Author's Note: Wow! That last chapter went down a nice treat! People liked it! Yay! *does a dance* Well… glad you enjoyed it. Was worried I wouldn't pull it off. My boredom obviously serves its purpose, hehe. Anyway, this is the second half to that last segment. It picks up where we left off…
Scene: Venice!
Shout outs:
life sucks: Glad you think no chapter is too long. No wonder you were able to patiently join the journey halfway through. Complimentary update list is what I do to inform people I have a new chapter up so they don't miss it. They're ignorable, lol. It's just a group email I send. I did try and intend to be funny with a few of those thoughts in that last chapter, so if you laughed at those -and let's pretend you did-, I'm glad.
Naitriab: You think my other fics are hard to follow? Hmm… sorry you feel that way. And there's a reason I write about Tom, considering he's my favourite character and all ; )
angelic katty: Yay! You laughed! Happy Clez!
sugaricing: I tried to get this chapter up ASAP cuz it seems people are enjoying themselves. You crazy people! Hmmm… maybe I shouldn't leave that rocket just hanging over the theatre where Tom is trapped, huh? Might fall… but I won't let it. That sounds wacky about you and your friend :D But I like it. Oh yeah, swap around the last two lines of your 'greeting' and you're spot on. Lol.
unknown princess: I'm glad you liked Venice. Here's the conclusion.
RogueSparrow: He is incredibly cute isn't he? And I have lots of screen captures to inspire me. Bwahaha. Yes I know… sad. I'm happy you liked the car skid bit enough to quote it back to me :D Wondered what the hell it was at first, lmao! Yeah… he's in an even worse mood now by the way cuz he's still in the car. Maybe I should stop waffling and get him out, huh? *chomps on cookies*
Sethoz: *hands you sit-down pom poms* Ah yes, the car over the water *remembers the trailer with 'Fire In The Hole', and giggles like a schoolgirl* Sorry… momentary lapse. Well, since it slowed down in the film, I figured I'd try and represent time slowing for Tom… makes sense to me *cough*.
Iblis: This soon enough for you? Lol.
Graymoon74: As long as I know it's you, Graymoon74, I'm happy. You're reviews always make me laugh somehow. Tommy-Boy has a busy brain, no? I would if I were him… although I'd probably be dead already *nervous laugh*. I'm so happy you laughed as well. Reassuring, that is. Although with your crazy sense of humour, I should imagine a lot of things make you laugh. Patience… more like insanity!
Silent Bob 546: Like I said… I'm afraid you'll only see Jekyll when he's in a scene with Tom :S Otherwise it would defeat the object of a Sawyer-scope. *looks at what she just wrote* Hmm… one way of putting it. I'm really happy you keep coming back though, when there isn't the lure of continuous Jekyll.
LotRseer3350: Sadly… the only stuff I'm really using from the book is extra dialogue. And we don't have the official DVD here yet *cries* So I haven't seen any of the deleted scenes. Oh well, only have to wait 'til the 16th February, and then I get it for my birthday! Yay!
anonymous: Oh… just realised that I can refer you to the above paragraph in regards to Seer. Sorry about that, I would love to put them in… but I can't *cries again*. Glad you love it though :D.
On with Venice!
For a few moments there was silence, the only sound that of dust and debris tumbling loosely to the stone ground below, where the upturned Nemomobile sat unmoving. Then someone groaned, and Tom Sawyer ventured to look around, remembering where he was and what had happened. His green eyes picked out the particulars of his situation, and it did nothing to lift his rather dampened spirits.
He unhooked his foot from the base of the seat where it had decided to wind itself, and gave a yelp as he tumbled headfirst out of the chair. He put his arms down to stop from giving himself a head injury, and fell with a thud to the rubble-strewn ground underneath the well and truly battered vehicle.
"That hurt…" Tom grumbled, and started picking him way to where wan light penetrated the edges of the topless car. He used his hands to pull himself free from the chest up, wincing as he did so. He was more than a little sore, but he definitely remembered firing the flare… hopefully Nemo had seen it.
The flare… the rocket! His mind suddenly snapped into focus, and he turned his head to the gaping hole he had smashed through the front of the abandoned theatre, chunks of the building still toppling loose of their previous fixtures. He could see the ever-approaching collapse, and it was coming fast, creeping up on the canal that he had decided to launch the automobile over.
