They had reached a large cavern like room with a large doorway beneath an angel with a slab of stone instead of a door. Their steps echoed and bounced off of the walls.

"Beyond this gate there's a waterway, it will lead us out of Reveille in no time," explained Oscar. The group stopped a few feet before the doorway. Oscar pulled something that hung around his neck from out of his shirt. He stepped closer, and what was on the thin chain started to glow. It was then that Alexis realized that it was the Key to the Vessalius Gate.

The slab of stone started to split open at one of the cracks that crisscrossed it. "Come on," called Oscar. "As soon as we are through I'll close the gate behind us so they won't be able to follow."

"Please wait, Oz-sama!"

Everyone looked back and saw Echo standing in the entrance to the room. "Echo is coming with you!" she exclaimed. She dashed over to them, catching up to Oscar who was closest to the entrance. They were all slightly confused as to how she knew they were here and how she had found her way.

Oz gasped suddenly. Oscar's face was gripped in pain as Echo giggled. "One down!" She pulled out the knife she had stabbed into Oscar's stomach and charged at the others. Gilbert placed himself in front of Oz and started to shoot. Echo laughed as she dodged every shot. She landed in front of them again in a crouch. "What's wrong, Gilbert? Why don't you shoot me like last time?" Her voice was off, but Gilbert appeared to recognized it. "Y-you're… Zwei!?" It was then that everyone realized that they were being closed in on by the Baskervilles.

Alexis and Oz were at Oscar's side trying to help him however they could. "You'll be alright, Oscar-sama, you'll be alright," Alexis kept repeating in a panic as she looked over the wound. They couldn't do anything here. "Gil," he called, "Go." Alexis took a second to realize what he was doing, and her eyes widened in fear. "N-no, no!"

Oscar seemed to know who would have what reaction. He pushed Oz and Alexis after Gilbert and then Alice. He closed the door after them. The last any of them saw of Oscar was his smiling face as he gripped his stomach.

Alexis slammed her fist on the cushioned window seat she sat on. She didn't want to remember that again. The worst case scenario she was imagining for Oscar was not good. She grabbed the bottle she had found in the room's dresser and poured another drink.

After the four of them escaped from the Baskervilles, they had found a boat and rode down the waterway that would lead them to Reveille. They had been floating for a while and Oz had fallen asleep when they were found by none other than Reim. Gilbert and Alexis couldn't believe it; the last time they had seen him he was still unconscious, and there he had been trekking over rocks along the banks to meet them.

The four of them were tired and Reim could see that, he and the older male that accompanied Reim led them back to where they were staying. They were all safe for now, even if they didn't know exactly where they were. Everyone had gone to sleep, tired after today. Alexis, however, stayed up not able to.

She paced the lonely room. Reim had prepared two rooms for them; one for the girls and one for the guys. Alice, however, didn't want to leave Oz and was sleeping in the same room as him. Alexis walked back to the drink she had served herself. She shivered from the dark, cold room as she nearly gulped it all down in one go.

KNOCK, KNOCK

"Come in," she called after swallowing the dark liquid. There was a small creak as the door opened. "Hey, Alexis—" There was a sudden silence.

She put her glass down. "Is something wrong, Gilbert?" She was met by his wide-eyed stare. She sighed at realizing what it was that had distracted him and slightly blushed. "I don't have anything else to wear, what did you think I was going to where to bed?" Alexis had donned as a nightshirt one of the extra dress shirts Reim had brought. Due to her and Reim's height difference, the shirt fit her well enough as a nightshirt, hitting a bit over the knee.

Gilbert's flustered gaze suddenly landed on the bottle that was on the window seat. "Is that-… are you-… what are you drinking, Alexis?" The blush on the young woman's face darkened much more than expected. "O-oh, well…" she hesitated, "It's… it's a bottle of… of brandy." She said the last words as if they were an admission of guilt.

With the dress/night shirt put aside, Gilbert was honestly surprised and confused. "You're drinking?" he asked in a surprised tone that matched his face. Truth be told, although he had a low alcohol tolerance, there was a higher chance of seeing Gilbert drinking then Alexis, who ironically had a slightly higher tolerance then him.

"I-I am, alright! Just…" Alexis wasn't sure what to say and looked away. Gilbert sighed as he combed his fingers through his hair. "I guess that's one way to deal with all that's happened. Where did you even find brandy?" He walked over to where she had the bottle and picked it up. She picked up her glass again. "In the back of one of the dresser drawers along with a few glasses in a box," she pointed out before sitting down the window seat again with her legs crossed. With a still surprised Gilbert staring, Alexis took another drink.

"By the way," she started, looking into her glass, "I wanted to ask you about something that happened in the catacombs with Jack." Not feeling too comfortable looking down to her, Gilbert sat down. At feeling and hearing him sit, Alexis looked up. "When Oscar-sama explained that it was Oz's father who threw him into the Abyss, you weren't too surprised about it. Did you know about it beforehand?"

