Disclaimer: I'm not the owner of Black Butler and Pandora Hearts.

A/N: And so... I'm back. Honestly, I do not have the drive to continue this story anymore. I never wanted to update this piece of trash, but since I still had this one chapter sleeping in my laptop, I just thought I might as well submit it. If ever there are still people who wants to continue reading it, just tell me. :)

Chapter XV: Into the Emerald City

[Vessalius' Point of View]

"We just arrived at your home, Lord Vessalius," Sebastian informed as soon as the horses stopped on their heels.

Oz opened his eyes and glanced outside the window to his right. He just had those green orbs of his closed for a moment and upon opening it, the ride had ended and they were now in front of his own mansion. "Just how in the bloody hell…"

Coming out from that short ride, he fully got a glimpse of the Vessalius Mansion's splitting beauty. With its strong, huge walls that shone like silver under the daylight, golden pavement, and the lush greenery surrounding the entire area, the scenery instantly sent a vibrant feeling to the blonde boy's senses. Surely, it was the same feeling he had felt when he finally got out of the Abyss. Oh, how he missed it. It was like everything went back to normal.

Without any response, Oz started to dart off inside the property, but only to be halted by a sudden tug on his sleeves. When he turned around, he saw Ciel staring at the said Mansion with his hands clasped around his arm. "Is this your home?"

Oz nodded, placing his other hand on Ciel's head. "I guess this is goodbye for now."

"W-What?" Ciel regarded him with a confused, sad look. "I thought you're coming too? That's why they took you with us."

"No, I don't think that was it. They won't bring me here if that's the case."

"B-But, that's—"

"Young master, we have to go," Sebastian called, interrupting the boy from talking. "Say your goodbyes now to you friend."

"No! I'll just stay here with Oz!" Ciel held fast on the blonde boy, preventing him from backing away. "I don't want to go yet."

Without a second thought, Sebastian said no and pulled him away. But Ciel was just too eager to stay behind that they ended up exchanging a couple of yells until Ciel finally ended up crying.

"Y-Young Master, stop! Your Asthma!" Sebastian tried all his best to soothe him. Unfortunately, it didn't work too well on his part.

Oz sighed and embraced Ciel. Somehow, it made him stop from weeping. "Ciel, look… didn't you miss your parents already? I'm sure they miss you so badly now. You better go home and I promise I'll visit you next week once I settled the matter with my relatives." And with that, Ciel finally stopped and nodded in agreement, much to Sebastian's pleasure. The butler led the boy back into the carriage, though before he entered, Oz called for him again. "Ciel, I nearly forgot. I would like to ask for a favor," he whispered, "Please, no matter what happens, don't tell anyone about what you saw and what you knew about me… as well as our little secret."

Ciel nodded and raised his pinky finger to entwine it with Oz's. "I promise."

Oz smiled and placed a light kiss on Ciel's cheek. "Yeah, I'll see you soon," and off he ran inside, leaving the blue-haired boy touching the place he had just laid the kiss on.

"Oh, looks like the Young Master found a new babysitter," Charlotte teased the raven-haired butler beside her. Sebastian just sighed as they watched the young boy fiddled with his hair with his head plopped down. Surely, with his personality issues, Ciel doesn't know how to play with his own feelings.

"Oh, Oz! What brought you here? I thought you were staying with the Rainsworths?"

Oz stared, dumbfounded, at his Uncle Oscar. The old man was sitting cozily at the sofa, drinking coffee with his free hand. He didn't even bother to ask how he was. It was as if he didn't get kidnap at all.

"Uncle… could it be…" He paused. Right, that was probably it. It could be that his uncle didn't know anything about the abduction. "Should I tell him?"

"You were saying?" Oscar asked, putting the teacup back on the table.

"Better not." Oz shrugged and sat down beside his uncle. "Where's Ada?"

"Still at Latowidge." Oscar sighed. "I don't know what's going on with that girl's mind. I thought it was Gil whom she had her eyes on… I wasn't even informed that she was actually too attached on Gilbert's younger brother!"

Oz remembered the time when they sneaked into Ada's school just to confirm the message on her letter. They got the wrong assumption, though, that Ada loves Gilbert. But then, it was just last month when he found out that Ada was having secret dates with Vincent Knightray just because she believed that they held the same interests.

"—and now, I can't believe that the lucky boy was actually that Elliot Knightray! Another of Gilbert's brothers! What do these guys have, seriously?" Oscar yelled, almost dramatically.

Oz instantly went back to reality upon the mention of the name. "E-Elliot? Seriously, Uncle Oscar?!" Oscar nodded, wiping an invisible tear on the corner of his eye. "N-No way…" Oz sighed. He couldn't swallow the entire fact. Ada is two years older than Elliot, plus the boy is a total grump. As much as he wanted to be friends with him, he couldn't afford to give his sister's hands to anyone, even to his best friend. He just brushed off the displeasing thought upon remembering Gilbert and Alice. He immediately informed the others his condition and to where he was. In less than half an hour, Gilbert, Alice, Sharon, and Break came and showered him with endless hugs.

