Well, our Van Helsing of the story had to meet the big bad vampire himself sometime. It might as well be the cardinal rule of vampire stories, right?

Anyways, I apologize if this chapter is shorter than the last. I wanted to finish this so I can keep the story running.

Without further ado, enjoy!

I own nothing except my OCs.

Read, leave me a review (preferably constructive), but don't flame me (rude comments are NOT welcome).

Chapter 26: Marked For Death

Hours have passed by since discovering Mina weakened from loss of blood, and though her first recovery was successful despite all odds, it still warned her guardians that there is the risk that this relief will not last long. There was no telling when she will be attacked again, or if there will be another chance to preserve her life. Considering what she had mentioned regarding being drained of her own blood as well as being force-fed the blood of the master vampire, there is the possibility that her turning was meant to be a slow, but steady progression on the transformation into one of the un-dead blood-drinkers…unless if the one who forced her into this mess opted to progress the corruption faster by repeating the procedure more than twice.

Throughout the hours, Mary and Terra helped Mina regain her strength as much as she can with the aid of proper dieting and plenty of water in her system. As a sister, Mary refused to leave her alone unless it was absolutely necessary, mostly due to not wanting anything to happen to her little sister while her back is turned. As both a cousin and a doctor, it was only natural for Terra to do everything he can to ensure that Mina remained as healthy as possible while she is still human, not wanting her to remain sickly as she was early in the morning.

Aqua and Ventus were also helpful in aiding Mina regardless of her precarious dilemma, and were very patient and considerate with Mary's paranoia and Terra's ever growing concern for his cousin's health. Aqua would sometimes speak with their cousin as to the conditions of the patient so as to relay any new updates on Mina's recovery, probably due to her share of training in the medical field. Mary could tell from their interactions that they might've had something way back when before Terra carved his own path and became a doctor, but she thought it rather rude to pry into the matter for the time being. Ventus, on the flipside of things, was especially handling Mina with kid gloves after the horror she went through, and doing his best to reassure her that they'll of something and find a solution as soon as the professor found valuable data that can used in their favor. Still, it made her wonder what got those two involved with the professor in the first place, considering how loyal they are to their mentor and how much help they're willing to offer at the first opportunity.

Morning changed to afternoon, and then evening was about to make a shift into night, and nobody has heard a word from the professor for the entire day. It struck Mary as rather uncanny, but considering that she once stayed in the library trying to find answers to the questions she had ever since Caroline's 'death', and what she might've missed. Perhaps Professor Eraqus wanted to make sure he wasn't missing anything important in the midst of his research, being the more studious man that he is; as a man of science as well as ancient folklores and superstitions, he certainly behaved more as a detective not wanting to leave any stone unturned in his investigations. After all, he made the suggestion that Xemnas is their vampire, and that it would be smarter to know the enemy and what made him the monster that he became so long ago, enduring through the centuries. At least it helped Mary understand his interest in the family's dilemma ever since their first meeting right from under their noses.

"Mary?" Mina's sudden question caught Mary's attention. "What do you suppose the professor is looking for in the library?"

Remembering that she was still in her sister's bedroom, Mary seated herself closer to her sister so she could listen to her more clearly.

"Honestly, if I was to surmise a guess, he's probably looking for an explanation as to why Xemnas aimed only for you," Mary replied to her. "I will admit, I actually wish I knew why he would do such an atrocious thing."

Mina was silent for a moment as a thought crossed her mind. "Mary…several days ago, during the middle of the night, something was bothering me for quite some time after escaping Hollow Bastion. I wanted to talk to you about it, but you weren't in the room. I thought maybe you were having trouble sleeping and needed to sort it out yourself. But then, as I was leaving, I saw an old journal in the room, and it wasn't something you owned. I grew curious, and thought I should take a look at it."

Mary didn't like where this was going. "Was that what happened last night when I wasn't looking? What happened after you did that?"

"Well…I read it, and I noticed how it was telling a person's story about love, death, grief and anger, and…the last entry I read sounded very strange," Mina confessed, "It read as though the writer had experienced death after succumbing to despair and anger against whatever took his beloved away, only to come back to life." She paused. "Mary, do you have any idea what this could mean?"

