Okay, finally up. Ugh, it's raining outside. I guess it's better than having snow come down just yet. Well, I know the battle was supposed to be in this chapter, but the chapter as a whole turned out to be so long, that I split it in two. This chapter will just be the build up to that. I will consider combining the two chapters later, but I'll leave it as is for now. Also, when it's told from the Baskerville's point of veiw they adress Leo as Glen (just to clear up any confusion.)

I do not own Pandora Hearts in any way.

Chapter 27: In the Calm of the Gale

The road to Aroila was long and tiring. I had been right on one account, because when we stopped to rest in a town halfway between Kara and Aroila, Sasha had called and then proceeded to yell at me and Elliot. God, she is so damn irritating! I spent an hour trying to explain things to her, and, eventually she calmed down and listened to what I had to say. She was still mad at me about what we were doing, but she said that if Leo's life really was in danger, then she would leave these problems to me. The last thing she had said to me was, 'be careful.'

After I had fallen asleep in the carriage, I woke up two hours later to find that it was moving and Elliot was driving it. I thanked him for that, but he just replied by saying that I should sleep. I guess that was true, after all, because of tomorrow, it would be the 300th anniversary of that day, and the battle would soon be upon us come nightfall.

I kept listening to Hammock songs on my ipod, but there was one I couldn't stop listening to. It was called Always Wishing You Were Somewhere Else. No matter how many times its beautiful sound echoed through my mind, I couldn't stop thinking of Leo.

I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. Looks like heartache and worry was getting the better of me.

Sometime early the next morning, I took over for Elliot so he could sleep. Of course he complained about it, but he complied eventually. Seriously, we both had to be ready for what was going to happen today.

"So, today's the day, right?" He asked me before he stepped inside the carriage.

"Yeah. Today it has been officially 300 years since the Tragedy of Sablier." I replied as I had grabbed the reins.

He was silent for a moment, but then asked, "When will we arrive in Aroila?"

"Mid afternoon. We'll have to get some information as to how far out the complex is from the city, then make out way from there."

"Good." With that, he closed the carriage door, and I snapped the reins, the horses once again pulling our carriage closer to Aroila.

"Let me out." I hissed through my clenched teeth as another wave of pain came over me, my voice repating the same three words over and over, not letting up on the anger in them. I was still standing though, once again pounding my fist on the dead space in front of me. "Let me out!"

I knew Glen could hear me, and what that black haired boy from earlier said to me was true; I did have the will to fight back, because this is my body. After waking up again, I had decided that I would fight back, and use all of my strength that I had left. He had said something was corroding me inside, and I could feel that, but I wasn't about to let that get in my way.

Those people intend to hurt Carrie and Elliot, and I'm not going to let that happen.

"Glen, I know you can hear me! Let me out!" I cried again.

I whipped the sweat off my forehead, already feeling exhausted from this effort. I felt like I was going to be sick at any second, but I continued to hit the empty space anyways. My body was growing weaker, I knew that, but I still had to try.

If there was someway to break through this prison of my subconscious, get back to the real world, I could save them, the only two people I had left in this world.

"Let me out!"

I grabbed my stomach as I suddenly felt it twisting into several knots, sinking down to my knees as I did so. My tightened fist though, remained on the black wall, and I looked up at it in anger, my pent up furry being vented through my effort. The corrosion was growing stronger, but I have no choice but to put up with it.

No mater how ill I felt, no matter how tired I get, no matter how much this corrosion was eating away at me, more than anything, I wasn't about to give up.

"Glen-sama, if I may ask, that girl, Carrie, why is she a threat?" Heather asked Glen, who was buttoning up his jacket of his old clothes. (Mark took them from Carrie's house)

"Young Carrie, you mean?"

"Yes. From what Mark had said, you had said that she is a threat, that her existence is volatile."

Glen looked over to the dark purple ribbon, picking it up. "Because she is. That girl is the embodiment of that insolent girl."

"Here, let me tie that for you." Heather suggested. He only nodded and let her tie the ribbon around the younger boy's neck. "Now, as you were saying, who exactly is Carrie the supposed reincarnation that you are hinting at?"

"Anastasia Mouchette."

"Huh?"

"You see, Heather, back in my time lived a girl named this. For some reason, she held a tremendous power that she never knew of, and thus, never used." Glen explained as she finished tying the ribbon. "There was only one time she ever used it, and it was on today 300 years ago after I tried to get rid of her myself, since she was being an obstacle. That foolish boy, Aaron, died trying to save her, and she found me afterwards and unleashed that power."

