Okay, we're nearly done. Like I said in the last chpater (for those of you wondering how Anastasia dies), this will tell you about Anastasia's death. Also, I've kind of wondered why Leo was chosen as the next conitainer for Glen's soul, so I've intergrated that into the story here, although, in the manga, we might never find out why. On that note, I'm anxiously awaiting Retrace 66.

I do not own Pandora Hearts in any way.

Chapter 30: More Than A Simple Moment

"Hello?" Someone asked. "Can you hear me, Glasses?"

It was hard to move at first, mainly because all my limbs hurt, I mean, my muscles felt like they had been torn to shreds. I was able to flex my hand though after a moment, and soon I was able to move my arms. My eyes fluttered open to reveal someone standing in front of me and I was caught off guard by who it was.

This person had raven black hair and his sliver eyes glimmered; he was the same boy from back then.

"You? What are you-" That's when I caught sight of the scenery. Where we were appeared to be some sort of cavern, the walls crumbled down around us, but there was black sky. I found that I had been propped up against a large rock, and that water surrounded us both.

"How are you?" The boy in front of me asked.

I was too distracted by the place around us, a thought already coming to mind. "Is this...the Abyss?"

The boy shook his head. "No, we are not. On the contrary, we are deep inside your subconscious. You still have yet to answer my question though, how are you right now?"

I thought about his answer, now relieved that this wasn't the Abyss. "Not too good."

That was true, no doubt about it. I could just barely muster the energy to keep my eyes open, feeling like all my strength had been drained from every last bit of me, everything felt numb, even though I could move my arms slightly, and my chest felt heavy, like it was hard to breathe or something. However, I had become of an ache inside my chest too, throbbing with every beat of my heart. It brought back a faint memory, but I can barely remember it, and there was another one just like it, so near and...

"Carrie!" It was all coming back to me.

The sky was dark, and we were in the middle of the ruins of a granite complex. I had been trying to get free from Glen, getting so desperate that I had started seeing illusions. Whether it was my desperation or my physical state at the time, I don't know. What I do know, is that I thought I saw a sword in my hands and someone was threatening Carrie and Elliot, them being trapped. I thought I had cut down that person, but then there was a flash and I realized I had free reign of my body again, but then I saw what had really happened. I dropped the sword the moment I saw blood staining Carrie's clothes; I'm the one who struck he with the sword. But as she glanced up at me, she pulled me close and stabbed me with some kind of blade, going right through my heart.

She was crying, and she kept whispering for her to forgive me. Her tears were true, and I understood, and...I did forgive her. The last thing I had known, she kissed me and I saw her among the dancing lights. She had looked so beautiful, after that...I remember an insane and razor sharp pain explode inside me, like someone was digging into my chest and trying to rip my heart out. Actually, I did feel something like that, and at that point I assumed that someone did rip out my heart.

Then...there was nothing except waking up here.

"Relax, Leo." The boy said calmly, kneeling down in front of me. "You can't get too stressed right now. Your heart and your body are very weak at the moment and need to recover, especially after such an ordeal."

I willed my own breathing to slow down. "Wait, Carrie and Elliot, are they-?"

"Yes, Leo, they're both alright." He replied. "I'm surprised by the girl though. She jumped in front of Elliot when you brought your sword down."

My eyes widened. "I...what?"

"You heard me." He crossed his arms and looked down at me. "While Glen controlled you, your emotions spiraled out of control and you almost killed Elliot, that is if Carrie hadn't jumped in front of him." He uncrossed his arms and stared off into the black sky. "It's almost like that day long ago. I swear, that-"

"Stop! Are they okay?"

He looked down at me again. "Yes, they are fine. Elliot is unharmed, and as for Carrie, she activated some sort of power and healed both your wounds. She must be resting as well, as are you. Both your bodies took quite a beating."

I sighed with relief and slumped down against the rock. "That's good."

I had closed my eyes, but the boy shook my shoulder forcing them awake. "Hey, don't pass out on me. There's something I want to show you."