Oscar, too confused on what was going on, decided to leave the youngsters in their own world.

"O-Oz, I thought we're going to lose you for eternity," Gilbert said, not intending to let go of the blonde. His face was brimming with both sadness and joy. Alice, on the other hand, was trying her best not to drop even a single tear, despite the fact that it was obvious that she was about to.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Gil," Oz answered with dreaded remorse, "And Alice, I hope you don't hate me."

"I-Idiot… w-why would I hate my manservant!? Y-You were… I … I-I missed you! I thought you're not coming back anymore!" Alice yelled, blushing furiously while her tears eagerly escaped her purple eyes. Apparently, she could no longer contain her happiness.

Oz smiled and patted Alice's head. He then turned around to face Sharon and Break. "Sorry for the trouble. I hope my disappearance wasn't that of a burden."

"Oh no, not at all, although we almost lost all hope this morning. We're glad you're safe, Master Oz." Sharon gave him one of her melting smiles, causing cupid to shot arrows twice on Oz's chest.

And then, out of the blue, they all heard a chuckle coming from Break. "My, my… You're one lively victim, aren't you? I caught you winced from pain a couple of times earlier when we gave you the surprise tackle. Was it from the wounds on your torso or your left chest?"

"W-What? Master, are you hurt!?" Gilbert instantly came to his aid with his worry face.

"Gil! How many times do I have to tell you never to call me Master?!" Irritated from his servant's formality, Oz yelled back.

"B-But—" Oz immediately gave him a death glare. "Y-Yes, Oz…"

"Much better," Oz sighed. "Besides, I am fine. These are just wounds. It will heal."

Just after his speech, he received a good light punch on his head by Break. "Seriously, brat, it's just a wound, but I assure you that you'll get more if you continue to act stupid. Look, you even have one on your forehead." He smacked him on his forehead this time with his fingers. "Plus, you look terribly pale. Now, you have a lot of explaining to do."

Oz sighed and sat on an armchair, readying himself from questions. And for the second time that day, he explained everything, especially about his sudden berserk mode and about the seal on his chest. He truly needed a word with Alice and Gilbert regarding the matter.

"I see, it moved." Break placed a finger on his chin as if thinking, and then suddenly plopped down on the chair with his usual careless actions. "Oh well, what's done is done. Forget about it and move on~"

"Break! How could you say that? It's Master Oz's fate we're talking about here!" Sharon reminded, putting both hands on each side of her hips.

"You said so yourself, my lady. It's fate. We cannot alter it, can we?"

"Break is right, Sharon. We can't do anything about it, so it's fine," Oz answered with a weary smile.

"Of course, we can!" It was Gilbert this time who gave an opinion. "We can just break the contract and—" and then he stopped, seeing the distressed look on Alice's face. "I… I'm sorry, stupid Rabbit."

"The contract between us will remain and I will not do something that will harm—"

"Seaweed Head could be right, though," Alice interrupted. "You can just kill me, Oz."

"No!" Oz violently dissented. "Alice, I promised you that I won't send you back to that prison ever again and that we'll find a way to do so. You just have to trust me."

"O-Oz…" Alice beamed from delight and almost even had the urge to hug the boy. Somehow, she felt embarrassment creeping into her consciousness, so she just turned away to hide the blush on her cheeks.

"Oh, that's too romantic!" Sharon suddenly squealed. "Master Oz is such a gentleman. No wonder even a little boy got too attached on you. You are quite the pleasant hero!"

Oz laughed at her reaction. She hit a nerve there.

"My, isn't the princess just saying that because of her obsession to young boys and her fantasies about them?" Break mentioned, earning a smack from Sharon and a 'shut up'.

"Well, you should just think of him as nothing but air and just retire on your chamber to have your rest, master Oz. We'll be staying here so we could watch over you." And with that, Oz excused himself and head out to his own room.

"E-Er… Gil, Alice… what are you doing in here?" Oz asked, too shocked to see his two friends inside his room. After having their dinner, the two excused themselves ahead of them. It was probably because they were planning the very idea of sleeping with Oz that night. Who would have expected that the two of them had thought of doing the same thing?

"What? Have you become an idiot too like seaweed head here, Oz?" Alice asked, apparently not realizing that the word was a little offending. "It's obvious that I'm sleeping here!"

"Eh?"

"I'm sleeping here too," Gilbert added, "though, it's not like I want to be with stupid rabbit."

"EHHH?!"

"What? Don't give me that look. It's better this way. We don't want you disappearing again."

Oz paused for a second, and then sniggered. "I won't disappear, Gil."

"Isn't that what you said before? About not going anywhere… and then ending up being taken by some bad guys…"

"That won't happen again. You'll protect me both, right?"

