Gilbert's twitched in shock, unable to immediately process Lottie's words. He knew the time would come someday, with the way Oz was talking and acting, but not so soon!

"Where is he?" Gilbert demanded, forcing the fear out of his voice. He couldn't let that show.

"Oz is in the lawn! Go quickly!" Lottie snapped. "We don't have a lot of time!"

Gilbert was running before Lottie even finished. He swung open the front door, not bothering to close it behind him, and saw Oz. His back was facing him, and he was on his knees, not moving.

Gilbert walked slowly and cautiously towards his Chain. He didn't know what to expect. Oz didn't look dangerous right now, but…

"Oz…?" Gilbert murmured, standing over Oz.

Oz snapped around instantly upon hearing Gilbert's voice. He grinned, but it wasn't the playful, childish grin Gilbert had grown used to. It was…stranger. It was too wide, and along with the manic expression in Oz's eyes, it made Oz look unbelievably frightening.

"There you are," Oz purred in a menacingly soft voice that he normally would never use. "You're just the one I've been looking for."

"Might I ask why?" Gilbert said shakily. He could tell that this was Oz's Chain side. This wasn't the Oz he knew. That grin, that voice, those eyes…Gilbert wasn't familiar with any of them.

"I'm surprised you don't know." Oz laughed shrilly; it was a horrible noise. "You're my Contractor. Naturally I'd be looking for you. You know what I did to all my previous Contractors, don't you?"

"Yeah," Gilbert replied, because it was the only thing he could manage to say without betraying a sense of fear.

"Gil!" Vincent's voice sounded from behind the two, and soon Gilbert felt Vincent's hand on his shoulder. Vincent was standing next to him.

"Leave, Vince. This isn't your problem." Gilbert's voice was dark and urgent. "I don't want you to get caught up in this."

"How should I kill you?" Oz interrupted, giving Gilbert a sickly sweet look. "You get tired of this after a while, you know. Killing all your Contractors, the exact same way…let's spice things up."

"I'm not leaving," Vincent said firmly, ignoring Oz. "All of your problems are my problems, and I will not stand here, doing nothing, as my big brother gets attacked!"

"Ah, Vincent, it's you," Oz turned to Vincent, as if noticing him for the first time. "I expected you to show up here. The way you're overprotective of Gilbert is adorable, I must say…and just a bit repulsive." He smirked.

"There's nothing repulsive about caring for your family." Vincent growled. He turned to Gilbert, worry lighting in his eyes. "See? What did I tell you? I knew he couldn't be trusted. I knew Oz would turn on you."

Gilbert didn't bother responding as he stared at Oz with a glazed, pained expression. It was then that he noticed the blood on his clothes, and he felt rage rip through him abruptly as the truth hit him.

"That's not yours, is it?" It came out of Gilbert in a roar. "That blood isn't yours!"

Oz laughed; all of the sanity that was supposed to have been in that laugh was dead and gone. "What do you think?"

"Tell me whose it is!" Gilbert demanded, extremely forceful. He found himself realizing this really wasn't Oz. He hated whatever this was. He hated it. And it occurred to him that Lottie had probably seen Oz hurt the person, and that's how she'd known he was going berserk.

"This blood belongs to Oswald." Oz looked down at the blood on his clothes. "He tried to protect you. He knew I was going after you. Stupid decision…"

Gilbert felt his heart beat insanely fast, fury coursing through him with every beat. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe Oz—no, whatever this was—attacked Oswald. This whole situation was crazy, and Gilbert himself could barely understand what was going on.

"Where is he?" Gilbert snarled, swinging around to Vincent. Vincent flinched.

"Don't worry about Oswald. He's fine; Lottie and the rest of them are taking care of him. But…this needs to be taken care of." Vincent said, flourishing his hand in Oz's direction. "Did you seriously not expect this, Gil? After all the warnings I gave you."

