Sorry if this chapter is shorter than the previous one. I wanted to put up a little suspense until the next chapter, and I promise that it will be longer than the two-parter.

To VampireSiren: Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! You nailed it! Brownie points to you. ;)

Anyways, I'm pretty sure you guys can guess who's in danger this time around. But don't worry, if you're afraid for Jane, rest assured I will not let her suffer the same fate as Caroline. I would be a heartless demon if I ever dared to do something as cruel as that.

Given what I said, though, I'm pretty damn certain some of you can guess which of the Hollow Bastions is gonna bite the dust first...Um, spoilers.

Anyways, without further ado, enjoy!

I own nothing except my OCs.

Read, leave me a review, but no flames allowed.

Chapter 22: Unwarranted Visit, part 2

Despite her efforts to remember the assurances of their cousin Terra, Jane couldn't shake off this bad feeling that something sinister was coming. She couldn't put her finger to it, but she knew that the vibes were there.

Granted, even though she had some awareness of the Woman in Red in the papers, she was certain that Terra would never let such a terrible attacker do any harm to him. No, she knew that she was more capable of defending himself than he lets on. But it wasn't the matter of the mysterious female assailant that bothered her; it was the fact that he and the professor had not yet returned home to report what had happened at the cemetery and whether or not Mary was found alive and well.

Clearly, there was something on her younger sister's mind ever since Caroline's funeral, but she hadn't the faintest idea what could be stirring in her mind; as far as Jane could understand, Mary had been speaking with Professor Eraqus several times about particular matters, more specifically about Hollow Bastion, what happened while they were there, and the suspicions that both of them share about the people they had met some time prior. If anything, there was something she was missing between those affairs, and she wasn't aware of Mary's growing curiosity over macabre matters that became dark folklores from the olden days. But what could Mary have discovered in the midst of her strange investigations, and for what reason would she want to do so? Did she find something within the library that the rest of the family wasn't aware over the past four days?

Jane was about to consider the idea of investigating the library herself, but just as she approached the door of her bedroom, she heard faint voices coming from downstairs. One of them was Mina, without a doubt, but the other was…was it Xemnas? She listened carefully, and quickly recognized the voice, no doubt convincing her that it was indeed the master of Hollow Bastion. But what was he doing in the house, and speaking with Mina for that matter? She was sure that the professor had instructed them not to let anyone in the house unless they had returned from their trip to the cemetery with Mary.

But before she had the opportunity to open the door, an unusual chilling breeze crept across her shoulders; this forced Jane to turn around and find that her bedroom window had been opened and the breeze was slipping its way inside. Thinking that she forgot to lock the window earlier, she hurried over and shut the panes tightly under fear of developing illness from exposure to the elements. But just as she did, she felt a chill down her spine as though someone was watching what she did…

"My, Jane, when did you become such a sensitive woman?"

Jane jolted at the sound of the dangerously silky voice, and turned around to find Marluxia blocking the door out of the bedroom. It boggled her mind as to how he was able to get inside without her knowing where he entered, more so since she was already aware that someone was allowed inside when there was instruction not to do so.

"Marluxia? What…how did you get inside the house?" Jane questioned, dumbfounded. "The door is downstairs, and already there was someone else speaking to Mina. What did you do to get here?"

He looked at her as though she asked a dumb question. "Isn't it obvious, Miss Jane? I chose to greet you through the best way any brazen man would do when they seek to meet their lovers. I meant to surprise you, so I couldn't think about simply entering from the front door while the master is occupied with other matters. After all, how many centuries would pass by and so many generations of men don't change certain personal traditions of theirs?"

"Unfortunately, I do not see how such…traditions…as you call it would fit this situation. The only thing I am feeling right now is the implications of a stalker trying to corner his target and intimidate them into doing what he wants," Jane disagreed on it. "So, if you know what is good for you, please leave the house before our cousin finds out about what you are attempting to do. Also, I do intend to have a word with Xemnas about coming here when we clearly have not requested a visit from him personally."

Despite her effort to move around the intruder to gain access to her only escape, Jane found herself briskly pulled away from the door with no effort. The downside to it was that this left her in the hands of the man who seemed strongly intent on having his way, and there was no guarantee that he would let her go free without repercussions on her account.

"Really, Jane, I thought you of all women would know better. The master has business with your sister. Have you not noticed how drawn he was to her?" Marluxia sighed as he closed in on her. "A delicate little flower such as her is just too hard to ignore, isn't it? But then again, you are no different to that, are you? Though you might be unwilling to admit it aloud, you are more vulnerable than you think you are, what with your inability to involve yourself as much as society would like."

Unknowingly, something within her blood seethed in disgust at the misused treatment she was being given, causing Jane to forcefully remove her arm away from the sociopathic creeper she wanted nothing to do with. It surprised her to be able to attempt any form of refusal to someone who she certainly wants no involvement around him in any lifetime, more so since she – by all accounts – is one of the elder sisters, and should be able to make her own judgments on whether she desires attention from someone or not.