Gilbert looked at Oz, dumbfounded and embarrassed, while Alice beamed and tackled Oz on the bed. "Of course! I'll protect my manservant at all cost!" she said, with Gilbert's follow-up statement, "You know, I'll do the same, Oz,"

Oz was more than happy to be home at last. Finally, he could sleep on his soft, comfortable bed without thinking of any of those nightmares. There was one thing he couldn't brush off his weary mind, though: a certain eleven-year-old, blue-haired boy whom he had spent his ill-fated one and a half days with. They had both grew attached on each other, even though that was from a really short period of time. He just couldn't muster why he had felt that way; maybe because of the boy's sweet character and his own innate friendly personality.

He had his eyes focused on the flickering fires of the hearth of his chamber; his mind steady so he could concentrate on thinking of his plans for next week. Gilbert and Alice had fell asleep ahead of him, much to Oz's relief after an hour of insisting that the blonde should just sleep while they kept watch on him. He knew how tired the two and the others were for searching for him. It would keep them in good shape the next morning if they managed to have a goodnight sleep. On the other hand, he, too, needed some rest, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to.

It was past midnight when Alice rose from her own nap. Seeing Oz still wide awake and completely lost in thoughts, Alice immediately tapped the lad on his shoulder to catch his attention. "Not asleep yet?" she asked while rubbing her right eye with her closed palm.

"A-Alice… Did I wake you up?" Oz asked, startled to see the girl awake. When Alice said no, Oz's worries went away in a flash. "Go back to sleep, please."

"No again! If you're not going to sleep then I'll stay awake with you!" she protested, almost into a fit of tantrums.

"A-Alright! Just keep your voice down," Oz hushed, keeping his voice as low as he could. "We'll wake up Gil."

"Hmp! Fine." Alice did as she was told and remained silent for a couple of minutes before interrogating Oz with another question. "What were you thinking of?"

"Nothing… just trivial things you need not to worry yourself with."

"Small things… Were you thinking of that boy you mentioned a while ago, then?"

Oz turned to his side to face Alice, his cheeks flushed. "J-Just what made you think that?"

"I don't know. I just had the feeling you were." Alice had all the time in the world to question Oz with whatever she felt like asking, but why does it had to be that question? "Are you in love, Oz?"

"I-In… Love?! With a boy?!" he almost yelped. Good thing, he was quick enough to cover his own protesting mouth. "T-That is outrageous!" Yes, very much to the core. There would be no way he would feel such shameful emotions to a boy, not to mention to a kid. But whenever he would think of that one Kiss they'd shared, he couldn't stop blaming his own thoughts and even doubt himself. "No… that was just a normal thing. I o-only did that to erase the bad memories," he involuntarily said it aloud, earning misinterpretation from Alice.

"So, being in love with the same gender is normal? And what of the bad memories you were talking about?"

"W-What? N-No, did I say that?" Alice nodded. Oz felt the need to smack his own face, but didn't do so in the end. "W-What you heard is nothing, Alice. Such shocking emotion towards the same sex is very immoral. I meant a very different thing for that."

Alice wasn't convinced at first. Being the very curious girl as she is, she harbored deep thoughts regarding the matter and only stopped when drowsiness attacked her again. "Ah, never mind. I'm going back to sleep. You should do the same, Oz, and stopped thinking of those trivial things of yours," she said, rather commanding, while stifling a heavy yawn; much unsightly for a lady such as her.

Oz sighed and rested his head down on his soft pillow. "Good night, Alice," he whispered, but the girl didn't have the chance to hear it for she was already fast asleep. Right, he should stop thinking of him or anything which reminds him of Ciel, until the next set of days intended for his second visit to the Phantomhive Manor. Right at that moment, he had a full week to spent resting.

A/N: Hints! Hints! Pairing hints! Ah, I found Alice very adorable lately. How I wished this liking would last. As far as the pairing goes, I'm a major fan of Oz x Alice and regards them as perfect for each other, but knowing myself as a diehard fangirl of Oz x Ciel, I will consider the matter as simply second to my preference. I beseech my loyal readers (if there are any) to please respect my utmost fondness to such a cute coupling. (And I'm uttering nonsense and couldn't quite comprehend what I am blubbering about! Goodness! I had been greatly infected by the conversations at Alison Weir's enticing novel: The Lady Elizabeth. Anyways, all hail the once Great Queen of England! I have a question though; this had been bugging me for a long time now, was Mary, Queen of Scots, and Bloody Mary Tudor the same person? I'm too lazy to gather notes about it. I am very fond of Scotland's Mary, and about Bloody Mary, after reading the Historical Novel, had found not a single liking to her. I am hopefully convinced that they are not the same.) Anyway, back to my fanfiction, I have four more chapters to go, and still thinking whether I will merge the sequel and this one into a single story if ever I got my drive and inspiration back.

(Honestly. I wrote that "Author's Note" right after I finished typing the chapter, which dated back from months ago. I just felt like attaching it here. XD)