Ambidextrous II/IV: Nightray (Part 4/4)
Chapter I: Baskerville
Chapter II: Nightray: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
All of a sudden, the pressure loosened. Gilbert took a sharp intake of breath, and fell to his knees. He was shaking like a leaf. He tried hard not to pass out, hanging on to the sword for dear life. The hilt still felt warm, and he could feel the mirror burning him. Yet for some reason, the Raven’s efforts seemed focused rather than wild. The Chain had stopped struggling against its contractor’s control.
Gilbert looked up at the sky. The rain had stopped. Stray black feathers drifted in the wind, black against the navy blue of the ending night. As far as the eye could see, there was a long string of entwined chains glinting under the stars. And somewhere far away, the echo of the tune that had inspired Glen to compose ‘Lacie.’ As Raven’s blood mirror thumped against his heart, Gilbert wondered if his master had witnessed the birth of the world.
A wet thump distracted the contractor from his thoughts. When he looked down, Gilbert realized to his horror that Glen Baskerville had collapsed on the grass. Overtaken by an awful sense of déjà vu, Gilbert got up and staggered to the possessed boy’s side, slipping every three steps.
Vincent beat him there. He crouched down to help the vessel sit up in the muddy grass. Gilbert knelt next to them, and called his master, but no answer would come. The servant held a shaking hand before the boy’s face. He was relieved to feel a puff of hot breath on his skin.
“Calm down,” came Duke Barma's exhausted voice.
When he turned towards him, Gilbert found that the duke had all but collapsed against the duchess’ wheelchair. The contractor of the Dodo was using the rest of his strength to enlighten them on the situation:
“The worst is over,” the duke heaved, a drained self-satisfied smirk plastered to his face. “We have successfully reconstructed the foundations. Our Chains can handle the rest on their own. As long as none of them loses its contractor, nothing can hinder the reconstruction of the chains now. Even if we… pass out....”
To Gilbert’s amazement, with this last sentence, the man proceeded to do just that. The duchess’ wheelchair seemed to have gotten stuck in the mud, and the back of the chair broke the duke’s fall. He was now slumped precariously across the hard wood, with the duchess fast asleep next to him.
“In that case,” Vincent chuckled. “I suggest that we escort the good duke and Lady Rainsworth somewhere they can rest.”
“Your reinforcements are on their way,” Zai Vessalius said.
To Gilbert’s eternal dismay, the man appeared to have taken the experience rather lightly. His cane supported most of his weight, and he was sweating profusely, but none of it had been enough to make him lose his composure.
Right on cue, the two red-cloaked figures that had been guarding the door rushed to their side. Glen stirred at their touch:
“No,” he breathed.
Gilbert started.
“Just take care of the two Lords and the Duchess,” the possessed boy went on. “Vincent… escort Gilbert and I somewhere we can rest.”
Vincent sent Gilbert a pointed look, and the latter resolved to obey without comment.
“Keep this with you,” Vincent gave the sword case to Gilbert, and helped Glen to his feet. “You might need it again if Raven gets out of control. Can you walk?”
Gilbert nodded. His hands were unsteady as he sheathed Elliot’s sword and buckled it under his coat, but it looked like his legs could hold on a while more. With the poisoner on the loose, Gilbert couldn’t afford to show any weakness.
As he followed Vincent back inside, he threw a backward suspicious glance at Zai. Gilbert wouldn’t put it past that man to poison Break and keep his own agenda. If he decided to strike again, would Echo and Charlotte be enough to stop him? Whoever the poisoner was, this person had to be resourceful to have walked past Zwei once. They had to unmask the culprit, and fast.
Gilbert had to lean on the walls for support as he followed Vincent through the corridors, and paused every twenty seconds to catch his breath. The more he walked, the more the contractor suffered from the aftereffects of Raven’s powers. It came as a huge relief when Vincent finally picked an empty room and helped Glen to a sofa.
As soon as the boy was comfortably sat, Vincent rushed to help Gilbert sit next to him. Gilbert sank in the plush cushions, and tipped his head back. For several seconds, the two Baskervilles just sat motionless next to each other, and tried to catch their breath. Gilbert listened as Glen’s breathing slowly evened out. He turned to look at the vessel closely.
