A/N: I finally got off my ass and started with this one again. last chappie, then the epilogue!


Chapter 9: The Game is on

Rebecca watched as Skinner asked the guard on watch if he could borrow his gun to knock him out with it, and once that guard was on the ground, Mina in the form of her flock of bats flew into the gated tunnel behind him. By the time the guard's partner went to help him, Rebecca and Hyde were approaching with one swipe of his hand, the guard went flying.

Once inside, Nemo had his men check the room they were in and make sure there wasn't a surprise attack waiting for them. Once they were sure the room was clear, the League met in a group and Hyde put his hand in the middle of the circle and waited for the others to do the same.

Rebecca was the first to put her hand atop his, then Mina, then Nemo, and Sawyer and Skinner with Quatermain on top of them all. They all exchanged glances of 'Good Luck' and with a pat of Quatermain's hand, they split up. Nemo and Hyde to free the scientists, Mina to find Dorian, Quatermain and Sawyer to find M, and Skinner with Rebecca to set the bombs they carried.

Skinner stripped off his coat and hat, giving his glasses to Rebecca which she put in her own coat pocket and she materialized a handkerchief for him to use to wipe his make up away. She clapped her hands together and instantly disappeared, but the bombs hanging from the belt on her shoulder were still visible.

"Follow me, love," Skinner whispered, and Rebecca followed the floating bombs, indicating where he was leading her.

They said nothing else as they hurried through the huge fortress, stopping at a trap door, which Skinner quickly headed down into, Rebecca following. They found themselves below the furnaces, the light from the fires illuminating their targets.

"I'll set one, and you follow my lead, eh?" Skinner asked, speaking normally now that they were standing amongst noisy equipment.

"Fine," Rebecca nodded and watched one of the bombs float off the strap, into the air and the button above the timer was pushed before it floated next to a tank of some kind.

"Got it?" Skinner asked.

"Yeah," Rebecca replied and they both hurried through setting bomb after bomb.

They both hurried when they noticed they were just below a piece of machinery that sparked, significantly. Rebecca pulled the hood of her invisible coat over her head to keep the sparks at bay, but she heard Skinner shout in pain as he set his last bomb.

"Want my coat?" she asked, setting the last of her bombs as well.

"Just a small flesh wound, love," he assured her. "I'll be fine."

"That's the last of mine," she announced.

"Mine too," he replied. "This'll make a nice little fireworks show, eh, love?"

"Hell yes," she smirked, clapping her hands and becoming visible again. "I'm going to help Nemo and Hyde with the prisoners."

"I'll go find Allan and Sawyer," Skinner agreed, the strap hanging from his shoulder falling to the ground. "Be careful, love."

"You too," she replied before he gave her directions on where to go and she turned to hurry out from under the furnaces.

She rounded corners and finally came to a ladder that Skinner had told her would lead her to a trap door. She climbed up and when she reached the door, she lifted it slowly, peeking into the dark room it led into. She'd heard some of the men saying something about intruders, and knew they'd been discovered.

When she noticed no one was in the room she flung the door open and climbed out, but as she was closing the door, a loud bang echoed through the room. She gasped and spun around, her hood falling from her head, to see the door to the room was lying on the floor and a huge figure stepped in, looking around the room before looking right at her.

"Edward," she sighed in relief and hurried toward them as Nemo and his men marched into the room.

She had just reached Hyde when a volley of bullets sounded and she spun around to see that beyond the arches they were hiding behind was a staircase, with the Fantom's men raining bullet upon them, one man laughing man maniacally. Hyde turned and pulled the metal door he'd thrown off its hinges into his hands, using it as a shield as Nemo's men fired at their enemies. The bullets ricocheted off the door, causing some of the men to retreat.

"Nemo! Beck! Get the scientists!" Hyde roared, and the two ran toward the place the scientists were working as he shouted, "Is that all you've got?"

Nemo ran in first and Rebecca watched as he instantly took down all the men guarding the scientists before sheathing his sword and marching back toward her.

