[Canon update: Week 34, day 2] Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
SPOILER WARNING for the PH manga from chapter 52 to 59, and a bit from 61. Also there is death and decapitation in this, but not really written all that detailed, I don't think?
"Don't worry... If something happened to that servant... I'll find you a new one myself!"
This really isn't your day. You're stressed, frustrated, angry, tired and most of all worried, about Leo, about Oz, about Vincent and Gilbert, about everyone here. Things are just getting so bad, so fast, and you can't... you can't. So when Vanessa says that, something just snaps.
And the sound somehow rings so loudly despite the chaos in the background as you slap her.
"That's enough! Cut it out!"
To think that she dares imply it's got anything to do with just having a servant. As if that's all Leo is to you. He's your best friend, there's no way you're about to leave him behind, no matter how ugly this gets. It's even more of a reason to keep hunting for him if it gets uglier--
SLAP.
Of course, you should have expected to get one in return.
"You're the one who should cut it out..."
Her voice is trembling suddenly, despite the anger in her tone, and as you stare in shock you can see there are tears in her eyes. Crap.
"Don't you realise that... you're the only one I have left?! Fred, Claude, Ernest... The Headhunter killed all of them! Because of that, our mother lost her mind... and... fell pray to the lies of that foreigner."
Your chest clenches, tight, as you watch her raise her hands and clench her fingers in her hair, her head lowered far enough for you to no longer see her face. This...
"And our father still pretends not to notice what's going on...! What would I do... if I lost you, too...!"
Then it's completely impossible to be mad at her, honestly. You swallow thickly past a lump in your throat, frowns and takes one step closer to gently cradle the back of her head in your palm, and pull her towards your shoulder. You still don't intend to leave anyone, Leo least of all, of course, but... of course she would think you careless.
Shouldn't it have been obvious? You understand, and you're scared because of the situation as much as she probably is... So you shouldn't have reacted like that, perhaps.
"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry... Vanessa... But still... I want to catch the Headhunter no matter what. That's why I came here today." You step back a little, and slowly drop your hand. "I wanted to discover the connection between that man and the Headhunter. I didn't want to leave it all to Pandora."
"To defend the honour of the Nightrays?" Vanessa of course feels the need to confirm.
"Of course! This has absolutely nothing to do with that kid!"
You huff, and silence for a moment as you frown at her, grimacing a little at your still aching cheek. And then you reach out again, to smooth out her hair.
"Don't cry. You should try to cheer up a bit... Next week is our mother's birthday. We should celebrate more splendidly than usual... Since we also have to celebrate on behalf of our brothers..." You try to smile, look a little excited, because you really can't stand to see her cry and maybe, if you do that, she can smile a little too again, already. "I composed a really special song this year. I'm sure mum will love it! It's called 'Lacie'... It came to me in a flash of inspiration!"
"You're lying," she states grudgingly, gives you a meaning look. "In your letters you complained about not being able to come up with something decent."
"You're the one who's lying!" you snap in response, indignantly, and smack her upper arm lightly.
Your annoyed expression easens the moment you hear a sniff from her, however, and immediately, you bring your hands up to cup her ears, curl your fingers a little in her hair and press your forehead to hers. And you smile softer then, confidently, as you make one last attempt of reassuring her. Come on...
"Don't worry... I won't die that easily. Got it? Sister?"
And then, the sound of roaring fire--
"Has the fire spread this far already?!" And you only stare with wide eyes as Vanessa shoots off towards a door that Hans opens. "Elliot! This way!"
Even as you follow her, it feels more like something mechanic, and you feel completely numb. The sound of the fire isn't really as loud as the heartbeat is in your ears, and you can only stare at the death around you, breathe in the air thick with not just fire but the smell of blood and death, death, death.
'An act of arson... People are dying... And then--'
A black, blood-covered sword flashes in front of your vision and the world lurches, you feel sick and suddenly the floor is rushing towards you--
And then you're down, curled on the floor and your head in your hands. It's throbbing, painfully, and you lose focus of anything else. Pain, pain, pain.
'Damn... At a time like this...!'
You hear a voice, somewhere, in your head. "Elliot..." And you would never mistake that voice for anything but what it is and black messy hair flashes inside of your eyelids. Where is he? Where...
'Leo...?'
"Say my name."
...
When you can see again, you can't really recall what the hell just happened. You just blink brearily in front of you, move your fingers a little, and squint. 'Did I... faint?' Probably. It wouldn't be a first. But there's no time to just stay down, so you push yourself up, and spot Vanessa. Ah--
"Sorry, Vanessa. I'm alright now."
And they need to get going quickly now, so he keeps pushing himself up, expecting her to yell something again, really. Except nothing comes, it's all still silent, eerily so, as you straighten up enough to really see.
What you see is blood, a lot of it, covering clothes and spurting, far enough for a few drops to land on your face. Blood, blood, and no head, just a throat that abruptly stops and blood and the vague smile you were about to give slowly fades as you watch and slowly stand, wide-eyed, while your sister's head drops to the ground with a sickening loud thud (or maybe it's just loud in your head) and her body tips backwards to follow it down the staircase.
Thudthud thud, thud, thud..thud...
Your hands tremble. "Va...nes...sa..."
No...
No, no no nonono this can't be happening, it just can't can't can't can't be happening. It shouldn't be happening, it's not fair, after everything-- You can't even care about the footsteps you hear heading towards you, because all you hear are the thuds from her body echoing through your head as your strength slowly leaves you.
You're just about ready to collapse, your legs can't carry you and--
"Elliot?!"
You can't even make proper note of Gilbert's voice before a forceful lurch pulls you back to reality properly, one that yanks you back and up, abruptly halts your descent and your breath gets stuck in your throat. For a moment you almost think that you're going to die, but then there's a voice, the owner of the hand clenching tightly around your wrist.
"You better not resist, Elliot Nightray." Xerxes Break. "Or should I say... Headhunter?"
Your blood goes completely cold. For a long moment you only look up at Break, your breath heavy, and try to just... process that, make sense of it, something. Just... Just how--?!
"...me?" you finally manage, weakly. "The... Headhunter?" The ominously calm, confident expression on Break's face chills you even further to the bone, only to quickly flare up into heat rising to your head while your fingers press firmly down against the floor. "Cut... the crap!" It's impossible, impossible impossible impossible. "Would I have killed... my own sister, Vanessa?!"
"Given the circumstances, it's not inconceivable. When I rushed in here, I felt its presence-- And you were the only one here."
How can he be so calm and sound so sure about it?!
"You're wrong! I didn't--"
He doesn't let you finish your sentence; he only snatches your other wrist and kneels down as he forces your hands behind your back, and locks them there. You grit your teeth, feel your heart jumping up into your throat, but you're too tired to resist or struggle if you even really could (Break is strong, after all).
"Well then, it seems we have no choice." There's a pause where he adjusts his grip, and then... "Gilbert, please, with your own eyes, look... to see whether there's an illegal contractor's seal on his chest."
Gilbert looks just as shocked as you are, just as confused, as... just not understanding.
"Break..."
"Come on... There's nothing to be afraid of. As I told you a little while ago, while I'm doing this... neither he... nor Fianna's children... can use the power of Humpty Dumpty."
You only feel colder and colder as Break goes on to explain that Humpty Dumpty is a Chain capable of creating fake memories, but not only that, it's also capable of duplicating itself and having several contractors. And this is what Fianna's house has been used for. Supposedly.
"I made a mistake. I had no idea that the children of the house of Fianna would gather here... If I had known, I would have told Oz right away..."
"Wh..." you start, slowly. "What the hell... are you talking about?! The children of the house of Fianna... Illegal contractors?! Then what about Leo?!"
"We have no time for that now," Break says, obviously getting a little impatient. "Hurry up, Gilbert. If you don't, the seal will disappear."
"No! I'm not an illegal contractor--!"
"Shut up! It's useless to try to buy yourself time. You..."
Gilbert snaps.
"BREAK!" There's a pause, and you can tell Break is surprised. "...let go of him!"
"...were you even listening to me?" Break asks in disbelief.
"There's no way Elliot could become an illegal contractor!"
"Then what's the problem? Hurry up and check!"
"WHY ME?! Why do you want me to do it?!"
So loud...
"..."
"You're not acting like yourself... I understand you're worried about Reim, but this is too much!"
The grip around your wrists tighten, pulling a soft hiss from your lips.
"Don't you... Don't you dare talk to me... like you know me!"
So loud...
