Oh, boy, things are starting to get darker from here...

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Chapter 12: Reports, Reunions, and Recollection

Inside the darkness and the dim lights within the walls of Hollow Bastion, Xemnas watched fervently for his own men in the event they return with what information they have collected in their plans to make their advance on the escaped sisters whom have slipped out of their grasp thus far. Since the night has finally arrived, now was the opportunity for them to return from the shades of the wood and give away all they could acquire.

First, Saix made his return, emerging from the shadows and into the dim lighting of the candles scattered around the room. Knowing that his eyes were freed from the intolerable light of day, he lowered his hood so that his face could at last been seen openly; he gave a solemn bow and began to give out his report for his master.

"My lord, I have tracked down the Chastain sisters and determined their whereabouts," he said with a calm tone, "They have arrived in Twilight Town, and as of now are staying with the resident doctor, Terra Lander."

"What have you learned as you followed them?" Xemnas asked, wanting to know more.

"From the shadows, I saw three strangers travelling toward the same town: a man, a boy, and a woman. The elder man called himself Professor Eraqus, and from what I could understand, he claims to be a travelling doctor," Saix explained, "Although I could not catch much of their conversation, I did hear the sisters explain about the accident they had near the castle. I can safely say that this doctor is quite curious as to their situation, though I have doubts that it is to merely sate his intrigue."

As he carefully took in this new information, Xemnas knew that he might have a challenge on his hands; if this doctor learns any more from them, there is the possibility that he could try and investigate into their story and reveal any secrets they had uncovered while they were staying in his castle. Though, out of the four, he felt quite sure that only one of them might be more inclined to reveal everything she knew; and if that were the case, he would have too much trouble on his hands and the matter would have to be dealt with properly.

Then, Luxord and Marluxia arrived in the room with their own report to give, having searched all around the castle for clues as to what the sisters had done when they were inspecting the place.

"We have searched all around the castle, tracing each of their last whereabouts. By following the route that occurred two days before, I found that two of the four have investigated the library while the other two had left a trail into the gardens," Luxord reported, "On the part of the gardens, nothing has been harmfully trifled with. However, regarding the library, I fear that one particular item is missing from the shelves. My guess would be that it was taken by one of the sisters, someone who would seek knowledge on Hollow Bastion."

Xemnas nodded in understanding. "What of you, Marluxia? What did you learn?"

"I followed their trail into the dungeon, where they were not supposed to be. Interestingly, only one of the scents – that of the third Chastain – entered the place and traversed through the murky place to find where one of us was resting," Marluxia explained.

That got a reaction out of Saix when he started to growl. "I thought something smelled out of place. Now I know what I saw the moment I woke…Mary. She saw too much."

Before any questions could be brought up, Xigbar and Xaldin emerged from the shadows, returning to give their reports on their scouting hunts.

"Well, we've scouted out the area, and we've managed to find another route to Twilight Town that no one's been able to track thus far," Xigbar reported casually, "There's an old cobbled road that stretches through the darker side of the woods nobody uses anymore, what with the abandoned posts left there to fall apart. It leads into the business quarters of the town, which could allow us to slip in without too much trouble on us."

The master was pleased at the report. "Excellent…Then, we shall prepare for our departure and head for Twilight Town. But be aware; we must not take too many risks. One of you must go on ahead and prepare lodging for us to use while we are there."

"That is something I'd be glad to do. That could get my mind off of the bothers running through my psyche," Xaldin volunteered, "Though, if I see those sisters whilst there, I'll be sure to take note of their intentions."

"Yeah, sure, just don't do anything rash while you're there," Xigbar said, waving a hand dismissively.

"As much as you have a bone to pick with Caroline, you must wait until we all have arrived in town," Saix added with a warning, "You'll get your chance at revenge, but first you must map out each of their actions before you consider how you'll get even."

"If that's the case, then allow me to accompany him. I'll see that he behaves himself while we wait for you," Marluxia volunteered himself, eager at the chance to track down Jane.

Xemnas gave them a nod of approval. "Very well…go, do what you will. But be discreet. Do not draw too much attention out there."

Xaldin and Marluxia gave a respectful bow, and disappeared into the shadows to fulfill their objective on their master's behalf. This left Xigbar, Luxord, and Saix to carry out their new missions for anything their lord requests.

"Xigbar…go to the stables and ready the stagecoach for travel. See that what we require is ready for transport," Xemnas ordered.

"You got it, sir," Xigbar acknowledged, leaving the room immediately to start his business.

Then, Xemnas turned to Saix and gave an order to him. "Saix…go to the scene where the stranded coach remains trapped. See what you can do about it."

The blue-haired man bowed. "As you wish, milord…Should anything go noticed, I'll do what I must to clean up the mess."

At the Lander house, the sisters have already taken care of all their belongings and have changed out of what they wore at the time they were found, allowing the maids to see to their cleaning. Since there was not much else to worry about, they chose to simply settle themselves in and bide their time until their cousin had returned home from his investigation.

