Author's Note: I know, I know, I'm a bad, awful person:( I've kept you all waiting months for this update, and… gah! I have no excuses. I am a bad, lame, awful, sucky person, and I should have things thrown at me X.x Like cushions, and peanuts, because if I'm ever going to finish this thing, I need to… be in one piece O.o Heh. Yeah, so finally, finally… here's an update…
In reality, Tom Sawyer was awkwardly chained up on his knees, head bowed over in unconsciousness. But somehow, he found himself lying on his side, breathing with a struggle, eyes barely open. It hurt to use his lungs, and his mind was filled with torturous realisations.
He was going to die… M was going to win… the League weren't coming… he was alone…
Lying there, barely moving, the anguished spy closed his eyes completely and drew in a shuddering breath; almost a sigh.
When a shadow came over him, he barely realised; didn't react right away. His body and mind were so tormented and beaten that he could barely think, let alone hear and see properly. When a hand landed softly on his right shoulder however, he tried to recoil, opening his mouth to cry out weakly, yet no sound came out.
"Easy, easy… don't move…"
Once again, Tom found himself looking up at his deceased partner. Huck was on his knees now, one hand touching in a brotherly fashion to the fallen spy's arm. His expression was grave and sympathetic, but edged with a solid determination that he had always shown in life as well. His brown eyes locked on Tom's somewhat faded ones, and he said, "Take it easy."
"Huck…" Tom's voice sounded weak; frail and almost child-like.
"I know, Tom…" the other young man replied gently. "I know it hurts. It hurts more than you can take, but… they're coming. You know they're coming… you have to know that."
Collapsed on the ground, lacking the strength to even lift his head, Tom's face twisted into a miserable grimace. "They're not…"
"Please, Tom…" Huck bowed down lower, to meet his friend's gaze pleadingly. "Hold on… fight the pain. Just a little more… it'll be over soon."
Managing to lift his exhausted gaze, Tom locked his clouded eyes on his partner's face, swallowing dryly before whispering, "Yes it will…"
Huck's hand moved to the side of Tom's face. "Don't you dare mean that!" The shorter man's tone was harsh, but laced with brotherly affection at the same time. "Don't." The gentle eyes filled with fearful tears. "You can't do that, Tom."
"I can't…" Tom trembled weakly. "It's too much…"
Hand still at Tom's face, Huck shook his head. "No. Not it's not. You're stronger than this… better than this. If you quit now…" He couldn't finish his sentence, it seemed, and his voice broke, his head hanging. "Tom…" His gaze lifted, eyes begging. "Keep breathing… keep living…"
"You're gone, Huck…"
"Don't do it for me!" The older agent moved his hand, resting it against the back of Tom's head in his hair, keeping his tortured partner's attention any way he could. "Do it for yourself; for the League! They're almost here. It's almost over, and then… then you'll be free again. Just… please. Don't let go."
Tom's eyes closed despondently, and he gave a shaking, whisper of a sob. "It's so hard…"
Carefully, Huck lifted Tom, trying his best not to make things worse before he embraced his fallen friend. "Don't let go," he repeated quietly, supporting the blonde spy. "Hold on… don't let go…"
M regarded his reflection in the mirror, rather liking the difference. To cast off the façade of English business and return to his true self was like lifting a weight from his shoulders, and he smiled. It was good to be himself again, and with a chuckle, he turned, walking to the partition in his chambers, glancing up the few steps to where the boy hung from his chains, barely moving save for the tortured rise and fall of his chest. M's smile did not waver; only grew.
He would be taking the boy with him, he had decided, so long as there was time. The last preparations were being made, and by nightfall, he would be back in that strange little submersible, on his way to Europe. As soon as Dante returned with the final samples, he would be ready to leave.
But until then, he was free to do as he pleased, he supposed, and what better…?
Moving to the door, he opened it, and told the guard to fetch the girl. Perhaps she would like to see the brat one last time, and of course, M felt he deserved a reward for himself as well. Lighting a cigarette, he wandered casually up the stairs, and proceeded to circle the boy. It was possible, he supposed, that the brat was faking it. With his free hand, he yanked back on the matted blonde hair, watching the face for any signs of consciousness. His eyes didn't even move behind the closed lids, and sighing almost in disappointment, M dropped the head again, watching it hang heavily; almost lifelessly.
If he hadn't enjoyed torturing the child so much, he might have been inclined to believe they had gone too far.
When the door down below opened once more, albeit quietly and almost tentatively, M grinned predatorily. "Up here, Miss Draper." He inhaled from the cigarette smugly, and was blowing out a steady stream of smoke when Eva Draper finished her approach. She paled noticeably when her eyes landed on Sawyer's chained, buckled form, and M's smile grew once more. Just the reaction he had been expecting. "I hope this doesn't distress you…" he remarked, subtly sarcastic. His free hand gestured to the unresponsive spy, but his eyes never left the young woman.