"...H--"
"WAIT!" you cry out, crumbling, and swallows heavily. "...alright... I get it. I'll do it myself."
You can't stand seeing that. Break, who you admire, and your brother, even if not by blood-- No, with all of this, you can't stand... seeing them fighting like that over you, over some issue that can't even possibly be true. Those two are... Despite what it might seem like, they are friends, aren't they? Or at least they trust one another, and...
You give them a weak smile, or what is supposed to be a smile anyway. You don't even know. "So please... At a time like this... You shouldn't..."
No, you just can't watch that, you absolutely can't. Not with... everything that has happened. Just... Can't...
--the sound of footsteps again. And a voice from above. "Who-- WHO'S THERE?! P-PLEASE HELP ME!" Suddenly you're pulled to your feet by Break as a man shows on the balcony above. "H-HE'S GOING TO KILL ME! That guy... suddenly started... C--... Cutting off... h-heads!" He abruptly turns around, his whole body language screaming panic. "EEK!"
"What?!" Gilbert exclaims, but he only manages that much before the man's head is cut off and it falls over the railing to land in front of them, followed by the thud from the body
A few moment's silence, and then...
"Break! What the hell are you doing?! The murderer is upstairs!"
You're shoved aside and crash painfully into the railing, but that doesn't even matter anymore. Your heart is beating so very hard in your throat and you can only brace yourself against the wood as Break rushes off and Gilbert follows.
"Elliot! Stay right there!"
...no need to tell you twice. You're not sure you could move anywhere even if you wanted to. You're too busy breathing, that's honestly tiring enough, and too busy with realising... you finally have time to properly look at the surroundings, at the situation, at-- Urgh.
'...the smell of blood.' You press your palm to your mouth and swallow again, suppressing the urge to throw up and trying to force the sick away. Vanessa... '...damn. Damn! Damn!'
"What the hell is going on?!"
As if you're actually going to get an answer. But you wish there was someone to just... give you one, to make everything make sense. Because it doesn't. If you were the only one there when Vanessa... But maybe the Headhunter just disappeared very quickly. But what if--
But it can't be, right? If it's true, that if you hold down the main contractor then... Then it can't be...
Still... Still, you squeeze your eyes shut and move your hands to slowly get the buttons on your coat undone. You really don't dare look, because what if there is a seal there, you don't know what you'd do but you can't... You have to look. So slowly, you gather all your might and courage to open your eyes again, pulling the fabric aside and glancing down.
...
Nothing. Just... skin.
"...tsk."
Gilbert intends to come back for you, you assume, so after you button them back up you simple sink back against the railing again and just... sit here. Try to... stay calm, breathe, knowing you're not an illegal contractor and...
God, Vanessa...
You're not entirely sure how much time has passed when you hear footsteps again, and Gilbert shows up running. "Elliot, are you alright?"
And then... you suppose it's safe for you to move again, so you begin pushing yourself up. "Yeah..." You move your hand up to hold the collar properly closed, because you never did do those buttons, and brace yourself on the railing. You still feel weak. "Gilbert... There's no seal on my chest." You close your eyes with a light sigh. "No seal."
Perhaps it's not so weird to have everything almost catch up on you when your big brother puts his hand on your head and ruffles your hair, as if you were a little kid. Were this any normal situation, you would have protested, ducked and shoved the hand away, but now you can't even care. It's... nice, you can even admit, to yourself, as you try to keep a hold on your emotions, frowning down at the floor. This isn't the time to be breaking down...
...
"I'll never forgive him."
It's the most sinister and eerily calm you have ever seen Oz. It's strange, because you have pretty much just seen Oz as either overly happy and excited or completely and utterly depressed like a damn idiot. Of course, none of those are really appropriate right now, so it makes sense and all. It's just... strange, and almost a little... scary.
But you can understand, fully. Oz has had someone important taken from him here too. You're angry too, so very angry, for everything that damn snake has pulled. You hate him, so, so much.
"I'll never forgive... Isla Yura. His wishes, his stupid ceremonies... and everything else... I'm going to kill him with my own hands!"
Still, such words don't fit Oz at all.
...
This evening seems to truly be out to break you.
For a moment there, things had almost seemed as if they were going to be alright, you had been pretty sure of it while fighting through the groups of strangers wearing red cloaks, to rescue Alice and Leo... Because they're here now; Oz is with his Alice, and you're just in time to rescue Leo, right? Right. That's great.
But then, when you slump back against the door with your sword held against you, close to your shoulder, the person you see standing over Leo ready to sacrifice him for the sake of some stupid ceremony to re-enact the Tragedy of Sablier... is your own mother. You don't want to believe it, but there's no doubt about it. It's definitely your mother, with a knife in her hand and...
Just... why?
It definitely sounds like her, when she speaks. Just the right kind, motherly tone she always uses. It...
"You made it in the end, Elliot."
No, no, no. Say it's not true... It must be a really, really bad dream. You have those a lot, after all (even if this would be quite different from the one you usually have). It must be. And the smile she gives you-- It cuts into you, it feels like, into your heart, your very being, and you feel like you can't breathe, even less think.
"Please, come closer. Let's perform... this miracle together."
"Mo...ther?"
Say it's not her, say it's not...
No, you will not stand for that, you will absolutely not. Miracle? What kind of crap is that...?! There's not really any thinking behind it, no. You just walk up to her with determined steps and force her away, to push the hand with the knife in it to the wall.
"Mother! Please stop! What are you doing?!"
And she just keeps being so calm. "Let go of me, Elliot. You must not interfere with our mission. The time has come. If we can lead the whole world into the Abyss, everyone will finally live in peace."
How should you snap her out of this, how how how... She needs to face reality-- Ah.
"Mother... Vanessa... She was killed... by the Headhunter! Did you know that... they're experimenting with Chains in the house of Fianna? And that Isla Yura is reaping the benefits of the results from the experiments? Xerxes Break said that the Chain those children are being forced to contract with... is none other than the Headhunter!"
You can't just let your mother follow in their family's murderer's footsteps, however indirect it is. It's close enough, and that's just...
--but, of course, how could you expect her to listen so easily? She slams you back in response, with another slap.
"Don't say such dreadful things! Humpty Dumpty is a sacred power bestowed upon us in order to fulfill our mission!"
"Mother..."
You don't get any further than that, however. Suddenly there's a sharp pain in your chest, so sharp that it completely overwhelms you and forces you to your knees with a startled groan. Once again, you can hear your heartbeat so very clearly.
"Elliot?"
'What's this... pain?' It's usually your head that it's focused on, not-- What's going on..?
"You're undoubtebly being punished for interfering with the ceremony," is your mother's reasoning. "Be a good child and watch. It's a real pity that Vanessa died..." And she's raising the knife over Leo again. No, no, no, please, mother-- "But it's alright. Once everyone's in the Abyss..." She leans over Leo, and gathers power. "We can all live happily together again!"
The last thing you see is the blade falling, and then everything goes black.
...
What alerts you again is the sound of someone crying. You're pretty sure of where exactly that sound is coming from, because you know that person. Ah...
'Leo? Are you there? Blood? This smells like blood. Hey, why are you crying? You're my servant, don't you have any shame?'
"Sorry..."
...sorry?
"I'm really sorry... Elliot...!"
And why is he apologising now? What's going on? Smell of blood, Leo crying and.
Leo's alive but how--
Smell of... blood... And where are you holding your sword? As if... And your knee is on something soft and that smell really is awfully close and where is your mother--
Oh...
Her hair is in the edge of your vision and... no, no, you're... kneeling over her, and your sword... No. That's where the smell of blood is coming from no no no. "M--" When did you put your sword through her? When. You don't remember a thing! "Mother...?"
You don't even see Leo on your right side clutching his hair, anymore. You just see your mother lying with your sword through her, face-down, hair spread out. That's all you see, without really seeing it but yet seeing it all too clearly, as you slowly loosen your grip on the sword's handle and begin moving back, staring at it. Unable to... comprehend.
What have you done...
"El-li-ot."
You remember this. You remember a bloody hand reaching out, doing that exact thing; calling your name.
"Elli-ot."
It's your dream. The roaring sound of fire, their blood dripping from your blade, your brother's blood, you see them now, so clearly. Too clearly. You smell the smoke and the sickening blood and you see the bright lights, the dark red and the white on their clothes spotted with it.
You're holding the sword, the sword that killed them. Your brothers.
'A building on fire... Dead bodies... I'm in the middle of bloodshed, but I don't know why. My sword... is soaked with their blood.'