The boy was screwing his eyes, his face bathed in cold sweat. When Vincent held out a handkerchief to wipe it, he batted his hand away. Even Glen’s voice sounded smaller as the boy struggled to stay awake. Gilbert sat up straighter:
“Are you…Leo?”
Leo’s half-lidded eyes seemed pitch black as they stared back at him. He looked like he had just been rescued from drowning: exhausted, yet determined to breathe and talk. Gilbert could read half-formed sentences on his lips, but deep gasps were all he could hear. Vincent advised the boy to take it easy, but the latter just gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Gilbert,” he wheezed. “What are you trying to do?”
Gilbert felt his features relax slightly. A strange mix of relief and apprehension settled in his chest. This voice was nothing like his master’s; he was positive it was Leo talking to him. The boy had recovered after all. Probably due to the excessive use Oswald had made of the Jabberwocky’s powers, Leo had been able to take control again.
“…What do you mean?” Gilbert asked, his own voice weak from the experience.
He wasn’t sure what to expect from Leo. Gilbert had no idea what had happened when Oz had gone to face the other boy, aside from the fact that Leo had been badly injured. His midnight eyes were piercing through Gilbert, in search of something the man couldn’t place.
“You know what I mean,” Leo said in a rasping tone. “You went to Xerxes Break. You came back for Oz. You even had Vincent summon the Dormouse so you wouldn’t attack him.”
Leo clenched his jaws and rubbed at his temple furiously, in a strangely familiar fashion. Gilbert’s heart skipped a beat when he realized what this reminded him of: he always reacted like this when foreign voices invaded his mind.
“You defied your master’s orders,” Leo said curtly. “Why?”
“I… I didn’t!” Gilbert protested. Suddenly he realized he had put a hand to his own temple, in what was turning into a frightening habit. “I wasn’t trying to hide this from master! I wanted to find a way to get rid of Jack without killing Oz! I meant to talk to you…to master about it. About the Children of Misfortune, too. But first…”
Leo sniggered. It was barely noticeable with his erratic breathing. But his humourless, self-depreciative smile spoke a thousand words:
“Ha ha… No wonder he was so worried....”
“I am serious!” Gilbert insisted. “I will discuss this with him, but first we have to find out who poisoned Break!”
“Glen did.”
Whatever Gilbert had been about to say vanished from his mind.
There was a fixed grin on Leo’s face, and a glint in his surreal eyes. Something akin to pity.
“The one who was controlling my body,” the boy added. “I think his given name was Oswald? He stole Vincent’s drug, and used it on Xerxes Break after Zwei captured him.”
In his peripheral vision, Gilbert saw Vincent nod with a bitter smile of his own. He didn’t look remotely surprised.
But that couldn’t be right.
“It’s ridiculous,” it almost sounded like the gravely voice from his past speaking through Gilbert’s mouth. “Why would master…”
“Because he was afraid you would go to Break,” Leo answered. “That you would start to question his decisions, and rely on other people instead. Moreover, on his enemies. Why do you think he relieved Charlotte to guard Oz?”
Suddenly the boy winced, and started rubbing at his forehead, the nails of his other hand digging into the sofa. A short bark of laughter escaped his lips.
“Oh yes, keep telling yourself that,” Leo grumbled with a fixed stare. “‘It’s for his own good.’ You’re saving him from the Destroyer’s evil clutches. This is how things are meant to be. Gilbert belongs with you. Don’t make me laugh....”
Leo was hissing and clawing at the sofa like a furious cat. Gilbert had his back to the arm of the couch, too scared to move. He looked over at his brother to seek for help, but Vincent just held up a hand:
“Let him vent,” the gesture seemed to say. “It will pass soon.”
But Leo showed no sign of calming down. Without warning, he started to yell at an invisible offender. The golden specks in his eyes shone with a morbid glee:
“Just admit that you want your servant for yourself! You would sacrifice everything but Gilbert’s loyalty, because he’s all you’ve left! You’re just as bad as I am!”
The boy’s shaking hand travelled from his forehead to his chest, and started clutching at his clothes. Gilbert sat up straight:
“Your wound…!”
Leo froze. Gilbert couldn’t form another word. He had even gone numb to the burning touch of the blood mirror. The boy turned to smirk at him, in a nightmarish version of his master’s soothing smiles:
“…Should that really be your main concern right now?”
