A/N: This one's long, but it has some action. At long last, hehehehe! I'm glad (still) that you guys are enjoying this. Not many left to go! This is where it starts to get tense and I (hopefully) watch you all cringe and scream as I leave you eager for more...
Anise couldn't bear to meet his gaze, knew he was looking at her, maybe even pleadingly. She wished now that she had at least gone ahead with his request. She knew how it felt to live a cursed existence, so why was she forcing one upon Tom as well? Did she want to be with him that much?
She had told him she loved him, but after denying him his freedom, even in death, maybe she had lied. Maybe she simply felt for him... she couldn't tell. Everything was in such a mess.
Charles Evans stood beside her, holding a large imposing dagger in his right hand. He looked absolutely ecstatic, but was containing it well behind an unnerving smile. He was staring down at Tom with malice and expectation. His eyes turned to Anise.
Anise looked at him, coldly. Evans almost laughed at the anger he saw in her.
She still couldn't believe he was demanding this of her. How could he be so masochistic? Was there some kind of sick pleasure he was hoping to gain from watching her do this? He had never made her do this before, in fact no other female had been granted this 'honour' until today.
It was always 'strong' people like Jacques or Alessandro -bullies in fact- who were asked to do this. He claimed it was because of her affection for Tom that she was being asked to ruin his life, but she seriously doubted this. She knew Evans was trying to teach her a lesson. He knew she despised everything about what she was, what she had become, and now she was being made to force this upon another.
Anise wished more than anything that she could take that dagger from Evans right there and then and end this any way possible. She looked at Tom. She wished she hadn't immediately.
The hurt in his green eyes was almost too much to bear, and she fought back her emotions, and glanced to the other faces in the room as a means of escape. They were all watching her and Evans eagerly. Some of them were smiling, perhaps in mocking, at her. It was no secret how she felt, thanks to Beauvais and his bullies. Samura and Jamila were glaring, but the latter was also occasionally looking down at Tom, maybe hungrily or... was that longing in her eyes?
Anise glared, but Jamila didn't notice. She did, however, stop looking at Tom altogether.
Evans stopped in front of Tom, and Anise halted by his side, her eyes downcast still. The man looked to her again, and cleared his throat. She didn't respond. Everything in the room was silent now. It was unnerving. All eyes were on the three of them... four if you counted Jacques, who was holding Tom rather roughly by the back of his shirt collar.
"Well?" Evans mumbled to her, tilting her face up by her chin to look in her eyes. "Do I have to jog your memory as to why you are here?"
Anise shook her head. All she needed was a distraction. Anything... she didn't care what it was. Anything that would give her the oppurtunity to undo all of this.
Jacques gripped Tom tighter, but this time by his right arm, and there was a muffled cry. Some of the crowd smirked, one or two even laughed. Anise glared at Jacques, who was wearing the ghost of smile.
"Anise?" Evans pushed, gripping the hilt of the dagger tighter, dangerously so. She had no idea what he planned to do with the weapon. She had always tried to avoid these events before. "Would you be so kind as to make the final addition to our collection?"
She wished he wouldn't call it that... like they were nothing but objects. If it weren't for her, perhaps none of the others would be here at all. Thinking about this, she looked up to Evans, about to respond when the sound of distant gunfire made all heads turn.
Hyde bellowed angrily at the shots fired at him, and Skinner covered his head, ducking to the floor as bullets zipped over him. He wasn't exactly as discreet as he would have liked now that Nemo had handed him some items. They hung over his shoulder now, but he tried to keep them out of view lest they become a target.
Hyde surged forward, lunging and tearing at people, and Skinner grimaced at the carnage. On the other side of the overly guarded area, Mina and Nemo were pushing forward, dispatching of the cronies. At least, Skinner hoped they were. Their plans had changed somewhat.
Silence descended in the corridor, and Skinner poked his head out from his hiding place, and blinked. Hyde had managed to make it to the double doors to what seemed to be a vast room. Skinner emerged entirely from his alcove, and came up beside Hyde, who looked down at the rough area where he stood. The monster grunted in question.
Skinner reached forward tentatively, finding the doors locked. He sighed, and met the gaze of Hyde. "Care to make us an entrance then?"
Hyde reached back with both fists.
The sudden absence of noise from outside was a little unsettling, and Tom looked quickly back to Evans and Anise, his hair in his eyes now from the brisk movement. Jacques still stood behind him.
Evans looked slightly panicked, and handed the dagger to Jacques, throwing him a certain look and saying, "Come and find me when it's over. You know what to do." With that he ducked out of a sliding panel on the far wall, leaving the others behind. Anise looked unnerved now, even more so. She was glancing frantically from side to side with wide eyes.