"Stand outside and create a shield to keep them from being hit as they pass through the fight," Nemo ordered.

Rebecca and headed out, clapping her hands together and standing to the side of the path the scientists would be taking to the door Hyde had smashed through. She lifted her hands, palms facing out and the clear film of he shields began forming out of her hands and up toward the ceiling as well as down toward the floor until there was a wall of it. She watched the scientists pass her as Hyde stepped next to her, urging them on.

They heard rattling and Hyde turned to see armored men running down the stairs to attack. Hyde roared and ran at the lead man as he laughed and threw him across the room. He scrambled to his feet as Hyde taunted him, yelling at him, and the man grabbed a huge triangular vile of clear liquid.

"No!" Hyde shouted, making Rebecca turn her head, but she only saw him standing on the ledge facing into the room the scientists had been in. The man below poured the liquid into his mouth as Hyde groaned, "Not the whole thing."

After the man poured the rest of the potion half down his throat and half all over his face, he threw the glass down with a crash as he began screaming and groaning in pain, and Hyde began backing away.

"Edward?" Rebecca called.

"Get the scientists out!" he yelled as Nemo came up next to her and urged her to pay attention. They hurried the scientists through the door, rounding a corner as Nemo told his men to get them to the ship.

"Nemo!"

Rebecca felt her heart clench when she heard Hyde's weak and distressed call, and without thinking she turned and headed toward it, Nemo right next to her. They rounded a corner and saw Hyde on the ground, facing them, panic all over his face. They all heard footsteps thumping toward them from the dark hall behind him and he scrambled to his feet to back toward them.

"Beck, run!" he shouted just as the three saw a huge, red beast emerge from the darkness.

It charged toward Hyde and threw him into a column, making it crumble to the ground. It came at Hyde again and grabbed him, punching him repeatedly until Hyde found an opening and stopped one hit to punch the creature and send it across the room and onto the ground.

"What is that thing?" Rebecca breathed as she and Nemo watched the scene and Hyde rolled one of his massive shoulders, not looking to them.

"It's me on a bad day," he growled as the red thing stood and charged toward him again, Hyde doing the same.

Nemo drew his sword as the two threw punches, slamming into the stone walls and columns, sending dust and rumble flying everywhere. A huge piece of stone came flying at Rebecca and Nemo but she quickly clapped her hands and lifted a shield around them so that it bounced off of it. Hyde was thrown into a wall again and Nemo took the opportunity to begin slicing at the monster as Rebecca ran toward Hyde to help him up. A moment later Nemo was thrown by the thing and into the wall right next to Hyde and Rebecca.

"He's too strong," Nemo stated as he scrambled to his feet, Hyde standing as well.

"We're trapped," Rebecca breathed in despair as Hyde stepped toward an opening in the stone they were using for cover.

"No," he replied. "He's burned through the formula at an accelerated rate." He looked over the wall in front of them, shook his head and turned to report, "He'll soon change back."

No sooner did the words come out of his mouth that a huge hand broke through the columns above and grabbed Hyde to slam him back against the wall, making Rebecca scream.

"Nemo!" Hyde screamed as the monster continued pounding him against the wall.

Rebecca clapped her hands and few into the air as Nemo lodged his sword into the creature's hand to free Hyde. The thing roared in pain as Rebecca hovered above its head and launched toward him, feet first at an angle so that her heels would hit its face. She made the hit and just as she did, Hyde gripped the thing's hand and pulled him over his head to slam him into the wall in front of him. Nemo grabbed Rebecca's hand as she landed next to him and pulled her away from the rubble.

"Edward! Hurry!" she called, turning to see him trudging after them as Nemo stopped as well to wait for him. "Come on!"

"My formula's done," he groaned, trying to hurry toward them and Nemo and Rebecca held him up an arm each as he began transforming, still running.

The two tried to keep his thrashing to a minimum as they headed toward a hole in the wall of the fortress that looked like an exit, the huge creature behind them running after them.