"No, I expected it, it's just…" Gilbert exhaled slowly. Oz had stopped talking and was watching the two intently. Gilbert knew he had to explain everything to his brother—everything. Otherwise, he just wouldn't understand.

Gilbert explained about Oz's Chain side, about the discussion they'd had, about how Oz had foretold all of this but Gilbert hadn't anticipated it happening so soon. Vincent didn't say a word through any of it; he was a rather good listener when he had to be. He almost had no reactions, although at certain points of Gilbert's explanation, his eyes widened slightly.

"So, let me get this straight. Oz is now your Chain boyfriend, but he warned you that he was going to kill you, and you stayed with him anyway." Vincent looked massively disturbed. "Despite all of his warnings, you still stayed with him. And you started making a plan to neutralize his evil Chain side, but then this happened too soon for you to take action."

Oz narrowed his eyes and growled, "Did you really think you could neutralize me? I'm part of Oz. I am Oz. He can't get rid of himself!" He shot Gilbert a nasty look. "Perhaps suicide really was the best option, as he had thought."

"Suicide is never the best option," Gilbert answered, shaking his head. He wasn't sure if he believed himself entirely, but he believed himself in regards to Oz. "And you aren't Oz!"

"Say what you like, but the truth is unavoidable. I'm Oz. I was always Oz. He lied to you, Gilbert." Oz said bitterly, sounding as if he was enjoying every second of this.

But Gilbert wasn't convinced. "You're not Oz. If you were Oz, you would have called Oz I, not he. You just said he lied to me."

Oz hissed, obviously having no good retort. He looked incredibly angry and annoyed, wondering why Gilbert wasn't backing down.

"You look pissed off." Vincent observed. "Why don't you go cool down, and then leave for good? I told you already—wait, no, I told Oz—that he wouldn't like what happened if he did something he wasn't supposed to. I believe trying to murder Gil counts."

"Do you really think you can do anything to stop me? I am Oz and Oz is me. You can't change that! Even if we're completely different, we're different sides of the same person. Have you ever thought of it that way?" Oz's eyes glinted madly. "Vincent. Gilbert would never forgive you if you hurt his precious Oz. The only way to end this is to kill me, and by killing me, you're also killing Oz!"

"There must be a way," Gilbert grumbled.

"I'm not sure." Sadness and pity reflected in Vincent's eyes as he turned to his elder brother. "Gil, he might be right. Killing him means killing Oz. If things come to it…that might be what we have to do."

Gilbert had already been on the breaking point, and now he felt as though he was exploding, spouting flames. "Vince, leave. Leave now. This is my fight, and plus, I'm not going to deal with your endless babble about how I might have to kill Oz. I'm not killing Oz, no matter what you say! I promised Oz I'd fight back if it ever came to this, but I never told him I'd kill him. And your words aren't changing anything! I can't lose my little brother this way. Leave, Vincent!"

"Gil, I can't leave you! I can't leave you in such a dangerous situation. I can't." Vincent was shaking his head violently.

"I don't care what you think you can and can't do. I know you can leave me here, Vince. Go inside!" Gilbert shouted, completely ignoring Oz's crazed giggles that had begun to sound in the background.

Vincent spun around furiously to Oz, screaming, "To hell with you!" before stomping back into the house of the Baskervilles. No doubt he'd go on a rage the moment the door closed behind him.

"It's just me and you now, hmm? This is going to be fun."

Gilbert turned back to Oz, who was sneering. "You've done this a thousand times over, haven't you? I don't see how this could still be fun to you."

"It's the one thing that never gets boring." The fit of giggles Oz had been going through a second ago came back. "Murder—it's forbidden. It's something you can't forgive. It's cruel, it's horrible. It's always amusing."

"Well, it shouldn't be." Gilbert had to force himself not to shudder; the fear made his body literally go cold. "If you think murder is the most fun thing in this world, you're mad."