Silence descended on the other side of the hall where there was another set of double doors, and Tom swallowed dryly.
Please, he thought, please let it be them.
Who else could it be? Short of the authorities, but Tom seriously doubted they would even make it this far.
Growls started to fill the air, and more than one member of the congregation began to transform as Jacques had before. He recognised two of them. They stood a head and shoulders above the rest now, and paced to the doors, sniffing the air curiously and irritably.
That was when the wall to the right of Tom exploded inwards, the double doors flying through the air and knocking people off their feet. They scrambled back up off the floor, and looked up through the shower of falling plaster and brick at a towering monster.
It was Hyde... Edward Hyde.
Tom would have smiled, if everyone hadn't been rushing about madly all of a sudden at the site of the monstrosity. Some were trying to attack him, to little effect, and many were trying to push past him.
Hyde swung out at the ones who got too close, and Tom noticed he was careful not to let them strike him in return, especially the partially transformed ones. They fell to the floor, some stunned, others merely unconscious. Hyde pressed into the room, snarling angrily. Strips of black and white material hung off of him, the remnants of Dr Jekyll's clothing. Something floated mysteriously behind him, and Tom gathered this to be Skinner. He was carrying something, but Tom couldn't see what.
The doors to the left burst in, one hanging off its hinges dangerously at an angle, shattered at its joining. A cloud of black swept in screeching and covered the ceiling. The noise was almost unbearable but recognisable and therefore a mild comfort.
It was Mina, her bats in escort. Nemo was in the doorway, dispatching of whatever stragglers he could when they started to retreat. The room was almost empty in no time. It was a marvel to think it had been almost full moments before.
There was a sudden tug on the back of Tom's shirt, and he was lifted to his feet roughly, swung to face Hyde, and gripped tightly by the throat. He felt the blade of the dagger against his skin, and made sure not to move too quickly.
Jacques was growling down his ear, and breathing quite heavily now, apparently rather aggravated that the League had burst in to ruin the engagement. Anise was out of Tom's line of sight now. He couldn't tell where she was, or even if she was still in the room. He highly doubted it.
The cloud of bats swirled down to the ground almost gracefully, coiling around a figure that seemed to absorb the creatures before glaring at Tom's captor. The hand around his throat gripped slightly, and he almost choked. He closed his eyes for a moment, hearing the clinking footfalls of Captain Nemo from behind. Jacques whirled, Tom still in his grasp, and followed the movements of the Indian man as he joined the other three.
Tom opened his eyes, and looked right at Mina. She stared right back at him. There was a certain something in her gaze that Tom couldn't decipher. He knew better than to struggle, and trusted that Jacques wouldn't kill him... Evans wanted this too badly. At least he hoped so.
"Release him..." Mina warned in a dangerous tone. Her slightly curled hair framed her face, but the cold light in her eyes was visible. "You are outnumbered."
"Only for the time being," Jacques retorted, tightening his grip on Tom again. Tom closed his eyes momentarily, and then looked to Mina, warning her with his gaze that the man holding him wasn't exactly stable.
Hyde tried to push forward, but Mina held up a hand, taking the mantle as leader again, as she had many times before since Quatermain's demise. Tom had to admit; she was pretty damn good at it. It was hard to disobey her.
They seemed to have reached a stalemate of sorts. Jacques had Tom in his grasp at knifepoint, and the League were standing before them in all their brute force, ready for a fight when one didn't seem forthcoming.
"You have no choice," Nemo voiced, "even if you kill him, which we know very well you won't, we will still pursue you. You will still be killed."
Not a very good argument, Tom thought, eyeing the Captain, wondering where he was going with this. He just hoped they hurried up. He was starting to feel a little light-headed again.
He shifted on his feet slightly, and Jacques pressed the knife to his throat more firmly, and Tom stopped at once. Mina stepped forward, and she took on a dangerous appearance without actually changing.
Jacques laughed, and Tom took in as deep a breath as he could manage, throwing Mina a look again, one that he knew demanded that she think of something fast. There was a look of deep concentration on her face. He hoped she wasn't considering doing anything that could get his throat slit... even though he knew that wasn't the main issue here. Evans and his men had to be stopped by any means necessary.
"So, I can still kill the boy?" Jacques asked lightly, with humour in his tone. "How generous..."
"He didn't say that," Mina growled, and there was a flash of red in her eyes that Jacques seemed to recognise. There was a rumble deep in his own throat, and he gripped Tom tighter.
"A vampire... interesting... I wasn't certain before," Jacques said quietly, mostly down Tom's ear. "I have little to worry about from you then, beast."
