EPILOUGE—Nemo's room

"Mina, please, can't we just have a civil conversation?" Jekyll asked pleadingly from the hallway.

"I've tried that, Doctor Jekyll. Leave me alone."

The composed sound of walking off was definitely Mina's.

"I didn't touch you," Jekyll protested, his voice lowering as the footsteps drew further and further away. "It was him." Mina's steps did not slow, and quickly faded. Jekyll, however, lingered outside of Nemo's room. Nemo listened.

"No, shut up, shut up," Jekyll said quietly to himself. A loud thump was heard, and a somewhat raspy breathing. Nemo knew that it was time to intervene. He opened the door and saw Jekyll slumped over in the hallway.

"Doctor Jekyll, would you come inside?" Nemo asked. Jekyll looked up, and then slowly got to his feet. His asphyxiation had stopped entirely, as though Hyde were curious, too. Jekyll uncertainly entered the room.

Jekyll had not been inside of Nemo's room before, and found himself surprised by the design. Given the intricacies and richness of the rest of the ship, he'd expected a room of solid gold…or something of equal intricacy. But it was barren, having only basic necessities, and a few duplicates of the instruments that were present at the steering deck.

"If you wish to make peace with Mrs. Harker, you must first make peace with yourself," Nemo said. "Tell me, have you meditated before?"

Jekyll shook his head slowly, feeling a strange tide of emotions: curiosity, apprehension, confusion.

"Meditating," Hyde snorted dismissively. "Really Henry? Really? This is your plan?"

"Do you wish to regain a semblance of control in your life?" Nemo asked pointedly.

"Yes," Jekyll said.

"Take a seat." Nemo gestured towards the floor and sitting there, cross-legged himself. "The point of this exercise is to clear you mind. Attempt to control all thought."

"I can't do that," Jekyll frowned as he sat down across from Nemo. "He's always talking to me."

"Everyone has an inane voice speaking to them," Nemo said. "Do not respond, let it talk, and try to block it out. Find a positive word, repeat it in your mind."

Nemo took a meditating position and closed his eyes. A moment later, he heard light shuffling as Jekyll emulated his example. As the shuffling stopped, Nemo squinted open an eye, and saw how Jekyll looked.

"Arms go here," Nemo said, readjusting Jekyll's arms slightly. Jekyll nodded, and silence fell. At least, silence fell between Jekyll and Nemo.

"What are you doing?" Hyde asked. "You think you can get me to stop talking?"

Jekyll did not respond in words, but Hyde could feel his emotions still responding, a positive, hopeful yes.

"Get up, let's do something," Hyde said. "Let me out."

This usually elicited a strong response, especially after recent events. He felt the start of the emotion, and then it being cut off. This time, he got nothing verbal. No response, not a "shut up" or a plea for silence.

"Come on," Hyde said. "Get up. Do something."

Nothing. Hyde started to feel like he was talking to a brick wall. Frustrated, he reached for Jekyll's breathing centers. At last, Jekyll responded, but not to Hyde.

"He's…choking me…" Jekyll said aloud to Nemo.

"Everyone has difficulty with their breathing," Nemo said without opening his eyes. "Focus on it, center yourself, and don't give in. You must ignore him."

Jekyll closed his eyes again, and focused only on his breathing, even as it grew shorter and shorter. He began to feel light-headed, but tried to keep his breathing regular. He was shocked to find his breaths lengthening, then returning to normal.

"You know what I would do if I was out?" Hyde asked. No response. "Henry." Nothing. "Henry, you know what I would do?" He couldn't even feel frustration. "You know what I would do to Mina?"

There was a second of fury before it was pushed aside to annoyance, but it was all the motivation Hyde needed to continue with graphic descriptions. Jekyll stewed in silent anger, but he made no move to get up, made no response to Hyde verbally. After five minutes of that, Hyde grew impatient. He didn't care one way or another about Harker, all he wanted was to be let out…and if he couldn't have that, he at least wanted a reprieve from boredom. Here, he got neither.