"I…don't know. Why do you bring this up?" Mary answered, uncertain on how to respond.

Mina never got the chance to answer her question when a knock on the door was heard from downstairs, prompting Mary and Terra to temporarily leave their posts to find out who arrived at the house at this hour. To their surprise, they were greeted by cousin Kairi, and she brought her fiancé with her; it made her wonder what went on with their cousins after leaving with Jane last night after the attack.

"Cousin Kairi, what are you doing out here? It's almost completely dark out," Mary asked.

"We don't mean to barge in so suddenly, but I had to come here and let you know what went on after we left," Kairi replied, unease barely showing in her voice. "As we were heading towards home, Xion and I noticed peculiar men out in the streets near where we live. Poor Jane was becoming frightened the moment she recognized them. Xion feared that if we stayed at our house, those men might be able to enter and attack her, so we opted to change locations for the time being."

Terra was perplexed at it. "Where did you two decide to hide?"

"Please, allow me to explain that, Dr. Lander: I was approached by Kairi the moment she arrived at my doorstep," Sora spoke on her behalf. "The instant she told me about her Cousin Jane's situation, I couldn't say no about sheltering her. But…if I was to admit what was baffling, I was told by her that she was given certain instructions to follow courtesy of a doctor called Eraqus. Not long after I invited your cousins in, Xion was giving out strange procedures that would supposedly keep us protected."

"That means the both of them listened to the professor's words without a second thought," Mary deduced. "I know this is a lot to take in – Sora, is it? – but I'm confident that the professor knew what he was doing when he instructed them to use these 'odd' procedures to ensure protection from harm."

Before any more questions can be brought up, a crashing sound could be heard from the other side of the house, shifting their attention from each other towards the direction of the noise. In the meantime, when Mary least expected it, Mina arrived on the scene with Aqua and Ventus following not too far behind her; apparently, they heard the noise, too, and came to investigate what had happened downstairs.

"Mary, what was that?" Mina asked.

"It must've come from the library!" Mary exclaimed.

"The professor is in there!" Terra was instantly worried. "Was there an intruder?"

At the same time, inside the library, Professor Eraqus searched tirelessly as he pried into every book on ancient folklores and supernatural superstitions of the bygone ages. He spent all day pouring over the texts with the hopes that he might be able to find an answer as to the motives behind Mina's victimization and find the solution to eliminate the one who afflicted her in the first place; but for the most part, he wasn't too successful at finding anything regarding the peculiar stranger that the sisters called Xemnas. It certainly made him wonder if any information on such a person became obscure over the centuries due to conflicting documentation of the subject's history or became a dark legend passed down through the mouths of the people who clung to the ancient fears of the unknown.

But then, he remembered that Mary had mentioned she once read a book that did contain something about that man. His intrigue getting the best of him, he carefully searched one section of the library until he found a peculiar book called Mysteries of the Fallen, and pulled it off the shelf to find out what its contents consisted of.

Slowly, he took a seat on the sofa close to a mirror hanging on the wall near him, and started to skim through the pages until he found the very same name that Mina had brought up when she confessed what happened to her last night. Now that he found a match to the name, he was able to start reading the limited history available to the readers' eyes and took in the dark tale of a man who was once someone to be respect in the olden times of nobles and peasantry, who once was capable of love, until grief and anger drove him down a path into a damnation that granted him a cursed immortality – at least, so far as the people who believed in the supernatural were concerned all those centuries ago.

However, unbeknownst to him, a sinister fog crept up to the library window and the latches unlocked by themselves. Then, out of the mist emerged Xemnas, calmly opening the windows and entering the room without any hassle, looking on as the professor had just finished reading the book in his hand. But that didn't really mean that the professor was too preoccupied with his studies to notice.

He looked up from the book to see the new visitor face-to-face, suspicious as to what he was doing here in the first place.

"I didn't hear you come in, sir," the professor said, keeping his composure.

Xemnas gave a little smirk. "I am often told I have a light footstep. Tell me; are you, perchance, Professor Eraqus?"