"I was always mad. You were always too stupid to see it." Oz countered. "And I know exactly what you're going to say." He made his voice shrill and girly, oozing with mockery. "Oh! I'm not stupid! How could I have ever known? I only just met you!" His face twisted into a snarl. "But you'd be wrong—because, as I've said, and as you refuse to believe, I am Oz."

"You're not Oz!"

The rage ripped through Gilbert so hard it felt like he was being torn apart. And he needed to tear something apart himself. He needed to destroy this horrible creature that definitely wasn't Oz, this creature that definitely was something he had never met before and would liked to never have met.

He charged towards Oz, his face a mask of incomprehensible anger, his eyes fixing on his target. Oz stood up but didn't move; still, his eyes turned red and the B-Rabbit scythe appeared in his hand.

Gilbert knew this was an ill-advised battle. It wasn't even a battle, really. Oz would skewer him so fast it would be considered the most shameful "battle" in Baskerville history. Oz was the most powerful Chain to ever come out of the Abyss; there was no way he could win this.

And Gilbert wasn't even thinking about mercy for this creature now. He just wanted to get rid of Oz's Chain side, get back the Oz he loved, and go to sleep.

Yes, Oz, I will fight back. I won't break our promise. But I'll get rid of your Chain side without getting rid of you.

A punch flew at Oz, but Oz dodged easily and swung his scythe down at Gilbert, the first devastating blow being dealt. Despite the blood he could feel welling at the slash in his arm, Gilbert barely felt it. He recovered quickly and succeeded in kicking Oz's side.

Oz skidded backwards, somehow managing to keep his balance. He snarled at Gilbert, looking completely infuriated, and summoned three huge, spear-tipped chains.

A Chain using chains…how fitting. Gilbert narrowed his eyes in focus, making sure he could tell where the chains were going to go. Oz always twitched the chain a little bit before actually moving it, Gilbert noticed. As Oz swung the chains down at Gilbert mercilessly, Gilbert made sure to swiftly dodge every one.

But Gilbert tripped over a chain, though luckily it wasn't the spear part, and he crashed to the ground, hitting his face. This gave Oz enough time to gash the side of Gilbert's face.

This, Gilbert couldn't ignore. This cut was much deeper than the one on his arm, not to mention it was on his face, which always made things worse. His head was already throbbing from hitting the ground, but now excruciating pain shot through him. He put his hand up to the wound, feeling the wetness of the blood against his hand. The blood was dripping out and far too fast—if this went on, Gilbert might black out from too much blood loss. He couldn't afford that. Oz's Chain side would kill him for sure.

But then Gilbert noticed Oz wasn't facing him.

"Oz…? How did you…? You've never been able to talk to me while I killed our previous Contractors…"

Gilbert blinked in confusion. Was Oz talking to himself?

Wait.

Gilbert smiled weakly to himself, realizing what this meant. This meant that Oz was speaking to his Chain side—the real Oz. And that proved Oz's Chain side wasn't entirely Oz.

"Shut up, Oz! You know this is the best way. You know you enjoy this." Pause. "What? No, it's not just me. You like this too!" Pause. "Oz, you're in my way! Get out of my way!" Pause. "No, no, no! No, I won't back down. I don't care what you say." He turned to Gilbert, a look of pain and straining on his face. He glowered at him. "I'm blocking out that moron's voice right now. It seems he's taken a real shine to you. He's only ever been able to talk to me outside of situations like this."

"So you aren't him!" Unexpected glee filled Gilbert's voice, despite the pain he was in. He was holding his hand to the side of his face where the gash was. He wasn't sure whether that made it feel better, but he wasn't about to take his hand away now.

"No, you've got it all wrong, Gilbert. I am him. I said before that I'm a part of him—that other Oz still exists. He's still in there. I just…I don't understand…" Oz shook his head, as if ridding himself of a pesky thought. "Never mind…"

Gilbert's eyes widened in terror as Oz coiled a couple (regular, not spear-tipped) chains around him. The chains went over to the tree next to Gilbert and chained him to it.