Gilbert remembered that he had only told Oscar about what he saw at the Coming of Age Ceremony. "Yeah," he simply answered, but he soon regretted it. "Well, I actually saw him that night. Since I was so close, Oz thought I was in danger and he… without meaning to…" Gilbert's hand unconsciously went to where his scar crossed his chest. The motion suddenly reminded Alexis of something.

"How's your wound?" she asked as she got up and went to his left side, one knee kneeling on the window seat. He had changed his shirt and it was spotless of anything resembling blood.

"Don't worry," said Gilbert as he grabbed and stopped her hand before she started probing his shoulder. "I'm much better." He gave her a small smile thinking that would put her at ease. However, it resulted in a very different reaction from her.

Alexis felt it; the alcohol was finally getting to her.

Gilbert saw her raise her free hand and felt her fingers gently caress the side of his face. Looking up into her suddenly hazy eyes and softly flushed cheeks, he realized she should have asked how many glasses she had had before he came.

"Hey, Gilbert, do you remember Oz's thirteenth birthday, when Oscar-sama was joking what Oz wanted as a gift from me?" She saw Gilbert was about to say something and rested her forehead against his to stop him. He seemed stunned at how close they were. He could feel her breath fan against his cheeks. "Oscar-sama said that Oz wanted a kiss from a cute girl, like me. Oz did say that, but he didn't realize the context in which he had said it.

"I…kissed someone that day, but not Oz."

The two smiled. "I-I remember," he whispered with a nervous tremor. Alexis took in his face. Gilbert had a deep blush burned on his cheeks, he never had much experience with women and intimate situations, and she was reminded of the young boy she met. But she also noted how much he had grown up; from cute to handsome.

Her breath reached his nose, and Gilbert suddenly remembered her present choice of how to cope. "Alexis, you should—" He was cut off with her lips pressing against his. She kissed him softly, hesitantly. 'Is she…afraid?' he thought, surprised that he could even think straight. But it hit him as he remembered why he hadn't taken a step in this direction, not taking into account the situation with Oz. He shyly started to return the kiss, testing his theory.

As she felt him react positively, Alexis smiled and felt relief spread throughout her. She knew what he was about to say a moment ago, he was thinking that the alcohol was dictating her actions. She guessed he didn't remember what Oscar liked to say about alcohol.

Liquid courage doesn't lie.

A pained groan echoed throughout the bedroom as Alexis slowly opened her eyes. She felt her head pound as she shielded her eyes from the sun's rays that filtered in through the window. As she made to get up, she felt her nightshirt open a lot more then she recalled buttoning it. She looked down and saw that there were more than two buttons undone which gave a decent eyeful of her cleavage. Her fingers trailed from her lips to down her neck as she blushed at remembering what had happened, but had a small smile all the while.

The pounding in her head harshly brought her back to reality. She groaned again as she held her head in her hands. Looking back up and around the room, she saw the reason for her agony glint in sunlight. She scoffed as she got up. She had seen her clothes lying on the window seat, minus the jacket, and they had been cleaned of the blood as best as they could be which was actually very good.

As she buttoned the last button of the frilly shirt, she heard Alice call Oz's name followed by something heavy rolling down the stairs right by their rooms. Much as she knew she would regret it later, Alexis rolled her eyes and rushed out of the room to see if Oz was alright.

She immediately saw Gilbert yelling at Alice from the top of the stairs. "Stupid rabbit, what the hell are you doing!?" Alexis flinched as he yelled. Gilbert noticed her approaching and the pain she was in. "Are you alright, Alexis?" She walked up to him with a weak smile as she rubbed her temple. "Just the inevitable consequence from my decision," she joked.

Gilbert froze after she moved her hand from her forehead. At noticing his stare, Alexis asked, "Is something wrong?" He didn't say a word and pointed to the side of his neck, motioning her to check her own. But in doing so, Alexis' attention was shifted to his neck and she quietly gasped. Gilbert paled at guessing what it was.

"Oz-sama, are you alright?"

The two looked down to the base of the stairs where Alice was still sitting on Oz. "Eh, Reim-san!?" Oz exclaimed surprised. Reim was one of the last people Gilbert and Alexis wanted to be seen by in their current state. The two adjusted their collars as best they could.

After helping Oz and Alice up, Reim turned to the top of the stairs. "Good morning," he greeted with a cheery smile. Alexis descended the stairs first. "Good morning, Reim, how are you feeling today?" she asked as she combed her fingers through her loose hair. "Very well after a good sleep, knowing you all were here eased my mind quite a bit." He started a bit at realizing how close she walked up to him. Alexis gingerly examined his bandaged head and patch on his cheek, "You have changed your bandages, right?" Reim smiled warmly and seemed at ease over her fussing. "This morning, don't worry. Now, how about something to eat?" he directed to all of them.

