Um...not much to say here...bored out of my mind. So, there's a bit of a twist right off, so...yeah. Ash reveails some shocking information to Elliot, and, needless to say, he'll be pretty upset about it. Too bad there's still no reviews, oh well, I'm going through with this.

I don not own Pandora Hearts in any way.

~Sucker Punch~

Chapter 3: Drowning

Night had fallen once again, and everyone had gone to bed, well, all except one Elliot Nightray. He wasn't asleep at all, he wasn't even in the room he shared with Leo. At present, Elliot sat in the back of the piano room, no light and no company except for the rain outside. The rain splattering against the windows matched the tears that currently streamed down his face. His hands were pressed against his eyes in an effort to stop the tears, but it was no use.

"Lying…s-she's lying!" He cried, trying to be careful of his voice in fear that someone would hear him. "There's n-no way that c-can be…L-Leo can't be…" He clenched his teeth together at the very thought.

'Leo!'

(Flashback)

"Huh? Talk to me?" Elliot questioned, looking over the girl's downcast face. "What about?"

"Well, I…" She then glanced at Vanessa. "Vanessa-sama, if I may, I need to speak alone with Elliot."

Something about what she had just said filled Elliot with sudden nervousness.

"If you have something to say to me, then let's get on with it." Elliot said, getting up and leading Ash into another room.

As Elliot closed the door behind them, Ash looked around the room, taking in the items and furniture. Finally, she was snapped out of her wondering when Elliot took her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

'Her face…it's like she's afraid to…tell me something…?' He wondered as her eyes nervously shifted direction as if trying to avoid eye contact.

"Um, where to…begin." Her voice had a quiet and timid tone to it.

"Ash, what is it?" Elliot demanded, his grip tightening on her shoulders. "What do you want to say?"

"Elliot-kun, I don't…I don't know how to put this."

That feeling of nervousness was now overtaking Elliot, making his hands shake with worry. "Ash."

"I…just…"

"Dammit, Ash, tell me!"

Her eyes widened and only then did she look him straight in the eye.

"Leo-kun is dying."

At that moment, Elliot felt as if all time had stopped, along with his heart. "W-what…?"

He let his hands slide off her shoulders and fall back to his side. Ash looked upset too, but this…this couldn't be right! Leo couldn't be…

"Before you say anything, I'm not lying." She bit on her lower lip and then drew in a deep breath. "Before I left, when Dr. Hall was talking to you, Leo-kun was suddenly overcome with a coughing fit. I handed him a handkerchief, but when he pulled his hand away from his mouth, I saw blood on his hand."

'Blood?' Elliot was now in a full blown panic.

"At first, thought I was just seeing things, but then, once I returned home, I realized I hadn't imagined it. I did some research, fearful of my assumption, and I found it to hold true, although…I wish it wasn't."

Silence flowed through the room, Ash's face turning blank, and Elliot looking at her with dismay, not wanting to believe this, but she wasn't lying.

"L-Leo…is…?"

"I'm sorry, Elliot-kun." She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He might seem fine now, but I fear that by the end of the week, his condition will start to deteriorate again. He won't be able to eat, he won't be able to sleep, he won't be able to move…nothing."

"So…he's just gonna wither away into nothing.?" He breathed, comprehending her full explanation. "Why…?"

"I've heard about the incidents involving the Headhunter, and I think this was a planned attack. I don't know if there's a connection or not, but, having just met you two, I believe there is an antidote and I would like to assist you in finding it." Her face shifted to one of glaring anger, and Elliot could tell she was determined. What Ash and Leo had been talking about, Elliot did not know, but it was clear his servant and this girl had become friends quickly; She wanted to help them both.

"Would you really help?" She nodded at him in return. "What would you do?"

"I'll start looking for leads onto who planned this and I'll also look into an antidote." She explained, removing her hand from his shoulder. "For now, just…take care of Leo-kun, make sure you do everything you can, maybe, by some chance, it will improve his condition. You can't tell him any of this ether, there's no telling how he'd react. I'll contact you as soon as I can find something."

"Thanks, Ash."

"Right." She walked past him and opened the door. "Goodbye, Elliot-kun, and make sure Leo-kun is happy."

The door remained open as she walked out, and Elliot just remained where he was, his mind still trying to grasp Ash's words, even though they held a horrible truth.

"Elliot?" Vanessa stood in the doorway and Elliot turned around when she called his name. "Is everything alright?"

Leo-kun is dying.

"I…I'm fine, Vanessa."

(End flashback)

Elliot was far from alright. After he was sure his siblings had gone to bed, he went to the piano room alone and collapsed into a corner of the room, warm tears of disbelief flowing from his eyes that he couldn't stop. He hadn't even bothered to go back and see Leo, he couldn't face him after what Ash had told him. Leo had seemed fine, so he assumed there was no more poison in him, but apparently, that had been proven false, and Leo was still silently being affected by the poison.

Elliot wanted to believe what Ash had said was false, but she wasn't lying; Leo was dying.

"Why? Why did it have to be you, Leo?" He really was demanding at this point, screaming this question out over and over in his mind. If it had been any of his siblings, he would be upset about that too, but his servant…? Why would someone want to poison Leo? He had nothing to do with any of the Headhunter incidents that had occurred, which meant Leo was innocent, yet why?