This caught my attention. "Something to show me? What would that be?"

"I'll show you." I struggled to get up, but the raven haired boy helped me stand, bracing me until I could stand without falling over. Once he saw that I was stable enough, he nodded in approval, taking his hand off my shoulder. He didn't say anything else, but instead led me through the vast expose of water, the black liquid splashing as our feet moved us forward.

After a minute or two, I noticed everything was becoming darker, and I couldn't see the boy in front of me.

"Wait!" I called after him, but he didn't look back.

"You want to know why you were chosen? This is your answer." He then vanished completely and before I could call out for him, there was a blast of warm air, making me shut my eyes for a second. When I opened them, I was greeted by a different scene.

Ashes fell down around me, and behind me, I turned to see a castle looming over me, flames erupting from every window. I remember seeing a dream similar to this not too long ago, maybe a week or so, but it was the same.

"There has to be someone else."

I heard this voice, and turned to my left to see a man looking up at the castle, his eyes closed. When he opened them, I saw a color that matched my eyes, but lighter. I then knew who this person was.

Glen Baskerville.

'Glen Baskerville? But what's he doing here?' I wondered.

"If it hadn't been for Vincent, I could of done it sooner, but I need to find someone else." He said solemnly.

Vincent? Of course, he had been the one to disrupt the ceremony, saving his brother, Gilbert, but at a great cost.

If this was after that, then what could Glen possibly be up to now?

"Now that I think about it, there was another." He lightly smiled, but it quickly faded. "Well, he is dead, but I can trace him, and then transfer it over to him."

I was confused. Is this what that boy wanted to show me, even though I don't know what any of this means. I knew of everything, that after the tragedy happened, I inherited the soul of Glen Baskerville. Yet, why was I feeling nervous, this feeling making my hands tremble.

'I...I don't understand. Is he possibly saying that-'

"It will take 100 years, but the person he will become should be just about right; the new container."

My heart skipped a beat at this, because this meant that I was already chosen, and going along with this, it's as if...

"Glen-sama!" A voice cried out.

Glen looked over in the direction of the voice, as did I, and not too far away, I saw a girl. Her long hair was messy, her dress was red with blood in places and was torn at the edges, having been burnt. In her eyes, I saw a blazing furry, almost like Carrie's during the battle when I first came back.

Her iced over eyes held the exact same look.

"Anastasia." Glen simply said.

Before I could even start to put these pieces together, another wave of hot air came over me, making the ashes come into my eyes and wincing them shut. When it subsided, I found myself once again surounded by water.

The raven haired boy from before stood in front of me again.

"You see now?" He asked in monotone.

"But, I still...I don't understand." I mumbled, Putting a hand to my head as I tried to comprehend all of the things I had just seen and heard.

"I think you do." His silver eyes then locked with mine. "Say it."

I hesitated, not knowing what to say at first, but I gulped and gave him my answer. "I'm...a reincarnation of...no, I still don't get it."

He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Kind of. In a manner of speaking, you're my reincarnation."

I took a step back away from him. "W-what?"

"However, since you inherited Glen Baskerville's soul, I was forced aside and became something else, even though my body was formed as yours. So, in short, you have my body, but not my soul, making you technically my reincarnation. You are still 'Leo' after all."

My heart was now racing inside me, overwhelmed with this revelation. "Then, if you became something else, and you've been with me for my entire life, then what are you to me?"

"That, my friend, is a story for another day, but one day, I'll tell you. Coming to you this many times has been a killer on me, when I am to remain only as an echo of whispers." He walked to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Now, you must rest. You will heal, given time, but, as I've said, your body is weak right now, especially your heart, considering you were stabbed with a diamond blade. The external wound has healed, but the one dealt to your heart needs a bit more time, even though you started to heal the second that energy flowed into you. You do have amazing healing abilities though, so it'll heal and you'll be fine."

He forced me to sit down, and I winced at a sudden twinge inside me. I guess I still needed time.

"Will I wake up?" I asked cautiously.