Still, Mary couldn't help but wonder what her cousin could possibly be investigating that required the help of the professor, who had mentored him in the medical field. She had known that Terra has his busy days as a professional doctor, but what is it that they hadn't been informed of? Perhaps she should consider asking him when he returned, and maybe ask the professor while she's at it.

Later on, there was a knock on the door, which caught their attention and made them wonder who could be there at this hour. Then, they saw one of the maids come in and announce who has arrived to their temporary lodging.

"Kairi Chastain and Xion Chastain have arrived, ladies."

Hearing the good news, Mina got up to see them personally – and got herself a surprise greeting when she suddenly felt herself being hugged tightly due to excitement.

"Oh my goodness, you're all here! You're here at last!"

As soon as Mina was released from that rather tight embrace, everyone finally got a good look at who made an appearance first; no doubt, it was one of their other cousins, Kairi Chastain, and she was more than happy to see them again.

At around the same age as Mary, Kairi sported auburn-red hair that reached her shoulders and violet blue eyes and gently sun-kissed skin that contrasted to the color of her cousins. She was wearing a high-waisted, frilly pink dress decorated in bright red ribbons on her puffed sleeves and the hem of her skirt, with velvet red shoes and a light pink laced bonnet on her head, along with long white gloves and a cloak colored in magenta to keep her warm.

"I see you're excited to see us, aren't you, Kairi?" Mary said as she closed her book for the time being.

"Of course, I am! When I heard that you hadn't arrived in Twilight Town yet, I was starting to get so frightened that I almost lost sleep," Kairi replied as she ran over to hug Mary, "Sure, my sister nagged at me not to worry, that you'd arrive one way or another, but what does it matter? You're here, your sisters are here, and everything is as it should be."

"You have no idea how anxious Kairi was to get out the door and see you."

The sisters shifted their attention to see their other cousin, Xion Chastain, step in and politely greet them without getting out of hand.

Unlike Kairi, Xion was around Mina's age with short, ebony black hair and dark blue eyes and lighter skin closely like Mary's. She was fitted into a high-waisted, black-and-white striped dress with long black sleeves, complemented by her short black boots and her white laced hat decorated with black beads, and simply wore a long azure blue cloak over her body for her own form of protection from the elements.

She gave the sisters a friendly smile. "It is very good to see you again, my dear cousins. I hope you weren't harmed during your journey to Twilight Town."

"It was decent, for the most part, until we had an accident out in the wood along the way," Jane answered, "We were stranded for days, but fortunately we were rescued before the worst could happen to us."

Kairi was shocked upon hearing this. "What?! What happened? Were there any brigands?"

Mary sighed at this. "No, no, Kairi, there weren't any brigands. Rest assured that we had nothing stolen. Besides, it's not like we're aristocrats or anything of that sort."

"But what of you two? What have you both been doing as of late?" Mina asked out of curiosity, "I certainly hope none of you have gotten into trouble. It wouldn't be pleasant if one of you was a troublemaker."

Kairi and Xion looked at each other with reddened cheeks, but rather than a sign of humiliation or guilt, their additional little smiles indicated that something romantic must've happened back who knows when.

"Well…I had just found my Mr. Right, and Xion was about to get more acquainted with another one," Kairi answered playfully. "To my knowledge, one's a really prosperous young man for his age and the other was making a name for himself as a merchant. They're really good gentlemen and they are both very handsome. You should see them one of these days!"

"What Kairi means to say is that we should consider finding an opportunity to gather together as a family," Xion added, "and get more acquainted with the town. I'm sure you'd find someone who would pique your fancies while you're staying here, and – perhaps with enough time to adapt to the life of Twilight Town – you might be able to start your own lives. Surely there is no harm to it, is there?"

Caroline actually seemed interested in this. "Why not? I could use a more pleasant distraction to keep me occupied, and what better way to do that than to meet anyone who lives in this wonderful town? I certainly favor that idea significantly."

Mary groaned at her remark, knowing where her sister was really going with her words.

But before she could make any comment on Caroline and get her to confess her real intentions, there was a knock on the door that caught her attention and made her turn to see that their cousin had returned home with the others; it seemed to her that they had just finished up their investigations at the hospital. Curious as to what was found; she separated from her sisters for the moment to ask any questions she could on the situation.

"Is everything alright, Terra?" she asked, "How are the people in your hospital?"

Terra gave her a small shrug. "Well, the professor has a possible explanation as to the cause of the illness that inflicted our patients. But for now, we don't have any solid information as to the source."

This caught the attention of the rest of the sisters, as well as their young cousins.

"Terra, is everything alright?" Xion asked out of concern.

"Good evening, all of you. Am I to presume your work is finished at the hospital?" Mina added, curious as to what was going on.

"For the moment, yes, we're finished. But we still have much work to be done," Aqua replied on his behalf, "We can safely say that we'll be here for several days, maybe more. Until we know what we're dealing with, we're not taking any chances."

"It'll be alright. So long as all of you stay safe, then I'm sure you'll be alright," Ventus agreed, "unless something convinces us otherwise. When that happens, there's no knowing what would have to be done."