Gilbert clenched both fists on his knees:
“What you said… It can’t be right. Master knows I can’t betray him.”
“Yet you betrayed Oz.”
Gilbert shuddered. Just hearing it made him want to retch.
“Oswald did it on purpose, you know,” Leo sighed. “Order you to shoot Oz, I mean. Because he couldn’t bear the thought of you having another master, let alone a Chain he intends to destroy.”
“He is…” Gilbert’s voice broke. “He really is going to kill Oz.”
“Yes…” Leo’s pale fingers lingered above his chest wound, and a ghost of regret flickered in his eyes. “‘To restore the Abyss to its former stability,’ or so he claims.”
“And he doesn’t believe there is a way to save Miss Alice, either,” Leo let his hand drop. “Oz broke the contract because he knew she would share his fate. According to Glen, since they are the same Chain, their bond is impossible to break. As long as she lives, she will always hold a destructive power of some form. We would have sent her into the Abyss too, in the end.”
“But…” Gilbert protested feebly. “Master said he would consider it…”
“Oh, he did,” Leo said sardonically. “That hypocrite. He’s not nearly as unfeeling as he likes to pretend. Of course he considered saving his niece, even if he knew she would die anyway. The same way he helped me ‘fix’ Elliot.”
“It didn’t take long, though,” Leo snarled. “Those who become Glen know their priorities. According to the order of things the Baskervilles are trying to preserve, Chains that can destroy other Chains shouldn’t exist. Even if she can’t break the chains that hold the world, Miss Alice still has the power to kill a Baskerville. Therefore, she has to die. When did a single person’s feelings ever matter next to that?”
Gilbert held his head between his hands. He was shaking all over, at a loss as to what to do.
Was this what his master was thinking? All these deaths, the world almost sinking into the Abyss, the madness brought by time travel.... If the Baskervilles restored the former order, would it all really be fixed?
Would it be worth sacrificing generations upon generations of children born with red eyes?
“It won’t solve anything,” Gilbert fisted his hair. “It just means more deaths....”
His master had never wanted to sacrifice Lacie. He didn’t want to kill what was left of his niece, either. And if he did, there was no guarantee that the stability of the Abyss and the world would be restored. It was absurd. Gilbert had had enough of this.
He wished Oz were here.
Oz would know what to do, what was wrong with the situation, and how to fix it. With this sharp mind and emphatic nature of his, his young master had solved many puzzles before this one. If only Gilbert still had his insight....
“I have to save Alice,” Gilbert said.
He didn’t see what else he could do. Even if Oz had only been driven by his own feelings, Gilbert would keep the last promise he had made him. Until the servant found a solution, he would protect Alice with everything he had.
Vincent sighed, clearly disappointed:
“Is this alright with you, Lord Leo?”
“It is alright with me,” Leo said with a hollow laugh. “I can’t say I speak for all Glens, though.”
“It’s okay,” Gilbert rubbed at his temples to try and clear his head. “I’ll take full responsibility. If any of them has objections, we will talk this through. But we can’t keep things like this.”
Silence fell, and for a short while Gilbert relished in the quiet. His headaches were getting scarcer. Then twin howls of laughter met his ears, making him jump out of his skin.
“Wh-What is it?” Gilbert looked from Vincent to Leo, afraid they had gone into hysterics.
“My dear brother,” Vincent said between helpless giggles. “Ever the diplomat. You are so adorable.”
“Indeed, he is. I can see why Oz and you get along so well,” Leo’s shoulders were shaking. “That’s just the kind of naïve speech that would drive Elliot up a wall.”
Gilbert bit his bottom lip, confused and a little hurt. Leo wiped at his tears. His face was quick to turn serious again. He held out Oswald’s pocket watch.
“Make sure not to rush into this unprepared,” he warned Gilbert. “Think of a way to go into the Abyss and make it back.”
The servant pocketed the music box, and made sure its thin chain was safely hidden from view.
“…I know where Sharon is,” he said. “There might be a way…”
“Don’t tell me,” Leo cut him off sharply. “Glen mustn’t know.”
“But…”
“That’s an order, Gilbert,” Leo glared, the golden specks bright against his black eyes. “Carry out your plan, and keep me in the dark.”
Gilbert could only nod. The boy bent his head, and put a hand on the sword at Gilbert’s waist.