"I would not be so certain of that," Mina grumbled, drawing two long thin blades from her coat and holding them pointing down at the floor.
Jacques' grip from Tom's throat fell away and transferred to his wounded shoulder yet again, and he squeezed, knife still in position. Tom tried not to give in to the pain, but gave a muffled cry anyway, clamping his eyes shut and gritting his teeth against the gag.
"Um... Mina?" came the voice of Skinner quietly as Jacques continued to squeeze relentlessly. "Maybe you should-"
"Put the knives down?" Jacques finished for the invisible man, "yes, I would have to agree, before I decide to rip this wound right open."
Mina looked dissuaded from her previously decided course of action, and dropped the blades to the floor with a light clang.
"Now what will you do?" Jacques taunted, relieving the pressure slightly on the wound, but not releasing it entirely. "You are powerless to stop me, even with a vampire and a..." he looked to Hyde, "whatever he is."
Hyde growled. He looked to Mina, as if asking if he could attack yet.
The sound of a hammer cocking was heard, shortly before a shot filled the cavernous room and Jacques jolted, letting out a wail, releasing Tom purely out of shock.
The knife missed his neck by an inch as it dropped to the floor, even as Tom fell to one knee, breathing hard, trying to stay awake. Someone had shot Jacques, and he looked over his shoulder, catching a fleeting glance of someone he guessed to be Anise. They were gone in an instant, Jacques giving pursuit when he realised the League would be able to come for him now.
Mina knelt down before Tom, and removed the gag from his mouth, looking him in the eye, bowing her head down slightly as she asked, "Are you all right?"
"Never better," Tom lied, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. Mina started to untie his hands, seeing the wound at the same time.
"You need to get that seen to."
"You're telling me, but until then, I plan to go after Evans."
When his hands were free, he pushed himself off the floor, wavering slightly, before standing to his full height.
"Are you sure you're up for it?" Skinner asked from the rear, behind Hyde. "You look a little worse for wear."
"I'll be okay," Tom assured him. He stretched his aching limbs slightly, and took a deep breath. He pointed at the wall. "Evans went down there."
"I'll get through," Hyde grumbled, moving towards it. He pounded his fist against the wall three times in succession, smashing through the hidden door, revealing a passage.
Tom cocked his head with a slight smile. "I guess I'm headed that way then. I take it you're going to round up the werewolves?"
Mina didn't look very eager for Tom to go off on his own, and he appreciated her concern. She was looking at him with a questioning expression in her eyes.
"I will begin on the hunt for the creatures," Nemo stated, signalling to Hyde for him to follow. Jekyll's alter ego nodded gruffly, and paced off after the Indian. Before long, they were out of sight, and Tom thought he heard Nemo calling to some of his men.
"Look," Tom began, catching Mina's attention by touching her arm lightly, "I'm sorry I didn't listen before. I shouldn't have trusted Anise so blindly."
Mina shook her head. "I am just glad you are all right, Tom. I did not mean to offend you before."
"Forget about it," Tom said with a smile, "we can apologise later."
Mina gave him a half smile. She nodded. "Are you sure you can handle Evans by yourself?"
"I'll give it a go, but if you hear any screaming, don't hesitate to come help, okay?" He laughed, but Mina raised an eyebrow, and he stopped. He cleared his throat, and gave her an apologetic glance.
"Well, if you're going off on a crusade," Skinner began, pacing over to them, "you might need these."
He handed something out to Tom, and he turned, seeing it was his pistols and holsters. Tom took them, and slipped them on, feeling better for the weight. He'd forgotten about his spares aboard the Nautilus, and was suddenly glad for bringing them along in the first place. The others were around this maze somewhere.
Skinner slipped something off his shoulder and tossed it to him. Tom caught it, and checked it was loaded, furrowing his brow at the rounds, extracting one.
"Silver," Mina offered by way of explanation. "Aim for the heart or the brain, and you will kill them. Otherwise, you will simply harm them. Normal bullets will have no effect. These will be excruciating for them though."
Tom couldn't stop the smile. "Good. Bit of a waste to use them on Evans though, really, isn't it?"
"You could always find your other guns," Skinner suggested lightly, and Tom was sure the man shrugged, though he couldn't see it. He was guessing his six-shooters were loaded with silver as well. No doubt Nemo had developed the rounds.
Tom looked to where the gun had come from, the place where he guessed Skinner was standing and sighed, shrugging for himself. He took the weight of the rifle in his left hand, his right arm still tingling from Jacques' pressure on it, and poked his head inside the corridor. It was -not surprisingly- dark and gloomy, deep pockets of shadow lingering threateningly.
He looked back at Mina and Skinner, took a deep breath, and then entered the darkness.