"Was it me?"
It was you. It was you, it was you it was you itwasyou itwasyou you you you--
"No, no, it's not your fault. They are to blame."
"No, no, it's not your fault. She is to blame. She tried to kill you! Him."
Leo... Yes, she tried to kill him, that is true, but you stopped her-- No, what the hell are you thinking. This is just...
"If it hurts too much, you'd better forget about it. We'll make you forget again. If it hurts too much, blame someone else. Just like when... last time... you said it was the Headhunter."
"Shut..."
You remember clearly now. You remember how it cut off your brother's heads afterwards, so it didn't look like anything else. And before you manage to finish that very short sentence, right as that image flashes in your mind, your mother's head is cut off too, as you stand on unsteady feet and can only watch, wobble and watch.
What...
And then you see it, a horrid tongue shooting out in front of you, covered in blood.
"You'd better forget."
"No..."
"Everything will be easier if you do..."
"Cut it out..."
Cut it out cut it out. Stop, stop. You can't-- This is wrong, you can't let it continue this way. How could you ever...
"I have to... remember..."
'The deeds I blamed on someone else... The things that were right in front of my eyes... that I pretended... not to see.'
There was a seal, on your chest, stark black against your pale skin and somehow oh so ugly.
"When did it start?" you ask yourself, as you see Vanessa running up to you on the staircase, before... Just keep thinking back, keep thinking back. "When... did I...?"
"Elliot, this is for you." How could you forget that smile on Leo's face, and the eager tone in his voice? How could you just forget that? For whatever reason it was... How. "This is to show my gratitude for 'Statice'. This song just came to my mind, like an inspiration. I hope you like it. The title is... 'Lacie'!"
And yet, what you told Oz was something entirely else.
" 'Lacie'! That's one of my compositions!"
Even such small things... To forget that Leo was the one who wrote it, for you.
'I...'
"What? The children went into the chasm?! Damn! We can't wait for Pandora!"
"Elliot... Say my name..."
There's that pain again, clenching in your chest, as you try to see something in your swimming vision. Leo is leaning over you, you can see that much at least... But it's difficult. The pain is just--
'It's me--'
"Since when...?" you mutter, hunched over, breathing heavily and with your chest throbbing from more than just a flood of emotion, in the same kind of way like... "Since when... have I...?" You squeeze your eyes shut tight, to really see, see your brothers and your sister, and your mother. "Don't look away... Don't look away..."
'Don't look away!'
Right, it was after Leo had become your servant. A few months after, not before, not the reason your father accepted Leo. Leo was already your servant, when you went after those children from the house of Fianna that went into the chasm, far into the ruins of what was left of Sablier.
Such a spot to have an orphanage on, honestly. But if they experimented with Chains, then that isn't so strange, is it? They found the children too, perfectly fine, and then--
'What happened then?'
"It's embarrassing, but... I slipped, hit my head... and passed out."
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" You choke on the words, where you're now slumped against the wall, curled up and a hand clenched against your chest. It hurts, it hurts. "NOT TRUE! Not true!" You try to breathe through the pain as you clench your fingers in your hair. "Not... true..."
You grit your teeth. Come on, come on. It's right there in your reach, the truth is in your reach, you can feel it. Come on, let him see, the truth, that's all you want. Just the truth. You hate lies, hate them hate them hate them.
Leo found the corpses, such small bodies... "...Elliot..."
'...I remember now... The children... were not safe and sound. They'd been run through with some sharp weapon... They were lying dead in a puddle of blood.'
And then he apparently heard something because he suddenly broke into a run. "Leo?!" And you follow along, of course, your breath short and quick, difficult, but there's no time to really stop and process.
"Helen!" Leo cried.
'And then...'
"Bi-big brother Leo," the girl whimpered, and started crying loudly where she sat on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest.
"Helen, what happened here?" Leo asked, calm as always of course, as he pulled her gently onto her feet.
"Jo-John started acting weird..." she got out between her sniffles. "And then..."
'And then...?'
Then you saw it. The disgusting Chain appearing, with another child in its mouth, right behind Helen. Way too close to Leo. There was no time to pause, to stop and think, because you had to get there what if it was going to kill them?!
"LEO!"
'And then... I...'
It all happened so fast, really. You were running up there, and Leo was trying to back off with the girl pulled against him, and your sword was drawn-- Maybe it was stupid to think you could do anything against a Chain, but that didn't matter...
And then you had its tongue through your chest, some of it, even if you managed to stop it from getting too deep. While you hung there, in the air, with one hand still around your sword and the other keeping the tongue away, and a slight throbbing in your chest - ow - you could hear Leo, somehow, vaguely.
"E-Elli...ot."
"Ah... Ugh..."
It was getting harder to hold onto the sword.
"Stop... STOP IT!"
Abruptly, the tongue was gone and you fell to the ground, but you couldn't even pay much notice to how hard your back struck. Not aside from how it made the pain in your chest throb harder, briefly. You could hear Leo talking to someone, through the heartbeat and loud buzz in your ears, but you couldn't for the life of you figure out who.
But you could feel Leo's fingers press to your lips, and something hot slipping through them. It pulled a cough from you, and you struggled to gather focus enough to speak, and listen, and breathe between your words somehow.
"Leo... What did you... make me drink...?"
"Elli--"
"Leo. Are you... alright?" That was important. "What about... that thing? What about... the children?"
"...Elliot." You could somehow see him raising his hand and curling his fingers in his hair. "Call its name. 'Humpty Dumpty'..."
"...its name...?"
"Yes... Come on--" A bit of a pause, and then-- "Say the name!"
You open your eyes, and stare wide-eyed out at the room in Yura's mansion. "...I am..." It's so clear, suddenly. "An illegal contractor? I am... the Headhunter--?"
There's more--
"Listen to me..." Ernest's voice. "We'll blame it on the Headhunter." Right, you overheard a conversation... between him and Claude. "Elliot and mother will escape with the guests. Then the two of us will dispose of Gilbert and Vincent, as planned."
"Ernest... I..."
"Come on! Or have you lost your nerve?! Didn't you brag in front of Elliot, saying you'd kill the Headhunter, even at the cost of your own life?"
"Yes... But..." You were around the corner, with your fist pressed against the wall, clenched tight. "We've already failed once. Those two will be on their guard..."
Gilbert's poisoning.
"That was all your fault! I thought a fast-acting poison would give us enough time to behead him once he died!" You couldn't believe it. Your own brothers--! "Please, Claude... We've already come this far."
"Alright, alright..."
"Come on, let's go. It would be a real shame to die in a fire we started ourselves."
Risking everyone's life like that! 'I can't believe it! I can't believe it! What the hell are they planning to do?!' You had to do something. "I'll teach them a lesson."
"Yes, alright. And once we've gotten rid of those two... we'll dispose of that Leo as well." You remember the pain in your chest now. That was where it... snapped, huh? "I don't know how Elly can keep him around. We'll find him a proper servant ourselves." And then Ernest started chuckling, the bastard-- "You know... To be killed by the Headhunter is to be acknowledged as a member of the Nightray family. Could we offer a higher honour to the three of them?"
And then laughing, and it did indeed snap. You wanted to kill them, even grabbed your sword, but then abruptly dropped it despite being urged on. "I can't... I can't... I can't... I can't, I can't!"
"Of course you can. We must kill... both of them! Don't worry..." You clutch your arm, and slide down the wall while the pain keeps throbbing, and stares with wide eyes at the opposite wall. "You're not going to kill them yourself. As they said... the Headhunter will do the killing!"
Then you got your sword, pushed yourself up, and cut your own brothers down.
'How could I fail to see... that it was me?' And Vanessa... Vanessa, Vanessa... You remember hearing her voice after you fell, now, calling your name. 'Why didn't I realise it? The one who was acting weird wasn't Leo... It was me.'
And you remember hearing Leo's voice, calling out for Vanessa, and you, and then them talking. Something about Hans getting his head cut off too, and Vanessa blaming Leo... While you pushed yourself up, you saw Leo reaching for Vanessa, only to be shoved down the stairs by her.
"DON'T TOUCH ME, MURDERER!"
The sounds of Leo tumbling down the stairs was so loud in your ears. Leo...
"Ever since you appeared, everything has fallen apart. Our brothers died... Our mother lost her mind.. Everything! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! Stay away from Elliot! If something happens to him, I'll kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!" Vanessa's attention was briefly directed at something else as there was a sudden scream, and a thud. "What's going on?! Those red-hooded intruders... are they coming this way?!"