“I am leaving things in your hands,” he said in a hushed voice. “I think… that’s what Elliot would have wanted. You are as foolishly kind as he was.”
Of its own accord, Gilbert’s hand clenched the sword’s hilt. He didn’t know what to say. That he didn’t deserve these words and sword. That he was sorry. That Elliot hadn’t been foolish.
But Gilbert hardly knew Leo. He had no words of comfort to offer. Once again, he wished Oz were here.
Leo lowered his hand in silent farewell. With his hung head and unruly hair, he looked nothing more than a young boy who had lost his best friend. The gesture came naturally. Forgetting that this was Glen Baskerville, leader of the Abyss messengers, and his master from another time, Gilbert patted him on the head. Leo’s shoulders tensed. But when Gilbert let go, the boy seemed to breathe more evenly.
Vincent offered to help him walk. Gilbert was too tired to decline. He leant heavily on his little brother’s shoulder, and let him guide him through the corridors of Pandora Headquarters.
“Take me to Reim,” he whispered as soon as he was sure Leo was out of earshot.
“Of course,” Vincent chuckled. “Who else would know where to find Miss Sharon?”
“I’ll need her help to get back from the Abyss,” Gilbert kept talking into his brother’s ear, to keep his head clear and stay awake. “The problem is how to get there. I can’t wait for a distortion to open a path.... And Raven might not come back in time....”
“You should go back to the Nightray manor,” Vincent said. “I told our driver to keep our carriage ready, just in case. You should save your strength and use the Nightrays’ key to open the Gate.”
“Joseph?” Gilbert asked, startled. “But how would I explain to him…?”
Vincent laughed outright.
“He won’t ask. Just tell him to take you to the Nightray manor by the shortest roads, and you will be there in no time. You are a very agreeable duke, after all.”
“What?” Gilbert stared sideways at his brother in confusion. “No, I am not. Duke Nightray’s will…”
“As you are probably aware, servants don’t worry so much about details,” Vincent said lightly. Incongruity aside, it was a small comfort to see that his mood had improved, if only slightly. “You might not have been to the manor in a while, but they all remember you as their kindest master. You even bothered to remember each of their names. As far as they are concerned, you are Duke Nightray.”
Chapter II: Nightray: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
All of a sudden, the pressure loosened. Gilbert took a sharp intake of breath, and fell to his knees. He was shaking like a leaf. He tried hard not to pass out, hanging on to the sword for dear life. The hilt still felt warm, and he could feel the mirror burning him. Yet for some reason, the Raven’s efforts seemed focused rather than wild. The Chain had stopped struggling against its contractor’s control.
Gilbert looked up at the sky. The rain had stopped. Stray black feathers drifted in the wind, black against the navy blue of the ending night. As far as the eye could see, there was a long string of entwined chains glinting under the stars. And somewhere far away, the echo of the tune that had inspired Glen to compose ‘Lacie.’ As Raven’s blood mirror thumped against his heart, Gilbert wondered if his master had witnessed the birth of the world.
A wet thump distracted the contractor from his thoughts. When he looked down, Gilbert realized to his horror that Glen Baskerville had collapsed on the grass. Overtaken by an awful sense of déjà vu, Gilbert got up and staggered to the possessed boy’s side, slipping every three steps.
Vincent beat him there. He crouched down to help the vessel sit up in the muddy grass. Gilbert knelt next to them, and called his master, but no answer would come. The servant held a shaking hand before the boy’s face. He was relieved to feel a puff of hot breath on his skin.
“Calm down,” came Duke Barma's exhausted voice.
When he turned towards him, Gilbert found that the duke had all but collapsed against the duchess’ wheelchair. The contractor of the Dodo was using the rest of his strength to enlighten them on the situation:
“The worst is over,” the duke heaved, a drained self-satisfied smirk plastered to his face. “We have successfully reconstructed the foundations. Our Chains can handle the rest on their own. As long as none of them loses its contractor, nothing can hinder the reconstruction of the chains now. Even if we… pass out....”
To Gilbert’s amazement, with this last sentence, the man proceeded to do just that. The duchess’ wheelchair seemed to have gotten stuck in the mud, and the back of the chair broke the duke’s fall. He was now slumped precariously across the hard wood, with the duchess fast asleep next to him.