"I've seen Carrie's power first hand, but that was with her Chain, Raven." Heather said as she opened the curtains. "She really has a power though that is causing an imbalance of the Abyss?"

"Yes. Like that boy 200 years ago, Oz Vessalius, her existence is a threat." Suddenly, that faint throbbing in his head from yesterday was back, and growing stronger. "It's very...volatile."

The last word came out strained and he couldn't help but fall to his knees, one of his hands to his head.

"Glen-sama!" Heather exclaimed, rushing over and dropping down next to him. "Are you alright?"

He breathed out through his nose, then whispered, "Stupid boy."

"Huh? Is it Leo again?" She asked, helping him up.

"Persistent, I'll give him that much."

Suddenly, there is a knock on the door. Heather went over and opened it, only to see Dan and Mark standing in the doorway. Her adoptive brother held a red cloak, and Mark...well, he just wore the same blank face as always.

"Here." He said, tossing her the cloak. "Are you two ready? We have to get to the complex so we can prepare."

"Yes. Oh, and get some water for Glen-sama while you're at it." She looked back at him. "That boy is trying to fight back."

"I appreciate your concern, Heather, but I only have to put up with it for a little longer." Glen reassured her.

"We're only thinking of you, but you are right. It will only be for a little longer."

He nodded. "Yes, when the clock strikes midnight, that boy, Leo...his life will be over."

Just as Carrie had said, we arrived in Aroila by mid afternoon. The town was almost the same as her hometown, Kara, horse-drawn carriages passing us by as we went along.

As for trying to get information on the granite complex Carrie had talked about, we weren't making much progress. For starters, it had been shut down so long ago (50 years maybe), that there was hardly any information about it. People said that there was nothing left of it, but, based on pictures that we had found, we were assured that there were still remains. This fit the concept of ruins that the letter had talked about.

Carrie did most of the talking, leaving me alone with my thoughts. There was an odd feeling I got about her though. She may look like an almost mirror copy of myself, but to me, she's become like...a sister. She reminded me so much of my dear sister, Vanessa, who had perished the night of the party when her head was cut off.

I still feel bits of guilt, her death having been caused by my hand, but Carrie was almost like a replica, except without the dark short hair and the hatred Vanessa held towards Leo.

"If something happened to that servant...I'll find you a new one myself!"

No, Carrie wasn't like that. In reality, she held the exact opposite, because what she was doing right now, it was because she loved Leo.

I haven't known her long, but I can tell that she's a strong girl, like Vanessa.

"Anything?" I asked Carrie as I saw her walk back to the carriage.

"Not much." She answered. "Same information."

"Damn." I muttered. "No one knows?"

"Well, let's head to the library next. Maybe some people there know." She got back up and sat down next to me, taking the reins once more. Her face appeared to be blank and her eyes tainted with worry. In a way, I can sense that, because tonight is the only chance we have to save Leo.

"Carrie." She turned her head to me upon hearing her name called. "We're gonna get him back."

She then smiled. "Yeah, and you know what? I won't give up ether, because no matter if was Leo or you, I wouldn't leave you two behind no matter what."

I blinked, then offered a grin back at her. 'She really is like you, Vanessa.'

"We're here." Dan announced to the three other people in the carriage; Mark, Heather, and Glen. When the carriage stopped, Mark gathered his things and stepped out, Heather following behind him, then Glen.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked as she looked back at him. "You look a bit pale."

"It's nothing." He answered. "This boy's body is frail because he has a weak immune system."

"If you say so, but you don't have to really help us prepare or anything. You can rest if needed, and let us do all the work."

Glen adjusted the glasses on his face and continued walking along with the other Baskervilles. He didn't really mind the glasses much, but it was the boy trapped inside that was causing him trouble. The headaches he had been feeling were being caused by that boy, and it irritated him that the boy was still resisting.

'He knows it's hopeless. He knows his life will end tonight. Yet...why does he still fight?' Glen wondered.

It wasn't that he was worried that the boy trapped inside, Leo, would break free would break free of the prison that was his subconscious, but his effort's that were causing Glen these headaches were starting to get annoying.

Meanwhile, Mark looked at each of the other people around him. All of them, with the exception of Glen, were dressed in their red robes. As they walked inside, he glanced at the structure that was now in ruins, yet further inside, part of it was still intact as a whole. Ever deeper, that's were the ceremony that would retrieve the fragment would be held, and at the stroke of midnight, the body of the boy that Glen possessed, Leo...he would be...

Why was that strange to him, that Leo would be dead?