Not good, Tom's mind rambled, and he scrambled to pull his legs free of the trappings of the car, biting off a curse as he did so, feeling his feet come free just as he heard the roar of the rocket overhead. For a terrifying moment, he almost froze, and then his subconscious screamed for him to run as fast as his legs would carry him.
He was about to start, when he remembered his rifle, actually cursing this time, and reaching an arm under the overturned car, finding it down by the seat at an angle and wrenching it loose.
Winchester rifle in hand, he bolted for the only opening he could find that would provide some sort of escape, which just happened to be in the form of a dusty old window, the glass smashed. There were still jagged edges, but he pushed the fact from his mind as he bodily threw himself out of the hole, just as the roar of the rocket reached a deafening crescendo and slammed into the roof of the dilapidated building.
Tom let out a shout -whether due to fright or adrenaline he didn't know and probably never would- as he tumbled to the ground, rolling as he had trained himself, and covered his head with his arms, even as the rocket blew the theatre apart with an awful booming, resonating explosion that made Tom's ears ache.
The heat rushed over him as flames reached out hungrily like arms grasping for purchase, and Tom closed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth as the force of the explosion caused his blonde hair to whip about his head, and his coat to billow.
Only when the heat and breeze had died down entirely did Tom remove his head shakily from under his arms, hands trembling… he was still alive. He could have laughed if his heart wasn't threatening to break from the confines of his chest. His eyes wandered back to the building he had just escaped from, wide as saucers, and he took panting breaths in shock that he had just lived through what had happened. The building was now nothing more than a blackened broken shell of what it had been, rubble still tumbling to the ground in all directions as the fires died out.
So much for the car, he thought, letting the beginnings of a smile touch the corner of his mouth, and he laughed in shock more than anything, just before he felt the stinging on his temple.
Pulling himself to his feet, Tom looked all around, and he thought he could hear -other than the irritating ringing in his ears- the sounds of the people from the carnival cheering.
And they'll never know what happened, Tom thought as he touched a hand to his left brow, bringing the very tips away dotted with red. Great, he thought with a frown, just what I need. He winced, shook his head slightly, and then tried to get his bearings.
"Where the hell do I go now?"
Turning this way and that, he figured he would try and follow the canal… after all; it was the only thing he could think of. He just hoped the others didn't give up on him and leave him behind.
What if they think I'm dead?
Tom's thoughts had started to lighten and pick up as he followed the canal, trying to remember some of the landscape he had seen on his way past it all in the now-destroyed car. There were certain things he recalled from the previous journey, though in all fairness he had been going rather fast at the time, and half of them now lay in ruin or buckled into their own foundations all around.
This is awful… he thought, if only we'd gotten here sooner. If I ever get my hands on that Skinner, I'll… I'll-
He heard sounds very much alike the rushing of many people, and the great clunking of what seemed like… the Nautilus! He knew it was here somewhere. All thoughts were abandoned, as he pressed on swifter. Winchester still in his hand, he approached the canal where the submersible had docked. A cocky grin spread on his face as he drew closer and closer, but he managed to push it down in remembrance of what had happened all around in the great city. Needless to say, the smile faltered a little.
As he reached an archway, he heard Allan Quatermain inquire as to his whereabouts.
Might as well make a dramatic entrance.
So it was that Tom Sawyer strode triumphantly out of the shadows, calling, "He'll live to fight another day." His smile had returned, and he saw the way the hunter regarded him with pride, only serving to lift Tom's spirits higher. That was, until his head started to ache. He touched a hand to his cut brow, and as he did so, he heard the approach of heels… Mina Harker.
At least she's all right.
Tom looked up to her as she stopped before him, and drew back a little as her gloved hand reached to touch his face. He remembered seeing how she had cast some of the Phantom's marksmen aside after draining them of their blood savagely. Suddenly he wasn't so keen on proximity.
"Don't worry," she said in a soothing tone, "I've had my fill of throats for this evening."
Tom felt his brow furrow ever so slightly, and he ceased his flinching from her, letting her gloved hand touch his cheek and brow. It was oddly comforting, and he stared into her icy blue eyes, yearning to be closer to her.
His moment of tranquillity on the receiving end of Mina's affections -no matter how small- was interrupted by the sound of someone calling to Nemo from the hold of the Nautilus. All eyes turned in that direction, and Tom felt his widen at once. It was Ishmael… and he looked in a bad way.
Oh god…
Nemo and Jekyll charged up the ramp as Ishmael tried to descend it, and the doctor reached him first, coming to stand and subsequently fall behind him and hold him gently. Nemo went down on his knees, just as Quatermain, Mina and Tom halted at the foot of the ramp, all wearing expressions of deep melancholy… Tom for one knew from the sight of the bullet wounds in Ishmael's chest that the poor man would not make it.