“In that case,” Vincent chuckled. “I suggest that we escort the good duke and Lady Rainsworth somewhere they can rest.”
“Your reinforcements are on their way,” Zai Vessalius said.
To Gilbert’s eternal dismay, the man appeared to have taken the experience rather lightly. His cane supported most of his weight, and he was sweating profusely, but none of it had been enough to make him lose his composure.
Right on cue, the two red-cloaked figures that had been guarding the door rushed to their side. Glen stirred at their touch:
“No,” he breathed.
Gilbert started.
“Just take care of the two Lords and the Duchess,” the possessed boy went on. “Vincent… escort Gilbert and I somewhere we can rest.”
Vincent sent Gilbert a pointed look, and the latter resolved to obey without comment.
“Keep this with you,” Vincent gave the sword case to Gilbert, and helped Glen to his feet. “You might need it again if Raven gets out of control. Can you walk?”
Gilbert nodded. His hands were unsteady as he sheathed Elliot’s sword and buckled it under his coat, but it looked like his legs could hold on a while more. With the poisoner on the loose, Gilbert couldn’t afford to show any weakness.
As he followed Vincent back inside, he threw a backward suspicious glance at Zai. Gilbert wouldn’t put it past that man to poison Break and keep his own agenda. If he decided to strike again, would Echo and Charlotte be enough to stop him? Whoever the poisoner was, this person had to be resourceful to have walked past Zwei once. They had to unmask the culprit, and fast.
Gilbert had to lean on the walls for support as he followed Vincent through the corridors, and paused every twenty seconds to catch his breath. The more he walked, the more the contractor suffered from the aftereffects of Raven’s powers. It came as a huge relief when Vincent finally picked an empty room and helped Glen to a sofa.
As soon as the boy was comfortably sat, Vincent rushed to help Gilbert sit next to him. Gilbert sank in the plush cushions, and tipped his head back. For several seconds, the two Baskervilles just sat motionless next to each other, and tried to catch their breath. Gilbert listened as Glen’s breathing slowly evened out. He turned to look at the vessel closely.
The boy was screwing his eyes, his face bathed in cold sweat. When Vincent held out a handkerchief to wipe it, he batted his hand away. Even Glen’s voice sounded smaller as the boy struggled to stay awake. Gilbert sat up straighter:
“Are you…Leo?”
Leo’s half-lidded eyes seemed pitch black as they stared back at him. He looked like he had just been rescued from drowning: exhausted, yet determined to breathe and talk. Gilbert could read half-formed sentences on his lips, but deep gasps were all he could hear. Vincent advised the boy to take it easy, but the latter just gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Gilbert,” he wheezed. “What are you trying to do?”
Gilbert felt his features relax slightly. A strange mix of relief and apprehension settled in his chest. This voice was nothing like his master’s; he was positive it was Leo talking to him. The boy had recovered after all. Probably due to the excessive use Oswald had made of the Jabberwocky’s powers, Leo had been able to take control again.
“…What do you mean?” Gilbert asked, his own voice weak from the experience.
He wasn’t sure what to expect from Leo. Gilbert had no idea what had happened when Oz had gone to face the other boy, aside from the fact that Leo had been badly injured. His midnight eyes were piercing through Gilbert, in search of something the man couldn’t place.
“You know what I mean,” Leo said in a rasping tone. “You went to Xerxes Break. You came back for Oz. You even had Vincent summon the Dormouse so you wouldn’t attack him.”
Leo clenched his jaws and rubbed at his temple furiously, in a strangely familiar fashion. Gilbert’s heart skipped a beat when he realized what this reminded him of: he always reacted like this when foreign voices invaded his mind.
“You defied your master’s orders,” Leo said curtly. “Why?”
“I… I didn’t!” Gilbert protested. Suddenly he realized he had put a hand to his own temple, in what was turning into a frightening habit. “I wasn’t trying to hide this from master! I wanted to find a way to get rid of Jack without killing Oz! I meant to talk to you…to master about it. About the Children of Misfortune, too. But first…”
Leo sniggered. It was barely noticeable with his erratic breathing. But his humourless, self-depreciative smile spoke a thousand words:
“Ha ha… No wonder he was so worried....”
“I am serious!” Gilbert insisted. “I will discuss this with him, but first we have to find out who poisoned Break!”
“Glen did.”
