Chapter 5 - Alternate Revelation: Like Liquid Gold

I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! I LIED TO YOU GAIZ! I 'POLOGIZE! I'll try to update twice tonight to make up for it!
I also apologize for putting story dialogue in, but it needs to be in there. I didn't feel it would be right unless I put it in. BUT FEAR NOT! LOOK BELOW THIS LINE!

* This asterisk is to warn readers who don't feel like re-reading the conversations from the manga that they probably already know by heart. Just find the end using the ctrl + f keys and you won't have to read through everything again~

Review Response Time!

To LittleSara: Thank you for reviewing! I know it seems like I'm making Alice more bitchy than she is, but I promise you I took those things she yelled at Gil straight from episode 20 lol. But I know what you mean, I made Oz sound like she was just an annoyance to him, and that is all to blame on my dislike of her. But I don't want to change it. Instead I want to make a future vow to keep from alienating her too much in the rest of the story. So hopefully I will be able to keep from making the story too OOC like you wrote~ And about having Oz and Raven/Gil using honorifics, I have them using them to try to show how Oz really does think he's talking to a stranger no matter how similar Raven and Gilbert are. That'll end soon though, so don't worry~ lol Thank you for the review! c;

To KrissyKunn: You don't know how happy it made me when I read that you are a fan of all of the other PH fics I've written! It pleases me greatly that you enjoyed them! cx And I know what you mean; I would absolutely loveto make these chapters longer, but for the sake of giving readers updates to look forward to and proper chapter starts and finishes (not to mention suspense), I unfortunately have to keep them like this! D: I'm used to writing about 10 pages for my one-shots. I haven't written a chapter story in a long time, so I don't have a lot of experience with writing good ones. But I wanted to update every day since I knew that these chapters wouldn't be fulfilling. I hope my plan is working. lol And yes, like I wrote in my response to LittleSara, I know I made them a little OOC. But Oz is one of those secretly dark characters who hides it behind a facade, y'know? I wanted to write from his mind's perspective. But no, you're totally right. And as I'm sure you know, I tend to write OOC as long as there's a correct basis for the action (it usually allows me to write in sap and other fun things). I'll try to control myself though, lol. Thank you for reviewing!

This is for my most loyal reader who didn't feel it necessary to review because I see her like every day of my life so she just tells me her thoughts when she sees me;

HI HO SILVER, AWAAAAY!

The dinner last night had been absolutely wonderful, but everyone was completely on edge... except for Sharon and Break, maybe. Raven didn't talk at all, Alice stuffed her face to give herself a reason not to talk and Break and Sharon talked like nothing happened at all. Which was probably worse for me because they kept talking to me and I had to act like nothing happened either. Then again, maybe nothing did happen... Raven busied himself by serving everyone and it was practically 20 minutes before he took a bite. He only spoke when Break and Sharon discussed Pandora. He didn't sit next to me either.

Early in the morning, Break suggested that we go to the mansion where I was dropped into the Abyss. He said that we might be able to find some of Alice's memories there. He and Sharon seemed to be in a big rush, and in about five minutes after everyone took their last bite off of their plate, we were shoved into the horse cart and we were on our way to our destination.

It was quiet in the cart; Alice was drifting off to sleep and Raven was staring out the window. The ride, from the very beginning, was extremely bumpy. It was giving me a terrible head ache. I don't know how Alice was able to fall asleep, but about ten minutes into the ride, I felt Alice slump against my shoulder.

'She's so human sometimes...' I had to move a little to keep her from falling off of me and from crashing to the seat. The strain made my head hurt more. I looked over at Raven in an attempt to get my mind off of the pain. He was staring out the window, his chin resting in his hand. I followed his gaze.

The green fields rushed by lazily, a bright green forest out over the horizon. The sky was blue and beautiful, puffy white clouds scattered across the sunshined landscape. It was really pretty.

Just as I thought I found something to busy myself with, the carriage went over a pothole and I went flying off my seat.

"Sorry!" the carriage driver yelled to us.

I really don't know how Alice slept through that. I don't. At all. My head felt like it just smacked against a rocky shore line in the ocean. I groaned and searched the carriage desperately. On the shelves above Raven, I saw a pillow.

" Raven-san?" I asked, wincing slightly. The light was starting to sting my eyes now.

He looked at me, surprised at the broken silence.

I looked in the direction of the shelf, "Could you help me?" I closed my eyes trying to willt the pain away. My ears were ringing now.

"Here.." I cracked my eye open to see him handing it to me.

"Just put it there..." He placed it next to me and I, as carefully as I could, lay Alice down on the pillow. Once I was sure she was still sleeping, I sat next to Raven.

"Thank you, Raven-san."

I rested my hands against my ears in a feeble attempt to make the ringing stop and groaned quietly.

"You're welcome..." he looked at my warily. "Is something wrong?"

"My head hurts really badly..." I whined quietly as a flash of pain went through my temples. I was getting desperate, if I didn't lay down soon my head was going to explode.

"Oh... uhmm... well... why don't you-"

I didn't stop myself, "Could I lay on you?"