Hyde redoubled his efforts as Jekyll realized, for the first time, that all Hyde was looking for was a response of some kind.

Ten minutes later, Hyde fell silent, and realized that for however long Jekyll was going to be there, meditating, Hyde would have to accept being ignored. This thought caused him to rage against Jekyll, no longer trying to elicit a response from Jekyll, but a flat-out line of yelling.

"You can't control me! You are weak!"

"You're the one who's shouting," Jekyll replied, and Hyde could feel his smugness.

"Oh, look at who came back."

But Jekyll was back to saying nothing again. There was a struggle to keep his emotions and mind clear, but certain smugness pervaded.

"I live inside you!" Hyde raged. "I will always be here! I will kill and the blood will be on your hands! I'll drag you to the pits of hell! I'll live on in your body long after you die, and they won't be able to tell you and I apart!" Hyde had given up trying to needle Henry, and had dove directly into what Jekyll feared most.

And Jekyll gave him…nothing. Hyde started to panic, remembering how important it was to stay dominant—his driving force behind most of his actions for the past week. Everything he was working for had slipped away.

Hyde attacked Jekyll physically again, slowing his breathing, giving Jekyll a pounding headache. This elicited a satisfying "Enough, enough!"

"Dr. Jekyll, is that your mantra?" Nemo asked, and Jekyll and Hyde stopped their struggle like bickering children would look up as a parent enters the room. The two simultaneously realized that Jekyll had spoken aloud. But Nemo asked his question in such a deadpan way that it was not immediately clear if his statement was intended to be humorous or not.

"You are in a state of Ksipta," Nemo said. "You must stop your racing mind and find silence."

Jekyll started meditating again, and didn't open his eyes, didn't stand up to get the medication, which never helped anyways. After a few more minutes of sustained effort, Hyde just gave up. Like an exhausted lunatic who had spent the night thrashing in his straitjacket, he finally gave up and accepted defeat. Hyde was quiet, and let Jekyll have a few minutes in peace.

Jekyll had found his word, and repeated it over and over again. "Peace…" he thought.

"Piece of what?" Hyde replied.

The remark actually struck Jekyll as somewhat funny, and couldn't help but smile.

"Come on, knock off this nonsense," Hyde said. "Do something."

Jekyll did not respond, and Hyde quieted. Fifteen minutes passed in complete silence.

"How do you feel?" Nemo asked quietly.

"Peaceful," Jekyll answered.

"And Hyde?"

"He's quieted down some."

"You have more power than you think over him," Nemo said. This response fueled Hyde's rage, and a moment later Jekyll was slumped against the wall again, struggling for breath. "See how he tries to hide it from you."

"I do have power over you!" Hyde protested as he broke off from strangling Jekyll. "You are nothing!"

Nemo's affirmation of Jekyll's strength had a powerful affect on the doctor. He could ignore Hyde, and today was perhaps the first time his own will had triumphed over Hyde.

"Nemo, may I ask you a question?" Jekyll asked.

"Certainly."

"Why haven't you kicked me off the ship for the things he did?"

Nemo considered the question for several moments before answering. "To the League, both of you are needed, but either of you or Hyde is useless without the other." Jekyll internally winced at the words. "But as a man and captain, I have allowed many a rouge and scoundrel stay on the ship, so long as the desist in their actions. We were unprepared for such an outburst from Hyde, but that was no one's fault. We now know how to prepare and deal with future illnesses, should you get sick again. And, of course, the rest of the League and I have taken a liking to you."

Jekyll felt himself grow happier, even a bit unburdened.

"Except, of course, for Mina," Nemo continued, and Jekyll felt the full weight of his sin crashing on his shoulders again. "But you must not blame her, and give her time to come to her senses."

"Thank you, Captain Nemo," Jekyll said. Nemo nodded, and Jekyll took his leave, not quite ready yet to make amends and rejoin the world at large, but he was getting there.