Whatever Gilbert had been about to say vanished from his mind.
There was a fixed grin on Leo’s face, and a glint in his surreal eyes. Something akin to pity.
“The one who was controlling my body,” the boy added. “I think his given name was Oswald? He stole Vincent’s drug, and used it on Xerxes Break after Zwei captured him.”
In his peripheral vision, Gilbert saw Vincent nod with a bitter smile of his own. He didn’t look remotely surprised.
But that couldn’t be right.
“It’s ridiculous,” it almost sounded like the gravely voice from his past speaking through Gilbert’s mouth. “Why would master…”
“Because he was afraid you would go to Break,” Leo answered. “That you would start to question his decisions, and rely on other people instead. Moreover, on his enemies. Why do you think he relieved Charlotte to guard Oz?”
Suddenly the boy winced, and started rubbing at his forehead, the nails of his other hand digging into the sofa. A short bark of laughter escaped his lips.
“Oh yes, keep telling yourself that,” Leo grumbled with a fixed stare. “‘It’s for his own good.’ You’re saving him from the Destroyer’s evil clutches. This is how things are meant to be. Gilbert belongs with you. Don’t make me laugh....”
Leo was hissing and clawing at the sofa like a furious cat. Gilbert had his back to the arm of the couch, too scared to move. He looked over at his brother to seek for help, but Vincent just held up a hand:
“Let him vent,” the gesture seemed to say. “It will pass soon.”
But Leo showed no sign of calming down. Without warning, he started to yell at an invisible offender. The golden specks in his eyes shone with a morbid glee:
“Just admit that you want your servant for yourself! You would sacrifice everything but Gilbert’s loyalty, because he’s all you’ve left! You’re just as bad as I am!”
The boy’s shaking hand travelled from his forehead to his chest, and started clutching at his clothes. Gilbert sat up straight:
“Your wound…!”
Leo froze. Gilbert couldn’t form another word. He had even gone numb to the burning touch of the blood mirror. The boy turned to smirk at him, in a nightmarish version of his master’s soothing smiles:
“…Should that really be your main concern right now?”
Gilbert clenched both fists on his knees:
“What you said… It can’t be right. Master knows I can’t betray him.”
“Yet you betrayed Oz.”
Gilbert shuddered. Just hearing it made him want to retch.
“Oswald did it on purpose, you know,” Leo sighed. “Order you to shoot Oz, I mean. Because he couldn’t bear the thought of you having another master, let alone a Chain he intends to destroy.”
“He is…” Gilbert’s voice broke. “He really is going to kill Oz.”
“Yes…” Leo’s pale fingers lingered above his chest wound, and a ghost of regret flickered in his eyes. “‘To restore the Abyss to its former stability,’ or so he claims.”
“And he doesn’t believe there is a way to save Miss Alice, either,” Leo let his hand drop. “Oz broke the contract because he knew she would share his fate. According to Glen, since they are the same Chain, their bond is impossible to break. As long as she lives, she will always hold a destructive power of some form. We would have sent her into the Abyss too, in the end.”
“But…” Gilbert protested feebly. “Master said he would consider it…”
“Oh, he did,” Leo said sardonically. “That hypocrite. He’s not nearly as unfeeling as he likes to pretend. Of course he considered saving his niece, even if he knew she would die anyway. The same way he helped me ‘fix’ Elliot.”
“It didn’t take long, though,” Leo snarled. “Those who become Glen know their priorities. According to the order of things the Baskervilles are trying to preserve, Chains that can destroy other Chains shouldn’t exist. Even if she can’t break the chains that hold the world, Miss Alice still has the power to kill a Baskerville. Therefore, she has to die. When did a single person’s feelings ever matter next to that?”
Gilbert held his head between his hands. He was shaking all over, at a loss as to what to do.
Was this what his master was thinking? All these deaths, the world almost sinking into the Abyss, the madness brought by time travel.... If the Baskervilles restored the former order, would it all really be fixed?
Would it be worth sacrificing generations upon generations of children born with red eyes?
“It won’t solve anything,” Gilbert fisted his hair. “It just means more deaths....”
His master had never wanted to sacrifice Lacie. He didn’t want to kill what was left of his niece, either. And if he did, there was no guarantee that the stability of the Abyss and the world would be restored. It was absurd. Gilbert had had enough of this.
