in the wall that rivalled that of the entrance, followed closely by Gilbert who was trying to ignore the now-constant sharp pain spreading throughout his torso.

When they had arrived outside, B-Rabbit was currently airborne in the middle of a back flip which she ended nicely with a perfect landing. The Flaming Scorpion realised that the time-stop was only limited to inside the warehouse so while it struggled to get back onto its feet, B-Rabbit raised her scythe and stormed forward while roaring out in fury. The Scorpion raised a flaming hand to grapple her scythe just as she lowered it, causing it to screech in pain as the blade sliced through its un-armoured flesh.

Gilbert, who had been intently watching the two Creatures of Darkness battle, grimaced at the horrendous noises they were letting out. Gone was the tone of humanity that was present during their dialogue earlier. Now they were truly monsters.

Before B-Rabbit could slice the entire hand in half, the Scorpion swiped its tail, knocking B-Rabbit off her feet. She landed heavily on her back just as the Scorpion managed to get off its own, after which it's blazing tail immediately darted down at her and through the blazing blur, Gilbert could just make out a sting concealed within the very heart of the fire which he never noticed before.

"The victims all had one common trait, and that was a gaping wound usually found on their chests or backs, or in rare cases, going all the way through. In addition, a large area around the wound including its edges would be severely burnt."

Gilbert gasped, before shouting out to B-Rabbit. "Look out for its sting!"

B-Rabbit wisely heeded his warning and within a split second she swung her scythe once more, but this time she angled it diagonally so that it slipped through the opening of the armoured scales to penetrate the vulnerable flesh below. Her deadly speed outmatched the Scorpion's, which, of course meant that she was able to slice its tail off clean.

A guttural cry of sheer agony erupted from the Flaming Scorpion as black blood gushed out from where it's tail was severed, spilling all over B-Rabbit and the earth below in blotchy, black raindrops. The tail landed with a muffled thud in between Gilbert and Oz, who was starting to look a little pale.

"Dammit... I wanted to take the enemy's Pandora but it looks like I'll have to let it go for today. The boy is still new to all this so he won't be able to handle any more strain."

B-Rabbit was aware of her young Contractor's condition and wasted no time as she jumped back onto her feet before lashing out at her opponent, who tried to deflect with its good arm. Somehow it managed to grab hold of B-Rabbit's arm with its injured hand during the tussle and instantly ignited it. B-Rabbit roared and tried to tug her searing arm free but unfortunately, the grip was too strong.

She had to end this before the opponent burned her arm off, and if that didn't kill him than the great strain she was on putting on her Contractor this early on surely would.

"GILBERT!"

Said man blinked in confusion at the sound of a familiar yet frantic voice calling his name. His eyes darted towards the source of the voice where he spotted Oz a few feet behind B-Rabbit, a thin layer of sweat over his unusually pale face and his brow creased in pain.

"Shoot the Contractor!" he called. "The boy can't last much longer!"

With a brief nod, Gilbert swiftly pulled out his gun while breaking into a sprint. He ran parallel to the two Abysses until he neared the Flaming Scorpion, after which he came to a halt when he spotted Ernest. The man's condition was worse than Oz since his Abyss was not only consuming more power but it was also taking more damage. He was as white as a sheet, face twisted in agony while on his knees, clawing at his own chest.

By now Gilbert was panting heavily and he was starting to doubt whether his wound had re-opened but he forced himself to ignore it because unlike Oz, at least his life wasn't at risk. He didn't have to bother with stealth since Ernest was in too much pain to notice him, so with practiced accuracy he raised his left hand, tilting his wrist to the right ever so slightly out of habit and aimed his gun for the man's heart.

He then took a small step to the left but kept his wrist in place to readjust his aim slightly just as an afterthought occurred to him.

"No, not the heart. Angle it just a little sideways to the right, where the Pandora is supposedly located... The bullet needs to penetrate both the box and the heart."

"DO IT NOW!"

And without even a single second's worth of hesitation, Gilbert fired.

...I'm not very good at actions scenes, but I did my best! And this was another chapter I had fun writing :)

Anyway, the previous week was quite busy for me. I fell ill for a few days and when I got better there were two long visits to the dentist on two consecutive days. In the midst of all that I got sidetracked with another fic, and finally I had a lot of studying to cover up for by the end of the week. Because of all that I didn't have time to make the usual last-minute amendments to this chapter, so please forgive me for the late update this time.

Also, just a head's up: the next (final) chapter might be a bit late as well because I'll still be busy this week, but I'll try my best to avoid that. Still, please do bear with me if it does happen!