Tom had not even noticed the immortal's absence until Ishmael choked out the words, "It was Gray."
The American felt his insides chill at once, like a frost that had settled over the grass at dawn. He shuddered involuntarily, and beside him, Mina drew back in horror and dismay. Tom wanted to comfort her, but he was too caught up in his sadness at seeing such an honourable man suffer.
"Not Skinner…" Ishmael continued in a rasping, struggled voice as he locked gazes with his captain. He took a moment to take a shuddering breath, and then stated, "Gray's tricked us all."
Tom felt his melancholy swell as Ishmael gasped one last time, and his head lolled to the side, eyes still open in death as his body fell limp in Jekyll's arms. Nemo looked to the doctor, who shook his head slowly. Tom could not see the Indian's face, but knew very well that for once… the man must have been showing true, raw emotion.
Dorian Gray… I knew he couldn't be trusted.
Before he could voice his useless thought, a great, ominous grinding sounded from inside the belly of the mighty Nautilus, and the eyes of the remaining League members turned as one to the origin.
Tom took a small step back, feeling his shoulder brush against Mina… but he was too taken by the sound to notice their closeness. "What is it?" he asked cautiously, holding his Winchester tighter as if for comfort.
Nemo tensed visibly, and he practically growled, "The sound of treachery!" He shot up from his mourning crouch, and bolted into the Nautilus. Tom took off after him; with Mina and Quatermain -who he now noticed had a bloodied shoulder that he would inquire on later- following on his heels. Jekyll brought up the rear after laying Ishmael's body down gently.
Tom pursued the enraged captain right through the hold, and out the other side onto a platform that Nemo lowered, suspended on tough chains that supported the League's weight as they each stepped out onto it. Tom held his rifle aloft as he stood on the edge of the platform, and his eyes caught signs of movement from a dome that shifted and protruded from the side of the submersible.
The others stood around him, each in their own state of awed curiousity. Something extended from the dome, a great shape that made Tom's jaw drop slightly in amazement. It gleamed in the moonlight, and the smooth surface of it appeared silver, or something of the like. It was suspended out from the side of the Nautilus on cables and strong cords, before it suddenly cut itself loose. As it fell, Tom asked, "What is that thing?"
As the odd device descended rapidly, Nemo called out his infuriated response, "It's my exploration pod!"
Nemo thinks up the craziest things…
The pod crashed down into the water, sending up a fine spray that just fell short of the platform the League stood on. They watched as it whirred and buzzed into life, and slowly came creeping towards them, the spikes on the flat side of it acting as propulsion. Lights started to flicker into existence in two of the small hatches on the side, bulbs flaring into life, shortly before two matching panels slid apart to reveal a window.
Shoot the glass, Tom thought angrily when he saw the smug, triumphant face of Dorian Gray behind the window, break it so he sinks to the bottom of the canal. But something kept his finger off the trigger… perhaps it was the knowledge that he knew his bullets would do him no good, and they would not penetrate the glass… and perhaps it was the shock. Whatever it was, the Winchester stayed propped beside him as his green eyes stared in dismay at Dorian as he had the nerve to blow them a kiss.
Tom saw Mina recoil in anger from the display. As the pod started to back away from the League and the platform, Gray at the controls, Quatermain called over the din, "We can track it!"
Tom set his jaw defiantly. All this time they had been blaming Skinner… and it had been Gray… no wonder Tom had had a hard time trusting him. But what had happened to the invisible man? Where had he disappeared to?
Nemo's gruff, enraged reply to Quatermain's suggestion brought him back to reality as he shouted, "I intend to catch it!"
Tom went with the other men back into the Nautilus, noting how Mina hovered for a moment on the platform before following, staring longingly out into the canal as the exploration pod turned and sped off.
Even after the blatant treachery, it was apparent that the vampire still yearned for Gray… and that was perhaps more painful to Tom than the betrayal.
A/N2: Aha! FINISHED IT! SO sorry it was so delayed. No excuses, apart from the ones already voiced in BTLOTM. Gah… cannot fall into this habit. Must update sooner! *pokes self in head* Update… sooner! Gah! Okay… I think that told me… I won't be delaying again. I hope you all enjoyed the conclusion to Venice… and you know what to do now, and what to expect in the next instalment! See you soon!