"Yes, when the time is right, your body will naturally wake up on its own." He turned away, but then quickly turned back, as if remembering something. "Oh, and, she has become stronger, and I'm surprised her next body kept the power, even though she went through an abnormality. I still love her, but she's yours now, because she is 'Carrie'."

"Wait, what do you-" I was cut off when he then pushed me gently down so that I now lay in the water.

"Just rest. It'll be alright." He turned to leave, and was starting to fade, but there was one last thing I needed to know.

"Who are you?"

He stopped in his tracks a turned back, his smile was soft and his eyes glowed like candles.

"Aaron Chapman."

Dark...it's dark. There's a dirt road that my feet are walking beneath, and I wonder, what has become of me.

"Hello, Carrie." That voice rang into the darkness, and made stop. I had been walking on a darkened road for who knows how long, but this voice suddenly comes, and...I've heard it before.

"Who's-" I turned to face whoever it was who had uttered these words, and I came face to face with a girl in a white dress, her blue eyes looking right into me.

"I believe this is the first time we've spoken like this, isn't it?" She spoke again.

I have no idea who this girl is, but, I think I've seen her somewhere before, and she...looks like me? "I'm sorry, but, who are you?"

"Ah, you honestly don't know? I guess that's to be expected." She then held out her hand and smiled. "I am Anastasia Mouchette, daughter of Lord Mouchette and Duchess Mouchette."

I was surprised, not being able to find the words to speak. "You...you are...?"

"What's wrong?" She asked innocently. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"Try telling that to the person in front of me!"

She laughed. "Ha-ha. Yes, I suppose so. It's been a long, long time actually."

I cleared my throat and regained my composure, now able to face her without looking shocked. "Well then, just why have you appeared to me now?"

"Because I finally got the chance!" She jumped up and twirled around. "You know, even though he may be nothing more than a faint echo in the distance, he was such a great person."

"Huh? You mean Aaron Chapman?"

"Yes, dear girl." She sighed, as if remembering something bittersweet. "That's why I admire the relationship you share with your love, it reminds me of what me and Aaron were back then."

"Do you miss him?" I quickly regretted saying that, the words just automatically coming out of my mouth.

She nodded her head. "Yes, I do, very much. I know he gave his life for mine, even though I died afterwards."

"Anastasia," I said slowly, now remembering something I had learned not too long ago. "Just, well, how exactly did you die?"

Her eyes widened for the slightest second, as if she was remembering something she'd rather forget. Crap, why did I bring that up?

"I...I can show you, if you'd like."

"No, I didn't mean it like that! It's just that I-"

"It's alright, Carrie. In order to understand a story, you must have all the information, correct?" I nodded my head in response. "Then if you ask that, I will show you, thus gaining the answer."

I wasn't sure what to say. Ever since I had seen that dream of Aaron's death, I had wondered how Anastasia died. This was my chance to learn the truth, my hands curling into tights fists with anticipation. I had to know what had happened 300 years ago.

"Okay."

"Good, now follow me."

She walked past me, and I really had no choice but to follow her. We continued to walk down the dirt path, until a small house appeared, like maybe a little cottage from a storybook. She opened the door and gestured me to go inside.

With no other choice, I walked inside, and everything was dark, and Anastasia hadn't followed me inside.

"Anasta-"

"Glen-sama!"

I heard this voice shout and I turned around to find an entirely different place. I was in the middle of a large garden, half burnt I might add. There was something like rain falling down, but it wasn't rain, they were ashes, a burning castle towering behind me. Anyways, there were two people here, one of them, I recognized from an earlier vision; Glen Baskerville. The other one, she stood a considerate distance away from him, and even though her hair was messy and her dress was burnt, I knew this was Anastasia.

"Anastasia." Glen said, looking at her.

"Why?" She growled in a low tone. "Why are you doing this?"

She took a few steps toward him, unwavering as she approached. "Anastasia, you don't get it, do you?"