Sure, Leo may be irritating at times, but, Elliot liked having him around. In reality, even through his clam demeanor, Leo was just a frail person who could snap into a fit of violent rage at any second, yet he kept it under control. Leo had been just a lonely person when he first met him, even though he had totally angered Elliot. Leo wanted somewhere to belong, though he would never admit it. That was one of the reasons why Elliot had asked him to be his servant in the first place.

Like Elliot had said, Leo was someone he could speak openly with; a friend and equal.

If Elliot lost Leo…

'Oh God, my head.' Leo's hands grasped his head has he tried to ignore the intense pounding that made his headache even worst. He couldn't really sleep at the moment, and the was trying to find a comfortable position in the bed. Sure he had been sick a few times before, and it was never any good because of his weak immune system, but it was never this bad. Being sick in bed sure was a pain.

He caught a glance of Elliot as he tried to get comfortable. His master, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly in the other bed. He wasn't sure when exactly Elliot had returned, but at least he was sleeping better than Leo was.

Leo rolled over on his back, trying once again to fall asleep. He then thought about Elliot, how he had seemed to act a bit strange once his new friend, Ash, had left with Dr. Hall. Elliot had seemed a bit tense, and if he was really hiding something, he was doing a very good job of hiding it from the sick noirette. It was ether that or his fever was making him delusional and making him assume Elliot was hiding something.

Sighing, Leo took the soft quilt and pulled it closer to him, trying to absorb all of the warmth it had. The nights were getting colder as winter grew near, and Leo had been through many of those cold nights, the ones that would make him shiver unless he piled two or three blankets on top of him.

'It is getting colder outside.' Leo finally found a position that suited him and snuggled into the bed. He was sick, but Elliot assured him it was nothing, so there was no need to worry anymore, right…?

He couldn't take the silence anymore, it was unbearable.

He rushed through the halls looking for someone, anyone, to let him know he wasn't alone here.

Finally, he found himself in the piano room, and to his surprise, someone else was here too…Leo.

"Leo!" He cried, overjoyed to see his friend.

He saw Leo turn around and smile. "Elliot."

The noirette opened his mouth to say something else, but his voice trailed off, and, without warning, Leo collapsed onto the floor.

Elliot stood there, unmoving as he looked down at his servant who lay deathly still.

"L-Leo…?" Nothing. No response.

Elliot could feel tears welling up in his eyes as he knelt down in front of Leo and picked him up into his arms. The other boy's body was as cold as ice, and he made no movement, only laid limp in Elliot's arms like a lifeless doll.

"Leo? Leo, come on, stop playing around." Leo wasn't playing, and this was no joke. "Leo, wake up. Please, don't do this to me! You're my servant, you can't die on me! Come on, wake up!"

He never got a response back, and Elliot, now overcome with extreme grief, held the lifeless boy close to his chest, all the while crying his eyes out.

"LEO!"

. . .

"Elliot, please wake up." A clam voice called to him. "Elliot, you're scaring me."

At that voice becoming more concerned and shaky, his eyes snapped open to reveal Leo looking down at him, one of his hands placed on the other's shoulder. Elliot's breathing calmed down and he took a moment to gather himself as he glanced up at the noirette.

'Ah, Leo…' That's when Elliot realized what he had seen was nothing more than a dream, after all, Leo was right here in front of him, alive and not the lifeless form he had seen in that horrific dream.

"Leo?" He started, propping himself up on his elbows. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"You were having a nightmare." He answered, coughing once. "And besides, you know I don't sleep well when I'm sick."

That was true. In the past, Leo did tend to sleep for long periods of time when he took ill, but from time to time, he would be very restless.

"You still shouldn't be out of bed." He started to lay back down, but Leo's grip tightened on his shoulder, keeping Elliot in place.

"It was that dream again, wasn't it?"

Leo was right on, well, technically. What Elliot had seen wasn't the same usual nightmare that had been torturing him every night, but, instead, it had been another dream that was just as bad.

He had dreamed that Leo had died.

'But he is…isn't he…'

"Yeah, it…was, but I'm fine now." There was no way he could tell Leo about what his dream really was about, not without revealing the shattering truth Ash had presented to him.

"Are you sure?" Leo's voice was laced with concern for his master.

"Leo, I'm fine. The one who should be resting right now is you."

"Hmm. I suppose you're right." He removed his hand from Elliot and went back to his own bed, flopping down onto it and his head crashing against the many pillows that surrounded him.

"Never mind me. How are you?" He asked Leo as he pulled the covers closer to his petite form.

"Same as this morning, and not any better ether." He murmured, his voice quieter than usual.

"Don't worry, you'll be better soon."

Leo looked up at him, and Elliot knew he had picked up on the tone of his voice. Leo did have a habit of being very perceptive.

"Elliot?"

"I'm fine." Elliot finally gave up, not wanting to talk anymore in fear that his secret might slip past him. "Just go to sleep."

He then turned away from him, not being able to stand it any longer. He knew the only thing he could do for the noirette right now was to take care of him while Ash searched for an antidote. He didn't want Leo to die, because he wouldn't be able to bear the weight of losing not only his servant (which sounded stupid to him), but his best friend.

'Leo…'

Ugh...I've got too many side projects. Um, feel free to leave a reveiw, I'd really apreciate it. *goes back to writing chapter 4*