"Lady Vanessa," Leo spoke. "I'll head downstairs and distract them. In the meantime, you should escape with Elliot." A pause as Vanessa looked down at him, seemed surprised. "Lady Vanessa. Please... take care of Elliot!"
And then he ran off, judging from the sounds of his footsteps. So that was where... Slowly, you began pushing yourself up, pain throbbing again and...
"Don't..." Vanessa muttered. "Don't... patronise me...!" You walked over to stand behind her, and she turned around. "Elli--"
She probably meant to check on you, but that was the last thing she spoke before Humpty Dumpty appeared and decapitated her.
'How could I... not see it?' Suddenly, there's almost an eery calm as you drop your head back against the wall and look at the ceiling, hand still pressed to your chest. 'Now that I think about it... If you manage to realise it... it means not all is lost. So... if I couldn't realise it... it must mean that...' And then the pain returns and you clutch your coat. 'The same pain as before...?' You slide a little to the side and as you pull your hand away, you see... blood. And you can only manage a weak smile. 'Everything is stained red... It's too, too late...'
You crawl away from the wall, somewhere along the line, while you press your hand to your chest and struggle for proper breath and trying to be able to tell something through the pain. It gets worse and worse, and fast, and soon you can't move anymore, just hunch over and clutch your arms to your chest as if that's going to make it get away. You wish, you really do, and you can barely even realise that suddenly you're screaming.
It hurts, it hurts, make it go away, what should he do, what--
"Elliot!"
No-- You snap your head up, to give Leo a look. Don't, don't, don't-- "STAY BACK, LEO!"
You don't intend to, but you force him back (and knock him out in the process), suppose it's Humpty Dumpty. And a moment later the Chain appears above you again, shoots its tongue over your head and looms closer. "The wish... of the Will... of the Abyss... Eat... the Black Rabbit."
And it swallows you, pulls you into darkness. It's almost... a relief, a bit like a cool, calm blanket like the ones you would cover yourself up with at night when you were smaller, maybe together with your siblings while some storm rages outside the windows. It soothes the turmoil some, and the pain, and the chaos in your head, suddenly... clears it.
Calm...
'It's dark.'
"It is... Close your eyes and sleep..."
'S-sleep?'
"I will make you forget... Once again. All the pain and sadness..."
'Close... my eyes...' But you get distracted by a sudden light, and you end up not. 'That is...'
You see Gilbert, somehow, and Alice and Oz huddled on the floor behind his arm. "Stupid rabbit! You and Oz step back!" Humpty Dumpty is advancing on them. Eat... the Black Rabbit, huh?
"Hey, Oz! Wake up!" Alice cries. The idiot is unconscious...? And Gilbert thinks a gun will really work?
But then something slashes off one of the Humpty Dumpty's tongue. "I'll cover you," announces Echo as she lands nearby him.
"Echo!" A pause. "If this keeps up we'll be forced to kill the contractors."
"I agree," she says, with the same blank tone she always uses. "However... They seem to have realised this as well."
You can see it all... You really are... the core contractor, huh?
'Gil...bert... Echo...'
"O--"
But then they disappear and there is once again only soothing darkness, like a glove covering your eyes. "Don't watch... Don't think... Don't remember. How did it feel... when you realised you were responsible for the death of your brothers, your sister, your mother? It hurt, didn't it? Even if you remember what happened, there's nothing you can do to change it."
'Is this... Humpty Dumpty's voice? Or is it... mine? That's right... There's nothing... I can do about it. Remembering... won't bring my family back. My sin will not disappear. Nothing would change. It's far... too late.'
"Are you stupid or what?!"
--that, though, is definitely your voice. You remember that clearly; Oz being curled up against a wall, and you yelling at him, back in Latowidge. Your first meeting...
"You realised it, didn't you?! Then... you are already..."
'That's right... That's right... Isn't that...' You remember pulling Oz up yourself. 'What I... told that brat myself!'
As if you're going to lose this, go down like this... A yell tears from your throat as you grab your sword and bring it down, stab it through your hand. You're not going to get lost in darkness, or calm, or anything--! You were never one to run away, so why would you now?! Turn away from reality...
You just don't do that!
"Forget... what I did?" you ask, your voice and body and whole being trembling. "Turn my eyes away!? My memories, my mistakes, all of my suffering, the past, the future... I have no intention of giving any of them up to you!" Never, never, never... "I AM ELLIOT NIGHTRAY, AND I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!"
...that blood wasn't there before. It's dripping, fresh, and there's something hot on your temple-- What...?
"Don't, Elliot... Contractors shouldn't reject their own Chain."
"Vin...cent." Where the hell did he come from all of a sudden?
"...who would have thought... That you, of all people, were the core of Humpty Dumpty? Your Chain went out of control, didn't it? It was the same with mine. It kept repeating 'the Will of the Abyss, the Will of the Abyss'."
"That... thing..." You try moving, at least a little.
"I said don't, Elliot. Without its contractor, a Chain is unable to remain in our world. For a Chain, rejection by its contractor means death. Of course, such a drastic measure... results in the death of both Chain and contractor. If that's the case... Well... here and now, I can..."
Another stab of sharp pain to your chest and you're forced to hunch back over as you let out a loud, pained sound, and your breath is briefly pulled from you again. Ow, ow, ow... Where the hell--
"Too bad... Looks like Oz has finally come to." There wasn't this much blood before... "That wound... If a wound inflicted on the Chain is affecting the contractor... it means that the hand on the seal has almost completed its revulotion. At this point, even if you would manage to defeat your Chain... there would be no way to save you."
You're not sure what you should make of Vincent's smile.
...no way to save you, huh? So... they're fighting Humpty Dumpty out there, and your seal... it was definitely almost complete. So... is it lost, then? Everything? That... would be it, huh? So suddenly...
"So, Elliot... Would you rather... be killed by me, or Oz?"
Stupid shorty. Stupid, stupid shorty. And, honestly, what kind of thing is that to ask?! It's the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard. So... you can really only laugh, briefly, weakly, and smile in the same manner; weakly.
"Neither. Ugh--!" The same wounds... it sucks, and hurts, but, ah... whatever. Breathe. "Killed... by the likes of you...? Don't make me laugh... This is something... I have to take care of myself. I won't... allow this."
You won't. Humpty Dumpty will no control you, if you have a say in it (and you do). Never. And... 'I won't burden him--'
"A Chain like you! How could I..."
'How could I... burden that brat with the weight of my life?'
"That self-sacrifical nonsense," as you told him.
You try pushing yourself up, at least a little, bracing your hands against the floor as blood drips down, more and more. It hurts... But you will not stop smiling. No matter how difficult it is, no matter how it breaks--
'Really... Why did it have to end up like this?' It sucks. It really does. Ah well... Nothing you can do about it, right? '...by the way.'
So then... you will put an end to it as you wish, yourself. And so the wry, broken smile is directed all at the stupid Chain.
"I..." And you raise your head, to really show it, straightening up a little. If anything, you'll go out with your back straight, damn it. "Humpty Dumpty. I reject you."
"If that's true, let's work together..." Oz said, with this big, stupid smile on his face, and you could only stare at him as if he was mad. "To change the relationship between the Vessalius and Nightray houses!"
A part of you were hoping it would be over quick, as soon as the Chain went. But, no, after you collapse to the floor, you're still alive. Somehow. Barely. But at least it's gone so far that the pain is barely anything more but a dull throbbing, even if a very... great dull throbbing that is probably worst than the piercing pain.
Yeah, probably.
"I really... liked you..." You're surprised you can still hear, as Vincent speaks. "You were nothing like your brothers... You were the only one... It was only thanks to you that... Gil managed to live in that house without forgetting how to smile." He pauses, for a moment. "Thank you."
...and then, there is one more thing you need to say (you never did manage to, before, after all), so you open your mouth to try to get something out. It's... very difficult, though, which you suppose isn't a surprise. But apparently Vincent sees, and so he crouches down.
"Tell..." you mutter, swallow heavily and take a deep breath (as deep as you can anyway, which isn't much, you discover). Come on... "I'm sorry, Leo."
You would respond to Vincent too, perhaps, if that didn't take all of your energy already.
"...I understand... I will... tell him..."
[When he opens his eyes, when he rolls away to sit up, it all flashes through his mind once again in quick images, and there is that pain again. The Hitomi shows his eyes widening, his lips parting, and his back hunching over while he presses his palm to his chest.