"You're not going anywhere." Oz was scowling, but there was something definitely off with him. He turned away. "Tell me!"

Gilbert flinched in his chains; Oz's voice had come out as a tight roar, sounding exceptionally frustrated.

"Tell me how you're doing this!" Pause. "You just are? What kind of stupid answer is that? Go to hell, Oz!" Pause. "Yes, I damn well know that I can't get rid of you. But you can't get rid of me, either!' Pause. "You thought that plan would actually work? I see Gilbert wasn't the only dumb one here, thinking the plan to neutralize me would work." Pause. "Do you think I care about your love for him? Do you think I care about his love for you?"

Gilbert was beginning to wish he could hear what Oz was saying…although, from what Oz's Chain side was saying, it was pretty easy to guess.

"You're in my way! You're always in my way!" Oz was screaming now, and it was so odd to watch, because it looked like he was screaming at no one. "What's wrong with you? Don't you get it? You can never win! No matter how much you fight. No matter how much you resist. I will always take over!" Pause. "I hate you! I hate you! Why don't you get it?! There's no hope for you!"

Suddenly, Oz turned around to Gilbert with an absolutely deadly look on his face. Gilbert felt his heart freeze over with fear. What's he going to do to me?

"Why?" Oz growled, his eyes giving away his obvious rage. He was gripping his scythe so hard his knuckles were practically white. His voice rose. "Why did you convince him there was hope?!"

Gilbert refused to answer. He wasn't going to give anything to this repulsive creature—not anymore. He would stay silent; it didn't matter how much he was yelled at. As Oz's face grew increasingly angrier, Gilbert felt as though he'd already won.

"Answer me!" Oz screamed. "Answer me now, you goddamn fool! Do you know what I can do to you?"

And to this Gilbert did answer. But he retained his calm attitude, making sure he sounded relaxed as hell. "Yes, I know what you can do to me—absolutely nothing. I know Oz is fighting. I know he's trying to get out. And I can tell he's winning, from the look on your face and from hearing your side of the argument. It'd probably be a good idea to give up now."

"Stop it! Why do you sound so damn relaxed? Go to hell! Go to hell, both of you!" Oz's voice was insanely loud and shrill, and it was hurting Gilbert's ears, but he didn't show it. Gilbert guessed that the other person Oz's Chain side was referring to was the actual Oz. "Neither of you will win. I won't let you! I've never lost before!"

"It's always a good time for new experiences," Gilbert said sarcastically, allowing himself a small smirk.

"Damn you! Be quiet, Gilbert. I hate you. I hate you and hate him. You're both fools—arrogant fools!" Oz hollered. The sanity had already disappeared from in the first place, but somehow it looked like it was depleting even more now. "You both think you'll get through this. You both think everything will end up happy. But in real life, you don't always get a happy ending! You have to know when there's a fight you can't win!"

"If you believe you can't win, then you won't." Gilbert retorted stubbornly.

"I'm sick of your optimism! Optimism is worthless. Optimism stupidity disguised—and yet, people still insist it brings hope. Humans are fools." Oz said tartly. "You're going to die!"
"If you're really going to kill me, then why are you talking? Come on. Finish the job." Gilbert smiled mockingly.

But, as he expected, Oz didn't move. He gave him a look that would render him dead if looks could kill, but nothing more than that. Gilbert's smile turned from mocking to triumphant.

"He's still fighting, isn't he? And he's still winning." Gilbert said, his voice holding victory within.

Oz froze for a moment, as if mulling over Gilbert's words. Then, snarling with eyes narrowed, he lunged at him and slashed him down the chest with his scythe.

…

Gilbert felt bad when he woke up.

He remembered when he'd first made a Contract with Oz. It had been sort of like this. He'd passed out, and then he'd woken up, feeling sore as hell.