He wished Oz were here.
Oz would know what to do, what was wrong with the situation, and how to fix it. With this sharp mind and emphatic nature of his, his young master had solved many puzzles before this one. If only Gilbert still had his insight....
“I have to save Alice,” Gilbert said.
He didn’t see what else he could do. Even if Oz had only been driven by his own feelings, Gilbert would keep the last promise he had made him. Until the servant found a solution, he would protect Alice with everything he had.
Vincent sighed, clearly disappointed:
“Is this alright with you, Lord Leo?”
“It is alright with me,” Leo said with a hollow laugh. “I can’t say I speak for all Glens, though.”
“It’s okay,” Gilbert rubbed at his temples to try and clear his head. “I’ll take full responsibility. If any of them has objections, we will talk this through. But we can’t keep things like this.”
Silence fell, and for a short while Gilbert relished in the quiet. His headaches were getting scarcer. Then twin howls of laughter met his ears, making him jump out of his skin.
“Wh-What is it?” Gilbert looked from Vincent to Leo, afraid they had gone into hysterics.
“My dear brother,” Vincent said between helpless giggles. “Ever the diplomat. You are so adorable.”
“Indeed, he is. I can see why Oz and you get along so well,” Leo’s shoulders were shaking. “That’s just the kind of naïve speech that would drive Elliot up a wall.”
Gilbert bit his bottom lip, confused and a little hurt. Leo wiped at his tears. His face was quick to turn serious again. He held out Oswald’s pocket watch.
“Make sure not to rush into this unprepared,” he warned Gilbert. “Think of a way to go into the Abyss and make it back.”
The servant pocketed the music box, and made sure its thin chain was safely hidden from view.
“…I know where Sharon is,” he said. “There might be a way…”
“Don’t tell me,” Leo cut him off sharply. “Glen mustn’t know.”
“But…”
“That’s an order, Gilbert,” Leo glared, the golden specks bright against his black eyes. “Carry out your plan, and keep me in the dark.”
Gilbert could only nod. The boy bent his head, and put a hand on the sword at Gilbert’s waist.
“I am leaving things in your hands,” he said in a hushed voice. “I think… that’s what Elliot would have wanted. You are as foolishly kind as he was.”
Of its own accord, Gilbert’s hand clenched the sword’s hilt. He didn’t know what to say. That he didn’t deserve these words and sword. That he was sorry. That Elliot hadn’t been foolish.
But Gilbert hardly knew Leo. He had no words of comfort to offer. Once again, he wished Oz were here.
Leo lowered his hand in silent farewell. With his hung head and unruly hair, he looked nothing more than a young boy who had lost his best friend. The gesture came naturally. Forgetting that this was Glen Baskerville, leader of the Abyss messengers, and his master from another time, Gilbert patted him on the head. Leo’s shoulders tensed. But when Gilbert let go, the boy seemed to breathe more evenly.
Vincent offered to help him walk. Gilbert was too tired to decline. He leant heavily on his little brother’s shoulder, and let him guide him through the corridors of Pandora Headquarters.
“Take me to Reim,” he whispered as soon as he was sure Leo was out of earshot.
“Of course,” Vincent chuckled. “Who else would know where to find Miss Sharon?”
“I’ll need her help to get back from the Abyss,” Gilbert kept talking into his brother’s ear, to keep his head clear and stay awake. “The problem is how to get there. I can’t wait for a distortion to open a path.... And Raven might not come back in time....”
“You should go back to the Nightray manor,” Vincent said. “I told our driver to keep our carriage ready, just in case. You should save your strength and use the Nightrays’ key to open the Gate.”
“Joseph?” Gilbert asked, startled. “But how would I explain to him…?”
Vincent laughed outright.
“He won’t ask. Just tell him to take you to the Nightray manor by the shortest roads, and you will be there in no time. You are a very agreeable duke, after all.”
“What?” Gilbert stared sideways at his brother in confusion. “No, I am not. Duke Nightray’s will…”
“As you are probably aware, servants don’t worry so much about details,” Vincent said lightly. Incongruity aside, it was a small comfort to see that his mood had improved, if only slightly. “You might not have been to the manor in a while, but they all remember you as their kindest master. You even bothered to remember each of their names. As far as they are concerned, you are Duke Nightray.”