That had gotten Alice's attention, and she started to pull on Oz's arm. The boy looked up at Reim with a pleading look. "Down the hall, it's the only room with the door open," he explained. Alice dragged Oz ahead of everyone as they walked at a calmer pace. Reim glanced down at Alexis. "How did you sleep, Alexis? I heard you pacing around your room before I went to sleep." The question evoked two reactions from the young woman: sadness from remembering of Oscar, and embarrassment from remembering of what happened with Gilbert.

Before Alexis could say something, Reim paused at seeing her face flush. "Are you alright, Alexis?" he asked as he took in her features. At the same time he noticed some marks on her neck. "What are those?" he pointed to her neck. Alexis clapped her hand over the exposed skin, she had forgotten about her neck at the moment.

She was speechless and didn't know what to say to him. Reim, however, started to slowly piece things together as he wasn't that oblivious to her feelings. He quickly glanced at Gilbert, who noticed and blushed in response for thinking that he was figuring it out, and caught similar marks on the man's neck.

It finally hit him. Reim wasn't exactly sure what he thought was more ridiculous: the fact that two twenty-four year old adults were acting like hormonal teenagers caught by their parents, or that he was getting a little angry that someone had touched the person he saw as a little sister, who was only two years younger than him.

The three were caught in a thick and awkward silence. It wasn't until they found Oz and Alice sitting at the table in the room it was set that the silence lifted. The three walked over to the table. Alexis went over to Oz before sitting down. "How are you feeling, Oz?" she asked as one of her hands were gently placed on his shoulder. "I'm alright," he answered a little half-heartedly without looking up at her. Alexis looked back at Gilbert, worry written all over her face.

Alexis sat down next to Alice and across from Reim. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the older man that had accompanied Reim last night come out of an adjacent room. He held two cups of tea and placed one in front of her. "Good morning, Miss Alexis, I hope black tea is acceptable," he asked. She nodded and smiled, "Yes, it's fine, Mr.… I beg your pardon, but I don't know your name."

"Turner, Miss Alexis."

As Turner placed the other cup in front of Reim, Gilbert was heard saying, "Oz, try to eat something." He had taken Alexis' previous spot next to Oz. Although Oz quietly agreed, he still looked very down and unlikely to do so.

"Luckily most of the students have gone home for the long holiday," Turner stated. "Otherwise it would not have been easy to bring you here." Oz, Gilbert, and Alexis looked up at him as a realization dawned on them. "Students?" repeated Gilbert. "Reim-san, are we…"Oz dragged his sentence. Reim picked up his tea cup. "Yes, we are at Lutwidge Academy," he confirmed. Alexis' mind instantly went to the brandy she found hidden in the room she stayed in. Alcohol was not permitted on school grounds, no exceptions. She might want to have a conversation with the headmaster about that.

Oz stood from his chair suddenly. "Well, if I hurry I'll be able to make it back to Pandora by the end of the day," he announced as he started to walk away from the table.

"Oz!?"

"What!?"

Gilbert grabbed Oz by the shirt to stop him as Alexis stood from her seat. Oz struggled against Gilbert's grasp. "If I don't, the Baskervilles will kill Break, Sharon, and the Duchess! A Baskerville said Break isn't a threat right now, so I'm sure something terrible is going on!" Alexis dashed over to the boy. "Oz, wait—" He cut her off as he pulled away from Gilbert and tried to walk past her. "Aren't you guys worried about them!? Uncle Oscar was seriously wounded… we have to hurry and rescue him!" The statement hit Gilbert and Alexis hard. The pain in their faces was obvious. "Oz, Oscar-sama is—"

"Uncle Oscar is alright!" Oz threw back at Gilbert, "I'll go and see with my own eyes!"

SMACK

Gilbert and Alexis stared with open mouths at Reim. He had smacked (hard) Oz's cheeks to snap him out of his state of hysteria. In all their years of knowing the man, Gilbert and Alexis had never seen Reim use such measures. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Get a hold of yourself, Oz-sama! Take a deep breath and breathe out!" Oz did as he was told and seemed to instantly change. Reim kneeled down to better meet him at eye level. "Oz-sama, I know you're worried about them, but please try to stay calm. First we need to process the information we have.

"Xerxes Break will not be killed so easily, you can take my word for it. Sharon-sama will take care of Sheryl-sama. They will be fine for the time being."

Oz took a second to process everything. He nodded and seemed to pull himself together. "Gil, Alexis, Reim-san, I'm sorry. I'm alright now." The three of them were glad that Oz was calm and not letting his emotions get the better of him.