But this situation was still different. It was Oz—or Oz's Chain side, rather—who'd done this. It all came flooding back to Gilbert in an instant. He remembered how he was sure he'd secured victory for himself. He remembered how Oz had paused, and he became even surer. He remembered how Oz slashed him across the chest with his B-Rabbit scythe. He was quite certain that as that happened, he had a look of horror on his face, although it was impossible to discern by his lonesome.

Oswald, Lottie, and Vincent were standing by his side. Lottie and Oswald had the same expression of concern on their faces, but Vincent, in turn, looked furious.

"What were you thinking, Gil?" Vincent shouted. "You should have let me stay out there! It was stupid of you to think you could handle him on your own!" His voice broke, and he shuddered. "Gil, when Oz dealt that last hit out there, I thought…I thought you were going to die. Thank God we're Baskervilles here."

"Vince, I'm so sorry." Gilbert managed to choke out. He realized that, although he felt achy, his wounds had healed for the most part by now. Being a Baskerville was definitely an upside to all this. He had a long scar on his chest, though. But that hardly mattered.

Vincent exhaled deeply. "It's okay. Everything is fine, Gil. Just…about Oz…"

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Gilbert demanded harshly, shocked at how vicious he sounded all of a sudden.

"No, we didn't kill him! Good God!" Lottie answered for Vincent, ignoring the glare she was given. She sounded ticked off. "Oz is back to his normal self. He's…not looking too great, though."

"Where is he?" Gilbert asked immediately.

"Gil, we don't know if he's pretending so he can lure you to him again. He's in the dining room." Vincent said softly. "You shouldn't go. You should stay here until we determine whether Oz is trying to deceive you or not."

"I believe I can determine that by myself, thank you very much," Gilbert shot back icily.

"Vincent. Give us all a break and let him go see his boyfriend, will you?" Lottie said bitterly. "From what I can tell, this is the Oz we knew before. Let him go."

Gilbert nodded appreciatively at Lottie, but Vincent began shouting, "You don't know what you're saying! What if Oz kills him? What if we lose a Baskerville? What if we lose my brother?"

"He'll be fine! We're not going to lose anyone! Stop worrying and being over the top and just let Gilbert go, you creepy brat!" Lottie yelled back. Vincent fell silent; he wasn't used to people yelling at him, especially not people who weren't Gilbert.

Gilbert's hand clasped around his brother's wrist as he said, "Vince, I promise you that I'll be fine. Just…please. I have to see Oz. It's not even a choice in my mind. I have to."

Vincent sighed, the irritation definitely evident. "You know what? Fine, Gil. But just know that if you die, it'll forever be on my conscience." It was a mix of coldness and concern.

"You won't even have to think about that." Gilbert slipped away in less than a second, and he went to the dining room. He needed to see Oz.

In truth, Gilbert was nervous. What if Vincent was right? What if this was Oz's Chain side, trying to lure him there? What if he'd fallen for a horrible trick, and something happened to him? It was likely.

But Gilbert knew from the moment he saw Oz crying that this wasn't a trick. There was a sort of vulnerability that only Oz could conjure up. This vulnerability wasn't something his Chain side could use to trick people; his Chain side couldn't conjure it up at all. The moment Oz's Chain side tried to act vulnerable Gilbert would be able to tell it was fake.

"Oz…!" Gilbert gasped, running over to him.

Oz thrust a hand out. He spoke, his voice choked with tears. "No. Get away from me, Gil. You've seen what I am. You should leave. Or, better—you should kill me. It's the only way. I was able to resist my Chain side for the first time ever, but too late. My Chain side will try to take me over again soon. You have to kill me. Kill me or leave."

"Oh, now we're back to this?" Gilbert said, annoyed. He crossed his arms. He knew he shouldn't be annoyed with Oz—in fact, he probably had a point. But as he had several times before, he refused to give in. "You can't just do this every time something goes wrong, Oz."