This one thought was invading his mind, taking him over like a disease, filling his every thought with the faint subtext.

As he lead Glen to a room that had been prepared in advance, he began to think back on all those things. He remembered the first time he had seen the young girl, Carrie, using her Chain to save the boy they had captured. There was also one time, he had seen the confrontation between the two when Glen had first taken control. He could tell right then and there, that the girl was in love with him, and she would try anything to get him back.

'I wonder...how she will react to this?' He thought to himself, a bitter thought that needed to be kept to himself.

Was all of this...was it wrong?

"Here's the room we prepared for you." Mark said to Glen as he opened a door.

Glen only nodded in response and walked inside, closing the door behind him. After a moment, Mark walked away rubbing his head, all his thoughts jumbled and confused.

Suddenly, he felt a slight pain inside him and he stopped walking as he felt bile rise in his throat, then coughing it up. He leaned against the wall, trying to steady himself as another wave of nausea flooded him.

"Dammit." He muttered. "The medicine keeps wearing off faster and faster."

Regaining a bit of his strength, he started walking again, wondering if Heather had brought his medicine for him. His steps were now slow, but he was getting his energy back after that spasm had gone through him.

He had told Heather and Dan that he needed to take his medicine regularly because of his condition, but it was only a front, and he knew that.

After a few minutes of searching, he found Heather holding a piece of paper.

"Heather-san." Mark called out as he approached the female Baskerville, who was looking at a sketch of the sigils needed for the ceremony.

"What?" She set the paper down and turned to face him.

"You brought my medicine, right?"

She sighed, reaching for something in her pocket. "Yeah. Did you have another attack again?"

"Just a small one." He said as Heather handed a small bottle to him. He unscrewed the cap and put two pills in his mouth, effortlessly swallowing them.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine now." He said in his usual monotone voice. "But, I need to talk to you."

"Fine, but we're short on time here."

He took in a breath of fresh air and began. "Is this right?"

Heather looked at him, confused and surprised. "Mark, what are you-"

"I mean, I know this is to free Glen and all, but, we're also killing an innocent boy." He explained, this opinion finally flowing after being bottled up for so long. "I can't see what he's done wrong. I do still follow in what we believe in, but, I don't see the gain by killing Leo."

*Slap*

The side of Mark's face stung, and he knew then that Heather had slapped him across the face.

"W-what the hell are you going on about?" She demanded. "That boy is binding Glen-sama! The fragment needs to be retrieved to set him free, and that egg shell is standing in our way! Yeah, he'll die, so what?"

"Heather-san-"

"He is a threat to all of us! Do you realize he has the power to kill all of us?" Her angry shouts were wild and filled with rage. "If we release Glen-sama, then the boy will die, and that obstacle will be out of the way."

He could do anything else at this point but to comply. "I see. Sorry, Heather-san."

"Good, now make yourself useful and go see if Dan needs any help." She ordered.

"Yes, Heather-san." He walked away, but those feelings were still making him feel uneasy.

Mark found it odd how, even though he was a Baskerville, all of this was strange and foreign to him.

'That boy is too young, he's at his limit. Leo doesn't deserve to die.'

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed as I rushed back to the carriage. Elliot glanced down at me as I scrambled to get back up to where he was. "I found it, Elliot!"

"You know where the complex is?" He asked me.

"Yes. It's about two miles from here, which will take about thirty minutes."

"We have to get moving then." He added gesturing over to the setting sun. "It's growing dark out here."

I nodded. There wasn't much time left at all. On our way here, we had gotten caught up in quite a problem, the being one of the bridges was being repaired. Due to that, we were rerouted an hour out before we could get back on the right road. It had reached 7:00 by the time we got here and we had been trying to gather information for a half hour. By the time we would reach the complex, it would be 8:00, which left us with four hours.

As soon as we left the limits of the downtown area, the sky had grown even darker, yet the sun still painted a glow onto everything.

"Elliot," I asked suddenly. "we don't have a plan, do we?"

"Nope." He answered.

"I thought so." I looked out at the sky, now a light purple remaining in the air. Oh, how it reminded me of Leo's eyes, those deep night sky, lilac eyes.

"I know this might be stupid to you, but...do you believe in fighting till the end?"

I glanced back over to him, his gaze directed to the sky also. "Of course, I mean, why wouldn't I? See, you can't gust give up and lightly toss away everything, you have to fight and struggle against the odds no matter how desperate and hopeless it seems. You have to fight, right till the end."

