When the Clock's Hands strike ( Pandora Hearts Fanfiction ) > MAJOR EDIT <

End of the Abyss ( PART 1 )

' They ... went past just now ... Break isn't that stupid to not be able to find me, ' Abyss mumbled as she rubbed her eyes, ridding them of the tears that had been shed. She wasn't going to show any weakness in front of those people whom she didn't even know if she could trust. She never did, wait, no, she didn't have anyone she could actually trust anymore. Stubbornly, Abyss forced her legs to support her weight as she leaned heavily against a tree trunk.

A loud roar and a clang of metal against metal followed as a bright column of bluish-white light bore down from the heavens. A shudder ran through the earth's veins as Abyss was thrown backwards straight into a massiev tree trunk which rained leaves over leaves on her once her back even made contact with the trunk. Great ... now covered in bundles of leaves so heavy it felt like something was squeezing the air out of her.

' Sheesh ... get off ... ! ' Abyss struggled wildly, flailing under the mounds of leaves as her hands made contact with another hand as it pulled her up. Inhaling the suddenly sweet night's air, Abyss lay on the ground, her hands and feet as icy cold as the sudden drop in temperature. Something was wrong, it was obvious, it could be felt to the core. Something big ... massive had happened. 

' Mis- Mistress Abyss ... p-please save M-Master Vincent and Master Gilbert ... ' Echo stuttered nervously as she glanced continously to her left and right, as though some danger might just suddenly leap out from the bushes but why was Echo here asking her to save Vincent and Gilbert ? Especially Vincent that freak and Gilbert ... he had shot her once before so no way was she going to save her to have him shoot her again one day should Leo command him to. 

' Echo ? What happened ...! ' Abyss exclaimed and spun around only to see her back running in the direction that she had been coming from. Was she running away ? Did Vincent ask her to run back to Pandora to get help or something ? He'd most likely be able to since he and Pandora were both on the side of Glen Baskerville, what a jerk but if Vincent and Gilbert were in trouble, Oz and the rest were most likely there too. Sighing, Abyss turned around in the opposite direction in which Echo had been running from and dashed off. 

Stumbling up to her feet, Abyss dashed towards the obvious source of the trouble, it was a power she knew too well. Before Abyss even reached close, she could see translucent black and purple orbs of light, moulded so it looked like ... a chess game, each holding a person, some whom struggled and some who stayed calm with others ... others lay dumped on the side, blood streaming from their bodies, most probably they were dead. 

A chess game. 

They were using ... the chains of the world ... to play a chess game. 

No doubt it was a chess game and those people thrown at the sides were most probably dead already but the game seemed to only have started quite recently so it was possible to find out who was what. Leo and Oz both held the King positions on opposite sides, Vincent and Gilbert were Rooks for Leo side, the Baskervilles were the Pawns for Leo's side and Pandora Officials filled the remaining places except Queen which was surprisingly filled by Echo. Abyss could not help but wonder how fast Echo could actually run. On Oz's side, Break took the Knight and Sharon took the other knight, Alice had the Queen, Liam the Bishop and no one else otherwise. 

Were they trying to play an independent team against Leo who could ' replenish ' his pawns with the never-ending flow of Pandora ? Oz and the others stood no chance against them and although they all had those frowns on their faces which showed they'd stand till the end, everyone except Oz were clearly worn out already. And the chains of the world ... if Abyss concentrated harder, she could just see those faint chains at their limit, wrapping themselves around each chess piece on the set. The chains were straining already, they were barely holding on so why couldn't any of them see it ? This was going to end up like ... another tragedy of Sabrie.