Eva Draper looked up at the older man, swallowing with difficulty, as if fighting back nausea. Well now, this was interesting…
Did she care more for the boy than M had first anticipated?
Chuckling to himself, he continued to address her, saying conversationally, "I expect he'll die before too long, but you should know, I learned some time ago how to keep someone alive, even with these kinds of injuries." Perhaps he was trying to provoke her, but he had to admit, he was curious. Would she react? "The broken ribs, the stab wound… the internal bleeding…" His eyes lowered to the restrained captive, waiting for some kind of reaction despite already knowing he wouldn't get one. "I'll keep him alive; don't worry."
She trembled slightly, but whether from fear or anger, M could not quite tell. His curiosity increased, and he persisted, "Of course, keeping him alive means I get to do more to him, but we'll be far away from this place before I get the time. I'll just let him sit and suffer until I get to have my fun, hmm?"
"Stop it," Eva Draper whispered, provoking a delighted grin from the man looming over the hostage. He waited for her to continue. He wouldn't be disappointed; "Haven't you hurt him enough?"
Quite simply, M responded with a firm, "No." His smile had faded just slightly, but was still very much obvious. "No, my dear, I wish to break him completely. I want him to beg before I let him die."
"Why…?" Her voice was apprehensive, as if frightened, but there was a quiet, fierce defiance in her eyes that he hadn't really seen before. It intrigued him madly.
"Why?" He laughed. "Why, you ask? Oh, Miss Draper, because I can." His smile had disappeared now, and he locked his eyes on hers meaningfully. "Because I enjoy it. Because I enjoy the feeling of breaking a man who believes he can do anything; beat anyone. I love nothing more than winning, and this sadistic victory is the best kind. I've broken him already, in body, but his mind is still fighting… all he needs is that last push, and he'll be completely gone. He won't be a spy, or a member of the 'League'… he'll simply be a scared, beaten boy begging me to kill him."
And then she reacted, just as he'd hoped she might. She moved with a surprising speed, but he was still ready for her. He threw his cigarette beneath his boot heel so he wouldn't set the place on fire, and grabbed her wrists as she lunged at him with a yell of anger, spinning her around with ease and shoving her up against the wall. She gasped loudly, trying to fight against him desperately, but he had her pinned completely; he made sure of that. The last thing he wanted was for her to hit him where it really hurt. "And Miss Draper," he began in a cold, quiet tone, his face close to hers, "you should know one more thing…"
He let her away from the wall, backing up a little before lashing out and striking her across the face with the rear of his hand. As she stumbled from the hit, landing not far from Sawyer, he added in conclusion, "I'm not above hitting a woman."
Refraining from holding a hand to where the Professor had struck her, Eva looked up at Tom's face from where she lay sprawled on the ground, holding herself up feebly with one arm. He was unconscious, completely, and apparently hadn't even stirred at the commotion she had just caused. The realisation made her want to frown, but she fought against it, trying to see just how much more damage had been caused since she last saw him.
Tom, please wake up…
Needless to say, he didn't respond to her mental pleading. In the next moment, a hand wrapped around her arm roughly, and hauled her to her feet. She came face to face with the Professor once more, noting the anger there. She had angered him. Eva wasn't sure whether to be proud of that, or to regret it, but she supposed she would find out soon enough.
"Get to the bedroom," he snarled at her, and the bottom of her stomach dropped out coldly. Looking down fearfully at Tom, she hesitated. She gasped again when the grip around her arm tightened. "Now." Without releasing her, he reached down and grabbed Tom's collar roughly, threatening as he did so, "Or I'll make another hole in the brat."
It was enough to make her move. Even though she knew the Professor planned to kill Tom in the end anyway, she could give him that time, no matter how little. As much as she hated herself for it, there was nothing else she could do.
The team that moved over the vast field of white were no longer clad in protective clothing, with insulating collars and boots. Now, they walked, ready for battle and with determination. Dr. Jekyll was gone, replaced now by Mr. Edward Hyde, who walked fiercely at the rear of the group, led by Skinner, Quatermain, Nemo and Mina. The other men walked behind them, prepared and armed for combat.
Mina Harker was at the forefront of the procession, hearing the rustle of leather as the team's invisible man shed his clothing once more to become lost in his surroundings, as if he had never been there in the first place. She could smell him overtake her, even as her enhanced sense of sight locked onto the two guards who roamed near to their intended point of entry. Skinner's reconnaissance had enabled them to concoct a plan, no matter how loose it really was. It was better than nothing.