"What is there to get, besides the fact that you've caused this!" Her rage was boiling over, her blue eyes blazing with and ice cold furry. "Everyone is dying, and you caused Aaron to die too! I loved him you know, and now he's dead!"

"Are you intending to fight me?" That's when I noticed, there was an extreme sense of power leaking out from her, I could feel it. It was like when I...when...I used my power to seal Jabberwock and remove the fragment; when I had let that power seep out of me and into Leo.

Is it possible, that me and Anastasia have the same power?

"Glen-sama, even though I truly don't understand...I can't forgive you for these sins!" A light exploded beneath her, and the same glow that had surounded me and Leo was now dancing off her. "I will never forgive you!"

He just lightly smiled, Anastasia at that point lunging at Glen, but a chain came up and blocked her attack, making her skid back on her feet. The icy stare in her eyes now looked so cold that it was like a fire.

She shouted something into the air as she took another turn at attacking him, but this time, a chain darted for her. She was just barely able to dodge and she looked up, hissing as she saw the same thing I was seeing; Jabberwock.

'What is she doing?' I asked myself, watching the two continue to fight. 'If she thinks that she can take on Jabberwock, then she must be...' Then it clicked for me. 'No, she can...she's powerful enough.'

"Tell me why, Glen-sama!" She yelled continuing her assault, her attacks still causing no damage. "Tell me!"

"Are you sure you're not this way because Aaron is dead?" His question made her stop, but then her hands tightened into fists.

"Don't you dare talk about him like that!" This time, she was able to get closer to Glen, going in for the same moves of hand to hand combat that I had used. "What do you know about us?"

"You shouldn't fret, Anastasia." He was able to push her back with little effort, then summoning a chain that wrapped around her and threw her across the garden. "You know the story, and, ironically, he makes a fine vessel too."

She struggled to get up, but she heard his words clearly and turned her head up to him. "W-what? Are you talking about Aaron?"

"In a matter of speaking, no." Now he was the one approaching her, glancing down at her as she sat up on her knees. "There will be another to serve as the vessel."

The fire that had been burning half the garden now came closer to them. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"100 years later, there shall be another boy who will inherit this soul."

"Wait, are you saying you transfer your soul to others?" She demanded. "I've heard of such a thing from Alice, and..." Her eyes widened in horror. "What are you saying?"

"My dear girl, he was already chosen, since young Vincent had to interfere." Glen answered.

"Isn't there another way?" She was practically yelling now. "Why an innocent person like him?"

"You know that 100 years from now, that won't matter. And maybe if I were to be killed again, the thread of fate just might leave a fragment inside him."

At that moment, the fire that had been drawing close to them shot around the two, completely surrounding them in a ring if fire. Anastasia looked around franticly realizing she was trapped.

"There has to be something...!"

"Forget it." She looked up at him. "I won't change my mind."

The bright flames came between them both and leapt onto her, trapping her in an inferno.

Wait, this all seems so familiar. To that end though, I don't... no, I do know what's going on. I've dreamed of this! I've seen all of this before!

"No!" She shouted. "There's gotta be another way! I wouldn't let someone like that die!"

The wind that had been gusting around this place blew the hot embers towards me, and I had to shut my eyes because of it. When I opened them, I saw Glen walking away from the fire that had trapped Anastasia, now a fireball.

I was about to assume the worst for the girl, that was until I heard a fierce cry and looked to see her emerge from the fire. Her clothes were burnt and light flames were dancing off them. Her icy eyes were wide with the same icy glare, her face now an ashened black, clearly burned.

She charged at Glen once more, but when he turned around to face her, a chain came up at her and struck her square in the chest. Glen only looked at her as the chain removed itself and she fell to the ground.

After a moment, she opened her mouth to try and speak. "G-Glen-sama...?"

He didn't answer her, only looked down at her again and then walked away, not looking back. After he was out of sight, I walked over to her and looked down at her face, it almost looked lifeless.

"Anastasia." First it had been Aaron, now it would be her to perish here.