"Hey, Oz," started Alice, who had been strangely uninvolved with what had just happened, as they returned to their seats, "the clown isn't a threat right now? Does that mean I can torment him as much as I want!?" How much gusto she had said it with made Alexis smile. "No, Alice," she answered.

"But it's not just Break," Gilbert added. Oz put down his spoon he had just picked up and asked him to explain. "Ah, that's right; I was the only one to see it. After I shot you, and Alice disappeared, Duke Barma stopped Break from coming to your rescue, and a fight ensued. He soon saw it as troublesome, and used Dodo's powers to destroy the Key to the Rainsworth Gate." Oz seemed to be thinking something over Gilbert's explanation. "If I'm not mistaken, the keys are globes of light. Can they even break?" he asked. "Well, I've heard that by gathering enough of the same abysmal energy they're made of, for example a chain, it is possible to destroy them," explained Gilbert. "However, even destroyed, the key does not vanish forever," added Reim. "Rufus-sama said that even if it's shattered, in time, the shards will come together again and its power will be restored."

"But in the meantime, the bond between the Chain's contracted through the Rainsworth Gate and their contractors will be severed," concluded Alexis. One could only imagine how the Rainsworths were fairing without their Chains and Break in a weakened state.

"So if I've got it right," Alice had finished eating her fill while they were talking and moved herself to the window, "idiot hair betrayed us, Sheryl risked her life, the clown and the others were nearly slaughtered, and everyone turned against Oz, right?" Although Alice was right in a sense, she didn't have to be so blunt. "I wonder if Duke Barma really did betray Pandora," Reim mused, "If so, then, why did he send me here?"

Alexis blinked. "Duke Barma sent you here?" she asked. Oz looked curious as well. "Oh, I'm sorry for not mentioning this earlier," Reim apologized as he reached for something in his pocket. "Duke Barma ordered me to come to Lutwidge Academy. Well, actually I was simply given a scrap of paper saying 'St. Luca's Gate' and 'Lutwidge,' and then found a key in my pocket." He then showed what he had taken out of his pocket, an old key that had seen many years. "I took advantage of the commotion at Pandora to sneak away, and sought shelter with the Lutwidge Headmaster." Reim turned to Turner. "Then I identified the area the boat was likely to drift to once St. Luca's Gate was used and stood watch."

He gripped the key tightly between his hands. "I can't deny the things Duke Barma has done, but…we still don't know his real intentions." Alexis didn't like to see Reim push himself so hard, especially since he was still healing. She walked over to him. "Reim," he looked up at her, "you told me you were alright, but if you don't take it easy you won't heal properly." He sighed and opened his hands to look at the key. "I know, Alexis, but, I just have to find out what Rufus-sama's true intentions are. I can't believe that he would betray Pandora."

"Reim-san!"

The two looked over to Oz who had shot up from his chair. "It could be possible that Duke Barma wants us to find a hidden passageway!"

"A hidden passageway?" repeated Reim. "Yes. Duke Barma said that once Lutwidge Academy and Pandora both belonged to the Baskervilles, so it wouldn't be strange if there was a passage connecting them," explained Oz. Gilbert turned to Reim. "Could it be the same place Oz was taken to when he encountered the Baskervilles here?" Reim took out his little notebook and started to flip through it. "Who knows," he said as he continued to search through it. "Back then, Pandora searched the place, but they never reported a passage connecting the two buildings."

Alice trotted over to the table and stood next to Oz. "What are we going to do when we find this passage?" she asked. "Well, I don't know really," answered Oz. "I think Duke Barma said that to me because he wanted me to look for it." Alexis crossed her arms. "Well, considering it is Barma, it wouldn't be too farfetched," she commented.

"Speaking of which, Turner, do you remember whether Rufus-sama was looking for something along those lines while attending school here?" asked Reim turning to look at the older male. Oz, Gilbert, and Alexis were dumbstruck for a second at hearing that. "He went to school here?" Oz and Gilbert asked in unison. Reim quirked an eyebrow, "Oh, didn't you know? Rufus-sama is a Lutwidge alumnus." For some reason, even though they were being told, it was hard for the three to believe it, and adding the fact that all three of them had tutors and not experienced school life made it even harder to believe. "Really!?"

"Now that you mention it, there was a time long ago when Barma-sama would sneak out of his room every night to explore the campus," recalled Turner. "Whenever I asked him where he was going, he would answer 'I will discover all the mysteries of this campus!' That is all he would say."

"Do you happen to have the map Duke Barma used back then?" asked Gilbert. "No, unfortunately," admitted Turner. His expression soon changed to that of realization. "Ah! Actually, I remember this one time I saw Barma-sama going down a certain way with his servant, Karmu-sama. I called out to them, but when I turned the corner, they were gone."

Reim stood with purpose and faced the others. "Well then, for the moment, that is our only lead."