A/N:I got this plunny from a dream I had last night, and it would not let me go. This will be extremely AU, so Jack won't be evil-anything that happens in the manga will probably be different here than how they originally are handled by Jun Mochidzuki. Well, I have nothing more to say than the fact that I do not own Pandora Hearts or its characters.

Chapter One: The search for identity

It was a glorious day in the history of the world; well no more glorious than the rest of the days that passed in the world since it was made. However, there was something very special about today that for the mind of a certain human being made it all the more joyous. For today was an occasion unlike any other.

This human being was a man unlike any other. His name was Jack Vessalius, and he was a rich man, however he did not happen to be one of the kinds who would think themselves better than everyone else simply because they happened to have more money. He wished for a kinder world where everyone could get along and everything would always be all right. Alas, that was merely idealistic thinking, he knew. But still, the human mind loves to dream and linger in fantasies as long as they live.

Jack had long blond hair that he usually kept tied back in a ponytail. It was almost the same color as the sun itself and in fact, Jack's personality was a lot like the sun-he could be sunny and friendly and cast a warm veil of light over everyone he met, and at other times his mood could be cloudy and overcast. His eyes were a warm emerald green much like the gem, and they could sparkle at times and then darken depending on his mood.

At the present time, Jack's thoughts were not on his appearance, however, he had other, more concerning matters to attend to. His son was waiting for him, as today was a very, very special day. It was his son's seventh birthday, and today he had promised to get him something very nice. Now what that something nice ought to be was beyond him. He had already gone through a long, exhausting search today for something good for his son and had failed. However, he had FOUND a few nice young ladies...but maybe that was something that his son wouldn't appreciate until he was older.

Suddenly, he bumped into someone. He immediately got up and said, "I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going-"

"Damned straight you weren't, you stupid idiot-oh, Jack, I'm so sorry! I had no idea it was you!" The evil female voice continued on and on until Jack flinched upon realizing that this female was...someone very dangerous. This woman had pink hair and red eyes that were full of delight right now as she chattered on and on about how nice the weather was, how she had gone shopping for the best dresses, and how cute Jack was. In short, she was a terrifying woman.

"Jack, are you even listening to a thing I'm saying!" The demon incarnate shrieked, before spinning Jack around to face her. He flinched upon realizing that now she looked absolutely delighted upon seeing how startled and utterly terrified he was.

"No...I stopped paying attention once you opened your annoying mouth." He said bluntly, and smirked upon seeing her jaw drop nearly ten feet before she regained control over her mouth.

"J-Jack, how dare you say something like that! Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?" She asked.

"Lottie, it is really none of your concern as to what I am doing. Now please step aside. I have important matters to attend to." Jack said coldly.

She smirked. "Oh, is it all for him? That freak? The little coward you call a son? Is that why you're in such a hurry? Have you ever seen the things the nobles say about him? They whisper every time he comes down the street. Rumor has it that he's not really human at all, but some kind of demon!"

"Don't speak about him in that manner! He is...my son! Oz is not a demon!" Jack yelled before nearly slapping Charlotte in the face. Somehow, he managed to regain control of his senses before he saw that a certain raven-haired man was staring at him with cold eyes as he walked down towards the pinkette.

"Charlotte, are you all right? Did Jack tease you again? You know better than to pick on Jack's son. What did I tell you about your foul mouth?" He said coldly, but somehow there was a gentle undertone to them, almost a fatherly sort of tone. He turned to face Jack with a faint smile present on his lips. "Jack...how is Oz?"

Jack smiled then. "He's waiting for me right now at home. I can't find him anything he could possibly want! Believe me, I've tried!"

Glen, or rather, Oswald, sweatdropped. Was this really what troubled his old friend so much? Children could be such a pain, or else they were something you both strove to protect to the ends of the earth or something you wished to destroy.

"Jack...don't worry about that. The very fact, that you care enough to try to get him something, should be enough for him. Besides, the fact that you are still around to care for him when his mother is long dead...will also be a comfort for him." He whispered softly.

Jack smiled while Charlotte just looked furious.

"Glen-sama, do you mean to say...that you...like that little freak?"

Charlotte did not expect to be struck in the face by none other than...her precious Glen-sama, but it happened.

"Glen-sama..." Charlotte moaned, clutching her cheek.

"Forget that you insulted him, Charlotte. I don't want to talk to you for a while." Glen mumbled. When Charlotte didn't move from her spot, he glared at her. Then, she got the hint and turned away from them and ran.

"Jack, go on home. I'm sure Oz-kun is lonely and wants your attention. "

Oz Vessalius sighed as he sat on his bed, clutching a stuffed rabbit to his sides. He was completely and totally...bored. He had played with both of his friends today, he had read all of the Edgar Knight volumes and had to wait for more to come out, and not only that, his dad wasn't even back with his gift for him yet.

"Honestly, when will he come back, Edgar?" He moaned to the rabbit doll in his arms, which only stared at him with its lifeless, dull eyes. He smiled then, imagining that the thing had actually spoken to him in the nature that most children have: the power to imagine things that happen when they don't actually happen or exist.

"You're right. He will come back soon. Otousan will come back soon: he promised me. At least he isn't mean to me like the rest of the world is. Why do they treat me so badly?" He moaned. His doll didn't reply, of course. Oz fidgeted in his bed, and thought over the idea once or twice of actually going to sleep, but discarded those thoughts. The need to be with his father was the only thing that mattered more than anything in the world. He didn't care about anything else.

The rest of the world, for some reason that he couldn't understand or comprehend, hated him. They called him a demon, an outcast, a horrible thing. A man named Xai had once told Jack that he thought his son was extremely ugly and hideous. That man had been punished, Jack had told him. Jack had slugged him in the face.

He was only an innocent child, for god's sake! So, why, why why did they have to label and judge him? These questions kept on rising to the top of his young and precocious mind no matter how many times he tried to suppress them.

Little did he know that his life would soon be changed forever...