Knowing that their mourning had been for nothing did not bring Mina the relief it really should have. Knowing that M had had Tom Sawyer all this time, abusing him… it was enough to make her want to destroy the man for himself… even if Quatermain had declared they needed to capture the villain. She didn't see the point, personally. Even if under false pretences, they had been hired to stop a madman, and she planned to do just that. But of course, she had volunteered to stop Gray. It was her business, and her right. It was a loose end she planned to tie up once and for all.
Skinner crept forward, ridding one man of his firearm, subsequently using it to rob the same guard of his consciousness. By the time the second guard had realised the dilemma, the floating gun was alerting him to the presence of Edward Hyde. Mina took her cue, and exploded into a cloud of bats, surging ahead to rush through the barred openings. The darkness swarmed around her, heavy with the stench of decay and misery. Not allowing it to cloud her senses, she coiled out of the tunnels on the other side, swiftly doubling back on herself after dispatching of two more guards brutally and briskly. They were cast aside, their necks torn open or simply broken, and before long, she was coming up on the bolted door that was keeping the League outside the fortress.
She didn't fail to notice the rather red mess in the snow where the second guard had been standing, Hyde looming over it like a predator.
Permitting them all entry, she led them all down the shadowy hall, back into the cracked and looming chamber she had entered in bat form. The bodies were ignored as Nemo's men spread out to secure the area, and the five members of the team turned to one another; quiet, grim and prepared. She looked to Quatermain specifically, seeing the tense readiness there. His plan flashed through her mind again.
Nemo and Hyde were to free the prisoners, and liberate the scientists; Mina was going after the treacherous Dorian Gray; Skinner was to plant the bombs they had brought with them, in the vital places he had mentioned back in the cave; and Quatermain's mission was to find M and rescue Sawyer.
The huge form of Hyde was the last to come to the circle, and glancing around at them all, he offered his hand out to the centre of the group. The others looked briefly to one another, before, one by one, they each placed their hands down, one on top of the other. As a team, albeit a fractured one, they stood united.
Now or never. The cold voice in Mina's mind made her stand up straight and tall; she was now more a fighter than a lady. Her hair was free of all trappings, and curled in a feral manner, and she wore leather garments that would allow her to move freely in combat. Her long coat billowed softly in the Mongolian breeze that tore through the cracks in the fortress, causing it to ripple around her heels and ankles as if it were alive.
Without a word, the team broke off, and went their separate ways.
Keeping Skinner's directions in her mind, Mina moved instinctively.
Finding Gray's scent, she followed it quickly, and with ease.
Freeing his mind somehow from the darkness that had engulfed it, Tom fought against a groan, managing to open his eyes just as figures were leaving the room, walking down the steps nearby with purpose. He recognised the white dress of the one in front, and the arrogant stride of the second, even with his head throbbing and vision spontaneously swimming in and out of focus.
Eva. And M…
It took him a moment to realise what had been going on, but his hazy brain put the pieces of the puzzle together, and he almost struggled in his chains to try and call their attention back; in the hopes that M would spare Eva whatever horrible treatment she was about to receive. But even as he tried to move, everything burned, and tears filled his eyes blindingly. He bit down hard on the gag, shaking as a result of the swarming pain, and almost blacked out once again. The realisation that he could barely even move without agony was disheartening, but even as he knelt there uncomfortably, chained down and up respectively, he… remembered… had it been a dream?
Huck…
Tom's eyes closed and the images that came into his mind, hazily, were confusing, but somehow very real. He wasn't sure how, or if it was even possible at all, but somehow knowing that his late partner had tried to comfort him — even if only in a dream — gave him the last bit of confidence he needed to not resign himself to his fate right there. He had to hold on, and wait just a little bit longer. No matter how dark things seemed, the League would come… they had to.
He only wished he could help Eva, just as she had helped him in the cell, when she had treated his wounds, if only because she had been ordered to by M. The gag in his mouth prevented him from using his voice, as weak as it probably would have been, and the injuries were keeping him from moving. What could he do?
Just wait, a voice said simply in his mind. She'll fight her own battles. You need to fight yours.
At that moment, his battles consisted of not blacking out so quickly, and keeping from letting the nausea rise. Feeling utterly exhausted, he kept as still as he could, to save himself more pain when it wasn't necessary, and listened to his own unsteady heartbeat; focused on it to keep his mind in some state of awareness, and to perhaps try and calm it. He knew it was a hollow hope, to calm his heart when his body had taken so much punishment, but he had to try, at least.
They're coming, he told himself again, eyes closing as he tried to concentrate. Just a little longer. They're coming…
To Be Continued…