"And as usual, you don't get it!" Oz shouted. His voice was still strained and thick with tears, and when he looked up at Gilbert, his furious expression was dampened by the tears running down his face. "I love you, Gil. I really do. But you don't understand. Actually, you refuse to. And that's going to get you killed someday, you know? That stubbornness is going to get you killed. I don't care how much you love me or how much you believe in me. I don't believe in me. You have to run, Gil. And if you don't want to run, then kill me."

"Oz…" Gilbert's expression softened. Maybe this time, he wouldn't just deny everything. "Oz. Maybe you're right. Maybe I should run away from you, or kill you." He saw the relief wash across Oz's tear-stained face, which soon vanished with Gilbert's next words. Gilbert smiled sadly. "But…Oz. You know I could never do either of those things, even if I tried. I couldn't run from you. And I certainly couldn't kill you. Even if I wanted to, even if I tried to, I couldn't do it."

"Think about it this way. Killing me or running away would make me happy, too." Oz said urgently, trying desperately to get Gilbert to agree. "If you left or killed me, this whole thing would finally be over. I'd be happy, Gil. Don't you want me to be happy?"

Gilbert's expression softened even further. "Yes. Oz, I love you. I love to see you happy. Your happiness is mine. And I might do those things if they made you happy, but I don't believe for a second that they would."

And a look of utter fear crossed Oz's face now, because Gilbert had seen right through him. He was trying to keep Gilbert safe, but if Gilbert ran or killed him, he could never be with him again. It might keep Gilbert safe, but it would never make Oz happy. He was hoping Gilbert wouldn't be able to see that. But he could.

"Gil…maybe it wouldn't make me happy. But you have to stop thinking about me. Do you…do you not care about your own life?" Oz's voice had weakened to a dull whisper. "You shouldn't care about making me unhappy if your life is on the line. I…I really don't want to hurt you again."

"I understand. But you also have to understand that I don't know what I'd do without you. Even though it hasn't been very long, life without you just seems…unimaginable. I can't imagine living every day without you." Gilbert replied earnestly. These words were true to his heart; he really couldn't picture himself living out a life without Oz. And he murmured, perhaps even half to himself, "This is what happens when you fall in love."

Oz was silent for a moment. Then he agreed, "It is." His voice broke, but just a little. "I know how hard it is. I don't want you to go. That's the truth, Gil. Maybe you can't kill me, but I know you could run if you tried. I don't want you to leave. I want to be with you forever. But I don't want you to die. Whether it costs me my own happiness or not…is my concern."

Gilbert gazed hard at Oz for a moment, and he could tell it was paining Oz to say all these things. He hated to see Oz is pain. He hated to hear Oz say these things. He hated that they had to go through this again.

"But, Oz. What if it costs my happiness?" Gilbert looked down at Oz with agonized golden eyes.

Oz looked back up at him with those beautiful green eyes, those green eyes that were Oz's and Oz's alone. "It shouldn't. You'll still be alive, at least."

"I'll be alive either way. We'll find a way to neutralize your Chain side. And if I run, I won't be happy. I could never be happy without you." Part of Gilbert wondered how Oz hadn't predicted this response. He met Oz's eyes. "I am in love with you, Oz."

Oz sighed, a look of surrender crossing his face, but it wasn't bad. "I'm in love with you, too, Gilbert. And that's exactly why I'm trying to protect you."

"The only thing that could ever hurt me is being separated from you. Don't you understand? You couldn't hurt me. You stopped yourself once; you can do it again. And not only that, but I'll help you, because I could never hurt you, either. I love you. We can't hurt each other." Gilbert saw Oz biting his lip hard. Oz's eyes were watering. Was he going to cry? "I can't hurt you; you can't hurt me. Please, Oz. I just want to be with you. I just want to be happy with you. And I know you want the same thing."

Oz believed Gilbert, but he was still nervous. What if he couldn't stand up to his Chain side the next time?

"I know what we can call my Chain side," Gilbert said, abrupt and awkward.

Oz blinked, stunned by the random change of subject. "What?"

"We can call it the B-Rabbit." Gilbert replied, acting like he had just aided a revolution.

Oz frowned. "Gil, if you hadn't noticed, I am the B-Rabbit."

"No, you're not the B-Rabbit. You're Oz. This kind of thinking will help you. Don't think of yourself as the B-Rabbit." Gilbert smiled gently. "This way, we can separate your Chain side with a different name."

And Oz, who barely understood what was happening, smiled back—because Gilbert had just convinced him that he wasn't the monster inside of him.

…

Vincent's eyes were pinned on Oz as Oz and Gilbert walked out of the dining room together. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"So?" Vincent looked at Gilbert now.

"I'm alive. You can see that." Gilbert said, a bit sourly. "I'm fine, Vince; Oz is back to his normal self. And I think you need to stop being so overprotective."

Vincent gave Gilbert a look that paralyzed him. "You obviously don't get it. I've told you a million times, my life is protecting you. Not to mention I still don't trust this brat."

Without warning, Vincent lunged forward and wrapped his hands around Oz's throat. Oz coughed.

"Vince!" Gilbert shouted, feeling fury and agitation course through him. Couldn't his younger brother listen to him one time?

Vincent gave Gilbert a cold expression. "Don't worry. Oz won't choke…he won't choke yet, anyway…" He gave off an air of dangerous mysteriousness. He turned his attention back to Oz. He snarled, some of his spit flying into Oz's face. "Listen, Oz the B-Rabbit. I've never seen a Chain behave like you before, and I don't trust you, especially not with my precious big brother."

Gilbert had to struggle not to roll his eyes at that part.

"What is it you're trying to do to me?" Oz's voice was strained because of the pressure Vincent was putting on his throat. "I haven't done anything to Gil, have I?"

"Are you kidding? You attacked him—could have killed him!" Vincent yelled. "How is that not doing anything to him?"

"That wasn't me," Oz insisted. He let out another cough.

"Then who was it? Because whoever tried to murder Gil looked an awful lot like you," Vincent growled.

"That was the B-Rabbit. Not me." The expression in Oz's eyes darkened.

Vincent glanced over at Gilbert with confusion and annoyance, to which Gilbert responded with, "Oz is Oz—that's the real him. His Chain side, we call the B-Rabbit."

"Whatever. Stop taking his side! And if you can't, then shut your mouth, Gil." Vincent said viciously. His eyes locked on Oz with a look as if he was about to tear apart his prey. "What do you view my brother as? Do you see him as your victim? Because if you do, I can guarantee you'll be the victim in no time."

"Gil isn't my victim! Let go of me, Vincent!" Oz gripped Vincent's hands with his own and tried to push them off his throat. He succeeded only for a second.

"Why don't you use your Chain powers? You'll be strong enough to get me off of you, and then Gil can get the treat of seeing the monster you are again." Vincent hissed through clenched teeth.

Gilbert blinked nervously. He didn't like the way this was going, and it was unusual for Vincent to be this outright and ferocious. Vincent usually liked to intimidate and scare people by being too quiet or calm for the situation. This was different—Vincent was losing his temper. Gilbert allowed himself to be impressed for a moment that Oz could manage to irritate Vincent this much, but then he remembered what was happening.

"I am not a monster!" Oz was trying to shout, but it was extremely difficult when Vincent was partially choking him.

"Vince, let go of him for a second!" Gilbert demanded. He mustered his strength and made sure he didn't sound scared.

And Vincent did, reluctantly, turning to Gilbert after growling at Oz.

"Don't. Move," Vincent had said to Oz. Gilbert sighed.

"What happened to 'I'm okay with whatever you're okay with, Gilbert'? Are you really so disillusioned by this that you're just casting my opinions aside?" Gilbert said sharply.

Vincent turned a cruel smile on him. "I thought that was what you wanted, Gil. I thought you wanted to move on—to stop hovering over you." His voice was sickeningly mocking.