I cracked my eyes open when I didn't hear him say anything.

He stuttered, a light blush across his cheeks. I saved him the trouble and moved closer to him, laying my head on his shoulder. His body was stiff and he probably felt completely awkward. While this was a little easier on my head, it wasn't enough. I groaned again and shifted over on the seat so I could lay on my side, resting my head on Raven's lap.

I heard him make some noise, like a squeak, as I adjusted. He'd have to deal with it; I was in pain and I was feeling extremely bratty. I lay facing away from him to keep from making him too uncomfortable. But the bumps in the road still made it impossible for me to stay on the seat. I kept struggling to keep from rolling off of the seat and I glared silently at the driver.

'Screw this.'

I flipped over in my spot and faced him. He seemed to be silently freaking out and his hands were hovering over me like he wasn't sure what to do. I didn't blame him, I was being extremely difficult. I snuggled closer against his belly and had to wrap my arms around his back to keep from falling off of him. Each time pain went through my head, I held the fabric of his coat tighter.

I whined gently and unconsciously pressed closer against him. If I breathed deeply, my nose flooded with his scent. Of course I smelled cigarette smoke on him, but there was something sweeter, too. The counter-balance was oddly soothing and it made forgetting my head ache easier.

After about fifteen minutes, we were halfway to the mansion, and Raven had finally calmed down. His posture was relaxed and he had began stroking my hair at some point. My head ache had lessened and I was finally able to think clearly. I rolled over onto my back and looked over at Alice. She was completely passed out on her seat in a dead-sleep.

Seeing her made me think of our contract and my incuse. I imagined it in my head and then I looked up at Raven,

"Ne, Raven-san?"

"Hm?" He was looking out the window distractedly.

"Could you tell me," I pulled my collar down slightly so that about half of the incuse was visible, "about this?"

Raven looked down at me first with surprise and then he seemed to glare at the seal on my chest. He closed his eyes and turned his head away.

"Raven-..san?" I asked quietly.

Raven sighed, and when his eyes met mine again, they looked sad.

"The incuse," he began to stroke my hair again, "is like a time limit for an illegal contractor. The more the contractor uses his or her Chain's power, the more the hand of the incuse moves to make a complete circle..."

I asked nervously, "What if... the hand makes a full revolution?"

He ran his fingers through my hair and his eyes were tight.

"When the incuse makes a full revolution... the contractor is dragged deep into the Abyss..."

He didn't say anything for a long moment. His free hand softly traced a along the line of the seal. Were his hands always warm?

"...and... the contractor's time ends."

I didn't have to ask him what he meant by, "ends." He stopped tracing the incuse on my skin, his hand landing right over my heart. I felt his hand that was on my hair shaking and I leaned closer to him. I'm not sure what I meant to do- maybe I was trying to comfort him. He looked so upset.

He began stroking my hair again and we just looked at each other. I'm not sure when, but at some point on the ride, I fell asleep under his touch.

ooo

Welcome back... Oz Vessalius...

What... is that voice? It's so familiar... or similiar maybe?

When I opened my eyes, I was looking down at the carriage's floor. And I didn't feel any rocking or movement. I flung my head up. Alice was fast alseep on the seat across from me, snoring lightly.

The carriage had stopped... I opened the door and looked out.

"Oh, I guess we're already at the mansion..." I looked around and saw the grand mansion I was at just a few days ago, only now it looked anything by grand. It looked like something out of a book of ancient history. The bricks and plaster all looked worn and over-grown, dying, aged.

"H...uh? What's...going on...?"

"Oz!" a voice called my name.

"Raven..." he was talking to someone.

"Sorry, I got caught up with him." I tilted my head in question,

"Who's he?" Raven stood in front of me, "A member of Pandora. Pandora's taken over this place ever since that incident." Ever since...?

"Wha...?"

"It seems there are some problems inside, so please wait here. We'll check it out..." Raven's voice was far-off from me. What did he mean by "ever since"?

Oh, crap! I wasn't listening! How do I respond? "Ahh.. Sure thing!" Just smile and nod like I know what I'm saying.

"...You were groaning in your sleep." It caught me off-guard and tries to recall; had I dreamt of anything again?

I was interrupted from my thoughts as I felt a gloved finger stroke the line of my jaw and tilt my head up. I was looking directly into Raven's eyes now. He looked at me hard again, like he was looking for something, reading me, my eyes. I felt my cheeks heat up slightly, and then something hit my forehead. It wasn't hard, but I didn't expect it.

"Don't think about it too much," he said, "about the flower girl, I mean. Nothing could be done." He said the last part softly, "Not by me... and not by you." In that moment, Raven's eyes were so gentle and comforting, like liquid gold. He looked at me for a moment longer before walking away back to the Pandora member.

I rubbed my forehead where he'd tapped me. I smiled.

"He really does... seem a lot like Gil."

SO WHO ELSE WANTS TO BEAT OZ WITH AN "I'M AN OBLIVIOUS BOY" STICK?

I promise not much longer until he figures it out~
I wanted to write something else here... but I can't remember. Karp. I always do this. D: