A/N: You find out almost everything about Jessie! Quite a bit of talking,
but interesting talk, I'd think. If any questions about what they're
saying, put them in your reviews, wink, wink. Character evolution, you see.
Loves you all, buh-bye! Hi, Stacy!
Hey, does anyone know what an "Estelle Lynn" is?
Chapter Seven: Revelations
Just as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was thrown to the floor by the explosions, everyone on board the Nautilus heard the familiar, panicked cry of "DADDY!!!" Allan lurched to his feet and staggered towards the door.
"Jessie! Jessie! Where are you, Jessie?!"
"Jess! Jess girl, we heard you, where are ya?"
"Missie Sahib!"
"Jessie!" The only person not calling for her was Henry. He was staring intently at Edward, or Edward's reflection, rather, that was sniffing and looking around. He turned to his alter ego.
"We can do it, Henry! You and I, together!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I have to find Jessie, Henry, and save her! You do, too! But we can't do it without one another. You and I, Henry, that's the way! Only then are we strong enough! I know where she is, but if we keep arguing, she'll be dead before we get there! We must save her! Please, Henry, drink the formula!" Dr. Jekkyl realized something even as he raced away to the hatches. Edward was in love with Jessie. Not physical love, he didn't hunger for her as he did for other human females, but actually was in love with her, emotional love, romantic love. Edward cared about another person, this man who was supposed to be his evil half, cared for another person.
"You're right, Henry," Edward said, keeping up through the port holes, "I do love her, with every fiber of my being, with everything I am, I love Jesshiquekah Quartermain. And so do you." Henry carried that thought with him as he leapt down into the frigid waters. He carried that thought with him as he drank the elixir and changed.
The first thing Edward did was find Jessie, tied to a beam at the bottom of the chamber. She was struggling against her bonds, using up the precious air she'd stored in the breath she was holding. As the alter ego of Henry Jekkyl swam towards the girl, a voice in his mind- it seemed like at least half a dozen voices- cried, No! We will take care of the girl. You must save everyone. Something flashed by him, followed by three more somethings, and five more, and two, and another. As he was turning the wheel on the water drainage hatches, he got a clear look at them. There were twelve... mermaids swimming around Jessie, all of different colors. Each one kissed her lips. What was going on?
We are like the trees grown on the land. We breathe in what you breathe out, and you breathe in what we breathe out. We are giving her air, until the waters ebb. As the levels of the ocean water began to drop, the mermaids scattered, swimming out of the hole they'd swum into. Your aunt Yemaya sends her regards, Lady Jesshiquekah. That was their parting message as the water lowered to Jessie's chin, to her shoulders, to the rest of her, and then down. In the mirror, Edward saw Henry.
"Bravo, Edward. Bravo!" Jessie coughed, spitting up water, then moaned. "The girl."
"Jessie...." Mr. Hyde untied the child and took her into his arms. Her wrists and ankles were raw and bleeding from the ropes, and she was pale and shivering. "I've got you, Jessie. Are you alright?"
"I'm so c-cold, Edward. I w-w-w-want my D-d-d-dad-d-d-dy."
"Let's get you out of here."
"D-d-daddy f-f-first. Pl-please."
"Alright."
* * *
Alan gave Henry a thumbs-up, but looked sad still, until he saw the girl walking with him. "JESSIE!" The harper ran to her father, who lifted her up and twirled her around, kissing her cheeks. "Oh, my God, Jessie, I thought I'd lost you."
"You could never lose me, Daddy." She kissed him sweetly, and hugged him tight. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, my dearest, darling harper girl. Oh, my darling sweet Jessie..." Turning to Henry, he said, almost in awe, "Jekkyl, you... you saved her."
"It was Edward, Mr. Q, not me. And we had some help."
"Oh?"
"Auntie Yemaya sent some of her ladies to help! They were there, Daddy, a whole dozen of them! All of them were so pretty! Do you think Papa Ogunn will help fix the ship?" She cocked her head inquiringly.
"I think he will, maybe." Mina cleared her throat meaningfully. Everyone turned to look at her.
"I recognize those names, Yemaya and Ogunn. I also recognize the mark on Jessie's back, I saw it once. Like two criss-crossed peacock feathers. And her middle name, Kalika Shaellanderial. Yemaya is the Orisha of the Sea, and Ogunn is the Orisha of iron, steel, war, and weapons. The mark on Jessie's back is said to be the mark of a child protected by Hera, Greek goddess of married women and children. And her name. Kalika means 'she who destroys,' or 'daughter of the destroyer.' And Shaellanderial is the name of the human child who, in legend, shall be born in modern times under the protection of Brigid, Morrigan, and Cerridwen, the Celtic Goddesses. This and Jessie's powers, are too much of a coincidence. And an Indian woman with blue eyes... I think you owe us an explanation, Mr. Q, of just who and what our little harper is." Alan sighed and set Jessie down. He began to explain.
"In this world, there is God, and there are the gods. The gods, such as Hera and Brigid, are all children of God, His First Born, the Second Born being the Angels, the Third, the Elves, etc. The Last Born are humans. Jessie's mother was Kali, the Destroyer, Hindu goddess of destruction, death, and rebirth. I met and fell in love with her after the death of my son, after Kali cared for me while I was sick with brain fever in India. It is from her that Jessie gets her powers, and her charmed life. The gods have been Jessie's caretakers since she was conceived. When she was ill as a child, sick nearly to death with scarlet fever, it was Apollo, her uncle, and the Greek god of, among other things, healing, who cared for her. When she was in danger of being killed, the day M first recruited me back in Africa, it was Hera who pulled her from harms way. Just now, when she would otherwise have drowned, it was Yemaya, goddess of the sea, who sent her handmaidens, mermaids to be precise, to keep my daughter alive. Jessie is the daughter of one of the greatest, most beloved goddesses in the Divine Realms, as well as what her Ayah, Lakshmi, refers to as a true princess. The gods, the angels, and all the other great beings, have taken her into their care. She lives a charmed life." Throughout this monologue, Jessie had been thinking, thinking hard, about several things, and suddenly a blinding flash of pain spiked behind her eyes. Next to her, a crystal goblet shattered. She gasped in alarm, then whispered, "Sorry!" The crystal shards picked themselves up and pieced themselves together. When they were all in place, a thin film of black and red mist covered it up. "Sorry. It'll be fixed in a few days. Six, I think. Real sorry." Jessie bit her lip.
"Missie Sahib, you sense something. What is it?" The seven-year-old glanced at everyone in turn, then said, "Skinner. Mr. Skinner is going to find a way to reach us. He's with Dorian. Mommy says... Mommy says he isn't bad, but knew you would suspect him... oh! Oh, no, nonononono!"
"What is it? What's wrong, Jess?" Tom cried. Her face was stricken, and she started to cry. "Jess? What is it?"
"He's got my harp! If he touches it, he can taint it! Make it evil! The spirits in it, they'll be bound to his will! They'll become evil! They're powerful, they can destroy so much, do so much damage! They're almost as bad as Mommy in a temper, Daddy he's going to destroy everything! The gods can't interfere with this, they can't stop him! Lord Peredon said my life force is linked to the harp, if it's tainted, becomes evil, or is destroyed...." She trailed off, choking on a terrified sob.
"You'll die. Won't you, Jessie? You'll cease to exist." Mina whispered in horror. "He wouldn't be so callous, so evil... to kill a child. Would he?"
"Mommy says yes. She's crying. All the goddesses are..." Jessie's voice took on a haunted quality, a midnight undercurrent, making her sound much, much older. "The gods are furious. The angels are going to break down the Pearly Gates. They've been locked to keep them from rebelling. The Fae and the Elves are gearing for war. If the demon is allowed to destroy the last child of the gods, all humanity will be made to pay. Hell will be raised, and all of mankind's civilizations will be struck to the ground. Kali Yuga, the end of the age, will come. And Kali decrees, as does Shiva, that this time, rebirth will not be an option. Brahma and Vishnu are in agreement. All the gods forbid the death of their last child."
Somehow, the League knew this was Jessie, as she would be in years to come, when she was older, much older, and had taken her place among the gods. She sounded so regal, so sure, and yet, so mysterious and powerful. It was hard to believe this was the same little girl they'd fallen in love with. Mina voiced a question.
"Why are you so important to the gods and their kin, Jessie?"
"Shaellanderial." She decreed. "And I am their last hope. The gods are dying out, murdered throughout the aeons by the Great Evil. If the child of a mortal and an immortal can become such as they, that child will be the first step in saving the Races. A child as that, born in love, is the key. I am the first child. I cannot die, for if I do, the world will then die. Eventually, no matter what, the gods and the others shall die, but then, there will be new gods, gods like me. But the girl you know as Jessie, while she is still me, is the immature, infant part of me. She knows little of my existence, the goddess within her. She must mature into that power that I represent. And she must do so in ignorance of such a thing. I do not mean to say you cannot speak of this to her. All this she knows, even if she does not comprehend. It is the vast extent of her power, the deep, unlimited strength that her humanity has given her, that she cannot know of yet. If she were to reach the expansive limits of her power, she would die. Her body, still not quite immortal, still growing, still young and small, would perish under the onslaught of that immense strength. She knows this as well, and understands. You must not test her limits, and she must never burn herself out. That, too, would kill her. And what you must not speak of, because you understand and she cannot, is the merging of her selves, myself and herself, and the self she gained through our mother, when she is mature, because you will understand this, and through you, she can as well. But she cannot know of it to understand until she can comprehend it on her own."
"We understand... almost. These selves... what are they?" Alan whispered.
"Father..." Shaellanderial murmured lovingly. "I am Shaellanderial, the goddess your daughter is because of you. I am separate from the daughter you know at most times. Kalika, the goddess your daughter is because of her mother, is the daughter Jessie changes into on the battlefield. She is also usually separate from the Jessie you know. Jessie is the combination of the two of us, Kalika and myself, while yet still being separate in her soul. I am the intellect, you may say, Kalika the will, and Jessie the heart, of your daughter. That is the best that it can be explained. If Jessie ever tells you of her imaginary friends, she will be speaking of the two of us, and of Jaesshiquekaaeghh, her final self, who she will become when she is ready. You will know of this when it comes, and you will meet the Great Lady Goddess by that name when she is born, and not before."
"I think I understand."
"Good. Good-bye, then, Father." Jessie shook herself, blinked a few times, and smiled.
"What? Why are you all looking at me?"
"We're glad you're safe, is all." Tom said. Just then, one of the Lascars came in, announcing, "Captain, we're receiving a transmission."
* * *
"Hello, again, my freaky darlings. And good evening to you, my dearest darling Jesshiquekah. Having fun in little fish, headed north by northeast. Follow in big fish." Jessie's breath drew in sharply.
MR. SKINNER, IT'S JESSIE, I LOVE YOU, I MISS YOU, BE CAREFUL, PLEASE!!!
She knew he heard her, because the beacon of mental life she aimed for flickered with startlement, then felt warm and tingly. She knew it was Skinner, because she smelled paint, cigar smoke, leather, and liquor when her psychic tendril brushed over it.
"Says... 'will do, Miss Bright Eyes.' What does that mean?" The man at the telegraph asked.
"Jessie just spoke to him." Alan said. "Nemo?"
"We're going to Mongolia."
Hey, does anyone know what an "Estelle Lynn" is?
Chapter Seven: Revelations
Just as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was thrown to the floor by the explosions, everyone on board the Nautilus heard the familiar, panicked cry of "DADDY!!!" Allan lurched to his feet and staggered towards the door.
"Jessie! Jessie! Where are you, Jessie?!"
"Jess! Jess girl, we heard you, where are ya?"
"Missie Sahib!"
"Jessie!" The only person not calling for her was Henry. He was staring intently at Edward, or Edward's reflection, rather, that was sniffing and looking around. He turned to his alter ego.
"We can do it, Henry! You and I, together!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I have to find Jessie, Henry, and save her! You do, too! But we can't do it without one another. You and I, Henry, that's the way! Only then are we strong enough! I know where she is, but if we keep arguing, she'll be dead before we get there! We must save her! Please, Henry, drink the formula!" Dr. Jekkyl realized something even as he raced away to the hatches. Edward was in love with Jessie. Not physical love, he didn't hunger for her as he did for other human females, but actually was in love with her, emotional love, romantic love. Edward cared about another person, this man who was supposed to be his evil half, cared for another person.
"You're right, Henry," Edward said, keeping up through the port holes, "I do love her, with every fiber of my being, with everything I am, I love Jesshiquekah Quartermain. And so do you." Henry carried that thought with him as he leapt down into the frigid waters. He carried that thought with him as he drank the elixir and changed.
The first thing Edward did was find Jessie, tied to a beam at the bottom of the chamber. She was struggling against her bonds, using up the precious air she'd stored in the breath she was holding. As the alter ego of Henry Jekkyl swam towards the girl, a voice in his mind- it seemed like at least half a dozen voices- cried, No! We will take care of the girl. You must save everyone. Something flashed by him, followed by three more somethings, and five more, and two, and another. As he was turning the wheel on the water drainage hatches, he got a clear look at them. There were twelve... mermaids swimming around Jessie, all of different colors. Each one kissed her lips. What was going on?
We are like the trees grown on the land. We breathe in what you breathe out, and you breathe in what we breathe out. We are giving her air, until the waters ebb. As the levels of the ocean water began to drop, the mermaids scattered, swimming out of the hole they'd swum into. Your aunt Yemaya sends her regards, Lady Jesshiquekah. That was their parting message as the water lowered to Jessie's chin, to her shoulders, to the rest of her, and then down. In the mirror, Edward saw Henry.
"Bravo, Edward. Bravo!" Jessie coughed, spitting up water, then moaned. "The girl."
"Jessie...." Mr. Hyde untied the child and took her into his arms. Her wrists and ankles were raw and bleeding from the ropes, and she was pale and shivering. "I've got you, Jessie. Are you alright?"
"I'm so c-cold, Edward. I w-w-w-want my D-d-d-dad-d-d-dy."
"Let's get you out of here."
"D-d-daddy f-f-first. Pl-please."
"Alright."
* * *
Alan gave Henry a thumbs-up, but looked sad still, until he saw the girl walking with him. "JESSIE!" The harper ran to her father, who lifted her up and twirled her around, kissing her cheeks. "Oh, my God, Jessie, I thought I'd lost you."
"You could never lose me, Daddy." She kissed him sweetly, and hugged him tight. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, my dearest, darling harper girl. Oh, my darling sweet Jessie..." Turning to Henry, he said, almost in awe, "Jekkyl, you... you saved her."
"It was Edward, Mr. Q, not me. And we had some help."
"Oh?"
"Auntie Yemaya sent some of her ladies to help! They were there, Daddy, a whole dozen of them! All of them were so pretty! Do you think Papa Ogunn will help fix the ship?" She cocked her head inquiringly.
"I think he will, maybe." Mina cleared her throat meaningfully. Everyone turned to look at her.
"I recognize those names, Yemaya and Ogunn. I also recognize the mark on Jessie's back, I saw it once. Like two criss-crossed peacock feathers. And her middle name, Kalika Shaellanderial. Yemaya is the Orisha of the Sea, and Ogunn is the Orisha of iron, steel, war, and weapons. The mark on Jessie's back is said to be the mark of a child protected by Hera, Greek goddess of married women and children. And her name. Kalika means 'she who destroys,' or 'daughter of the destroyer.' And Shaellanderial is the name of the human child who, in legend, shall be born in modern times under the protection of Brigid, Morrigan, and Cerridwen, the Celtic Goddesses. This and Jessie's powers, are too much of a coincidence. And an Indian woman with blue eyes... I think you owe us an explanation, Mr. Q, of just who and what our little harper is." Alan sighed and set Jessie down. He began to explain.
"In this world, there is God, and there are the gods. The gods, such as Hera and Brigid, are all children of God, His First Born, the Second Born being the Angels, the Third, the Elves, etc. The Last Born are humans. Jessie's mother was Kali, the Destroyer, Hindu goddess of destruction, death, and rebirth. I met and fell in love with her after the death of my son, after Kali cared for me while I was sick with brain fever in India. It is from her that Jessie gets her powers, and her charmed life. The gods have been Jessie's caretakers since she was conceived. When she was ill as a child, sick nearly to death with scarlet fever, it was Apollo, her uncle, and the Greek god of, among other things, healing, who cared for her. When she was in danger of being killed, the day M first recruited me back in Africa, it was Hera who pulled her from harms way. Just now, when she would otherwise have drowned, it was Yemaya, goddess of the sea, who sent her handmaidens, mermaids to be precise, to keep my daughter alive. Jessie is the daughter of one of the greatest, most beloved goddesses in the Divine Realms, as well as what her Ayah, Lakshmi, refers to as a true princess. The gods, the angels, and all the other great beings, have taken her into their care. She lives a charmed life." Throughout this monologue, Jessie had been thinking, thinking hard, about several things, and suddenly a blinding flash of pain spiked behind her eyes. Next to her, a crystal goblet shattered. She gasped in alarm, then whispered, "Sorry!" The crystal shards picked themselves up and pieced themselves together. When they were all in place, a thin film of black and red mist covered it up. "Sorry. It'll be fixed in a few days. Six, I think. Real sorry." Jessie bit her lip.
"Missie Sahib, you sense something. What is it?" The seven-year-old glanced at everyone in turn, then said, "Skinner. Mr. Skinner is going to find a way to reach us. He's with Dorian. Mommy says... Mommy says he isn't bad, but knew you would suspect him... oh! Oh, no, nonononono!"
"What is it? What's wrong, Jess?" Tom cried. Her face was stricken, and she started to cry. "Jess? What is it?"
