AN- I am so very, very sorry for leaving this so long- this has been written up and ready for publishing for ages, but I forgot _ and I have been having some writers block as well as being busy with Uni work, but I promise I will try and get writing updates again ASAP- sorry for keeping you all.

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Things had settled down into an awkward silence- at least for Rodney Skinner. Nemo and Sawyer seemed quite happy to go on not speaking to each other, leaving him as 'piggy in the middle' and trying to spread his attention between them. If it was wanted. A fire had been made and fatigue set in finally to claim each of them, urging them to rest. Unwilling to risk eating anything that grew in the place they were content to burn it instead, getting a multitude of interesting coloured smoke that rose from it steadily. They settled this in a clearing, ate any rations they had brought with them which weren't much and then were content to get some sleep and clear their minds. Only Skinner remained awake now, going over this mad house in his mind. He doubted the safety of going to sleep really without someone keeping watch, so he assigned himself to it for a while. He was much less tired than the rest of them anyway, finding that taking that invisibility formula so long ago had increased his endurance.

''Christ…'' He muttered, rubbing his forehead and wishing he had a hipflask with him. He wore his pince nez as well as a little paint upon his eyelids to ease them and rested at the base of a tree. They were no closer to finding the girl, nor the missing Agent. He just hoped to God that '004' had not lost his head- he was in here alone too and after seeing Sawyer take a funny turn, it wouldn't surprise him to be taking a madman back to London- if they ever got back…

The road behind seemed as though it had closed- not visually of course, but he had just had the unshakeable feeling that they could only keep going forward- maybe he was getting paranoid now, losing his marbles but he didn't want to voice this concern for fear of sounding like a prat for saying it. He could hear odd noises everywhere, all of them giving off a sinister feeling to him- they only assumed it was night in this place, as they couldn't really tell, because there were no patches of sunlight drawing through the trees anymore. They might be deep in the heart of the wood, or it might be night time- either way they were all shattered.

All he could do was sit and watch, waiting for his turn to conk out patiently and hope that the group wouldn't come apart at the seams anymore…

4th September 1899
Coach and Horses Inn

''Griffin….but- they sad you were killed months ago-'' Jekyll began, his min and heart racing. This was just the same problem all over again, not a repeat of an old 'curse'…

''Evidently I was not, or I would not be here with this knife to your throat.'' Griffin replied impatiently. ''That was a decoy- an albino dunce whom I needed to test the last stretch of formula upon before I used it myself. It was meant to be temporary, unlike my own condition.''

''An albino? Presumably because of his coloration, you were in a hurry….too hasty to get the work done...'' Jekyll replied, piecing it all together. The people of Iping had killed some other poor fellow who had been used as a guinea pug by this evidently craze but intelligent man of science.

''Very good, yes, but the colour of him did not make it any damned easier. It was a perfect test once it was over but my own curse is still something I have been unable to fix. Now I do not look at it so negatively…'' Griffin explained. The door to the cellar was open and that provided the only light with which Jekyll had been rooting through the books- he could hear no movement upstairs and it left him feeling uneasy. God, don't let him be alone with this mad man….

''Listen here- I am not about to explain myself to you Henry without knowing your full name. Come now!'' The Invisible man said, shaking him briefly. The name he had overheard earlier.

''Jekyll- Doctor Henry Jekyll…'' he replied, feeling the other stiffen slightly at the mention of his title. Perhaps it was the 'Doctor' part which had caused it, or perhaps he recognized the name….or both in fact, might have been what made his captor go contemplatively quiet for a moment.

''Jekyll, eh? I remember your case in the papers…an extraordinary feat, much like my own- is it true?''

''Yes.''

''Your chemical experiment was a success?''

''Not completely- at least I would not label it as such…'' Jekyll told him, cautious to answer his questions. There was nothing he could have learned about the League, but it would not be long before he wanted to know of their business hunting him down in Sussex, especially when he was meant to be a dead man.

''Ah- of course. Side effects, unanticipated side effects of what could have been an experiment to change the very world as we know it.'' Griffin confirmed with a nod, even though his captive would never have been able to see it. ''You did not expect your 'darker side' to get out of hand so much so. I did no expect all the hardships that invisibility did bring nor that a solution would be so deuced difficult to discover…''

''So then, what have you been doing in these past months following your apparent 'death'?'' The Doctor asked him, flinching as the knife was pressed a little harder to his throat and the grip on his shoulder tightened.

''Not so fast, Jekyll. What is your business here? Why would a man such as you, presumed dead and afflicted by a chemical curse such as my own, be looking for me? Hm? What's your game, man?''

The voice grew quieter and quieter, and more threatening as it hovered very close to his ear. ''And I warn you, do not lie to me or I will paint these walls red.''

After some very quick thinking on his part, despite Hyde's distraction, he managed to cobble together some sort of alibi.

''We are scientists- when we heard of the Iping story, I knew there would be much to learn from your own experiences perhaps of benefit to myself… somehow… if there wad any chance of meeting another such man with chemical expertise to such a level…''

There was silence again as Griffin seemed to be contemplating this. The story seemed suspicious in a way- but had he not also falsified his own demise? Did he not seek a chemical answer to his chemical problem? And he had turned to Doctor Kemp for assistance, of a man of scientific prowess before being betrayed by the blackguard who could not understand.

''So you have been looking for me, have you? Why did you persist when you learnt I was 'dead and buried'?''

''We- I hoped to examine the other Invisible man-''

''How mad I would be for someone to duplicate my deeds! I am the Invisible man the first, and the last. None other should have the power that I have.''

''Yes, well… if that had failed, there was a chance to peruse your notes… but without your mind to consult it may not have been so conceivable to help myself…''

''Hmph. Very well then- I give you a proposition.'' Griffin said, moving the blade away slightly from the others throat, but keeping a hold and watch on him. ''You help me and I will help you.''

There was a distinct jolt inside Jekyll's stomach at these words- they rang true to him. Griffin was possibly the only mind which might be able to comprehend his experiment and its effects….Mina was a skilled chemist it was true, but without experience and certainly unable to understand all of his notes...

But Griffin could.

Edward growled sharply at his creator for contemplating it. No because it was wrong to work with such a broken and immoral mind, not because it was working with the enemy for self gain. Simply because it was a move against his own sin, his own darkness inside he had allowed to fester and then develop after its release like a ravenous disease.

He had brought it upon himself- he didn't deserve to find a solution, but Hyde was cynical. There was no solution to him- he was not a problem that had been created, he was an already existing one which had first been ignored and then enhanced, emphasized with every burst of freedom…

''I do not have my notes with me…'' Jekyll answered nervously, unsure what his reaction to this might be. He heard the other sneeze and felt the jolt- it was lucky he had a good grip on that knife and had moved it away a little…

''They're in London then? Paris? I do not care- I have had enough of this blaster place even as I was able to run it. I would not be averse to leaving it for a City.'' Griffin replied, letting the Doctor go quite suddenly. Jekyll stood up and turned to where the carving knife floated in mid air.

''They are in London…'' he confirmed with a nod, trying to gauge with practice where the Invisible man's head was.

''Good. As soon as you are ready to leave then. Alert your companions, but I warn you- one wrong move ad I will cut all of you down.'' The knife wavered dramatically and came very close to Jekyll's face. Then it floated off in the direction of the stairs and clattered to the floor. The door then opened a little wider, seemingly of its own accord and there was silence.

To Be Continued…