Then there's a pained, quiet sound, as he swipes an arm out and squeezes his eyes shut, knocking the Hitomi to the floor and turning it off.]
"Don't worry... If something happened to that servant... I'll find you a new one myself!"
This really isn't your day. You're stressed, frustrated, angry, tired and most of all worried, about Leo, about Oz, about Vincent and Gilbert, about everyone here. Things are just getting so bad, so fast, and you can't... you can't. So when Vanessa says that, something just snaps.
And the sound somehow rings so loudly despite the chaos in the background as you slap her.
"That's enough! Cut it out!"
To think that she dares imply it's got anything to do with just having a servant. As if that's all Leo is to you. He's your best friend, there's no way you're about to leave him behind, no matter how ugly this gets. It's even more of a reason to keep hunting for him if it gets uglier--
SLAP.
Of course, you should have expected to get one in return.
"You're the one who should cut it out..."
Her voice is trembling suddenly, despite the anger in her tone, and as you stare in shock you can see there are tears in her eyes. Crap.
"Don't you realise that... you're the only one I have left?! Fred, Claude, Ernest... The Headhunter killed all of them! Because of that, our mother lost her mind... and... fell pray to the lies of that foreigner."
Your chest clenches, tight, as you watch her raise her hands and clench her fingers in her hair, her head lowered far enough for you to no longer see her face. This...
"And our father still pretends not to notice what's going on...! What would I do... if I lost you, too...!"
Then it's completely impossible to be mad at her, honestly. You swallow thickly past a lump in your throat, frowns and takes one step closer to gently cradle the back of her head in your palm, and pull her towards your shoulder. You still don't intend to leave anyone, Leo least of all, of course, but... of course she would think you careless.
Shouldn't it have been obvious? You understand, and you're scared because of the situation as much as she probably is... So you shouldn't have reacted like that, perhaps.
"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry... Vanessa... But still... I want to catch the Headhunter no matter what. That's why I came here today." You step back a little, and slowly drop your hand. "I wanted to discover the connection between that man and the Headhunter. I didn't want to leave it all to Pandora."
"To defend the honour of the Nightrays?" Vanessa of course feels the need to confirm.
"Of course! This has absolutely nothing to do with that kid!"
You huff, and silence for a moment as you frown at her, grimacing a little at your still aching cheek. And then you reach out again, to smooth out her hair.
"Don't cry. You should try to cheer up a bit... Next week is our mother's birthday. We should celebrate more splendidly than usual... Since we also have to celebrate on behalf of our brothers..." You try to smile, look a little excited, because you really can't stand to see her cry and maybe, if you do that, she can smile a little too again, already. "I composed a really special song this year. I'm sure mum will love it! It's called 'Lacie'... It came to me in a flash of inspiration!"
"You're lying," she states grudgingly, gives you a meaning look. "In your letters you complained about not being able to come up with something decent."
"You're the one who's lying!" you snap in response, indignantly, and smack her upper arm lightly.
Your annoyed expression easens the moment you hear a sniff from her, however, and immediately, you bring your hands up to cup her ears, curl your fingers a little in her hair and press your forehead to hers. And you smile softer then, confidently, as you make one last attempt of reassuring her. Come on...
"Don't worry... I won't die that easily. Got it? Sister?"
And then, the sound of roaring fire--
"Has the fire spread this far already?!" And you only stare with wide eyes as Vanessa shoots off towards a door that Hans opens. "Elliot! This way!"
Even as you follow her, it feels more like something mechanic, and you feel completely numb. The sound of the fire isn't really as loud as the heartbeat is in your ears, and you can only stare at the death around you, breathe in the air thick with not just fire but the smell of blood and death, death, death.
'An act of arson... People are dying... And then--'
A black, blood-covered sword flashes in front of your vision and the world lurches, you feel sick and suddenly the floor is rushing towards you--
And then you're down, curled on the floor and your head in your hands. It's throbbing, painfully, and you lose focus of anything else. Pain, pain, pain.
'Damn... At a time like this...!'
You hear a voice, somewhere, in your head. "Elliot..." And you would never mistake that voice for anything but what it is and black messy hair flashes inside of your eyelids. Where is he? Where...
'Leo...?'
"Say my name."
...
When you can see again, you can't really recall what the hell just happened. You just blink brearily in front of you, move your fingers a little, and squint. 'Did I... faint?' Probably. It wouldn't be a first. But there's no time to just stay down, so you push yourself up, and spot Vanessa. Ah--
"Sorry, Vanessa. I'm alright now."
And they need to get going quickly now, so he keeps pushing himself up, expecting her to yell something again, really. Except nothing comes, it's all still silent, eerily so, as you straighten up enough to really see.
What you see is blood, a lot of it, covering clothes and spurting, far enough for a few drops to land on your face. Blood, blood, and no head, just a throat that abruptly stops and blood and the vague smile you were about to give slowly fades as you watch and slowly stand, wide-eyed, while your sister's head drops to the ground with a sickening loud thud (or maybe it's just loud in your head) and her body tips backwards to follow it down the staircase.
Thudthud thud, thud, thud..thud...
Your hands tremble. "Va...nes...sa..."
No...
No, no no nonono this can't be happening, it just can't can't can't can't be happening. It shouldn't be happening, it's not fair, after everything-- You can't even care about the footsteps you hear heading towards you, because all you hear are the thuds from her body echoing through your head as your strength slowly leaves you.
You're just about ready to collapse, your legs can't carry you and--
"Elliot?!"
You can't even make proper note of Gilbert's voice before a forceful lurch pulls you back to reality properly, one that yanks you back and up, abruptly halts your descent and your breath gets stuck in your throat. For a moment you almost think that you're going to die, but then there's a voice, the owner of the hand clenching tightly around your wrist.
"You better not resist, Elliot Nightray." Xerxes Break. "Or should I say... Headhunter?"
Your blood goes completely cold. For a long moment you only look up at Break, your breath heavy, and try to just... process that, make sense of it, something. Just... Just how--?!
"...me?" you finally manage, weakly. "The... Headhunter?" The ominously calm, confident expression on Break's face chills you even further to the bone, only to quickly flare up into heat rising to your head while your fingers press firmly down against the floor. "Cut... the crap!" It's impossible, impossible impossible impossible. "Would I have killed... my own sister, Vanessa?!"
"Given the circumstances, it's not inconceivable. When I rushed in here, I felt its presence-- And you were the only one here."
How can he be so calm and sound so sure about it?!
"You're wrong! I didn't--"
He doesn't let you finish your sentence; he only snatches your other wrist and kneels down as he forces your hands behind your back, and locks them there. You grit your teeth, feel your heart jumping up into your throat, but you're too tired to resist or struggle if you even really could (Break is strong, after all).
"Well then, it seems we have no choice." There's a pause where he adjusts his grip, and then... "Gilbert, please, with your own eyes, look... to see whether there's an illegal contractor's seal on his chest."
Gilbert looks just as shocked as you are, just as confused, as... just not understanding.
"Break..."
"Come on... There's nothing to be afraid of. As I told you a little while ago, while I'm doing this... neither he... nor Fianna's children... can use the power of Humpty Dumpty."
You only feel colder and colder as Break goes on to explain that Humpty Dumpty is a Chain capable of creating fake memories, but not only that, it's also capable of duplicating itself and having several contractors. And this is what Fianna's house has been used for. Supposedly.
"I made a mistake. I had no idea that the children of the house of Fianna would gather here... If I had known, I would have told Oz right away..."
"Wh..." you start, slowly. "What the hell... are you talking about?! The children of the house of Fianna... Illegal contractors?! Then what about Leo?!"
"We have no time for that now," Break says, obviously getting a little impatient. "Hurry up, Gilbert. If you don't, the seal will disappear."
"No! I'm not an illegal contractor--!"
"Shut up! It's useless to try to buy yourself time. You..."
Gilbert snaps.
"BREAK!" There's a pause, and you can tell Break is surprised. "...let go of him!"
"...were you even listening to me?" Break asks in disbelief.
"There's no way Elliot could become an illegal contractor!"
"Then what's the problem? Hurry up and check!"
"WHY ME?! Why do you want me to do it?!"
So loud...
"..."
"You're not acting like yourself... I understand you're worried about Reim, but this is too much!"
The grip around your wrists tighten, pulling a soft hiss from your lips.
"Don't you... Don't you dare talk to me... like you know me!"
So loud...
"...H--"
"WAIT!" you cry out, crumbling, and swallows heavily. "...alright... I get it. I'll do it myself."