"He's got my harp! If he touches it, he can taint it! Make it evil! The spirits in it, they'll be bound to his will! They'll become evil! They're powerful, they can destroy so much, do so much damage! They're almost as bad as Mommy in a temper, Daddy he's going to destroy everything! The gods can't interfere with this, they can't stop him! Lord Peredon said my life force is linked to the harp, if it's tainted, becomes evil, or is destroyed...." She trailed off, choking on a terrified sob.
"You'll die. Won't you, Jessie? You'll cease to exist." Mina whispered in horror. "He wouldn't be so callous, so evil... to kill a child. Would he?"
"Mommy says yes. She's crying. All the goddesses are..." Jessie's voice took on a haunted quality, a midnight undercurrent, making her sound much, much older. "The gods are furious. The angels are going to break down the Pearly Gates. They've been locked to keep them from rebelling. The Fae and the Elves are gearing for war. If the demon is allowed to destroy the last child of the gods, all humanity will be made to pay. Hell will be raised, and all of mankind's civilizations will be struck to the ground. Kali Yuga, the end of the age, will come. And Kali decrees, as does Shiva, that this time, rebirth will not be an option. Brahma and Vishnu are in agreement. All the gods forbid the death of their last child."
Somehow, the League knew this was Jessie, as she would be in years to come, when she was older, much older, and had taken her place among the gods. She sounded so regal, so sure, and yet, so mysterious and powerful. It was hard to believe this was the same little girl they'd fallen in love with. Mina voiced a question.
"Why are you so important to the gods and their kin, Jessie?"
"Shaellanderial." She decreed. "And I am their last hope. The gods are dying out, murdered throughout the aeons by the Great Evil. If the child of a mortal and an immortal can become such as they, that child will be the first step in saving the Races. A child as that, born in love, is the key. I am the first child. I cannot die, for if I do, the world will then die. Eventually, no matter what, the gods and the others shall die, but then, there will be new gods, gods like me. But the girl you know as Jessie, while she is still me, is the immature, infant part of me. She knows little of my existence, the goddess within her. She must mature into that power that I represent. And she must do so in ignorance of such a thing. I do not mean to say you cannot speak of this to her. All this she knows, even if she does not comprehend. It is the vast extent of her power, the deep, unlimited strength that her humanity has given her, that she cannot know of yet. If she were to reach the expansive limits of her power, she would die. Her body, still not quite immortal, still growing, still young and small, would perish under the onslaught of that immense strength. She knows this as well, and understands. You must not test her limits, and she must never burn herself out. That, too, would kill her. And what you must not speak of, because you understand and she cannot, is the merging of her selves, myself and herself, and the self she gained through our mother, when she is mature, because you will understand this, and through you, she can as well. But she cannot know of it to understand until she can comprehend it on her own."
"We understand... almost. These selves... what are they?" Alan whispered.
"Father..." Shaellanderial murmured lovingly. "I am Shaellanderial, the goddess your daughter is because of you. I am separate from the daughter you know at most times. Kalika, the goddess your daughter is because of her mother, is the daughter Jessie changes into on the battlefield. She is also usually separate from the Jessie you know. Jessie is the combination of the two of us, Kalika and myself, while yet still being separate in her soul. I am the intellect, you may say, Kalika the will, and Jessie the heart, of your daughter. That is the best that it can be explained. If Jessie ever tells you of her imaginary friends, she will be speaking of the two of us, and of Jaesshiquekaaeghh, her final self, who she will become when she is ready. You will know of this when it comes, and you will meet the Great Lady Goddess by that name when she is born, and not before."
"I think I understand."
"Good. Good-bye, then, Father." Jessie shook herself, blinked a few times, and smiled.
"What? Why are you all looking at me?"
"We're glad you're safe, is all." Tom said. Just then, one of the Lascars came in, announcing, "Captain, we're receiving a transmission."
* * *
"Hello, again, my freaky darlings. And good evening to you, my dearest darling Jesshiquekah. Having fun in little fish, headed north by northeast. Follow in big fish." Jessie's breath drew in sharply.
MR. SKINNER, IT'S JESSIE, I LOVE YOU, I MISS YOU, BE CAREFUL, PLEASE!!!
She knew he heard her, because the beacon of mental life she aimed for flickered with startlement, then felt warm and tingly. She knew it was Skinner, because she smelled paint, cigar smoke, leather, and liquor when her psychic tendril brushed over it.
"Says... 'will do, Miss Bright Eyes.' What does that mean?" The man at the telegraph asked.
"Jessie just spoke to him." Alan said. "Nemo?"
"We're going to Mongolia."