"I am."

Unknowing to the uninvited guest, though, the professor inspected from the corner of his eyes over toward the mirror and found another uncanny discovery: although he could easily see his reflection against the glass, but he could find no trace of Xemnas anywhere, warning him of the dangers that he is facing within plain sight.

With this knowledge on hand, an idea crossed his mind. "Those who knew you called you Xemnas, am I right? Perhaps you can answer something for me."

The target bought into it. "And what question do you hope I can answer to?"

"Not long after you came into the library, I noticed a rather unsettling phenomenon," Eraqus explained as he directed a finger to the mirror. "You see, I was just looking into the mirror moments ago. Their reflection reaches through much of the room, and yet I cannot see you in there. Why is that?"

It didn't take long for Xemnas to realize the situation the professor was trying to place him; the instant he saw the glass peering into his true nature, he instinctively grabbed an unpolished rock from the desk behind him and threw it against the mirror, breaking the glass into many irreparable pieces. Eraqus noticed that the intruder was rather upset that he had been exploited and tricked into revealing what he truly is under the seemingly human skin, and could barely contain his anger over the deception.

"Pardon me, Professor. I dislike mirrors," Xemnas apologized coldly, "Such unsavory objects are nothing more than playthings of man's vanity."

"That hardly crossed my mind," the professor answered curtly.

"By the way, Professor, how is the fair patient?" Xemnas asked, noticing the knowing twitch on the professor's hand. "You know who I am referring to."

Eraqus gave a little shrug while searching through his bag. "Her diagnosis, unfortunately, does present some difficulties. She has been treated, but I intend to offer other prescriptions for her later on. Perhaps you would be inclined to find out what I will prescribe to her?"

"Anything you prescribe to Mina would be of great interest."

"It is nothing too special, but it is an unusual one nonetheless," the professor explained as he found what he was looking for.

At the right moment, he pulled out a small clove of garlic flowers from his satchel and held it up in his defense, causing Xemnas to react violently against the stifling scent and back away from the source of what irritated him so. For Eraqus, it was another victory for him, for now he knows who the mastermind is now that he has seen him front and center; the only thing that needed to be done, though, is to notify Mary and her family as soon as possible. But first, he must ward away the fiend that caused their misery from the beginning.

Xemnas barely regained his senses as he glared at Eraqus with anger. "For one who has not lived even a single lifetime, you are wise man, Professor. But I suppose you are not wise enough to leave Twilight Town now that you have learned what you have learned."

But the professor would have none of it. "I prefer to remain, if it's all the same to you."

"…I see. You refuse to turn back," Xemnas knew that his new adversary won't relent. "But what do you believe you can accomplish? Time is on my side, Professor. My blood flows through her veins, slowly for now, but you never know. Unlike you, she will live on through the centuries to come as I have lived."

As horrified as Eraqus was about the possibility of Mina's fate, especially since he now knew what transpired between the vampire and the victim, a seething anger wormed its way into his mind as he searched his satchel for another tool he needed to drive the fiend out of the house, knowing that he was at a disadvantage without his weapons. He knew that Mary needed to learn about the sin Xemnas committed against Mina, and that said youngest sister's life in on the line with the danger of her becoming one of the un-dead, like Caroline originally had several days prior to the assault on Jane and Mina.

"Even if you have succeeded in beginning your corruption of Miss Mina, we know how we can save her soul, if not her life," he retorted at his adversary.

Xemnas chuckled dryly at that. "Maybe so. However, I have met my share of enemies in my lifetime and across the centuries, and all of them have fallen before me."

When he made a flick of a finger as though he was beckoning, Professor Eraqus quickly realized that his body was forcibly compelled to obey the whims of the loathsome monster. As he fought to regain control over himself, he could feel a slight tinge of movement when one leg started to move forward; however, through his sheer willpower, he was able to stop his other leg from making a step, and in a matter of minutes, regained control as he instead forced himself to step back so as to avoid being harmed.

Xemnas noticed this, though, and there was a feeling of both fear and admiration for the resistance of his opponent.