You can't stand seeing that. Break, who you admire, and your brother, even if not by blood-- No, with all of this, you can't stand... seeing them fighting like that over you, over some issue that can't even possibly be true. Those two are... Despite what it might seem like, they are friends, aren't they? Or at least they trust one another, and...
You give them a weak smile, or what is supposed to be a smile anyway. You don't even know. "So please... At a time like this... You shouldn't..."
No, you just can't watch that, you absolutely can't. Not with... everything that has happened. Just... Can't...
--the sound of footsteps again. And a voice from above. "Who-- WHO'S THERE?! P-PLEASE HELP ME!" Suddenly you're pulled to your feet by Break as a man shows on the balcony above. "H-HE'S GOING TO KILL ME! That guy... suddenly started... C--... Cutting off... h-heads!" He abruptly turns around, his whole body language screaming panic. "EEK!"
"What?!" Gilbert exclaims, but he only manages that much before the man's head is cut off and it falls over the railing to land in front of them, followed by the thud from the body
A few moment's silence, and then...
"Break! What the hell are you doing?! The murderer is upstairs!"
You're shoved aside and crash painfully into the railing, but that doesn't even matter anymore. Your heart is beating so very hard in your throat and you can only brace yourself against the wood as Break rushes off and Gilbert follows.
"Elliot! Stay right there!"
...no need to tell you twice. You're not sure you could move anywhere even if you wanted to. You're too busy breathing, that's honestly tiring enough, and too busy with realising... you finally have time to properly look at the surroundings, at the situation, at-- Urgh.
'...the smell of blood.' You press your palm to your mouth and swallow again, suppressing the urge to throw up and trying to force the sick away. Vanessa... '...damn. Damn! Damn!'
"What the hell is going on?!"
As if you're actually going to get an answer. But you wish there was someone to just... give you one, to make everything make sense. Because it doesn't. If you were the only one there when Vanessa... But maybe the Headhunter just disappeared very quickly. But what if--
But it can't be, right? If it's true, that if you hold down the main contractor then... Then it can't be...
Still... Still, you squeeze your eyes shut and move your hands to slowly get the buttons on your coat undone. You really don't dare look, because what if there is a seal there, you don't know what you'd do but you can't... You have to look. So slowly, you gather all your might and courage to open your eyes again, pulling the fabric aside and glancing down.
...
Nothing. Just... skin.
"...tsk."
Gilbert intends to come back for you, you assume, so after you button them back up you simple sink back against the railing again and just... sit here. Try to... stay calm, breathe, knowing you're not an illegal contractor and...
God, Vanessa...
You're not entirely sure how much time has passed when you hear footsteps again, and Gilbert shows up running. "Elliot, are you alright?"
And then... you suppose it's safe for you to move again, so you begin pushing yourself up. "Yeah..." You move your hand up to hold the collar properly closed, because you never did do those buttons, and brace yourself on the railing. You still feel weak. "Gilbert... There's no seal on my chest." You close your eyes with a light sigh. "No seal."
Perhaps it's not so weird to have everything almost catch up on you when your big brother puts his hand on your head and ruffles your hair, as if you were a little kid. Were this any normal situation, you would have protested, ducked and shoved the hand away, but now you can't even care. It's... nice, you can even admit, to yourself, as you try to keep a hold on your emotions, frowning down at the floor. This isn't the time to be breaking down...
...
"I'll never forgive him."
It's the most sinister and eerily calm you have ever seen Oz. It's strange, because you have pretty much just seen Oz as either overly happy and excited or completely and utterly depressed like a damn idiot. Of course, none of those are really appropriate right now, so it makes sense and all. It's just... strange, and almost a little... scary.
But you can understand, fully. Oz has had someone important taken from him here too. You're angry too, so very angry, for everything that damn snake has pulled. You hate him, so, so much.
"I'll never forgive... Isla Yura. His wishes, his stupid ceremonies... and everything else... I'm going to kill him with my own hands!"
Still, such words don't fit Oz at all.
...
This evening seems to truly be out to break you.
For a moment there, things had almost seemed as if they were going to be alright, you had been pretty sure of it while fighting through the groups of strangers wearing red cloaks, to rescue Alice and Leo... Because they're here now; Oz is with his Alice, and you're just in time to rescue Leo, right? Right. That's great.
But then, when you slump back against the door with your sword held against you, close to your shoulder, the person you see standing over Leo ready to sacrifice him for the sake of some stupid ceremony to re-enact the Tragedy of Sablier... is your own mother. You don't want to believe it, but there's no doubt about it. It's definitely your mother, with a knife in her hand and...
Just... why?
It definitely sounds like her, when she speaks. Just the right kind, motherly tone she always uses. It...
"You made it in the end, Elliot."
No, no, no. Say it's not true... It must be a really, really bad dream. You have those a lot, after all (even if this would be quite different from the one you usually have). It must be. And the smile she gives you-- It cuts into you, it feels like, into your heart, your very being, and you feel like you can't breathe, even less think.
"Please, come closer. Let's perform... this miracle together."
"Mo...ther?"
Say it's not her, say it's not...
No, you will not stand for that, you will absolutely not. Miracle? What kind of crap is that...?! There's not really any thinking behind it, no. You just walk up to her with determined steps and force her away, to push the hand with the knife in it to the wall.
"Mother! Please stop! What are you doing?!"
And she just keeps being so calm. "Let go of me, Elliot. You must not interfere with our mission. The time has come. If we can lead the whole world into the Abyss, everyone will finally live in peace."
How should you snap her out of this, how how how... She needs to face reality-- Ah.
"Mother... Vanessa... She was killed... by the Headhunter! Did you know that... they're experimenting with Chains in the house of Fianna? And that Isla Yura is reaping the benefits of the results from the experiments? Xerxes Break said that the Chain those children are being forced to contract with... is none other than the Headhunter!"
You can't just let your mother follow in their family's murderer's footsteps, however indirect it is. It's close enough, and that's just...
--but, of course, how could you expect her to listen so easily? She slams you back in response, with another slap.
"Don't say such dreadful things! Humpty Dumpty is a sacred power bestowed upon us in order to fulfill our mission!"
"Mother..."
You don't get any further than that, however. Suddenly there's a sharp pain in your chest, so sharp that it completely overwhelms you and forces you to your knees with a startled groan. Once again, you can hear your heartbeat so very clearly.
"Elliot?"
'What's this... pain?' It's usually your head that it's focused on, not-- What's going on..?
"You're undoubtebly being punished for interfering with the ceremony," is your mother's reasoning. "Be a good child and watch. It's a real pity that Vanessa died..." And she's raising the knife over Leo again. No, no, no, please, mother-- "But it's alright. Once everyone's in the Abyss..." She leans over Leo, and gathers power. "We can all live happily together again!"
The last thing you see is the blade falling, and then everything goes black.
...
What alerts you again is the sound of someone crying. You're pretty sure of where exactly that sound is coming from, because you know that person. Ah...
'Leo? Are you there? Blood? This smells like blood. Hey, why are you crying? You're my servant, don't you have any shame?'
"Sorry..."
...sorry?
"I'm really sorry... Elliot...!"
And why is he apologising now? What's going on? Smell of blood, Leo crying and.
Leo's alive but how--
Smell of... blood... And where are you holding your sword? As if... And your knee is on something soft and that smell really is awfully close and where is your mother--
Oh...
Her hair is in the edge of your vision and... no, no, you're... kneeling over her, and your sword... No. That's where the smell of blood is coming from no no no. "M--" When did you put your sword through her? When. You don't remember a thing! "Mother...?"
You don't even see Leo on your right side clutching his hair, anymore. You just see your mother lying with your sword through her, face-down, hair spread out. That's all you see, without really seeing it but yet seeing it all too clearly, as you slowly loosen your grip on the sword's handle and begin moving back, staring at it. Unable to... comprehend.
What have you done...
"El-li-ot."
You remember this. You remember a bloody hand reaching out, doing that exact thing; calling your name.
"Elli-ot."
It's your dream. The roaring sound of fire, their blood dripping from your blade, your brother's blood, you see them now, so clearly. Too clearly. You smell the smoke and the sickening blood and you see the bright lights, the dark red and the white on their clothes spotted with it.
You're holding the sword, the sword that killed them. Your brothers.
'A building on fire... Dead bodies... I'm in the middle of bloodshed, but I don't know why. My sword... is soaked with their blood.'
"Was it me?"
It was you. It was you, it was you it was you itwasyou itwasyou you you you--
"No, no, it's not your fault. They are to blame."