"A-Aar..on..." She managed to whisper. Her eyes then slipped shut and her head titled to one side.

Anastasia Mouchette was dead.

"Do you see now?" A voice echoed. The scene faded away, and I was inside a small parlor, the walls collapsed around me. By a broken window, Anastasia stood, her eyes downcast.

"Yeah." So, now, the truth was revealed. Both of them had died by Glen's hand. "He killed you."

"I know." She turned back up to me and forced a smile. "I think we've both grown stronger though, because I can see that you and Leo hold powers beyond belief, and you've also kept what I've used only once."

"You had a power? I remember something once said about me, that I hold a power that transcends the..." My words trialed off as it all clicked in my head. Everything Leo had said to me when Glen had control of him, both those times, it was all coming together. "Wait! You're saying that I...that I'm-!"

"Yes." She walked to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "You are my reincarnation."

I was frozen where I stood, not being able to comprehend her words, but, it only made sense, why Leo had said those things to me on that night not to long ago, and that power that had unlocked inside me. It made perfect sense!

"I...am?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Yes, you are." She took her hand off me and took a step back. "Do you also know that I've been with you for a very long time? Your whole life?"

"My whole...life?" My hand automatically tightened into a fist. "Prove it then!"

She laughed, like it was a joke. "Alright then. I've only spoken to you once, that day Leo woke up in the hospital, right before you left. You assumed it was amnesia, but I told you different."

I recalled that day, and I knew I heard that voice. That was...her?

"It really is you then."

She nodded. "It is. Now, it is time for you to return."

"Return? To where?"

"Have you forgotten? You need to return to them, your sister, and your two friends, Elliot and Leo."

"Ah!" I can't believe I forgot about him. "You're right, Anastasia!"

She laughed again. "Of course." She then put her hand to my forehead and her hand started glowing. "Now, go to him. He is waiting for you."

"Oh, are you awake?" I opened my eyes at this voice, half expecting to find Leo, but I caught the name from slipping out of my mouth when I saw that it was Sasha. I looked around, finding that I was now wearing my pajamas and I was laying in bed.

"Yeah." I said with slight disappointment. "What happened?"

"From what Elliot said, he told me that you used some kind of extreme power after Leo cut you down with a sword and you stabbed him with a dagger." She explained to me. "I'm not sure what exactly you did, but the newspapers in Aroila report seeing a strange flash that night."

"It's better that they don't know. Everyone's alright?"

"Of course, Carrie." I noticed that there was a slight hesitation in her voice, but it was probably nothing. "After what happened, Elliot told me that he rushed you and Leo back here. He's sleeping right now, and I wouldn't be surprised."

"Nether would I." I shifted in my bed, getting into a more comfortable position. "Leo must be sleeping as well."

She nodded. "Oh, and don't worry about school, I called and said we had something important come up in the family."

"Heh...still up to your old ways."

"That's just me." She cleared her throat and moved closer to the door. "You should sleep, especially after this. Elliot might be able to explain things a bit more later."

"Right. Oh, Sasha." She had about to walk out the door, but she turned back to me.

"What?"

"I'm the reincarnation of Anastasia Mouchette."

She stared at me for a moment, silent. "I have no idea what you just said."

"Like you said, I'll explain later."

She shrugged and left, closing the door behind her. She had a point to her words, now was not the time to worry about anything, because it was all over, the fragment removed and the incuse reset, and the answers revealed to the questions I seek. Well, I still don't know the whole story of the tale of 200 years ago, but I must continue to seek it out, along with Elliot and Leo.

All three of us were alright.

Speaking of which, the next time I wake, he might be here beside me. I will be happy for when that moment comes. And I will smile, and I will welcome him with open arms; I will welcome him with gentle kisses and all the love I can give.

Well, the next chapter is after this, so I'm gonna say in advance that I thank everyone who read and reveiw. I do know that the first part is a bit confusing, but I'll bring that up again in the sequel and explain it a bit more. On that note, feel free to leave a reveiw if you'd like.