But she knew that she couldn't enjoy this change of pace for too long; she knew that she had to do something to get out of her current situation. Her cousin should be back with her sister Mary at any moment, and she wanted to hurry downstairs to make sure nothing horrible has happened to Mina as soon as possible. But there was still one problem: how could she find an opening of escape, if at all, from Marluxia? He wouldn't let her flee at the first opportunity, and she is pretty much trapped in a corner, in a manner of speaking. So, with that in mind, what is it going to take to so much as attempt to slip away from her stalker? What could she possibly do to at least buy her enough time to delay any possible danger, or at the least buy more time until actual help could come to help her out of it?

Could she try to come up with a distraction? Or could she try and fight back?

"Don't even try to resort to violence, Jane. You wouldn't last long anyway."

Jane jolted in shock at Marluxia's words, dumbfounded at how one person is able to precisely figure out what she was thinking that quickly. She knew that she was in serious trouble now that her intentions have been discovered, and her hopes of finding a way out are starting to rapidly dwindle every second she remained where she is.

But that didn't stop her from trying to threaten him. "Well…even so, I will be forced to if you intend to do any harm to me. So…So this is my last warning: leave my cousin's house now, or else…or else I will hurt you, and then call for the town officers to take you into custody!"

As she gave out her final warning, Jane immediately made a quick sprint for the door with the greatest intent on escaping as soon as possible, hoping to be able to get out just long enough to call for help. Unfortunately, just as she was able to successfully force the door open and was about to hurry out to the downstairs, she felt Marluxia's hand grip her arm too strongly and aggressively pulled her back until she suddenly found herself pinned against the wall near the window.

It gave her a lot of discomfort to know that she was alone and cornered by a creepy stalker who she wanted to forget about – or at least someone who she really wanted nothing do after all that she had been aware of from Mary back at the castle. Truly, Jane wished her cousin and her sister would hurry home, as she knew that she could never manage this endangering situation by herself, much less be able to fight back on her own. She was never too great at being involved with people, which is the one thing that is hurting her capabilities to deal with matters that she wishes to have no part of after all that she experienced. It really didn't help that she found herself between a rock and a hard place with no other means to be able to escape after her first two attempts to slide out of her stalker's fingers.

"I warned you, Jane. I could've spared you of the cruel horrors I could give, but it would seem that you leave me with no other options," Marluxia told her dangerously. "If you are that desperate to seek out a death wish, then allow me to provide you the contrary. Even if you only experience a brief moment of agony, you will not be able to greet the grim reaper for too long, for you will become as we have changed into long ago."

Just as the coach was nearing the Lander house, Mary immediately felt her vibes worsening as she instantly noticed plenty of things going on from inside that shouldn't be occurring at this time of night. For one thing, there was the silhouette of a person inside the house alongside one of her sisters, and she had a powerful dread as to what it could be; secondly, Jane's window was shut, but in the midst of the dim light she could make out the shadows of her other sister and another person with her, and she was quite certain that whatever is going on up there is not a pleasant matter.

"Terra, someone's in your house! We've got to get there, now!" Mary urged anxiously.

The instant he heard this, Terra looked up to notice what she saw, and a strong sense of fear and anger formed on his face.

"There are intruders? What could be happening in there?" Terra questioned.

"Didn't you inform your cousins not to allow anyone inside unless we have returned?" the professor asked, fearing what might be happening. "I had instructed you to let them know not to do so, did I not?"

Not waiting for any answer to come out, Mary brazenly jumped out of the coach just as it was about to reach the Lander house; she was in no mood to waste any precious time, as she dreaded that every second wasted would only hasten the death sentence of her sisters. The only thing she could hope at this point is that no serious harm has come to either Mina or Jane, lest another innocent life meant to be preserved will slip out of her hands…

Just as he was getting close to attaining what he was pursuing, Xemnas abruptly heard the faint sound of a coach reaching where he is, forcing him to divert his attention from the enthralled Mina and look outside the window to find that Mary had returned with her cousin as well as the professor and his students. Realizing that someone among them might've suspected intruders in the house, he deduced that he had to get out as soon as possible, if only to keep up appearances a little bit longer.

"It seems the game has gotten more dangerous," he said to himself, "I'll need to uncover what it is that they have learned...but first, it'd be best to leave now."

Not long after Mary jumped out of the coach to hasten towards home, Professor Eraqus and Terra disembarked after her and gave chase to secure the safety of the two sisters still at home, if only to hope that nothing seriously dangerous is about to happen to them.

But as they were nearing the door, though, the professor stopped just long enough to take notice of an uncanny grey mist escaping through the window connected to main hall of the Lander house, apparently moving away into the safety of the dark alleyways. It sparked deeper suspicion from him as he dreaded that this is yet another one of the warning signs of just what manner of evil abomination is haunting the women he had found out in the middle of nowhere, especially after what they had found inside the Chastain family tomb when they encountered the changed and corrupted form of Caroline. Now what he wanted to know was who could possibly be trying to escape being seen like this?

The answer might come forward as soon as they have found out what had become of Jane and Mina; hopefully, neither of them have been brought to harm yet.