"No, no, it's not your fault. She is to blame. She tried to kill you! Him."
Leo... Yes, she tried to kill him, that is true, but you stopped her-- No, what the hell are you thinking. This is just...
"If it hurts too much, you'd better forget about it. We'll make you forget again. If it hurts too much, blame someone else. Just like when... last time... you said it was the Headhunter."
"Shut..."
You remember clearly now. You remember how it cut off your brother's heads afterwards, so it didn't look like anything else. And before you manage to finish that very short sentence, right as that image flashes in your mind, your mother's head is cut off too, as you stand on unsteady feet and can only watch, wobble and watch.
What...
And then you see it, a horrid tongue shooting out in front of you, covered in blood.
"You'd better forget."
"No..."
"Everything will be easier if you do..."
"Cut it out..."
Cut it out cut it out. Stop, stop. You can't-- This is wrong, you can't let it continue this way. How could you ever...
"I have to... remember..."
'The deeds I blamed on someone else... The things that were right in front of my eyes... that I pretended... not to see.'
There was a seal, on your chest, stark black against your pale skin and somehow oh so ugly.
"When did it start?" you ask yourself, as you see Vanessa running up to you on the staircase, before... Just keep thinking back, keep thinking back. "When... did I...?"
"Elliot, this is for you." How could you forget that smile on Leo's face, and the eager tone in his voice? How could you just forget that? For whatever reason it was... How. "This is to show my gratitude for 'Statice'. This song just came to my mind, like an inspiration. I hope you like it. The title is... 'Lacie'!"
And yet, what you told Oz was something entirely else.
" 'Lacie'! That's one of my compositions!"
Even such small things... To forget that Leo was the one who wrote it, for you.
'I...'
"What? The children went into the chasm?! Damn! We can't wait for Pandora!"
"Elliot... Say my name..."
There's that pain again, clenching in your chest, as you try to see something in your swimming vision. Leo is leaning over you, you can see that much at least... But it's difficult. The pain is just--
'It's me--'
"Since when...?" you mutter, hunched over, breathing heavily and with your chest throbbing from more than just a flood of emotion, in the same kind of way like... "Since when... have I...?" You squeeze your eyes shut tight, to really see, see your brothers and your sister, and your mother. "Don't look away... Don't look away..."
'Don't look away!'
Right, it was after Leo had become your servant. A few months after, not before, not the reason your father accepted Leo. Leo was already your servant, when you went after those children from the house of Fianna that went into the chasm, far into the ruins of what was left of Sablier.
Such a spot to have an orphanage on, honestly. But if they experimented with Chains, then that isn't so strange, is it? They found the children too, perfectly fine, and then--
'What happened then?'
"It's embarrassing, but... I slipped, hit my head... and passed out."
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" You choke on the words, where you're now slumped against the wall, curled up and a hand clenched against your chest. It hurts, it hurts. "NOT TRUE! Not true!" You try to breathe through the pain as you clench your fingers in your hair. "Not... true..."
You grit your teeth. Come on, come on. It's right there in your reach, the truth is in your reach, you can feel it. Come on, let him see, the truth, that's all you want. Just the truth. You hate lies, hate them hate them hate them.
Leo found the corpses, such small bodies... "...Elliot..."
'...I remember now... The children... were not safe and sound. They'd been run through with some sharp weapon... They were lying dead in a puddle of blood.'
And then he apparently heard something because he suddenly broke into a run. "Leo?!" And you follow along, of course, your breath short and quick, difficult, but there's no time to really stop and process.
"Helen!" Leo cried.
'And then...'
"Bi-big brother Leo," the girl whimpered, and started crying loudly where she sat on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest.
"Helen, what happened here?" Leo asked, calm as always of course, as he pulled her gently onto her feet.
"Jo-John started acting weird..." she got out between her sniffles. "And then..."
'And then...?'
Then you saw it. The disgusting Chain appearing, with another child in its mouth, right behind Helen. Way too close to Leo. There was no time to pause, to stop and think, because you had to get there what if it was going to kill them?!
"LEO!"
'And then... I...'
It all happened so fast, really. You were running up there, and Leo was trying to back off with the girl pulled against him, and your sword was drawn-- Maybe it was stupid to think you could do anything against a Chain, but that didn't matter...
And then you had its tongue through your chest, some of it, even if you managed to stop it from getting too deep. While you hung there, in the air, with one hand still around your sword and the other keeping the tongue away, and a slight throbbing in your chest - ow - you could hear Leo, somehow, vaguely.
"E-Elli...ot."
"Ah... Ugh..."
It was getting harder to hold onto the sword.
"Stop... STOP IT!"
Abruptly, the tongue was gone and you fell to the ground, but you couldn't even pay much notice to how hard your back struck. Not aside from how it made the pain in your chest throb harder, briefly. You could hear Leo talking to someone, through the heartbeat and loud buzz in your ears, but you couldn't for the life of you figure out who.
But you could feel Leo's fingers press to your lips, and something hot slipping through them. It pulled a cough from you, and you struggled to gather focus enough to speak, and listen, and breathe between your words somehow.
"Leo... What did you... make me drink...?"
"Elli--"
"Leo. Are you... alright?" That was important. "What about... that thing? What about... the children?"
"...Elliot." You could somehow see him raising his hand and curling his fingers in his hair. "Call its name. 'Humpty Dumpty'..."
"...its name...?"
"Yes... Come on--" A bit of a pause, and then-- "Say the name!"
You open your eyes, and stare wide-eyed out at the room in Yura's mansion. "...I am..." It's so clear, suddenly. "An illegal contractor? I am... the Headhunter--?"
There's more--
"Listen to me..." Ernest's voice. "We'll blame it on the Headhunter." Right, you overheard a conversation... between him and Claude. "Elliot and mother will escape with the guests. Then the two of us will dispose of Gilbert and Vincent, as planned."
"Ernest... I..."
"Come on! Or have you lost your nerve?! Didn't you brag in front of Elliot, saying you'd kill the Headhunter, even at the cost of your own life?"
"Yes... But..." You were around the corner, with your fist pressed against the wall, clenched tight. "We've already failed once. Those two will be on their guard..."
Gilbert's poisoning.
"That was all your fault! I thought a fast-acting poison would give us enough time to behead him once he died!" You couldn't believe it. Your own brothers--! "Please, Claude... We've already come this far."
"Alright, alright..."
"Come on, let's go. It would be a real shame to die in a fire we started ourselves."
Risking everyone's life like that! 'I can't believe it! I can't believe it! What the hell are they planning to do?!' You had to do something. "I'll teach them a lesson."
"Yes, alright. And once we've gotten rid of those two... we'll dispose of that Leo as well." You remember the pain in your chest now. That was where it... snapped, huh? "I don't know how Elly can keep him around. We'll find him a proper servant ourselves." And then Ernest started chuckling, the bastard-- "You know... To be killed by the Headhunter is to be acknowledged as a member of the Nightray family. Could we offer a higher honour to the three of them?"
And then laughing, and it did indeed snap. You wanted to kill them, even grabbed your sword, but then abruptly dropped it despite being urged on. "I can't... I can't... I can't... I can't, I can't!"
"Of course you can. We must kill... both of them! Don't worry..." You clutch your arm, and slide down the wall while the pain keeps throbbing, and stares with wide eyes at the opposite wall. "You're not going to kill them yourself. As they said... the Headhunter will do the killing!"
Then you got your sword, pushed yourself up, and cut your own brothers down.
'How could I fail to see... that it was me?' And Vanessa... Vanessa, Vanessa... You remember hearing her voice after you fell, now, calling your name. 'Why didn't I realise it? The one who was acting weird wasn't Leo... It was me.'
And you remember hearing Leo's voice, calling out for Vanessa, and you, and then them talking. Something about Hans getting his head cut off too, and Vanessa blaming Leo... While you pushed yourself up, you saw Leo reaching for Vanessa, only to be shoved down the stairs by her.
"DON'T TOUCH ME, MURDERER!"
The sounds of Leo tumbling down the stairs was so loud in your ears. Leo...
"Ever since you appeared, everything has fallen apart. Our brothers died... Our mother lost her mind.. Everything! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! Stay away from Elliot! If something happens to him, I'll kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!" Vanessa's attention was briefly directed at something else as there was a sudden scream, and a thud. "What's going on?! Those red-hooded intruders... are they coming this way?!"