Gilbert groaned. "You know this isn't what I meant, Vince. Plus, you haven't stopped at all. This whole situation is because you think Oz is a danger to me, when really he's not. If you were really moving on, you'd take my word."

"Or maybe I'm just a good brother!" Vincent said icily. "You know, some people don't get this. Some people's brothers don't give a crap what happens to them. I love you, Gil. You're lucky. Appreciate it."

Gilbert knew the truth of his brother's words. He was lucky to have such a caring, concerned brother. But Vincent always went overboard, and Vincent was dangerous and unpredictable and, to Gilbert's dismay, damn near unstoppable. What Gilbert was really lucky about was that Vincent hadn't managed to do anything really horrible.

Wait, had he?

Gilbert had no idea. And Vincent would manage to do something horrible if he managed killing Oz.

"I do appreciate it. I…I love you too, Vince. You're my little brother. You're my only little brother. But sometimes you do things that aren't okay when you're trying to protect me. You go overboard, Vince. You do more than you have to." Gilbert said, calming his nerves. He knew that if he freaked out, Vincent would never take him seriously. "If you actually thought about what you did before you did it…" He trailed off.

Vincent's expression softened the tiniest bit, his eyes widening slightly. Gilbert knew Vincent had a weak spot for him and felt sort of bad for exploiting it so often. Then again, Vincent practically forced him to.

Suddenly, Vincent tackled him in a hug.

Gilbert had always felt awkward when Vincent approached him this way, and this time was no exception. Vincent just didn't seem like the kind of person to be affectionate. And Gilbert knew that Vincent enjoyed his restless reactions. Gilbert tensed, unsure of what to do.

Should I hug him back, or…?

Oz stood there, awkwardly watching them.

Gilbert was so flustered that by the time he decided to hug his brother back, Vincent was already releasing him. He was smiling, too.

"Gil. I…I'll believe you. Let's just hope Oz doesn't do anything else, hmm?"

As usual, it was impossible to tell what was behind that angelic smile.

As Vincent walked away, Gilbert muttered, "I really hope he doesn't come back and kill you in your sleep."

Oz let out a carefree, bright laugh. He winked, grinned, and replied, "Ha! He couldn't hurt me if he tried."

…

"Huh?"

Gilbert frowned. He was sitting on his bed, reading a book, while Oz stared out the window. Oz had uttered the aforementioned word, and Gilbert put down his book to look over at him.

"I can't talk to the B-Rabbit," Oz murmured, his voice taking on a strange quality. It was somewhere between relief, confusion, and worry.

"What do you mean?" Gilbert blinked.

"I mean that I can usually communicate with the B-Rabbit. But I just tried, and…he won't talk back. Either that or he's gone. That would make no sense, but I can't even feel his presence." Oz shrugged indifferently, although it was obvious he did care.

"Are you joking?" Gilbert asked this in a hopeful tone. He really hoped Oz wasn't kidding. If he was, he'd kill him for making him so optimistic.

"Nope," Oz laughed. "But if I was, what would you do to me?"

"I'd kill you." Gilbert answered, but he was smiling.

"Right you would." Oz laughed again. Then he looked at Gilbert thoughtfully. "But, seriously. I feel like we already neutralized the B-Rabbit…like somehow he's within me, but he can't influence me anymore."

"Oz…that's…that's great!" It was a sort of strange outburst that started out quiet, and slowly a smile spread over Gilbert's face. Oz smiled back.

"I know!" Oz grinned. "So, now I don't have to try to kill you!"

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that." Gilbert went over to the smaller male and ruffled his hair. "I want to be with you as long as possible, thanks."

...

And that is the end of You Bloody Rabbit! I'm really sorry if you're not satisfied with this ending. As I mentioned, this chapter was especially difficult to write. I also apologize if some of the characters' personalities didn't turn out quite right in parts of the story. Writing as characters you didn't create is hard, as you all probably know. XD I hope you enjoyed this. I thank you all for reading this. This is 72 pages on Microsoft Word...woof!

Again, thanks so much! :3