Black Rabbit is the seventy-first chapter of Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts.
This article contains plot and/or ending details for Pandora Hearts.
Read at your own risk.
Synopsis[]
Oz finally comes to the realization that something so tiny and insignificant as Alice's black rabbit doll was his true form. Jack watches as Oz is forced through his memories of 100 years ago.
Alice tells Oz that he is very special to her, her very important friend. Together they make a promise, for that when she's in pain or if someone's hurting her, that Oz would come and save her.
Oz still gathers himself, and thinks of how he is in fact Oz the B-Rabbit, but he then dives into the memories of how it began...
Oz as a pair of rabbit doll.
Oz sees drops of golden light and comes to the realization that what he was seeing was the Abyss before it was ruined by darkness and chaos. Lacie is shown talking with the Abyss' Core. She introduces two twin rabbit dolls and asks if The Core also thought that they were cute. The rabbit was meant for The Core and when it swayed it signified that The Core was in fact playing with it. She explains that one was for her and the other was to be left for The Core so that she wouldn't be lonely after Lacie was gone.
Because Lacie had left the rabbit doll in the Abyss for The Core, it developed a consciousness of its own as all inanimate objects do in the Abyss. Although the doll still lacked self, thoughts and emotions, and so it watched instead. The rabbit was tied to Lacie's rabbit that she left with as well and as such the two rabbit's shared one will between them, allowing the rabbit in the Abyss to view Lacie's world as well as its own.
The rabbit connected that girl (Lacie) with 'that' (The Core), and it wonders how much time had passed since then. Lacie came back once again. She told the rabbit that it would be the last time she'd be able to come and see it, which made The Core waver, as it did, the rabbit felt something tighten in his body. Lacie then asked that if the Core found her child after she disappeared, that it would become friends with them. Lacie left both rabbit dolls in the Abyss and when she left, they were plunged into a deep sleep.
The rabbit could faintly hear crying and see 'that' as if it was smiling and caressing something small, the rabbit thought it was a dream. The rabbit was bitten by a small girl, Alice, who had grabbed one of the rabbit dolls from the Abyss and was excited to see that the rabbit was awake. Levi and Oswald had both been present to watch Alice emerge from the Abyss with her rabbit and Alice told Levi that the rabbit was awake, he was confused by what Alice had said, and made nothing of it. The rabbit observed Alice, noting how small she was, before noticing that in the Abyss there was another girl, like Alice but white. The Intention smiled at her rabbit.
The rabbit first thought it was dreaming again. Levi then greeted the girl as Alice, welcoming her to their world. This surprised as well as confused the rabbit as it had thought she was Lacie. The rabbit figured it out quickly, remarking on the nostalgic feeling Alice gave him.
The rabbit's observations made him realize that Alice was mean, but she was the one he loved to see smile, as it made him feel warm inside of himself. Levi hears Alice call out a name and asks if 'Oz' was her doll's name. Alice confirms this and says that she'd thought of it earlier, and Levi comes to the realization that Oz was named after Oswald. Levi notes that Alice acts like she'd had the doll for a long time, before telling her that the way she'd written the rabbit's name (Os) wasn't right and that if she changed the 's' to a 'z' she'd be writing it correctly.
Alice was ecstatic and told Oz that from that day on his name was Oz. The rabbit was confused at first, but he realizes that she was addressing him and accepts that he was given his own name. This caused Oz's world to shine.
Oz felt as if his 'self' was finally taking form with every time Alice called his name. Oz begins thinking of wanting to learn about and see bigger things and wanting to be with Alice.
Alice told Oz that he looked tasty that day as well, this made Oz notice that the 'White Alice' (The Intention of the Abyss) would sometimes come to play in 'Black Alice's' body, and that they were similar to him, both having two bodies, but the difference was that there was only one of him who dwelt in the two bodies.
The Intention explains to Oz that she wanted to see outside of the Abyss for a while and that because she wasn't able to leave the Abyss, she'd swap souls with Alice for a while. Oz notes that the Abyss had changed, losing the beauty it once had. The Intention wasn't able to smile anymore. Oz didn't want this and called out for her, but Oz hears another voice. Someone had just learned of Alice's name and commented on how cute it sounded.
The Intention was excited to have finally found 'him' (Jack) and so she ran to Oz and told him to take something to 'him'. She explains that from within the darkness, it was all that she could find, a fragment of Lacie's memories and feelings, The Intention believed that Lacie wanted it to reach 'him'. Oz understood now, he'd thought 'that' (The Core) had disappeared, but in actuality, it now resided within 'White Alice'.
Oz remarked on how the darkness would soon destroy every piece of Lacie, and so Oz told the fragmented memories not to disappear until after 'that person' got them. Desperate, Oz decides to take the darkness within his body. Oz didn't mind the thought of it, as he'd just lose his body in the reality, while his other was in the Abyss, and that he was doing this to thank Lacie for giving him a beginning.
Oz had taken the darkness into his body, and Jack had noticed Alice's rabbit. He approached Oz and picked him up, and both saw the memories, and heard Lacie's melody, Oz thought it was beautiful, Oz wondered if the fragmented memories also made it to Jack. Alice became alarmed when she saw Oz, as Oz's body had started to crumble. She ran to him, Jack cried over top of Oz, Oz then asked her not to make such a sad face and to smile.
Characters[]
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Terms[]
Trivia[]
- This chapter's alternate title was freely translated, since there is no official translation available in English.
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| v - e - t | Pandora Hearts Chapters |
|---|---|
| Coming-of-Age Ceremony Arc | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 |
| Working for Pandora Arc | 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 |
| Cheshire Cat's Lair Arc | 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 |
| Lutwidge Academy Arc | 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 |
| Break's Past Arc | 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 |
| Sablier Arc | 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 |
| The Feast Arc | 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 |
| Jack's Intention Arc | 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 |
| Swan Song Arc | 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 100 • 101 • 102 • 103 • 104 |
| Extra Episodes | 80.5 • 85.5 • 91.5 |
| Volumes | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 |
| Omake | Maidora Hearts • Bumbling Sleuth Break • Magical Girl Ill-Omened❤Lacie • Pandora Academy |
| Other | One-Shot • DVD Bonus Story • Pandora Hearchu • Mochizuki's Musings |