"Hmm. I see." His eyes were still staring out onto the horizon. "We might think the same, but what about Leo?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, then opening them again. "I think that he would definitely fight too. He once said to my sister, that he wants to protect me. By that, I think he means that he would protect us, but fight with the same strength that we have."

"We fight then. That's the plan."

I grinned. "Yeah, I guess so. We have to rescue Leo, and we'll fight to get him back."

The tall metal structure of the old granite complex loomed over us as it came into view. Carrie had pulled the carriage off to the side of the road, tying the reins around a tree so the horses wouldn't run away on us. There seemed to be a radiant energy surrounding Carrie, but I really don't know, I'm just judging by the look on her face.

When we were ready, we walked out onto the dirt path, the moon already rising through the branches of the trees. This place did fit the description exactly; a dirt path lead up to the complex, which, over the years, had fallen into ruins. Spread out around the complex, the were mounds of granite, few pounded up so that it was nothing more than gravel, tiny as sand.

'So, by sand, it meant the gravel.' I concluded, taking a handful of the gravel as we walked past a mound. I wasn't exactly sure what the water part meant, but there was something about this place, something about this situation that made me anxious.

Based on that, there's no doubt this is the place.

"It is like ruins, don't you think?" Carrie asked.

I looked up at them. "I guess so."

"So, where do you suppose we start? We only have four hours."

"Honestly, I don't have a clue."

Carrie took to looking around, but then her eyes flashed suddenly and I heard a rustling from somewhere nearby. I heard it too, and looked around, not seeing anything. I glanced back at Carrie, her eyes darting around and looking for the source of the noise.

I heard it again, this time closer, and I reach for my sword by reflex.

"Carrie, something's here!" But when I looked back at her, her face was frozen with an unreadable expression, and, without warning, she fell to the ground.

Surprised, I took one step towards her, and I felt it too. It was a strong and oppressive energy, making my ears ring with it's high pitched noise. With Carrie's power, it was clear that she had fallen easy, so it must be taking more time on me. Still, I don't know how much I could take.

I tried to look around for the enemy, wanting to draw my sword out in defense, but my hand that held the hilt wasn't responding, it was trembling instead.

The ringing picked up on octave, and it's noise stung as I fell to my knees, bringing back memories of when the Baskervilles ambushed us yesterday. I couldn't take it much more, and soon I was giving into the darkness as two figures approached wearing red robes.

'Dammit...!'

"How did they get here?" Dan asked, carrying both Carrie and Elliot over his shoulders. Mark walked beside him, carrying Elliot's sword, carefully looking over it's sleek black surface.

"Who...knows." He swallowed again, fighting down another urge to throw up what he had eaten earlier after talking to Heather.

"Are you alright?" Dan asked, taking notice of Mark's pale face. "Heather-san told me it happened again."

He nodded, but uncertain with himself. "Yes, it's just that my medicine hasn't kicked in yet."

"You seem to be getting worse every year. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"I assure you, I'm fine."

Dan sighed and glanced at each of the teens slung over his shoulders. "Anyway, I don't even know how they found this place."

"I'm just as clueless as you are, but I think it would be quite obvious that they would have come though."

"You may have a point there." He looked over at the shorter boy as he stopped walking. Dan turned back to him and put a hand to Mark to steady him, still balancing the two others. "We'll see what Heather-san wants to do with them, then you can go and sleep until we're ready. I'll help Heather-san with the rest."

"Thanks." There was something off in his voice, like a hint of regret.

"Mark-kun," He asked as they walked inside. "Is something bothering you? Did you and Heather-san get into a fight or something?"

"No, nothing like that." But in the back of his mind, he knew that Dan had gotten it exactly right.

Actually, everything he said was right, Mark was just throwing out lies to cover it up. His body kept getting weaker with each passing year, his medicine getting less and less effective, and he wondered, just how much longer it would be before he was weak enough that he wouldn't be needed anymore. When would the day come where things would be shattered?

Meanwhile, he still had these conflicting thoughts. These two people that they were now bringing back to Heather, he knew they would stand witness to what would be done in a matter of a few hours. Elliot would once again lose his servant, and Carrie's heart would be broken. All of this still felt wrong, but he couldn't go against orders.

Mark was still a Baskerville after all.

Right, now the next chapter will be the battle, I assure you. Carrie and Elliot are in for a fight though, and they'll have a very limited amount of time to acomplish their goal. Just as a note, what's happening with Mark, it doesn't really matter to this story, but will become important in the sequel. I'll have the next chapter sometime next week.

As always, feel free to leave a reveiw.