"Lady Vanessa," Leo spoke. "I'll head downstairs and distract them. In the meantime, you should escape with Elliot." A pause as Vanessa looked down at him, seemed surprised. "Lady Vanessa. Please... take care of Elliot!"
And then he ran off, judging from the sounds of his footsteps. So that was where... Slowly, you began pushing yourself up, pain throbbing again and...
"Don't..." Vanessa muttered. "Don't... patronise me...!" You walked over to stand behind her, and she turned around. "Elli--"
She probably meant to check on you, but that was the last thing she spoke before Humpty Dumpty appeared and decapitated her.
'How could I... not see it?' Suddenly, there's almost an eery calm as you drop your head back against the wall and look at the ceiling, hand still pressed to your chest. 'Now that I think about it... If you manage to realise it... it means not all is lost. So... if I couldn't realise it... it must mean that...' And then the pain returns and you clutch your coat. 'The same pain as before...?' You slide a little to the side and as you pull your hand away, you see... blood. And you can only manage a weak smile. 'Everything is stained red... It's too, too late...'
You crawl away from the wall, somewhere along the line, while you press your hand to your chest and struggle for proper breath and trying to be able to tell something through the pain. It gets worse and worse, and fast, and soon you can't move anymore, just hunch over and clutch your arms to your chest as if that's going to make it get away. You wish, you really do, and you can barely even realise that suddenly you're screaming.
It hurts, it hurts, make it go away, what should he do, what--
"Elliot!"
No-- You snap your head up, to give Leo a look. Don't, don't, don't-- "STAY BACK, LEO!"
You don't intend to, but you force him back (and knock him out in the process), suppose it's Humpty Dumpty. And a moment later the Chain appears above you again, shoots its tongue over your head and looms closer. "The wish... of the Will... of the Abyss... Eat... the Black Rabbit."
And it swallows you, pulls you into darkness. It's almost... a relief, a bit like a cool, calm blanket like the ones you would cover yourself up with at night when you were smaller, maybe together with your siblings while some storm rages outside the windows. It soothes the turmoil some, and the pain, and the chaos in your head, suddenly... clears it.
Calm...
'It's dark.'
"It is... Close your eyes and sleep..."
'S-sleep?'
"I will make you forget... Once again. All the pain and sadness..."
'Close... my eyes...' But you get distracted by a sudden light, and you end up not. 'That is...'
You see Gilbert, somehow, and Alice and Oz huddled on the floor behind his arm. "Stupid rabbit! You and Oz step back!" Humpty Dumpty is advancing on them. Eat... the Black Rabbit, huh?
"Hey, Oz! Wake up!" Alice cries. The idiot is unconscious...? And Gilbert thinks a gun will really work?
But then something slashes off one of the Humpty Dumpty's tongue. "I'll cover you," announces Echo as she lands nearby him.
"Echo!" A pause. "If this keeps up we'll be forced to kill the contractors."
"I agree," she says, with the same blank tone she always uses. "However... They seem to have realised this as well."
You can see it all... You really are... the core contractor, huh?
'Gil...bert... Echo...'
"O--"
But then they disappear and there is once again only soothing darkness, like a glove covering your eyes. "Don't watch... Don't think... Don't remember. How did it feel... when you realised you were responsible for the death of your brothers, your sister, your mother? It hurt, didn't it? Even if you remember what happened, there's nothing you can do to change it."
'Is this... Humpty Dumpty's voice? Or is it... mine? That's right... There's nothing... I can do about it. Remembering... won't bring my family back. My sin will not disappear. Nothing would change. It's far... too late.'
"Are you stupid or what?!"
--that, though, is definitely your voice. You remember that clearly; Oz being curled up against a wall, and you yelling at him, back in Latowidge. Your first meeting...
"You realised it, didn't you?! Then... you are already..."
'That's right... That's right... Isn't that...' You remember pulling Oz up yourself. 'What I... told that brat myself!'
As if you're going to lose this, go down like this... A yell tears from your throat as you grab your sword and bring it down, stab it through your hand. You're not going to get lost in darkness, or calm, or anything--! You were never one to run away, so why would you now?! Turn away from reality...
You just don't do that!
"Forget... what I did?" you ask, your voice and body and whole being trembling. "Turn my eyes away!? My memories, my mistakes, all of my suffering, the past, the future... I have no intention of giving any of them up to you!" Never, never, never... "I AM ELLIOT NIGHTRAY, AND I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!"
...that blood wasn't there before. It's dripping, fresh, and there's something hot on your temple-- What...?
"Don't, Elliot... Contractors shouldn't reject their own Chain."
"Vin...cent." Where the hell did he come from all of a sudden?
"...who would have thought... That you, of all people, were the core of Humpty Dumpty? Your Chain went out of control, didn't it? It was the same with mine. It kept repeating 'the Will of the Abyss, the Will of the Abyss'."
"That... thing..." You try moving, at least a little.
"I said don't, Elliot. Without its contractor, a Chain is unable to remain in our world. For a Chain, rejection by its contractor means death. Of course, such a drastic measure... results in the death of both Chain and contractor. If that's the case... Well... here and now, I can..."
Another stab of sharp pain to your chest and you're forced to hunch back over as you let out a loud, pained sound, and your breath is briefly pulled from you again. Ow, ow, ow... Where the hell--
"Too bad... Looks like Oz has finally come to." There wasn't this much blood before... "That wound... If a wound inflicted on the Chain is affecting the contractor... it means that the hand on the seal has almost completed its revulotion. At this point, even if you would manage to defeat your Chain... there would be no way to save you."
You're not sure what you should make of Vincent's smile.
...no way to save you, huh? So... they're fighting Humpty Dumpty out there, and your seal... it was definitely almost complete. So... is it lost, then? Everything? That... would be it, huh? So suddenly...
"So, Elliot... Would you rather... be killed by me, or Oz?"
Stupid shorty. Stupid, stupid shorty. And, honestly, what kind of thing is that to ask?! It's the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard. So... you can really only laugh, briefly, weakly, and smile in the same manner; weakly.
"Neither. Ugh--!" The same wounds... it sucks, and hurts, but, ah... whatever. Breathe. "Killed... by the likes of you...? Don't make me laugh... This is something... I have to take care of myself. I won't... allow this."
You won't. Humpty Dumpty will no control you, if you have a say in it (and you do). Never. And... 'I won't burden him--'
"A Chain like you! How could I..."
'How could I... burden that brat with the weight of my life?'
"That self-sacrifical nonsense," as you told him.
You try pushing yourself up, at least a little, bracing your hands against the floor as blood drips down, more and more. It hurts... But you will not stop smiling. No matter how difficult it is, no matter how it breaks--
'Really... Why did it have to end up like this?' It sucks. It really does. Ah well... Nothing you can do about it, right? '...by the way.'
So then... you will put an end to it as you wish, yourself. And so the wry, broken smile is directed all at the stupid Chain.
"I..." And you raise your head, to really show it, straightening up a little. If anything, you'll go out with your back straight, damn it. "Humpty Dumpty. I reject you."
"If that's true, let's work together..." Oz said, with this big, stupid smile on his face, and you could only stare at him as if he was mad. "To change the relationship between the Vessalius and Nightray houses!"
A part of you were hoping it would be over quick, as soon as the Chain went. But, no, after you collapse to the floor, you're still alive. Somehow. Barely. But at least it's gone so far that the pain is barely anything more but a dull throbbing, even if a very... great dull throbbing that is probably worst than the piercing pain.
Yeah, probably.
"I really... liked you..." You're surprised you can still hear, as Vincent speaks. "You were nothing like your brothers... You were the only one... It was only thanks to you that... Gil managed to live in that house without forgetting how to smile." He pauses, for a moment. "Thank you."
...and then, there is one more thing you need to say (you never did manage to, before, after all), so you open your mouth to try to get something out. It's... very difficult, though, which you suppose isn't a surprise. But apparently Vincent sees, and so he crouches down.
"Tell..." you mutter, swallow heavily and take a deep breath (as deep as you can anyway, which isn't much, you discover). Come on... "I'm sorry, Leo."
You would respond to Vincent too, perhaps, if that didn't take all of your energy already.
"...I understand... I will... tell him..."
[When he opens his eyes, when he rolls away to sit up, it all flashes through his mind once again in quick images, and there is that pain again. The Hitomi shows his eyes widening, his lips parting, and his back hunching over while he presses his palm to his chest.
Then there's a pained, quiet sound, as he swipes an arm out and squeezes his eyes shut, knocking the Hitomi to the floor and turning it off.]