"Well, now…Your will is strong. If you will not come to me, then I will have to come to you."

This was just the opportunity Eraqus was waiting for; just as Xemnas drew close into his vicinity, he quickly extracted a crucifix from his satchel and held it right in front of him, forcing the vampire to pause at the sight of the holy relic and back away in repulse like it was a deadly plague. It was pretty clear that the professor now has the advantage, not allowing the nightly creature to stay within the house any longer than he already has.

With the professor in pursuit, crucifix in hand, Xemnas realized that he was in danger so as the relic stayed in view. Desperate, he hastily snatched a glass jar from the desk behind him and threw it at the professor in an attempt to forcibly lower his guard and seize the chance to attack him. Unfortunately, even though he did succeed in momentarily throwing off Eraqus's focus, he wasn't able to get an opportunity to strike back when the professor regained his footing and forced the crucifix back into view. This alerted him to the danger of remaining within the vicinity of the hunter, and came to realize that he cannot stay with the risk of being caught.

"Begone! Leave this premise, and remember the sacrilege you've committed!" Eraqus demanded angrily.

With a low growl of rage at being forced into retreat, Xemnas turned and made his escape through the window he had entered from, all the while shifting into the form of a bat and flying away from the house until he disappeared into the dark of night. Eraqus used this retreat to set the window tightly and fastening the crucifix between the handles and the lock so as to make certain nobody would intrude that way again.

Not long after he did, the library door was forced open just as Mary and the others arrived on the scene to find a relieved but exhausted professor securing the windows. The shattered mirror and the debris scattered in a few places spoke volumes to them that there was an intruder, and they didn't witness what happened when their only ally was alone in the room.

"Professor, what happened?" Terra asked, worried that his former mentor might've been harmed.

"We heard a noise," Mary added, looking around at the mess.

Eraqus shook his head. "Xemnas has been here."

Everyone was stunned to hear this. Mary was especially horrified that the same man Mina mentioned arrived here tonight, but for what purpose?

"You mean the very same person that visited Mina last night while we were unaware?" Aqua asked.

"Yes, the very same. He came here to kill me, now that he knows his chosen victim is under our protection after her attack last night," the professor explained, "It is he who is the vampire, the leader of the monsters that plague the Chastains. He tried to kill me, and now he will prey upon all of us for our intervention."

The only thing that Mary could do was slump on the sofa from shock at the fact that Xemnas now knows much more without her realizing it. If the professor encountered him and almost had his life endangered because of his efforts to help her and her sisters end their waking nightmare, then that can only mean the vampires will double their efforts to get rid of them as soon as possible before the hunting group can gain an upper hand against them. But how will they be able to tip the scales in their favor if they don't know where they are hiding themselves within the vicinity of Twilight Town?

Kairi and Sora, baffled at the new development, were at a loss as to how to respond to the already difficult situation.

"Then…does this mean that our cousins are in greater danger?" Kairi had to ask out of fear.

Sora shook his head in frustration. "I don't even understand what's happening. What did the Chastain family do to deserve having a death wish forced upon them?"

"You and your fiancée have nothing to do with what is happening now, but there is still a risk if the rest of you are involved in the matter," Ventus answered on Mary's behalf. "All that matters now is that you both should return home as soon as possible, and alert Jane to the current situation. Just keep her safe, and answer to nobody until what is hunting the family is truly gone from their life."

"Really, who knows what they'll do next?" Mary mumbled in dismay.

"…Professor? Maybe…I might have a possible answer as to why he came tonight and last night?"

Mina's question shifted everyone's attention directly to her as she struggled to keep her composure after hearing the shocking news on the attempted attack on the professor. Even though she has already been through a hellish experience, she showed just enough willpower to keep her head together, hoping that she wouldn't let her fears cloud her judgment.

Moved by her question, Professor Eraqus approached her and asked her as softly as he could, "Is there something you wished to speak to us about, Miss Mina? Do you have an idea as to why you were preyed by the master unlike the rest of your family?"

Mina nodded shyly as she answered, "I think…no…I am certain I have a reason for my suffering."