Jekyll's transformation complete, they began running toward the gap, Jekyll grabbing Rebecca's hand to shove her in first and Nemo following her before he finally ran in himself. They found the gap only led to a small room with a tall ceiling, covered in snow and ice. The creature thrust its hand into the gap but the rest of its body was too huge to get through the gap. It started pounding at the brick to make it wider, making icicles from the ceiling hurtle toward the three when they huddled against the wall.

"Look out!" Jekyll shouted as he shoved Nemo away, Rebecca holding onto his arm as he through the other one around her and she instantly clapped her hands to generate her shield as the three came together again. The creature looked above its head and noticed an exceptionally large icicle and reached for it to pull it off and lifted it above them.

"I don't think the shields will hold against that!" Rebecca breathed, but still held them up to protect the three.

The creature was about to let the thing fall but an explosion rattled the floor and the three ducked out of reflex, even though Rebecca's shields held and kept any more rubble and debris from hitting them and the explosion caused a hole to be opened in the wall behind them. The rocking and rumbling continued and Rebecca couldn't help but stare on as pieces of huge rubble began falling on the creature that was assaulting them.

"Beck! Come on!" Jekyll shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the gap behind them just as one last piece of stone fell onto the creature and dust flew out behind them as the three ran into the snow.

They all coughed and dusted themselves off as Jekyll instantly began shivering and the explosions continued. Rebecca clapped her hands together and materialized a blanket for him, throwing it around his shoulders and she was about to step back but he gripped her hand and pulled her toward him, holding her close.

"Thank god," he breathed. "It's over."

Rebecca smiled and slipped her arms around him, glancing over his shoulder and frowning when she noticed a cloaked figure running toward a patch of open water. She was about to say something but just as the figure was nearing the water's edge, he collapsed and a box he'd been carrying tumbled into the water.

"Yes," she sighed through a smile, burying her face into his neck. "It's over."


Several Days Later...

It was hot in Africa. So hot that Rebecca couldn't understand how Mina or the others could wear what they were. Then again, she was one to talk. She still wore her coat and gloves, but she supposed, like the rest of them, she wanted to look her best to send Quatermain on his way to the afterlife. Jekyll held her hand as they all neared the place he'd been buried, next to his son. Sawyer was there already, his rifle across his shoulders, and the others met them there as well. A tear trickled down her cheek as she leaned of Jekyll's arm when they stopped at the grave.

"You remember he swore Africa wouldn't let him die?" Skinner recalled as Sawyer lowered his rifle to stand it next to him. "I wish the old boy had been right."

They were all silent for a moment and Rebecca frowned as she heard rattling and some sort of chanting from an old man she could only guess was a Witch Doctor as she turned to see where the sounds were coming from.

"What's next?" Sawyer asked, drawing Rebecca's attention back to the group.

"I have long hidden away from the world," Nemo replied, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Now I wish to see it anew as the century turns. You're all welcome to join me."

"We've all been hiding in one form or another," Mina chimed in as Rebecca looked to up at Jekyll and leaned her head on his arm again, Sawyer turning his attention for a moment to the Witch Doctor.

"The Nautilus awaits," Nemo reported.

"So, who's coming?" Sawyer asked, turning his attention back to them.

They all began filing after Nemo, saying their good byes and Rebecca watched Sawyer for a moment as he cocked the rifle and knelt down to set it on the grave before standing and heading after them as well, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked down at the ground. Rebecca frowned when the sky darkened slightly and stopped to turn around and face the grave, pulling on Jekyll's arm.

"Beck?" he frowned in wonder but she only stared at Quatermain's grave, seeing the Witch Doctor now standing there and chanting at the sky. She quickly turned away, her eyes wide and staring ahead before she began walking again, Sawyer stepping next to her.

"It was nothing," she smiled weakly, making Jekyll frown, but he didn't push the subject further.

"Perhaps we haven't seen the last of Allan bloody Quatermain," she thought to herself with a smile.


A/N: reviews?