"Well said, good students. We still need to continue investigating into the matter," Eraqus agreed. Then, he turned his attention to Mary. "If you'll pardon my asking, Miss Mary, is it possible to have a word with you privately? There are some questions I have that require answers, and I want to believe that you might know more than your sisters do."

Mary, upon hearing this, hesitated for a moment since she wasn't sure whether or not he would believe her story. But since he did indicate a strong sense of honesty and a desire to help them come to terms with the trauma they went through, she figured that it wouldn't hurt to at least try to offer any information she could since she knew her sisters would want to forget the horrors as much as possible; if anything, it would've been better if she carried the memories instead of them.

"Okay…but I think someone needs to keep my sisters occupied for a little while. If we're to discuss privately, I'd rather be someplace where none of them would think of eavesdropping, you know what I mean?" Mary inquired.

Knowing where she was going with this, the professor turned to Terra and made a request. "If you don't mind, Terra, is there a place I could speak with Mary alone? We need a few minutes to discuss certain…sensitive matters."

"Well, you could always do the library. I'm quite certain she'll loosen up within a place that she loves most," Terra replied, "If it'll put you at ease, Mary, I'll keep your sisters occupied for a little while until you are finished."

Caroline, getting suspicious on this, began to demand for answers. "Wait a minute, what is going on here? Are you trying to pry into more of that accursed business when you weren't supposed to…?"

"Don't worry about it, Mary. We'll have plenty more to discuss with you later tonight before we go," Xion cut in as she led everyone away, "If it's something important that requires only your attention, then we'll leave you alone. And besides, I'm sure your sisters won't mind chatting with us a little while longer before we have to depart for home."

Before Caroline could make any more protests, she was briskly led away from the room by Jane and Kairi while the rest of the girls followed close behind them with the intent on keeping their sister from interfering in matters that do not concern her. Relieved at this intervention, Mary couldn't help but let out a deep sigh like a burden had been lifted from her…for now.

At the very least, true to Terra's word, Mary felt a little more relaxed inside the library and when nobody is attempting to listen in on the conversation she was about to engage in with the professor. Though, she couldn't help but suspect that he might want to know more about the accident she and her sisters had; he did tell her that he believed the accident has a connection to the strange problems occurring within Twilight Town, but she wasn't sure what to expect at this point. All she could do is just do as she's told, and perhaps she could acquire information that might be useful when there's the right chance.

"Mary, when your family had an accident, where was your coach stranded?" Eraqus asked.

"Well, when we were out there, none of us knew that there was a castle out in the middle of nowhere. When we felt something went awry, we got out to investigate to find that one of the wheels was stuck and almost completely broken," Mary explained in a factual manner, "To make the matters worse, our driver was killed by one of the horses and then those jittery creatures suddenly ran off, leaving us with no horses to pull the coach. We thought we would be stranded out in the woods with the wild beasts, until…"

The professor was quite intrigued at this point. "…Until what? What happened after that?"

"A man driving a coach of his own came by the road we were on, and then stopped to offer us help from the owner of the castle which he called Hollow Bastion," Mary replied. "We weren't too sure about it at first, but when he told us that his master would be more than willing to allow us to stay at the castle until another ride could be found, we – or rather Caroline started it because she's more interested in restoring the past glory she loved, but I digress – took it up and went there to get help."

"And what became of the coach you were traveling in before?" Eraqus asked her.

Mary shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I hadn't gotten any news on that, and none of us bothered to ask about it. For all I know, it could still be out there, falling apart or torn by the beasts out there."

Now the professor knew a good place to start on his investigations; there had to be a reason as to why the Chastain sisters were stranded and then picked up by a supposedly helpful stranger. Perhaps he could take his apprentices with him and investigate the current conditions of the coach and – if the body of the driver is still there – look into the cause of death for the unfortunate person who was taking them through the woods to Twilight Town. If there are any indications of sabotage, that would certainly shock them significantly; though, if it really was an accident, then that means whoever delivered the invitation probably meant to take advantage of it and bring the girls into a dangerous trap.

With that in mind, he made one more request to her. "Mary, it might sound rather strange to you, but I must ask that you and your sisters remained here for the remainder of the night. I'll head out and search for the coach right now, and see what I can find."

"What, are you on to something?" Mary asked, suspicion starting to rise.

"That just might be," the professor answered vaguely, "But while you're here, don't let anyone in under any circumstances. You understand?"

She nodded slowly. "Sure…we'll stay safe."

But the moment the professor left the room to gather his pupils with him for the next step in their investigation; Mary quickly slipped out of the library as well and hurried to her bedroom to search for what she needed to investigate on her own. When she opened the drawer, she also unlocked a hidden compartment and pulled out the old journal she held onto when they escaped the castle. She couldn't help thinking that she had to learn more about that tragic story the writer had recorded, that she had to know what happened to this person after the death of his love. After all, something has to explain what was happening right now…shouldn't it?